Cornerstone Newsletter, December 2008

June Davis — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:39:44 GMT

“One World, One Game”®
The Foundation

The Cornerstone

The Foundation Newsletter

Volume 11, Issue 12 December 2008

"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?"

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Letter from the Editor

Holiday Greetings

I can’t believe it but another year is already coming to a close. It seems like just a short time ago, I was throwing a New Year’s Eve party to celebrate the New Year. Now, I’m planning my trips for the holidays and trying to figure out a way to squeeze in my annual trip to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. It hardly seems like it should be time for Thanksgiving and Christmas already. I guess it really is true; the older you get, the faster time seems to fly by.

For my family, Christmas is about spending time together, watching the excitement of my young nephews as Christmas approaches and enjoying a holiday meal that would easily persuade you to forget any previous vows to weight-watching. Since we are separated by many miles and it is often difficult for us to visit, the holidays are really the only time we get to spend together. And even though it is hectic, we make the most out of the short time we get to spend together. It’s always nothing short of an adventure.

During our holiday visit, we always seem to revisit memories of the past; memories like cutting down our own Christmas trees, putting milk and homemade cookies out for Santa, making our own fudge and eggnog, watching Grandma make her homemade fruitcake (which I still cannot eat!). The memories just seem to flow and they always bring a smile to our faces.

No matter what your holiday traditions, as the year comes to a close, I hope that you can take the time to truly enjoy your holiday season. Cherish your family and friends and the memories you have made. Take time out to enjoy life. Visit with family and friends; relive fond memories while making cherished new ones. May your house and your heart be filled with the warmth of the holiday season.

From our Family to Yours:

May your holiday season bring you bountiful blessings, warm new holiday memories and happiness for the year to come.

Happy Holidays!

Declines in Ten-Pin Bowling Performance with Advancing Age

By: Joe Slowinski

A study published in the journal Age and Ageing, in October 2007, reveals that performance declines in bowling at an elite level are far less than other sports. Specifically, over a 50 year period, an elite (professional and master) bowler’s performance will decline approximately 8%, far less than the norm of a 10% performance decline with each additional decade of a person's life with sports requiring significant cardiovascular endurance and muscular strength. And, the research confirmed that elite bowlers can maintain their best performances through the age of 45 where performance declines are first seen. This study demonstrates how important skill and technique are in the sport of bowling and that bowling is a sport that bowler’s can be competitive over a lifetime. Click to read more about this important study.

Researchers Allison Elizabeth Devan and Hirofumi Tanaka, of the Department of Kinesiology and Health at the University of Texas, analyzed scoring data of 147 elite bowlers. Scores and ages were collected from the 2002 PBA World Championships and the 2002 Senior World Championships. Only bowlers whose age could be determined were used in the analysis. Ages were found on the PBA web site or through an Internet search.

In an effort to determine a relationship between aging and performance, a correlational and regression analysis was completed. In short, this explores a mathematical relationship between two variables. Through such an analysis, researchers explore how a dependent variable changes (scoring) as an independent variable (age) changes. In this case, the researchers are determining how dependent performance (scoring) is on age.

Researches found that approximately 40% of the decline in performance can be attributed to age. Yet, the decline in performance was less than 10% over a 50 year period. Specifically, from the age of 20 to 70, the average decline in performance was actually 8%, or from 216 to 188. This is significantly less than the decline in other sports which normally sees a performance decline of 10% each decade older an individual becomes. Bowling performance declined in a curvilinear fashion.

The good news revealed in the study was that elite performance was maintained through approximately 45 years of age. This correlates well with the high performances of elite professionals like Pete Weber and Walter Ray Williams Jr. and others who continue to perform well on the PBA Tour well into their 40s. Compared to other sports, which depend on cardiovascular endurance and muscular strength, bowling skill is dependent upon skill and technique. With these findings, it demonstrates that some sports can be played at a high level throughout a lifetime. The rate of performance decline in bowling is far less than other skill-based tasks performed by older adults. Specifically, skill and technique is important in the sport of bowling.

