E-dition No. 1,069 • Friday, August 2, 2019
Editor: Bob Johnson (bjibob@aol.com)
USBC to Lower Maximum Age for Youth Membership
The USBC will lower the maximum age for USBC Youth membership to 18 starting with the 2020-21 season.
The decision to lower to the maximum age, which presently is 20, came with agreement from the BPAA and the International Bowling Campus Youth Committee. It will align bowling with other youth sports.
“Over the last decade, we have made changes to USBC Youth programs and tournaments to provide a model comparable with other youth sports,” said IBC Youth Managing Director of Youth Development, Gary Brown. “We moved to age-based divisions, as opposed to average, for events, to provide peer-to-peer competition. Setting the maximum age for youth bowlers to 18 aligns us with the standard of other national youth sports organizations.”
A U18 division will become the top division for the Pepsi Youth and Bowling.com Youth Open Championships for the 2020-21 season. During the next season, USBC will address how the age change will impact the 2021 Junior Gold Championships, which will have a separate U20 division. Visit bowl.com/YouthAgeChange for additional information.
Starting with the 2020-21 season, USBC Youth membership policy will state youth membership is available to individuals who have not reached the age of 18 prior to Aug. 1 of the current bowling season. The decision to lower the maximum age will directly impact 3.3 percent of the total youth membership.
The change also better aligns USBC Youth membership with new regulations from the U.S. Center for SafeSport requiring training for those over 18 who participate in a sport with minors.
Any USBC Youth member who reaches the age of 18 during the bowling season is required to complete the U.S. Center for SafeSport online education program, which is free, in order to continue to compete in leagues that have participants under age 18. This requirement was announced with the release of the revised Registered Volunteer Program (RVP) handbook.
The new age limit marks the second time the USBC Youth maximum age has been lowered. In 2009, USBC lowered the maximum age for youth bowlers from 22 to 20.
Brown guested on a recent edition of The Bowlers Journal Podcast, and you can listen to that conversation here: https://soundcloud.com/user-658733792.
PBA Summer Tour Heats Up With Eastern, Midwest Swings
PBA players are on their way to the East Coast for a three-tournament series as part of the FloBowling PBA Summer Tour, a 10-event program that features lucrative side benefits for bowlers who perform at a high level across a variety of scoring challenges in various locations.
Those who excel will be rewarded with bonus prize money and incentives, including bonus cash to the top five in the USBC Cup points standings, eight berths in the end-of-summer FloBowling ATX Invite, and eight expenses-paid trips to China for the inaugural PBA China Tiger Cup in November.
The first stop on the swing will be the PBA Harry O’Neale Chesapeake Open, hosted by AMF Western Branch in Chesapeake, Va., Aug. 9-11, where seven-time PBA Tour titlist Dick Allen will defend his 2017 title. Allen also will be trying for his third title of the 2019 season.
The tournament is named in honor of long-time PBA South Region Tournament Manager Harry O’Neale, who was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame for his service to the organization in 2016.
Ten Pin Alley Family Fun Center in Wilmington, N.C., will host the second stop, Aug. 12-14, where Puerto Rico’s Cristian Azcona is the defending champion.
The Eastern swing will conclude Aug. 16-18 at Mid-County Bowling & Entertainment Center in Middletown, Dela., where Anthony Simonsen won the 2018 Gene Carter’s Pro Shop Classic in historic fashion, using his two-handed technique as a left-hander to defeat Matt Sanders in the title match.
After the first two events of the FloBowling PBA Summer Tour, Jakob Butturff and Kyle Sherman shared the points lead with 2,500 each. They are followed by AJ Johnson with 2,245, EJ Tackett with 1,895, and Stuart Williams with 1,805.
Fans can follow the summer points races (USBC Cup, FloBowling ATX Invite and PBA China Tiger Cup) by clicking on this link: https://www.pba.com/SeasonStats/PointsList/132?list=10.
Points also play a key role in the selection of the PBA’s 2019 Player and Rookie of the Year, and for entry priority consideration for selected 2020 PBA Tour events.
At the completion of the Delaware tournament, the PBA Tour heads to the Midwest for the PBA Bowlerstore.com Classic presented by Moxy’s Xtra Pair at Pla-Mor Lanes in Clearwater, Ohio, followed by the FloBowling PBA Summer Swing presented by the Brands of Ebonite International at Parkside Lanes in Aurora, Ill., where the PBA Wolf, PBA Bear and Aurora Open titles will be at stake.
The Summer Tour will conclude with the FloBowling ATX Invite at Dart Bowl in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 21.
The entire FloBowling PBA Summer Tour will be livestreamed exclusively on FloBowling. For a detailed look at the schedule, click here: http://www.bowlersjournal.com/pba-tour-heads-east-for-three-flobowling-pba-summer-tour-stops/.
