Cornerstone Newsletter - July 2007

June Davis — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 12:10:47 GMT

The Cornerstone

The Foundation Newsletter

Volume 10, Issue 7 July 2007

"The crisis is upon us, friends. Our sport is in trouble. Many of you, that love the game as we do, will look at the crisis like a friend who is in trouble and needs our help. We must not shrink from the task before us, we should welcome it. It is 'our' generation that has been called to the challenge. If not now, when? If not us, who?"

Letter from the Editor

A PBA Experience

I don’t really know what got into me but I decided that I needed to join a PBA Experience league this summer. Anyone who knows me (or has been reading The Cornerstone) knows that I have been working rather hard on improving my game. I improved my average in my “house shot” leagues but I really felt to truly know how I’m doing, I needed to bowl on something a little (OK – a lot) tougher.

The first three weeks of my league we bowled on the Chameleon pattern. Chameleon is a 39 foot medium pattern that pretty much kicked my butt; and that’s putting it nicely. I just never got a hold on that pattern and it showed in my 150 average.

Last week; and for two more weeks; we bowled on Cheetah. Now, I am a stronger player and can increase my ball speed very easily so I figured I would be able to attack this pattern successfully. BOY WAS I WRONG! I actually had the high ladies game on the pattern at 187; nothing impressive but still a small victory.

Bowling this league has definitely given me a new respect for the elite athletes in our sport. These patterns are not easy by any stretch of the imagination and bowling on them has made me realize the weaker parts of my game. I have also learned the value of a strike and the importance of the spare where in my “house” league spare importance just seemed to have escaped me completely.

So, while I am not exactly killing the PBA patterns, I am not bowling badly either. I find myself concentrating better on each shot and taking each shot one at a time. I am physically throwing the ball well and I am learning to make better decisions based on my shots. So even if I’m not ready to compete on the PBA tour (and for the record, I never thought I was) I’m certainly ready and willing to keep at it so that I can improve my game.

DO WE “OVER” COMPLICATE BOWLING?

For years, bowling was considered a simple sport. We only had one ball and usually played the second arrow. We were delighted when we shot a 200 game. Every one was in the same boat, but those who could duplicate shot-after-shot were the ones at the top of the pecking order. Our averages were what they were and they hardly varied when we went from one center to the next.

I wondered how the likes of Don Carter and Dick Weber were so much better than the rest of us.

First, I thought they just threw more ball, but after watching them time-after-time, I found the reason was they hit their mark time-after-time with no more ball than the rest of us were tossing.

As bowling ball technology has evolved and we went from wood lane surfaces to synthetics, it seems we tend to think the game has become more complicated.

Nowadays, we have so many bowling ball choices it can get confusing as to which ball carries the best and with the oil moving all over the place, we seem to think we have to keep making adjustments in order to find a better line to the pocket.

One of the best bowlers in my house only uses one ball (it’s at least 5 or more years old) and rarely makes over a 2 or 3 board move for the 3 games. His secret is that he is deadly accurate. I once asked him if he thought he would be even better if he had an arsenal and learned to play in deep like many bowlers do. He said he thought having more than one ball and try to play various parts of the lane would only complicate things for him and that he would end up bowling worse.

Made me wonder if many of us do “over-complicate” the game and as a result keep changing balls and different lines when we would probably do much better keeping things simple. If we could learn to hit the same mark each time and have a consistent release, we would not have to make all the adjustments that we think we need to do.

If a bowler only took 3 balls to league (one for oil, one for medium and a spare ball) is it possible he would become a better bowler since he would have to become more accurate and be consistent in his release, rather than rely on an arsenal of 5 or 6 bowling balls - thinking the ball is the answer to good scoring?

I am willing to bet that the best bowlers in your house have a simple game and use fewer balls.

I have never felt that bowling was a complicated sport. But, it seems most everyone that I talk to today, thinks that it is very complicated.

How about you?

(NOTE: This article was reprinted and edited for space for The Cornerstone Newsletter. It is used with permission from the author, the very experienced: Doc (Sawbones) who is a frequent contributor to many sites. We found this article, at: www.seriouskeglers.com the home of Mr. Jon Wolfe. If you love bowling, we urge you to check out his very comprehensive site.) Editor

Could Amateur's Win Hurt Bowling’s Image?

Many times in life I see both good and bad in things and sometimes vacillate and wonder about a possible gray area rather than just a black or white perception.