PBA Points Leaders (2007-2008 Season), By Points as of February 5, 2008

BOWLER	POINTS (as of Feb 5)	AGE
1 Walter Ray Williams	159,761.50	48 (10/6/1959)
2 Patrick Allen	146,630.00	37 (9/23/1970)
3 Chris Barnes	145,141.17	37 (2/25/1970)
4 Wes Malott	138,633.50	31 (10/26/1976)
5 Parker Bohn III	118,454.00	44 (7/13/1963)
6 Mike Scroggins	116,820.50	43 (3/12/1964)
7 Sean Rash	108,383.00	25 (8/22/1982)
8 Michael Haugen Jr	102,781.67	41 (12/29/1966)
9 Mika Koivuniemi	102,289.50	40 (4/6/1967)
10 Danny Wiseman	101,468.00	40 (9/24/1967)
11 Chris Loschetter	101,234.00	27 (5/24/1980)
12 Pete Weber	100,822.00	45 (8/21/1962)
13 Rhino Page	99,085.50	25 (July 10, 1983)
14 Tommy Jones	92,201.00	29 (11/2/1978)
15 Steve Jaros	92,015.50	42 (8/24/1965)

U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN SHIFTS TO LAS VEGAS IN 2009

By: Lucas Wiseman; USBC Communications

ARLINGTON, Texas - The U.S. Women's Open, a United States Bowling Congress event, will return in 2009 and will be held in conjunction with the World Tenpin Bowling Association World Women's Championships in Las Vegas.

For the third consecutive year, the U.S. Women's Open will feature five television shows on ESPN, with the air dates to be announced at a future date. The event is scheduled to be held Aug. 3-9 at Sunset Station Hotel and Casino's Strike Zone Bowling Center in Las Vegas.

The U.S. Women's Open will immediately follow the World Women's Championships, which will be hosted on the USBC Open Championships lanes at Cashman Center from July 27-Aug. 2.

"The ability to tie these two events together is a big plus because it will allow for a field of the best female bowlers in the world," said USBC Chief Operating Officer Kevin Dornberger, who is also president of the WTBA. "There is so much talent not only here in the United States but also internationally that it will be compelling competition."

The format for the U.S. Women's Open will also slightly change in 2009. Participants will bowl three eight-game qualifying blocks over three days (Aug. 4-6) before the field is cut to the top 25 percent, who will bowl an additional 16 games on Aug. 7. The top 12 players then advance to the televised, single-game, match-play portion with the top four players receiving a first-round bye directly into the quarterfinals.

"We talked to a number of bowlers after this year's U.S. Women's Open and made changes they wanted to see," USBC Vice President of Media Pete Tredwell said. "There is now an incentive to be among the top four players after the qualifying portion concludes. This change also allows for a smoother television show as there will no longer be simultaneous matches."

The U.S. Women's Open, which has an entry fee of $300, is open to any USBC female member and features a prize fund of $150,000, with $25,000 going to the champion.

For more information on the U.S. Women's Open, visit bowl.com.

Team USA's Derek Eoff wins World Cup title

By: Matt Cannizzaro; USBC Communications

HERMOSILLO, Mexico - Team USA's Derek Eoff of Greenfield, Wis., struck his way into the record books at the 2008 QubicaAMF World Cup on Friday and will bring the coveted cup home to the United States for the second consecutive year.

On the way to a 2-1 win over Sweden's Martin Larsen at Bol 300, Eoff rolled games of 221, 279 and 278 for a 778 series, the highest three-game set in a World Cup championship round.

After dropping the opening game 229-221, Eoff rode the momentum of an emotional ninth and 10th frame roll-off (59-37) that decided Game 2 after a 279 tie and then struck 10 times to put the final game out of reach, 278-196.

"After the third frame of the first game, I changed to a ball that I hadn't thrown all week, and it turned out to be a pretty good guess," said Eoff, a two-time Team USA member and first-time World Cup participant. "I knew I had a really good reaction going into the second game, so it was just a matter of carry. When he kept striking, I knew I had to keep striking, too. When I won the second game the way I did, I knew I had the momentum going into the last game."

Eoff started the day slowly with three spares and a split in the first four frames, but quickly got lined in after a ball change. He struck seven times in the final eight frames of the first game and never looked back.

Larsen matched him strike for strike through nine frames in Game 2, including a Brooklyn strike along the way, and when Eoff left a 2 pin in the 10th frame, Larsen could've locked up the title with another strike. Instead, he left a 10 pin and struck on his fill ball to force the roll-off.

"When I first got involved in youth bowling, I never would've believed that someday I would be bowling for the World Cup," said Eoff, a Sport Bowling Coordinator for the United States Bowling Congress. "This is a dream come true and feels absolutely amazing."

