Should There Be a USBC Open Senior Division?

Should the USBC Open Championships have a senior division? Roy Rasmus of Bay City, MI thinks so. Here's his letter to this month's Bowlers Journal International:

I have bowled in 33 ABC/USBC Open Tournaments, but at this point in my life, at age 62, I can no longer compete against the younger bowlers and the PBA card-carrying members who are allowed to bowl. The average or even better-than-average bowler has little chance. I can adjust to most conditions and I expect a tough shot, but how many bowlers can play inside the third arrow or deeper? Maybe it's time to break this tournament into age groups to give us seniors a chance.

Bowling Bytes--6/16/10

~ Bob Handley Retains Senior Masters Qualifying Lead by One Pin Over Roger Kossert -- "Bob Handley of Winter Park, Fla., remained in the leader Tuesday after two rounds of qualifying in the 2010 United States Bowling Congress Senior Masters. Handley has a 10-game total of 2,291, an average 229.1, at the South Point Hotel, Casino and Bowling Center. A day after shooting 1,171 in the opening round, Handley shot 1,120 to maintain his strong start. He leads Roger Kossert of Lithia, Fla., by one pin...Kossert, meanwhile, also put together another strong block after bowling well on the opening day. He moved up from third to second with 2,290. Kossert opened the tournament with 1,139 and shot 1,151 on Tuesday. He started the day with games of 256 and 259...All participants will return a final five-game block Wednesday. The top 63 players after 15 games will join defending champion Dale Traber of Cedarburg, Wis., and advance to the double-elimination match-play bracket on Thursday and Friday. The championship match is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. PDT on Friday..."

~ Denmark in top qualifying position in Trios after block 1 Women's European Championships -- "Kamilla Kjeldsen, Mai Ginge Jensen and Rikke Holm Rasmussen, Denmark, rolled games of 728, 648 and 723 to take a comfortable 134-pin lead in the Trios event of the 3rd Women's European Championships 2010 in Latvia after the first 3-game block on short oil with 2099 pinfall total and an average of 232.22..."

~ Live Pro Bowling -- "Have you ever attended a PBA Tour event in person? Recently, Steve's Bowling Blog featured a piece on a bowling clinic Steve attended, and he mentions he was very impressed by PJ Haggerty and Bill O'Neill, who were helping with the clinic. Obviously, pro bowlers are better than just about anyone in a house league somewhere, but Steve pointed out how the difference was amazing...Have you ever attended a PBA event? Maybe even bowled with a PBA Tour bowler, or in an event? How was the experience?..."

~ The 11th Frame: 2011 USBC Open Championships to start March 11 -- "The 2011 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships will start on March 4.USBC has not made an official announcement but USBC spokesman Matt Cannizzaro confirmed the date in response to a question on the tournament message boards here...The tournament has started somewhere in the middle of February in recent years, but USBC has had difficulty filling those early dates for a variety of reasons, including weather and bowlers not wanting to be "guinea pigs" for the lane conditions.With entries at their lowest level ever for the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev., and likely down again next year when the tournament returns to Reno, eliminating those February weeks should not hurt the entry total..."

~ The 11th Frame: Kulick says goodbye to USBC Open Championships again -- "Kelly Kulick played to a packed house at the National Bowling Stadium as she again said goodbye to the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, USBC reported. She ended with a 1,986 all-events total in her competition over the weekend. She will be ineligible for the Open Championships starting next season after she earned a PBA Tour exemption with her victory in the PBA Tournament of Champions in January...Kulick's minor events were webcast by USBC and are available for viewing here..."

~ The 11th Frame: Remembering state legend Vicki Vukovich -- "I first saw Vicki Vukovich when I was just a teenager starting to bowl in top state bowling tourneys in the late 1970s. Already in her 60s, Vukovich was one of the legendary figures my bowling elders pointed out to me...The thing was that even though she was already in her 60s when I was starting, she was still a formidable bowler...In 1979, she rolled a 792 series that was the third-highest in the country by a woman that season...Yet arguably her biggest feat was yet to come. That came in 1983, when at 69 -- 69!!! -- she made the match play finals of a Ladies Professional Bowlers Tour tournament at Olympic Lanes in Milwaukee. Not a senior event -- a regular LPBT event that featured the best women in the sport..."

