E-dition No. 959 • Thursday, July 6, 2017
Editor: Bob Johnson (bjibob@aol.com)
Ebonite Celebrates 50 Years in Hopkinsville
2017 couldn’t have been a better time for International Bowl Expo to be held in Nashville, because Music City is just 75 miles from Hopkinsville — the home of Ebonite International, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in that Kentucky community this year.
Ebonite invited its “Pro Shop Gold” partners to the plant for an event dubbed “EBI Homecoming.” Guests had the opportunity to tour the plant, nosh on tasty food and enjoy live music.
You can view a compilation of EBI Homecoming highlights here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUDLVdmSd14&feature=youtu.be.
The next day, Ebonite joined other ball manufacturers — including Brunswick, 900 Global, Columbia 300, DV8, Hammer, Roto Grip, Radical and Storm — in Clarksville, Tenn., for a revival of the Industry Showcase, which gave pro shop operators an opportunity to learn about all of the newest ball releases under one roof.
Then it was back to the Gaylord Opryland Resort for Bowl Expo’s two-day trade show.
We’ll have more on the EBI Homecoming and Industry Showcase events in the August issues of BJI and BCM.
Another 50th Anniversary: Ohio’s Fairview Lanes
“Come on down to the cutest little bowling center in Ohio.”
That’s the marketing slogan of Fairview Lanes in Fairview Park, Ohio, just outside Cleveland. It’s a reference to Fairview Lanes being a “basement center,” situated below street level. Only a handful of such centers remain in the United States.
That makes the fact that Fairview Lanes soon will be celebrating its 50th anniversary under the ownership of the Kuczinski family all the more amazing.
The 70-year-old center has quite a history. AMF installed automatic pinspotters there in 1952. In AMF company records, the account number was “4.” Today, Fairview Lanes has the oldest pinspotter installation in the country. In 1977, AMF MagicScore units were installed, the first in Ohio and among the first nationwide.
On Aug. 6, Fairview Lanes will be hosting family, friends and dignitaries to mark the Kuczinski family’s 50th anniversary of ownership. A third-generation family member, Bryan, now manages the center.
The night before also will be special. That evening, Bill Kuczinski will be inducted into the Greater Cleveland USBC Hall of Fame, recognizing a lifetime of service to the bowling industry. Bill also is a member of the Ohio Bowling Hall of Fame for Meritorious Service.
Cleveland Ready to Welcome Junior Gold Entrants
Cleveland will be the epicenter for youth bowling this summer and will feature a large trade show for participants and their parents leading into the biggest week of competition.
Hall C of the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland, which has 83,500 feet of space, is the site for the trade show and registration, featuring the Collegiate Experience, seminars and much more, on Saturday, July 15. The trade show will be held in conjunction with three major youth bowling events — the Junior Gold Championships Presented by the Brands of Ebonite International, the Bowling.com Youth Open Championships, and the USA Bowling National Championships Presented by Sixlets.
“While youth bowlers are in Cleveland for the competitions, they will have the opportunity to attend seminars, hear from the top coaches in the sport, learn about colleges that offer bowling, and so much more,” IBC Youth Development Managing Director Gary Brown said. “It is an opportunity for the bowling industry to engage young bowlers as we all work to build a future for the sport.”
Some of the key events at this year’s trade show, which will run from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.:
* Collegiate Experience — More than 60 colleges will be on hand so bowlers and their parents can talk to representatives and learn about what it takes to bowl in college.
* The Preparation: Lane Patterns and Arsenal Building — Del Warren, USBC Gold coach and member of the Team USA coaching staff, will discuss the tools bowlers need to understand lane patterns, lane breakdown and how to build an arsenal.
* The Process: How Bowling Balls are Made — Ebonite Bowling Product Development Manager Nick Tomaszewski will take attendees on a virtual tour of the Ebonite International plant and provide a hands-on demonstration.
* The Execution: Two-Handed Bowling — Stephen Padilla, a USBC Gold coach, will look at the most popular new trend in the physical game of bowling, and offer instruction during this seminar.
Also on-site, the Brands of Ebonite International will have autograph stations, InsideBowling.com will live stream, and there will be 20 additional exhibitors. Luby Publishing will be on hand with a limited number of copies of the July issue of BJI.
In addition to the trade show, there will be several special events, including Ebonite International’s Demo Day and the Bowl With the Pros Pro-Am that will take place at The Game of Wickliffe on Friday, July 14, from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. Bowlers will have the opportunity to try the latest products from the Columbia 300, Ebonite, Hammer and Track lines, and from those who registered for Demo Day, selections were made for the pro-am event that will include Bill O’Neill, Tom Daugherty, Tommy Jones, Ronnie Russell and many other pros.
The Ebonite International Beach Party on Sunday, July 16, will have games, food, fun in the sun, and more at a lakeside setting from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., then bowlers can get ready for the Junior Gold Opening Ceremony that kicks off at the Cleveland Public Auditorium at 7 p.m.