My gut reaction when I read last weekend that Sim Dysart, an amateur bowler from Maine, had won $150,000 in the $250,000 Bowling Shootout at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas was one of delight for the 63-year-old retired Naval officer. That $150,000 was certainly going to make his life easier back in Hancock, Maine, so I was happy for him and his family.

But then I got to thinking and decided I wasn't happy what his victory was going to do for bowling's image. Dysart, an amateur, had beaten two of the greatest pro bowlers in the world -- Chris Barnes and Pete Weber -- and that was not going to help the bowling industry's battle to convince the general public and media that professional bowlers are gifted athletes and worthy of being held in high esteem.

Forget the fact that it was a strike-only format or any other excuses you want to make up to rationalize how an amateur bowler could beat two of the PBA's super stars. An amateur in tennis could not beat a Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal no matter the format, nor could an amateur golfer beat Tiger Woods or Zach Johnson -- much less beat both of them.

Perception is everything with the media and public. If they read a news release or see a TV show where an amateur beats two great pros no matter the format, they immediately are going to become convinced that bowling is not a true sport. That perception is almost impossible for the Professional Bowlers Association, United States Bowling Congress and the Bowling Proprietors Association of America to overcome.

You can preach and write until your ink cartridge runs dry about bowling being a tough sport but facts speak for themselves...an amateur throws the only strike in the first sudden-death frame and wins $150,000. In a way, it illustrates what is great about the game of bowling -- anyone can excel in one game. But at the same time it illustrates why bowling is having so much trouble convincing the world it is a difficult sport to master especially at the pro level.

I can accept a gifted amateur who has made his mark in mega-buck tournament winning the USBC Masters while bowling against pros. The Masters format is both tough and unique and not always fair from a pairings standpoint. Although I may be the only person who feels this way, I am happy for Dysart but I am sad because bowling's sporting image will take a hit.

In my mind, it would have been a super promotion if either Barnes or Weber had won...or even tied.

(NOTE: This article was written by internationally known bowling writer Dick Evans. It was used with his permission and edited for space and formatted for The Cornerstone Newsletter).

2007 Intercollegiate Team Championships Sectional Qualifiers

By: Brandy Padilla

It had been our tradition from year’s past to dedicate the entire May issue of The Cornerstone to collegiate bowling. This year, we had so much happening around Kegel, we opted to break tradition but we did so with good reason. In May, the Kegel Training and Tournament Center partnered with USBC to host one of the most prestigious amateur tournaments in the world; the World Ranking Masters. Since this tournament was literally right in our backyard, we opted to dedicate our May issue to that event. The collegiate season has since come to a close, so I am happy to report the results of the final few tournaments of the collegiate bowling season.

In late March, 64 of the top collegiate men’s teams and 64 of the top collegiate women’s teams headed to one of four locations across the country. Sixteen men’s teams and sixteen women’s teams went to each of the following: AMF Parkway Lanes in Allentown, PA; Holiday Bowl – Brainerd in Chattanooga, TN; St. Clair Bowl in Fairview Heights, IL; Southpoint Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. The teams arrived at their assigned Sectional Qualifier prepared tp begin bowling on March 24. However, at each Sectional Tournament there was a Collegiate Singles Championship Qualifier that was held on Match 23. In this tournament, bowlers competed individually in an effort to be in the top four from their section. These top 16 men and women would then go on to compete in the Intercollegiate Singles Championships.

Sectional competition began on March 24 with teams bowling eight baker matches of four games each. Day two brought eight more baker matches with the top four teams in each division from each section moving ahead to the Intercollegiate Team Championships.

In Allentown, the St. John’s men and Morehead State women jumped to an early lead. Penn State, William Paterson and Robert Morris rounded out the top four men’s teams. Shippensburg, Penn State and Hudson Valley CC rounded out the top four women’s teams. Day two brought some changes as the St. John’s men managed to hang on for victory followed by William Paterson, Robert Morris and Morehead State. The women’s division was won by Morehead State followed by Penn State, Shippensburg and Hudson Valley CC.

At Holiday Bowl in Chattanooga, the men from Saginaw Valley jumped into the early lead on day one. They were followed by Pikeville, University of Central Florida and Michigan State. In the women’s division, Pikeville claimed the early lead followed by University of Central Florida, Ohio State and Bellarmine. On day two, the Saginaw Valley men continued to dominate the field holding on to secure their first place finish. They were followed by Pikeville, University of Central Florida and Florida State. The Pikeville women also continued to dominate as they held onto their lead to secure a victory and their berth to Nationals. Rounding out the top four were University of Central Florida, Ohio State and Ball State.