Last year, nine-time Team USA member Bill Hoffman of Columbus, Ohio, became the first American man to win the World Cup since 1995. Eoff's title marks the ninth win for the American men and the 17th overall title for the United States.

On the way to the championship match Friday, Larsen posted a 2-1 win against No. 3 Zulmazran Zulkifli of Malaysia. Larsen won the opening game 203-187, split twice and lost the second game 237-180 and bounced back to win the final game, 249-187.

On the women's side, Jasmine Yeong-Nathan of Singapore struck 20 times on the way to a 2-0 win over defending champion, Ann-Maree Putney of Australia, and will bring the World Cup back to Singapore for the first time.

Yeong-Nathan, who rolled one of five perfect games at Bol 300 this week, started the first game of the championship match with nine consecutive strikes before a 4-6-10 ended her run at perfection, but a 263-222 win gave her the momentum in the match.

The second game looked a lot like the first as Yeong-Nathan opened with 11 strikes on the way to a 298-215 victory. The 20-year-old right-hander left the 2-5 on her final shot. The previous high game rolled in the women's stepladder finals was 280, shot by Putney in 2007.

"I just came here to bowl my game and do my best, and winning is a great bonus," said Yeong-Nathan, a two-time member of Team Singapore. "I took it one shot at a time, but it was great because everyone loves strikes. I feel really happy right now."

With a win, Putney would've been the first woman to win back-to-back titles since Jeanette Baker Finch, also from Australia, did it in 1982 and 1983, and would've become the fourth woman to win two World Cups (Finch, Shannon Pluhowsky of the United States and Pauline Smith (Buck) of Great Britain).

Putney advanced to the final with a 2-0 win over England's Zara Glover, 246-219 and 248-202.

Pluhowsky, who won the event in 2002 and 2004 and was looking to become the first woman to win the coveted World Cup three times, rolled a 299 game during match play Thursday and finished sixth overall.

This year's World Cup featured 82 men and 63 women representing 85 countries. It was the event's second trip to Hermosillo, which also played host in 1994.

Friday's championship round was shown live on Mexican television and also aired live on Eurosport, the largest European sports satellite and cable network.

Stus, Kouros, Rothschild elected to USBC Hall of Fame

By: Bill Vint; USBC Communications

A veteran competitor on the lanes and two men who contributed to the enjoyment of the sport for others were elected to the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame by the USBC Hall of Fame Committee during its annual meeting Nov. 10.

Gene Stus of Allen Park, Mich., who competed mainly in the Detroit area until he reached his 50th birthday, was elected in the Veterans category after a highly successful career on the Professional Bowlers Association Senior Tour.

Tom Kouros of Deer Park, Ill., an internationally-acclaimed author and bowling instructor, and Lowell Rothschild, a Tucson, Ariz., attorney who played significant roles with the American Bowling Congress, International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame, and Maccabiah USA Sports for Israel organization, were elected in the Meritorious Service category.

These three, along with any others elected from the Superior Performance ballot that will voted upon in December, will be inducted during the USBC Annual Meeting in Reno, Nev., in late April.

Like so many before him, Stus, 68, caught the bowling bug as a 10-year-old pinboy, but at age 21, he had to make a career choice between bowling and job security with General Motors. He opted for General Motors and became an evening/weekend bowler while climbing the career ladder in the automotive industry.

It wasn't until he turned 50 in 1990 that the 6-foot-2, 240-pound Stus began showing the rest of the world what the Detroit bowling community already knew: This guy could play the game.

Despite potentially fatal heart health issues that had dogged him since age 29, Stus added 12 PBA Senior Tour titles to a resume that included three American Bowling Congress Championships titles and an ABC/Brunswick World Team Challenge championship. He was selected as PBA Senior Tour Player of the Year in 1992, the same year he became the first Senior Tour player to roll a nationally-televised 300 game.

"I'm shocked. It's a wonderful honor to be among the people who are in there. I'm speechless," Stus said.

Kouros' career blossomed from pinboy to competitor, proprietor, author and bowling instructor in his native Chicago where he founded the Institute of Professional Bowling Instruction and authored a pair of best-selling books: Par Bowling and Par Bowling: The Challenge. He has served as a columnist for Bowlers Journal International for more than 30 years and has personally coached some of the sport's top stars, both in the United States and internationally. Kouros will celebrate his 82nd birthday on Nov. 19.

