E-dition No. 947 • Thursday, April 13, 2017
Editor: Bob Johnson (bjibob@aol.com)
We are on deadline for Bowlers Journal International’s May issue this week, so this will be an abbreviated edition of the BJI Cyber Report. As always, we urge you to check out bowlersjournal.com and bcmmag.com for the latest bowling business news.
H5G to Create Apparel for Petersen Classic Bowlers and Fans
H5G has entered into a partnership with the iconic Petersen Classic to create and market exclusive apparel for tournament participants and fans, H5G President, Todd Molbeck, announced.
H5G will create an exclusive Petersen Classic jersey in honor of what is widely regarded as the world’s most challenging bowling tournament. The 107th edition of the event, which was founded in 1921 by Chicago proprietor Louis P. Petersen, is underway at Brunswick Zone in the Chicago suburb of River Grove.
In addition to offering the exclusive Petersen Classic jersey, H5G is offering a $50 gift certificate for future H5G apparel purchases to any bowler who wears any H5G jersey and bowls a game of 215 or higher in Petersen Classic competition.
“When we entered the bowling market as High 5 Gear, we said our intention was to change the image of bowling by giving the sport a cool, contemporary and professional look, and we accomplished that,” Molbeck said. “Our new partnership with the Petersen Classic gives us a unique opportunity to provide participants and fans of this historic event with a unique product that not only celebrates its traditions, but does so in a completely modern way.”
The Petersen Classic traditionally runs from April until Labor Day weekend.
In addition to its new partnership with the Petersen Classic, H5G is the official jersey provider for the Professional Bowlers Association and has sponsorship programs with the Professional Women’s Bowling Association, the PBA Xtra Frame Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles Championship, and a number of youth and charity bowling events.
The company also offers special incentive programs to provide its custom-designed apparel to collegiate and high school teams.
PBA Pro-Am in Maine Raises $17,000 for Meals Program
The charity pro-am held at Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine, Sunday night to benefit Full Plates, Full Potential, raised more than $17,000 for the organization that is dedicated to providing disadvantaged Maine children with quality meals in order to help them realize their potential as they grow toward adulthood.
The special event was organized by Bayside Bowl’s co-owner, Justin Alfond.
The money raised thus far translates into connecting kids to 150,000 meals. PBA fans who were unable to attend the special event, held in conjunction with the MaineQuarterly.com Mark Roth/Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship and the L.L. Bean PBA League, can still donate by visiting: https://www.fullplates.org/pba.
L.L. Bean Portland Lumberjacks team manager, Tim Mack, threw out the first pitch at the Portland Sea Dogs game Tuesday night. The Lumberjacks are part of the L.L. Bean PBA League competition that got underway with a qualifying round at noon Eastern today to determine the seeding positions for the ESPN-televised Elias Cup elimination rounds that will take place Saturday and Sunday at Bayside Bowl.
Today’s round is being live streamed on PBA’s Xtra Frame online bowling channel. The weekend shows will be recorded for delayed airing on ESPN, and will also be live streamed on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.
QubicaAMF Will Provide Lanes for PWBA Season Finale
The season finale of the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour will take place at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va., during the track’s fall NASCAR race week festivities. QubicaAMF will install bowling lanes for the event as part of its new sponsorship of the PWBA.
The Smithfield PWBA Tour Championship is set for Sept. 3-6 in the Old Dominion Building at the Richmond Raceway Complex. The 16-player field will be comprised of PWBA members who win a 2017 event and completed by point earners for the season. The finals will be televised live on CBS Sports Network on Sept. 6.
QubicaAMF, whose U.S. headquarters are in Richmond, will build four state-of-the-art lanes inside the Old Dominion Building for the event.
Virginia-based Smithfield Foods returns as title sponsor of the season’s final major for the third consecutive season.
“The eyes of the racing world will be on Richmond as the inaugural Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular-season champion will be crowned in the Federated Auto Parts 400,” said Richmond Raceway’s President, Dennis Bickmeier. “As always, Fan Appreciation Weekend will continue to be one of the best fan experiences in NASCAR. Adding a world-class event like the Smithfield PWBA Tour Championship provides another great experience for fans that makes our race a destination.”
QubicaAMF’s sponsorship of the PWBA includes title sponsorship of the opening event of the 2017 PWBA Tour season. The QubicaAMF PWBA Sonoma County Open will take place April 27-29 at Double Decker Lanes in Rohnert Park, Calif.