St. Clair Bowl hosted some tough competition as some collegiate favorites visited this sectional. After day one, the men’s division saw Nebraska – Lincoln off to a big lead followed by Calumet, Wichita State and SIU – Edwardsville. In the women’s division, Wichita State took the early, big lead followed by McKendree, Purdue and Western Illinois. The Nebraska-Lincoln men were able to hold on to their day one lead to secure their berth to Nationals. They were followed by Wichita State, Calumet and Missouri Baptist. The Wichita women also held onto a commanding lead to win the section and move ahead. They were followed by McKendree, Purdue and Western Illinois.

In Las Vegas, the Fresno State men took the top spot. They were followed by Lindenwood, UC – Davis and UNLV. In the women’s division, the top spot was held by Fresno State as well. They were followed by Lindenwood, Newman and West Texas A&M. The Fresno men held onto the lead and secured their victory on day two. Rounding out the top four were Lindenwood, UC – Davis and West Texas A&M. The Fresno State women made it a clean sweep by winning their section as well. They were followed by Lindenwood, Newman and West Texas A&M.

Each of the top four men’s and women’s teams earned a berth to the Intercollegiate Team Championships to be held in Wichita in late April.

As was mentioned previously, bowlers were also able to participate in the optional singles tournament. Competitors would bowl six games on a sport compliant lane condition.

The top four men and top four women from each section earned berths into the Intercollegiate Singles Championships.

In Allentown 102 men and 31 women competed. In the men’s division, Timothy Pfeifer (Robert Morris University) took top honors followed by Jason Weaver (Penn State University), Dan Jernagan (Ferris State University) and Stephen Alessi (University of South Florida). In the women’s division, Leigh Pratt (Western New England College) claimed the top spot. She was followed by Desiree Lee (Erie Community College), Heather Grundke (Mohawk Valley Comm. College) and Marissa Martinek (Morehead State University).

In Chattanooga 96 men and 74 women competed. George Juszczyk (Saginaw Valley State University) earned top honors followed by Kevin Andes (Vincennes University), Michael McGreevy II (Vincennes University) and Daniel Hannagan (Tennessee-Chattanooga). Jaime Foster (Pikeville College) earned the top spot followed by Mindy Pancoast (Virginia Tech), Kayla Bandy (Pikeville College) and Ashley Stahurski (Pikeville College).

At St. Clair Bowl 96 men and 54 women competed. Michael Romano (Wichita State University) claimed the top honor in the men’s division. He was followed by Nick Thomas (Western Illinois University), E.J. Parks (Lindenwood University) and Will Barnes (Wichita State University). For the women, Emily Maier (Wichita State University) earned the top spot. Rounding out the top four were Rebekah Diers (McKendree College), Elysia Current (Wichita State University) and Valerie Klaas (Grand Valley State University).

At the Las Vegas section 72 men and XX women bowled. P.J. Haggerty (Fresno State) claimed the men’s title followed by Daniel Farish (Lindenwood University), William Haverland (West Texas A & M University) and Cayson Coyle (Nevada-Las Vegas). The women’s title was claimed by Brandy Silva (West Texas A & M University). Rounding out the top four were Jennifer Ridilla (Lindenwood University), Karen Rosprim (California State-Fresno) and Amanda Sharshel (Newman University).

Those who advanced from singles competition will travel to Huntsville, AL in late May to compete for the Intercollegiate Singles Championships Titles.

2007 Intercollegiate Team Championships

By: John Janawicz

Center: Northrock Lanes

Location: Wichita, KS

Conditioner: Infinity

Cleaner: Kegel Defense-C @ 5:1

Pins: AMF Amflite II

Machine: Kegel Kustodian ION

Pinsetters: Brunswick A-2

Surface: Brunswick Armor Plate (20 years old)

I arrived in Wichita on Tuesday April 17th after just getting back from the USBC Women’s Championship setup in Charlotte only four days prior. It was good to go back to Wichita where I was met with a lot of familiar faces such as the head mechanic Don Gardner and general manager Mike Light. They have not only held this tournament but numerous PBA stops over the years along with the USBC Women’s Tournament three years ago. This staff is pretty experienced with big tournaments. It was also great to work with one of the finest tournament staffs ever: The Intercollegiate Team Championships staff. This staff headed by USBC Collegiate’s Jeanne Klescewski is one of the most enjoyable and helpful crews I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with.