Kellerman Entering Home Stretch in Walk for BVL
Texas bowling proprietor David “Kilroy” Kellerman, who embarked on a more than five-month hike through the Appalachian Trail last spring to raise funds for BVL, is closing in on the end of his fundraising efforts for veterans.
Nearly four months after starting his 2,190-hike through 14 states to raise awareness and funds to support BVL and veterans programs, Kellerman has completed more than two-thirds of his solo trek. Bowl Expo attendees rallied for Kellerman, helping him surpass his original goal of $50,000. His target now is $75,000 before he finishes the hike in mid-September.
“David’s perseverance and determination to complete this journey for all veterans are tremendously inspiring,” said BVL Board Chair John LaSpina. “Everyone at BVL and throughout the industry is so grateful for his commitment to veterans, and we want to welcome him home by helping him reach his new goal of $75,000.”
The toughest part of the hike to date may have been the exceedingly rocky terrain of eastern Pennsylvania, where Kellerman was joined by BVL Executive Director Mary Harrar for an 11.5-mile day hike. Harrar said she was inspired by her time with Kellerman and moved by the support for his efforts from his fellow proprietors at Bowl Expo.
“It was an incredible experience to hike with David and get a little insight to what he faces on a daily basis and how motivated he is by the support from the bowling community,” said Harrar. “He is determined to complete this hike because of how it will help BVL to continue to support programs that make a difference in the lives of veterans.”
After starting at Springer Mountain in Georgia on April 3, Kellerman hit the 1,300-mile mark in early July as he left Pennsylvania. The trail ends at Mount Katahdin in Maine.
Only one in four through-hikers actually complete the journey each year, and fewer than than 700 people accomplished the feat in 2018. The full Appalachian Trail passes through six National Parks, eight National Forests, and two wildlife refuges.
Donations to support Kilroy’s Appalachian Trail Hike for Veterans can be made at BVL.org. You can follow the final weeks of the hike on Kilroy’s Facebook page.
Business Briefs…
* A 24-page program book has been produced for the 16th New Mexico Open, set for Aug. 16-18 at Tenpins & More in Rio Rancho, N.M. The book includes a summary of last year’s tournament, a list of past champions, a schedule of events, a feature for those who love statistics, ads from local sponsors and much more. The program book can be viewed online here: http://tenpins-more.com/resources/2019/2019%20NMO%20Program%20web.pdf. Tournament Director Steve Mackie reports that last year’s entry count of 171 has been surpassed, and the number of entries for the accompanying Pro-Am, which will run Aug. 13-16, has set a record.
* “Can Bowling Win Over the ‘Lebowski’ Generation?” That’s the title of a major feature published on The Ringer website. Written by Bryan Curtis, the story documents the recent evolution of the PBA, its emerging stars, the fanatical fan base at Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine, and how FOX Sports has embraced the Tour. Check out the story here: https://www.theringer.com/sports/2019/7/25/20726901/bowling-pba-tv-kyle-troup-big-lebowski-rob-stone-fox-sports
Other News You Can Use…
* Kyle Sherman and partner Amanda Green advanced from third place to first in the final match to win the 20th anniversary PBA-PWBA Storm Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles title in a thrilling finish at Copperfield Bowl in Houston. Details: http://www.bowlersjournal.com/kyle-sherman-amanda-greene-win-sabc-mixed-doubles-thriller/.
* Three-time Go Bowling! PBA Tour winner Eugene McCune beat Lennie Boresch Jr., 230-178, in the title match Sunday to win the PBA50 Spectrum Lanes Open presented by DV8 in Wyoming, Mich., for his first PBA50 Tour title as a professional. Report: http://www.bowlersjournal.com/eugene-mccune-wins-pba50-spectrum-lanes-open-walter-ray-williams-jr-earns-pba50-player-of-the-year/.
* BJI’s website also has multiple reports from the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. Check them out at http://www.bowlersjournal.com.
* Did you know that Gold coach Michelle Mullen, author of Bowlers Journal’s bi-monthly instructional column, “Foundation Frame,” has helped raise nearly half-a-million dollars on behalf of animals in need? Mullen’s passion for animal welfare is one that she pursues with at least as much fervor as coaching, and she wants you to know how bowlers and the bowling community can help. Get that conversation on the latest episode of The Bowlers Journal Podcast here: https://soundcloud.com/user-658733792/gold-coach-michelle-mullen-on.
* On July 21, PWBA Tour champion Erin McCarthy noticed something that bothered her as she scrolled Facebook following the conclusion of the 2019 Junior Gold Championships, so she said something about it. What she said was something all of us in the bowling community could learn from. Get that story here: http://www.bowlersjournal.com/what-the-facebook-bowling-community-can-learn-from-erin-mccarthy/.
* 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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