~ Vukovich rolled strikes to spare, even at 69 -- "As if all her other bowling honors weren't enough, Vicki Vukovich became the oldest bowler - male or female - to compete in the finals of a professional tournament. She did that when she was 69...Victoria Vukovich died of congestive heart failure May 26. She was 96. A Milwaukee south sider, she last lived in Boca Raton, Fla., where she moved to be near her son's family..."

~ "Walter Ray Williams Jr.--The King or the Prince?" -- "Back in 2006, Walter Ray Williams Jr. finally hunted down the ghost of Earl Anthony's PBA record 41 titles by beating Pete Weber 289-236, in the Dydo Japan Cup to win career title #42. Then play-by-play announcer Dave Ryan aptly started calling Williams "The King", an honor certainly deserving of his historic bowling credentials...Walter Ray's monarchical nickname suits him and the sport of bowling well. Or does it? Taking nothing away from Williams' accomplishments at all, he certainly continues to astound and amaze (some would replace those words with bore and meddle) fans with his relentless pursuit of winning titles, making cash, acquiring milestones, etc...you begin to wonder if Walter Ray is more symbolic of another nickname, "Il Principe", or "The Prince". Namely, Italian public servant Niccolo Machiavelli's version of "The Prince"..."

~ Questions about ball reaction, revolutions and approach -- "Q: I put a great deal of spin on the ball and it just skids right down the lane. I’ve been trying to slow the spin but it kills my ring finger so much that I have pain the next week. Suggestions?...Q: I am a pretty straight-up-the boards track area bowler and have had some pretty good success. I’ve been told that I’m fairly accurate, which is important for tougher lane conditions. I’m able to stay behind the ball or come around it based on the lane condition that I’m facing. I am very happy with my style, but am wondering how to make the necessary adjustments to put more revs on the ball when it seems advantageous to do so...Q: I take a five-step approach, and need to know how I can finish in a solid position at the foul line. I also want to know how to have a ball drilled for a short hook...Q: Bill O’Neill, Doug Kent and Mike Wolfe came to Paris for a clinic, and now I want to learn more. I am 48, average around 195, and would like to know where I could go in the United States for a week of instruction..."

~ If Bowling is to Score Another Revival, We Have to Stop Disenfranchising the Women (Bowlitically Incorrect: Jim Dressel--Bowlers Journal International, June 2010, p. 10) -- "...The remarkable rise in the ranks of women bowlers was paved by several significant breakthroughs...The numbers that followed these landmarks were startling...To say that women sparked that renaissance all by themselves may be overstating their contribution, but they were certainly a factor in making bowling America's Great National Pastime...Bowling, generally, is going through some tough times, and this has put a drag on both the men's and women's numbers. But if we ever hope to score a rebound, perhaps the best hope is that the women once again will lead the way..."

Bowling Bytes--5/27/10

~ MIKE J. LANESIDE: WSOB--A Major Way to Start the Season -- "What if you and I were having a cool beverage and I told you a story about a professional bowling organization that decided to add a cool half a million dollars to its prize fund for its season-opening event? Can we personally think of any pro or even non-pro bowling group that has ever done that? Would you be interested in participating in that event or watching it unfold on national television or following the proceedings online? How about seven opportunities to compete for a title on national television at that season-opening event, does that have any appeal for you?..."

~ Las Vegas Will Host 2010 World Series of Bowling -- "Last year, the PBA Tour debuted the World Series of Bowling--a large concentration of bowling and events in one local area--in Detroit, Michigan. Many criticized, or at least feared, the taping of the first six PBA shows. In this very blog, I routinely took shots at the taped events. Others feared it was a sign of a failing sport that it had to record so many events in such a short period of time. Obviously, finances play a huge role in the logistics of the World Series of Bowling. But last year's WSOB turned out to be very entertaining for a number of reasons. Here are just a few of my favorites..."