The tournament was Sport Sanctioned meaning the oil pattern would have to meet the 3:1 ratio or less. There weren’t any parameters of what type of pattern to be used, so we thought we would try one of the PBA Experience patterns since we ran the Shark pattern for the Intercollegiate Singles Championship Qualifiers at Sectionals. The committee thought maybe starting with one of the medium patterns would be good so when I got there I started with the base Scorpion at 41 feet. The volume seemed about right but it played quite tight at the backend of the lane and the ball reaction seemed a little tougher than I thought it would be. Don had mentioned that when they tried oiling farther than 40 feet, the backends got a little flaky and I could see it. Knowing that, I tried the base Chameleon which has pretty similar load structure as the Scorpion; it is just two feet shorter. Ball reaction was much more predictable but I was concerned about the volume being enough since the surface is pretty old. We added an 8-7 going forward which brought the volume to just over 24 mls. It still may be not enough but since we are oiling for both the men and women, we don’t want to make the volume too high for the women. Pin carry at Northrock Lanes is phenomenal in my opinion so scores shouldn’t be too low.

Congratulations to the Saginaw Valley State Men’s and Wichita State Women’s Teams on their respective victories. Both of these teams bowled the best all week and this was Saginaw’s second consecutive National Championship and this ended a 12-year drought for the WSU Women as hard as that is to believe for that program.

I would like to give another special thanks to the ITC Collegiate Staff and all of the staff at Northrock Lanes. This is the fourth ITC Nationals that I’ve worked and it is by far my favorite tournament to do lane maintenance for. I also had a great time at the Scotch and Sirloin restaurant after the tournament. We miss you Andy (Van Remortal); hope you make it next year when we come back to Wichita. I hope it works out where I can come back again next year.

2007 USBC Queens

By: John Janawicz

Center: AMF Carolina Lanes

Location: Matthews (Charlotte), NC

Conditioner: Kegel Infinity

Cleaner: Kegel Defense-C @ 5:1

Pins: AMF Amflite II Glow

Machine: (2) Kegel Kustodian ION

Pinsetters: AMF 82-90XL

Surface: AMF HPL (14 and 6 years old)

I arrived in Charlotte on April 25th. I felt like I was just here. Actually, I was just here two weeks ago setting up lanes for the Women’s Championships. They moved the dates back where the Queens is now closer to the beginning of the tournament as opposed to the end of the tournament like it was last year in Reno. I was there two days ahead of time to set up the pattern. I liked Charlotte when I was there a couple of weeks ago. Nice city, but the traffic was kind of bad for a city of its size.

Since the Women’s Championships are going on during the daytime, the only time that we have to work on the pattern and run machines is at night after the last squad gets done...at about 11:30 PM. Since the lane crew has to start oiling lanes about 5:00 AM for the morning squad, it only allows for about a 5 ½ hour window to actually do the pattern testing and taping to make sure that it is Sport Compliant and that it plays reasonably well. I was working with USBC’s Eric Pierson this week. This was my first time working with Eric even though we were on the same lane crew as well as roommates for the ’98 ABC Tournament in Reno.

I had done the original setup for the Women’s Championships here two weeks ago, so it hasn’t exactly been a long time since I’d been back. This is kind of a unique center in that the center was an old Lowe’s Home Improvement building and it’s built in a “U” shape with lanes 1-36 being 14 years old and back to back and the last 20 lanes at the bottom of the “U” added on 6 years ago. The new addition to the center (37-56) seemed to play tighter, especially toward the outsides. This is the section where the TV pair would be at. Pin carry was pretty good overall.

We had basically two nights to develop the pattern and make sure it was going to fall into Sport Compliance even though we worked on a prototype when we were here two weeks ago which played pretty decent. After bowling on the pattern, it seemed to play well straighter around 5-6-7 and also from about 15-8 with a little less ball speed. The USBC Senior Queens was going to be held at the same time at Norcross Lanes but they were going to be using the regular USBC Women’s Championship pattern, so there was no pattern development needed on their end.

Ball reaction looked pretty good during qualifying. The ladies played all over the lane but most of them seemed to settle in the track. Outside didn’t look bad, but it just didn’t develop with the varied cross-traffic. The best reaction appeared to be inside or outside of the track as qualifying wore on with more of the women opting for the inside line. As the tournament got into the match-play portion after multiple re-oils it seemed like the inside angle deteriorated and the 5-6-7 angle really showed up.