“QubicaAMF is committed to the support and growth of competitive bowling, and we’re thrilled to join with the PWBA this season,” QubicaAMF’s Chairman, Pat Ciniello, said. “We’re excited to present the season-opening event and to have an integral part of what will be a tremendous finale at the PWBA Tour Championship in Richmond.”
QubicaAMF will showcase its latest BES X Scoring System at the Pepsi PWBA Lincoln Open in Lincoln, Neb., and the U.S. Women’s Open in Plano, Texas.
“Many racing fans are bowling fans, and this will be a wonderful opportunity to present our season finale alongside a great race at Richmond,” said Kelly Kulick, the PWBA Tour’s spokesperson. “Having such a unique setting will give us the chance to showcase our sport and interact with fans. We’re excited to welcome QubicaAMF as a PWBA sponsor and appreciate the continued support of Smithfield Foods.”
Kulick is no stranger to unique settings for championship bowling events. In 2012, with no women’s tour in operation, she won the U.S. Women’s Open on lanes constructed in the middle of Virginia Street in downtown Reno which, by telecast time, had been inundated by dust and dirt blown around by the afternoon winds that the city typically attracts. You can view her comments on that experience here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He1pzjaKaOw.
Earlier this year, QubicaAMF completed an agreement with the Professional Bowlers Association that saw it lending financial support to the PBA Regional program.
“We were very proud of the affiliation with QubicaAMF,” said PBA Commissioner, Tom Clark, “and worked together to bring significant exposure for that brand across the most far-reaching professional bowling tournament organization in the world, the PBA Regional Tour and its 150 events across the country and in Japan. The partnership was successful, had a lot of potential, and I hope we can work together on more programs in the future.”
Tickets for the Smithfield PWBA Tour Championship are scheduled to go on sale June 1. Tickets will be available at the Richmond box office, via phone at 866-455-7223 and on rir.com. Visit pwba.com for complete 2017 schedule information.
BJI and BCM Scribes Earn 5 National Writing Awards
Bowlers Journal International and its sister publication, Bowling Center Management, earned a combined five awards in the annual International Bowling Media Association Writing Competition.
Longtime BJI contributor Dennis Bergendorf’s “Vintage Form” (September 2016), a piece covering a fiery Pete Weber’s victory at the 2016 PBA50 South Shore Open, tied for the win in the “Professional News Story” category.
In the same category, BJI Editor Gianmarc Manzione won Honorable Mention for his August 2016 story on Clara Guerrero’s PWBA Players Championship win, “Long Time Coming.”
Manzione won the “Professional Feature Story” category for his look back at hall of famer Johnny Petraglia’s service in Vietnam, while Honorable Mention in that category went to Barry Sparks for his BCM story on new bowling-center cuisine, “Transforming for the Future.”
BCM Editor Bob Johnson earned an Honorable Mention for his June 2016 story, “Profitable in Pink,” on BPAA Proprietor of the Year Jim Chambers.
Briefly…
* In 1988, an Arcata (Calif.) High School student named Andre Carey rolled a 300 game at E&O Bowl. On March 17 — just short of three decades later, Carey took over ownership of the center, now known as E&O Lanes. “My great grandparents bowled here,” Carey told the local Times Standard newspaper. “My grandparents… my mom… I bowled here. Hopefully, my kids and grandkids will bowl here as well.” The real estate agent who handled the transaction said that other potential buyers were offering more for the building, but for uses other than bowling. The seller, Bobby Scott, wanted it retained as a bowling center and a safe destination for local youth.
* Bowlers Journal International joins the music world in mourning the death on Tuesday of John Warren Geils Jr., founder of the rock group known as the J. Geils Band. Cyber Report readers of a certain age may recall that the band’s music was used as a lead-in to commercials on “Pro Bowlers Tour” telecasts on ABC-TV during the early 1980s.
* Urge Gastropub and Common House, featuring an eight-lane “Big Lebowski”-themed bowling area and an in-house brewery, has opened in San Marcos, Calif., north of San Diego. It’s located in a new mixed-use development/community known as North City.
* The guest this week on Phantom Radio is the man who oversees the PBA’s many media initiatives, Dave Schroeder. To listen to the interview, go to: http://www.kegel.net/phantomblog/2017/4/12/dave-schroeder-phantom-radio.
* CONTACT: Please send business news, event information, etc. to Bob Johnson at bjibob@aol.com. For breaking business news, visit bcmmag.com or bowlersjournal.com. BJI Cyber Reports are now archived at bcmmag.com.
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