~ Jesper Agerbo overtakes second place in qualifying at Bowltech Aalborg International -- "Jesper Agerbo (pictured left), Denmark, led the third of 14 qualifying squads Wednesday at Lovvang Bowling Center in Aalborg, Denmark, en route to overtake second place overall in the Bowltech Aalborg International 2010. Agerbo, a silver medalist in Masters at the 2008 World Championships (he lost to the great Walter Ray Williams Jr., three-games-to-none), rolled games of 254, 235, 209, 200, 247 and 246 for 1391 six-game total and an average of 231.83..."

~ The 11th Frame: Scores keep heating up in Reno -- "One popular theory is that scores pick up later in the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships because the track is wearing in on the new lanes. However, that theory doesn't apply to the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, where the lanes were last replaced prior to the 2006 USBC Women's Championships. (At convention centers outside Reno the lanes are new each year.) Still, the scoring pace has been hot recently in Reno, with the latest barrage including three perfect games and three significant changes in the standings in just 15 hours, USBC reported. Clint Roth of Orange City, Fla.; Lou Gorcos of Crown Point, Ind.; and Frank Barefoot Jr. of Hesperia, Calif., rolled the 20th, 21st and 22nd 300s of the year and made it five consecutive days with a perfect game on the tournament lanes, while one-time PBA Tour titlist Dave Wodka of Chatsworth, Calif., cracked the top 10 in singles and all-events..."

~ The 11th Frame: Traber set to defend PBA Senior Tour titles -- "Coming off beating the "youngsters" in winning the PBA Midwest Regional in Oak Forest, Ill., May 15-16, Dale Traber is set to defend the two PBA Senior Tour titles he won last year. The Cedarburg righty last year won the Northern California Classic at Harvest Park Bowl in Brentwood, Calif., and the United States Bowling Congress Senior Masters in Las Vegas.The Northern California stop starts Sunday, and is followed by two Senior majors -- the Senior U.S. Open presented by Suncoast and the USBC Senior Masters -- both in Las Vegas..."

~ A "Grand Time"--Kulick "Slams Door on History -- "History beckoned Kelly Kulick pretty much all season long. Teased her. Dared her. Challenged her. Called out to her. In some respects, forced her. Kulick responded with one more major moment by running down top seed Liz Johnson in the 2010 US Open title match, 233-203 to not only affirm that Kulick, not Johnson is the world's best female kegler, but signed off on what can arguably be considered the greatest season in women's bowling history. Sorry. I meant to say bowling's history..."

~ Koff siblings selected to Dexter/USBC All-America Team -- "Andrew Koff of Miami, Fla., has been named to the 2009-10 Dexter/United States Bowling Congress High School All-America Team for the third consecutive season and is joined on this year's team by his sister, Ana. Andrew Koff, who recently graduated from Gulliver Preparatory School, is the first person to make the Dexter team three times. He also was named to the team in 2007-08 and 2008-09. Ana, a junior at Gulliver Preparatory School, won the Florida High School Athletic Association state singles title this season..."

~ Tiny Squad 6 -- "It was very disappointing that very few entries were recived for the late Thursday squad, just 13 players and a pacer meant that there were just two players per pair of lanes. Standouts when the roster as published had Danes Jimmy Mortensen and Johnni Adsbol, along with England’s talented Stuart Williams as leading contenders but things seldom go according to plan and they didn’t tonight..."

~ Ironic justice? -- "Arson was suspected. Shortly thereafter, Steve Smink, the operator of nearby Pike Lanes, was charged with setting the fire..."

~ Questions on coverstocks, lowering scores and ball speed -- "Q: What is the difference between “pearl” bowling balls and “solid” bowling balls?...Q: Many bowlers in my area feel that the way to lower scores and make the game fairer for all would be to raise the weight of the bowling pin. What’s your opinion?...Q: How do I get more revs on the ball?...Q: I’ve always been a speed-dominant bowler (18.75 to 19.25-mph) and feel good about it. People tell me my speed overpowers my revs so the ball does not read the mid-lane. I took my pro shop tech’s advice to back down on the speed, or try to match my revs and speed evenly for a better read. How do I take away the muscle and let gravity work?..."

Bowling Bytes--5/5/10

Tammy Boomershine, a new leader at the USBC Open, Walter Ray Williams in his first PBA Senior event, Tony Lakawicz, the world's largest bowling center, cheating in bowling, bowling shoes, and successful team play are among the subjects of today's Bowling Bytes.