Congratulations to Kelly Kulick and Lucy Sandelin for winning the Queens and Senior Queens respectively. It was nice visiting Charlotte, but it’s time to head home to watch the World Ranking Masters being held at the Kegel Training Center. Good to be home…

USBC ADOPTS LANE HARDNESS SPECIFICATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 4, 2007. GREENDALE, Wis. - The United States Bowling Congress has added a new specification relating to the hardness of a synthetic lane surface.

All new synthetic surfaces submitted to USBC for testing and approval must meet a minimum Sward Hardness reading of 35. All samples not meeting a minimum average of 45 will require additional samples. All previously approved surfaces currently in play remain certified by USBC. A Gauge R & R study, a statistical method recommended by the American Society for Quality, was used to determine the minimum limits. The specification, recently approved by the USBC Equipment Specifications and Certification Committee, goes into effect immediately. This is the first time USBC or its predecessor organizations have developed a specification for the hardness of a lane surface.

"The Sward hardness test is a simple yet unique test that inherently includes things like surface friction and bowling ball footprint size in its' readings,” said USBC Technical Director Neil Stremmel. The specification is a result of a new testing procedure developed by the USBC Specifications and Certifications team. USBC research engineers use a Gardner/Sward Hardness Rocker to test lane samples to determine compliance with the new specification. The instrument is a metal, wheel-shaped device that is four inches in diameter – and it rolls back and forth on a lane sample. The cycles are electronically determined and registered on a liquid crystal display monitor to obtain a hardness reading.

Approval of the synthetic lane hardness specification comes on the heels of USBC's June 1 implementation of a new testing method and specification for the outer materials of bowling pins. USBC research engineers use an optical instrument with a computer interface - a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer - to measure and identify the chemical structure of bowling pin materials (pin cover stock, clear coat and pin base) sent annually to USBC by various bowling pin manufacturers. Only bowling pins meeting USBC specifications through this test will be approved and allowed in USBC-certified competition.

"By initiating these testing procedures and setting new specifications, USBC is leading the charge to further ensure the standardization of key equipment and playing field elements that are a major part of the sport of bowling. Further steps are in progress,” Stremmel said.

The United States Bowling Congress, as the national governing body, ensures the integrity and protects the future of the sport, provides programs and services to nearly three million adult and youth members and enhances the bowling experience.

The USBC Equipment Specifications and Certification testing facility is the world’s premier bowling research center. Within the eight-lane center in a climate-controlled building, team members regulate and standardize bowling equipment by concentrating on pin and product testing, research work, bowling center certifications and lane dressing inspections. The team of engineers, technicians and support staff provides lane-conditioning support for a variety of tournaments and Sport Bowling events.

Membership Report

We have members in all 50 states, and the District of Columbia

We have members in 49 countries, including the United States:

Argentina Australia Bahrain Belgium Brazil Canada China Columbia Costa Rica Denmark Ecuador Egypt Finland France Germany Great Britain Greece Guam Guatemala Ireland Israel Italy Japan Korea Latvia Malaysia Mexico The Netherlands N. Ireland Netherlands Antilles

New Zealand Panama Philippines Puerto Rico Peru Qatar Scotland Singapore Slovenia South Africa Spain Sweden Switzerland Thailand Turkey U.A.E. Ukraine Venezuela

Corporate Sponsors

The problems that exist in our Sport are “industry-wide” problems that must be addressed by the entire Industry. The Foundation does all that they can to help, but we can NOT do it alone.

The Foundation has well over 1000-Members who have joined-in to assist. Some Members (Founding and Charter) have paid to show their support. Some Members (Associates) have just lent their “voice”. ALL of the members are important.

Even though The Foundation has NOT actively solicited bowling-related companies for help, some realize the importance of our “Mission” and have come forward with donations. We recognize the following companies for their loyalty and support to bowling.

KEGEL

KAT Travel

I.B.P.S.I.A.

EBN Services

Storm Bowling

Classic Products

Bobs’ Business, Inc.

Vincennes University

BowlersParadise.com

Virtualtournaments.com

Wichita State University

David Driscoll & Associates

International Bowling Industry Magazine

Stars and Strikes Bowling Newsmagazine

_________________________________________

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The Foundation

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Phone: 863-382-2643

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Cornerstone Newsletter - July 2007