Bowlers Journal International - February 2008 - (Page 38) COVER STORY NEXT SEASON, THE REGIONAL QUALIFYING RULES CHANGE THE PBA'S POLICY OF AWARDING AN EXEMPTION TO each region’s points champion ends after this season. In 2008-09, the champs (along with others) will earn berths in the Regional Players Invitational, where they’ll compete for eight spots on the Denny's Tour. The top five on each points list win airfare to the National Bowling Stadium, plus accommodations at the Sands Regency Hotel. At the five-day RPI, they will compete for the exemptions, as well as one spot in the Tournament of Champions. The next 20 on each region's points list also will be invited, but must pay a $750 entry fee for a shot at the exemptions. “This deepens the opportunity to earn an exemption from the regional program,” says PBA President and Commissioner Fred Schreyer. “Before, bowlers sometimes jumped off to a big lead early, and that may have discouraged others.” Schreyer says the impetus for change came from the regional directors, some of whom were said to be concerned that the old system didn’t always deliver the seven best candidates for Tour stardom. One player who likes the change is Jason Lundquist, who missed his exemption when he finished second in the East: “It gives people another chance, like Tour Trials.” — D.B. but that doesn’t mean it goes to the second-place finisher. Instead, the spot will be added to the Tour Trials. Jason Lundquist, the region’s runner-up, says he’s not disappointed, but that his friends are. “Ray made it clear that he wouldn’t take it, so I knew going in that I had to beat him or stay home.” Of course, it’s one thing to secure an exemption. Actually making a splash on the Denny's Tour is another matter. Few regional champs have done particularly well out there. Of last year’s eight qualifiers, only Mitch Beasley was in the top 30 in earnings (23rd, with $23,000) in mid-January, and none had reached the TV finals. Chris Warren, who won the Northwest the season before to resurrect his Tour career, has made the show once. He says there’s a world of difference between the Tour and the regions. “You have to bowl really well [on the national circuit],” he says. “And you have to really know the technical stuff.” Warren won’t get an argument from Ken Simard, last season's South Region champion. “You have to learn patience and perseverance, and you have to develop an understanding… of how the lanes change and how layouts affect the game.” The established stars, he says, know all of that and almost seem to be a step ahead. The level of competition isn’t the only difference between the tours. Most regional players are back home on Monday. On the Denny's Tour, Mondays bring yet another hotel room, something that bothers Leverage. “It’s definitely been good to get out here, but being away from my family has hurt,” the 37-year-old confesses. “The bowling is great. The lifestyle isn’t.” He admits that the culture shock has affected his game. He’s mired in the mid-50s in points, with a good chance of losing his exemption. And if that happens, he isn’t sure he’ll try hard to regain it. Still, despite its problems, the Denny’s Tour is a siren call to hundreds, maybe thousands of young and even not-soyoung bowlers. Says Simard: “It means everything to me. It’s the only thing I ever wanted to do.” To those keglers, the Tour is Nirvana, something never far from their consciousness, a dream that never dies. 38 bowlers journal international FEBRUARY 2008 http://www.wichita.edu/bowling
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