A final clinic will be held on Friday, July 21 at AMF Brookgate Lanes, with USBC Hall of Famer John Gaines, a USBC Silver coach, teaming with Stephen Padilla on the Sport Pattern Clinic, where they will teach bowlers about short, medium and long patterns, how to line up and the best equipment for their game.
Bowlers also should note this year’s Survivor Tournament, on July 21-22 at Roseland Lanes, not only will be a Junior Gold qualifying event for 2018, but also will include an option to get an exclusive Hammer Scandal bowling ball with the entry fee — available only to Junior Gold participants.
CBS Sports Network will televise the finals of each division (U12, U15 and U20) of the Junior Gold Championships, and the title matches of the U15 and U12 divisions of the USA Bowling National Championships. The finals will air over a five-week period starting Tuesday, July 25.
Go to BOWL.com/JuniorGold and click on the Registration tab for full details on all events.
Cleveland Also Hosts Turbo Tech Collegiate Expo
Just prior to Junior Gold, The Game of Wickliffe will host the 7th annual Turbo Tech Collegiate Expo, July 11-13.
Filled with classroom and on-lane instruction for participants, the Expo also includes educational seminars for parents and collegiate coaches. A mini-tournament with scholarship prizes also will be held.
The event culminates with an interactive Open House at which students can meet coaches, ask questions and gather information on many college bowling programs.
For further information, go to: turbogrips.com/coaching/collegiate-expo/about-collegiate-expo/.
In the July Issue of BJI…
* Keith Hamilton offers what could be a game-changing solution to bowling’s imperfect handicapping system. Thanks to technology, Hamilton says, it’s now possible to factor the difficulty of a given bowling center into a player’s handicap. A detailed explanation may be found in his “Leading Off” column.
* In “Chat Room,” Ryan Ciminelli reacts to internet trolls and the controversy surrounding his jump from one ball company to another mid-year.
* Full coverage of recent PBA50 and PWBA tournaments, including two majors… and much more.
In the July Issue of BCM…
* Breaking news from Bowl Expo: the BPAA’s Nancy Schenk and the PBA’s Tom Clark on the new agreement that makes GoBowling.com the umbrella sponsor of the PBA Tour.
* Insight: Creative ways to welcome back league bowlers… strategies for ensuring comfort in retirement… the power of advocacy… and more.
* In-depth: Center maintenance tips from the pros… the benefits of staff uniforms… maximizing revenue per square foot with escape rooms… staying ahead of the entertainment curve with the Gable family… and more.
Other News You Can Use…
- BJI Editor Gianmarc Manzione was able to catch Marshall Kent as he was on the road the day after he won the PBA Oklahoma Open title, his second PBA title in three weeks following his win in the Xtra Frame Lubbock Sports Open down in Texas. Kent says that a few weeks ago he would have given himself a C+ as a grade for his overall performance on the PBA Tour so far in his burgeoning career. But now? He gives himself an A, and who could blame the kid with the streak he’s put together this summer. But it did not come easily for the 24-year-old. So unhappy was he with his game before heading down to Lubbock that he put in 15 hours of practice prior to that stop and finalized some tweaks he made to his footwork and his swing plane that he says have him striking more than ever before in his life. But the success he’s having also is the result of some big changes to his perspective in life generally that have refurbished his mental game and turned him into a player that may be one of the most interesting to keep an eye on for the rest of this season. To hear the full podcast, click here: http://www.bowlersjournal.com/the-bji-podcast-with-guest-marshall-kent-2017-pba-oklahoma-open-champion/.
- In a title match that featured five lead changes, Marshall Kent outlasted 18-time PBA Tour winner Chris Barnes to win the Grand Casino Hotel & Resort PBA Oklahoma Open Sunday for his second title of the season and fourth of his career. With both players struggling to start the match, Kent fired four consecutive strikes in the 9th and 10th frames to defeat Barnes, 194-188, during the ESPN telecast contested on two specially-installed lanes in the Grand Hotel Event Center for his first win on national television. More: http://www.bowlersjournal.com/kent-outlasts-barnes-in-championship-match-to-win-grand-casino-hotel-resort-pba-oklahoma-open/.
- Among the 10 student-athletes selected for the 2016-2017 Dexter/United States Bowling Congress High School All-American Team is a repeat selection and a bowler who was recognized earlier this year with a national award. Selected by Dexter Bowling in consultation with the International Bowling Campus Youth Development staff, the Dexter/USBC High School All-American team is comprised of five boys and five girls who were nominated by their coach or athletic director. More: http://www.bowlersjournal.com/meet-the-2017-dexterusbc-high-school-all-american-team/.
- The guest this week on Phantom Radio is hall of famer Marshall Holman. It’s the third of a three-part interview that includes, among other topics, information on Holman’s foray into the world of wine. To listen to the interview, go to:
http://www.kegel.net/phantomblog/2017/7/5/marshall-holman-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, and “Like” Bowling Center Management and Bowlers Journal International on Facebook. BJI Cyber Reports are now archived at bcmmag.com.
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