~ Boomershine looks to repeat as U.S. Women's Open Champion -- Tammy Boomershine has dealt with injuries and adversity her entire bowling career, but for a short time last August she was able to put all of that out of her mind and bask in her victory at the U.S. Women's Open, a United States Bowling Congress event. Boomershine of North Ogden, Utah, will look to regain that feeling again when she takes on a field of the top women bowlers from around the world at the 2010 U.S. Women's Open, which begins Friday, May 7 at Cityview Lanes in Fort Worth, Texas..."

~ Nebraska bowler takes Classified All-Events lead at USBC Open Championships -- "Harry Arnold of Falls City, Neb., knew he bowled well at the 2010 USBC Open Championships, but once he left the lanes at the National Bowling Stadium, he was focused on getting his family packed up and back on the road..."

~ Texas bowler rolls fourth 800 of 2010 U.S. Open Championships -- "Eric Traylor of Cypress, Texas, celebrated his birthday a day early by rolling the fourth 800 series of the 2010 USBC Open Championships on Monday. With his 26th birthday just hours away, Traylor put together games of 279, 288 and 244 for an 811 series and moved into second place in Regular Singles. Terrence Syring of Bay City, Mich., leads with 833..."

~ Harry Sullins leads after second round in Miller PBA Senior Miller High Life Classic -- "With a 240.6 16-game overall average, 2009 Professional Bowlers Association Senior World Championship winner Harry Sullins (pictured left) moved into the lead after the second round Tuesday in the PBA Senior Miller High Life Classic at George Pappas Victory Lanes...Hall of Famer Walter Ray Williams Jr. (left), who earned his record seventh PBA Player of the Year honor at the conclusion of the 2009-10 PBA Tour season in April, remained in 11th with a 3,703 pinfall..."

~ Long Time PBA East Region Leader Lakawicz Dies -- "Tony Lakawicz of Elmwood Park, N.J., who spent nearly 35 years as tournament director and organizational leader in the PBA East Region, died on April 28 at the age of 92. Lakawicz was a shop manager for Servo Tek in Hawthorne, N.J., for more than 40 years before retiring and spending another 10 years working the control counter at Parkway Lanes in Elmwood Park. The long-time Elmwood Park Elks Lodge member and Elmwood Park fire department chaplain was an avid bowler as well, once being a member of a five-man team that held the team game and series world records..."

~ Inazawa Grand Bowl installs QuBicaAMF automatic scoring -- "QubicaAMF Worldwide, a leading manufacturer of bowling and amusement products, has announced that its Bowler Entertainment System (BES) has been installed in the largest bowling center in the world, according to Guinness World Records..."

~ Bowling and Cheating -- "Recently, I read a blurb in a recent issue of Golf Magazine talking about how often and why golfers cheat. The statistic, which I don't have in front of me right now, is something like 95% of amateur golfers cheat...This got me thinking about cheating and bowling. It's a lot harder to cheat in bowling, since you're throwing a ball at 10 pins. You either knock them down or the ball goes in the gutter. There's no denying what happened. Furthermore, with almost every house now using automated scoring, the number of pins you knock down is the number of pins that goes up on the board. However, there are a couple common instances I notice in which bowlers can cheat: fouls and illegal pinfall..."

~ Coaching Tip of the Week: Bowling shoes for all Levels of Bowlers -- "You can get away with wearing one pair of shoes to jog, play basketball or wear with a nice pair of jeans, but you have to wear special shoes just to go bowling? The answer is yes, you do, and there are some very good reasons why. In this week's tips, USBC Coaching Specialist Kim Terrell-Kearney will explain why bowling shoes are important and what types of shoes bowlers of different skill levels should be wearing..."

~ Teams that play together well win: The seven principles of team and doubles play (Dean Hinitz: The Mind Game: Bowling This Month, May 2010, pgs. 55-58) -- "They say there is no 'I' in team. And it is common sports lore that talent alone does not win championships, or at least not repeatedly...Whether you are bowling USBC Nationals, tournament doubles, or league, playing as a team can take you to the top..."