"I'm tickled pink. I never thought I'd get in," Kouros said. "Guys like me are too outspoken; we rub some people the wrong way, but I've always been a guy who'd tell you if I thought your nose was too big. You do a lot of things and you don't know if they're appreciated. This wipes that whole slate clean. I'm very happy."

Rothschild had an impact on the sport after joining the ABC Board of Directors in the early 1960s. He was ABC's legislative chairman for 11 years leading up to his term as ABC President in 1977. As ABC President, he named the first ABC Education Committee and created the ABC Senior Tournament Committee.

Following his presidency, he joined the Bowling Hall of Fame and Museum Committee, assisted in site selection, and chaired an ad hoc group that raised more than $1 million in corporate sponsorships to build the St. Louis facility. Since 1997, Rothschild has played a central role in recruiting and fund-raising to send America's top Jewish bowlers - women as well as men - to the Maccabiah Games, the quadrennial Olympic Games for Jewish athletes.

"I was just overwhelmed. I was in tears," Rothschild said after his notification call from USBC President Jeff Boje.

At age 81, Rothschild is still a practicing attorney and is scheduled to bowl in his 46th USBC Open Championships in 2009.

The Hall of Fame Committee also selected six men and six women for the national Superior Performance ballot. These 12 candidates will be presented to a panel of veteran bowling writers and hall of famers for voting in December. In order to earn a place in the USBC Hall of Fame, candidates must be named on 70 percent of the ballots cast.

Candidates on the men's performance ballot are Del Ballard Jr., North Richland Hills, Texas; Marshall Holman, Medford, Ore.; Dave Husted, Milwaukie, Ore.; Amleto Monacelli, Barquisimeto, Venezuela; John Petraglia, Manalapan, N.J.; and Mark Roth, Fulton, N.Y.

Women's performance candidates are Dede Davidson, Buellton, Calif.; Shirley Levens, Titusville, Fla.; Wendy Macpherson, Henderson, Nev.; Jackie Mitskavitch, DuBois, Pa.; Michelle Mullen, Farmington Hills, Mich.; and Cheryl Robinson, Oceanside, Calif.

The USBC Hall of Fame was created in 2005 by merging the former ABC and WIBC Halls of Fame. With the three new inductees selected by the committee, there are now 372 members of the USBC Hall of Fame - 243 in Performance, 110 in Meritorious Service and 19 Pioneers.

Team USA adds 10 players to 2009 roster

By: Lucas Wiseman; USBC Communications

A star-studded cast of the country's top bowlers have been selected to join Team USA in 2009, completing half of the team's final roster.

A selection committee of United States Bowling Congress and Professional Bowlers Association representatives picked Walter Ray Williams Jr., Tommy Jones, Chris Barnes, Rhino Page and Patrick Allen to join the men's team. On the women's side, Tennelle Milligan, Lynda Barnes, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, Kim Terrell-Kearney and Wendy Macpherson were selected.

"There was such a deep pool of talent to choose from that this was really not an easy decision," Team USA head coach Jeri Edwards said. "We are very fortunate that many great players put their names up for consideration, and we look forward to the players we selected having great success in 2009."

All of the selected players were members of Team USA in 2008 and eight of the 10 saw action in international competition this year.

The five men were part of the Team USA contingent that won four gold medals at the World Tenpin Bowling Association World Men's Championships in Bangkok, Thailand.

Barnes, Dorin-Ballard and Macpherson, meanwhile, were a part of the team that swept the gold medals at the recent Pan American Bowling Confederation Women's Championships in Santiago, Chile.

Only certain players were eligible to be selected to join Team USA 2009 through the process that was just completed. The men were required to be exempt players on the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour, while the women must have been on Team USA at least once since 1998 and/or former Professional Women's Bowling Association/Ladies Professional Bowlers Tour members.

The selections only represent half of the final roster of 2009 Team USA players. All USBC members will have a chance to join the team by competing in the 2009 USBC Team USA Trials, which are scheduled to be conducted Dec. 15-19, 2008 at Sunset Station Hotel and Casino's Strike Zone Bowling Center in Las Vegas.

The top three men and top three women finishers at the Team USA Trials will earn automatic spots on Team USA while the National Selection Committee will pick two additional men and two additional women to join the team.

Team USA will represent the United States in several international events throughout 2009, including the WTBA World Women's Championships, the Pan American Bowling Confederation Championships, the World Games and the QubicaAMF World Cup.

For more information on the USBC Team USA Trials, visit www.bowl.com/teamusa.

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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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Cornerstone Newsletter, December 2008