Bowlers Journal International - March 2008 - (Page 20)

INSIDELINE 'LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT' AWARD REDEFINED BY USBC THE CONGRESS NO LONGER WILL HAND OUT MULTIPLE RINGS, ETC., FOR THE SAME FEAT. AS IF MEMBERSHIP IN THE UNITED States Bowling Congress weren't already a tough enough sell in some quarters, league officers and local association officials will have one more question to answer come the 2008-09 season: What happened to the USBC awards program? Better get another 300 game ring and 800 series ring as soon as you can, because once August 1 rolls around, those awards will be available to USBC members only once in a lifetime. Ditto for the 11-strikes-in-a-row award, which already has replaced the 299 and 298 awards, and for the 900 series award — even though only one person to date has been credited with more than one perfect series. "After years of discussion, debate, research and opinion polls, USBC's leadership has concluded the awards program of the past simply does not serve the interests of our members today," said USBC Chief Operating Officer Kevin Dornberger. "Nor does it serve USBC's mission to regain credibility for our sport." It didn't take long for some USBC members to question the credibility assertion, noting that the new policy penalizes bowlers rather than the people responsible for the credibility problem. "[USBC] has a specifications and certification team that is studying bowling balls in an attempt to understand how to keep scoring in check, when it seems that the obvious answer is lanes being set up to funnel shots to the pocket," says USBC member Barry Muise of Methuen, Mass. Adds Muise: "As a 200-plus average bowler, I see the important tasks of the USBC as: 1. giv20 bowlers journal international ing out awards; 2. holding the national tournaments; and 3. coordinating the certification of bowling centers. Unfortunately, I also see the USBC as the group that can't administer the Open Championships for less than $20 per event in expenses, and gets volunteers to handle lane certification, rather than paying professionals to do so Thus, the question is: Where exactly [are my national dues] going, if not to awards?" The USBC's answer: to programs and initiatives designed to grow the sport. "The era of emblems, coasters and trinkets is ending," says Dornberger, "but a new era of possibilities is on the horizon. We are just beginning to tap into the possible new ways we can recognize our members via the internet. The future holds some amazing promise." People/Places/Things A TRIUMPH IN THE PBA'S H&R Block Tournament of Champions propelled Michael Haugen Jr. to Kegel Bowler of the Month honors for January Sherry Hobson and Dan Terreck were named Adult Bowlers of the Year for 2007 by the Canadian Tenpin Federation. Youth honors went to Kodee Pilling and Ryan Setton Legendary international bowler Paeng Nepomuceno has received another prestigious honor from the Philippine government: "Champion for Life of the Order of Lakandula." President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo made the presentation Pro bowlers Sean Rash and Robert Smith have been added to the roster of USBC's "Ambassadors" speakers' bureau Eleven-year-old Aaron Ruiz used a Hammer Cherry Vibe in becoming the youngest bowler ever in the state of Tennessee to roll a 300 game. The sixth-grader carries a 192 average The last scene of the movie "Let There Be Blood" takes place in the basement "bowling center" of the main character's mansion. We won't give away the ending of the story, but we can tell you that it involves a bowling pin. CBS TO AIR USBC 'CLASH' For the first time in nearly nine years, bowling will return to network television when CBS airs "Bowling's Clash of Champions" in two onehour blocks on the weekend of May 10-11. The made-for-TV event will feature 16 champions from various USBC-conducted tournaments — youth bowlers, seniors, amateurs and pros — and will culminate in a man-versus-woman match for a $50,000 prize. The taping of the "Clash" will have a built-in audience as four lanes will be constructed on the floor of the Kansas City Municipal Auditorium during USBC Convention week. Its format — which will include multibowler, single-game shootout matches — may annoy some bowling purists, but the point isn't necessarily to determine the best bowler. Rather, it's to showcase bowling as a competitive sport that offers appeal to people of both genders and all ages. According to USBC Vice President of Marketing and Communications Tom Clark, the Clash will "serve notice that bowling as a sport in America is strong, and solidify bowling's visibility as a network television sport. If television ratings please the network, more opportunities will surface." Bowling's last network TV exposure came when "Pro Bowlers Tour" aired for the final time on the CBS network on June 26, 1999. MARCH 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Bowlers Journal International - March 2008

Bowlers Journal International - March 2008 Contents Leading Off Letters Bowlitically Incorrect Par Bowling The Coach Calendar Inside Line Tournaments The Truth Be Bowled Pro Bowling Back On Track Weber Tales Spares Do Matter Cover Story Up Close USBC Women's Time Capsule Flashback Strategy Session Guest Column Regional Roundup Team USA Trials Military Salute Global Guide No Holes Barred Marketplace Bowling Summit Museum Update Hall Marks Advertisers' Index Rememberance Classified Advertising Intelligencer Business Calendar Business People Strikes Me

Bowlers Journal International - March 2008

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