Foundation Games XVII

Bruce — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 14:41:45 GMT

Foundation Games XVII

In conjunction with:

July 2003 World Ranking Masters Lake Wales, FL ( At Kegel Training Center )

1. Steve Jaros, Bolingbrook, Illinois
2. Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, New York
3. Andres Gomez, Columbia

Lake Wales , Fl. July 24-27, 2003 : In what was possibly the most important tournament in the history of bowling, the International Foundation Games Invitational Championships (IFG), lived up to its advance billing by producing perhaps the fairest and finest tournament ever held. Too often in our beloved sport, the words, "What Happened" is muttered by upset bowlers because of countless problems with lane conditions, formats, squad inequities and many other injustices that are heard at tournament sites - not only in this country, but all around the world.

In 1996, John Davis called together as many lane maintenance experts as possible to address the problems that were afflicting our sport. From that initial meeting, The Foundation was formed. Countless hours, days and months were dedicated to attack each and every feasible problem that bowlers encounter while competing. A total of 5 "prototype" events were held to fine-tune each and every problem, and then a series of 16 "official" Foundation Games tournaments were held.

The top 3 bowlers in each of those official tournaments were then invited to this prestigious world-wide event. To make the tournament even more influential, other world champions and amateur bowlers of the year were invited to compete. On the heels of the WTBA World Ranking Masters tournament at the new Kegel Training Center in Lake Wales , the IFG was contested. In order to fill the field of 48 international stars, many WTBA champion bowlers were invited to stay and compete. This was the first time in history that bowlers from all major organizations were to compete on "multiple lane conditions" and the unique Foundation Games "format".

Day One: Thursday July 24, 2003 : Practice Session and 1 st Day of Qualifying:

John Forst and John Janawicz, the two premiere lane technicians in the world, cleaned and oiled the 12 tournament lanes at 6:00am . The 3 patterns to be used in the tournament were applied, with lanes 1-4 being a short pattern; 5-8 being a long pattern; and 9-12 a combined pattern, with the left lane being long and the right lane being short. These "multiple patterns" were designed to put a premium on accuracy, power, shot-making and knowledge, with the end result being the player with the most versatility would most likely have the best opportunity of becoming the champion. This theory was borne out of the World Bowling Seminar that was hosted by WTBA President P.S. Nathan in Malaysia is 2000, and perfected by The Foundation in the ensuing years. The field of 48 was divided into 2-squads, "A" and "B". Each squad had one-hour to practice, with the lanes being cleaned and re-oiled between both squads. After both practice sessions were completed, the lanes were again treated for the start of the tournament. The first pattern was to be the short pattern which was to a distance of 32-feet. The all-important "Process Verification" was admirably performed for each and every squad throughout the tournament by Joyce Deitch and Hazel McCleary, highly respected WIBC and WTBA officials.

Day Two: Friday July 25, 2003 . The 2 nd Day of Qualifying: Once again "A" squad took to the lanes first, only this time they were faced with the challenge of the "long pattern", which was to a distance of 42-feet. After completing their 2 nd 6-games of qualifying, "B" squad came back to display their talents. As was the case throughout all of the 18-games of qualifying, the lanes were cleaned and oiled between squads, ensuring further equity.

Day Three: Saturday July 26, 2003 . The 3 rd and Final Day of Qualifying: Today was the day that most of the field had anticipated as being the most challenging, as all had bowled on a short and long pattern in their careers, but none had ever competed in a "major" such as this with a "combined" pattern to contend with. Focus and concentration was to play a major role if they were to be successful. At the completion of today's play (all having bowled 18-games on 3 different patterns - on the exact same lanes), the field of 48 was to be cut to the top 12 finalist.

RECAP: Day 1 1 st 6-games of qualifying for both A and B Squads. Short Pattern:

Jose Ferreira, Venezuela led the first day with a score of 1374 to win the Short Pattern "bonus" of $500.00. 2. Steve Jaros , USA , 1354; 3. Craig Tuholski, USA , 1333; 4. Andrew Cain, USA , 1308; 5. Liz Johnson, USA , 1306; 6. Mika Luoto , Finland , 1295; 7. Kendra Gaines, USA , 1277; 8 Tie. Pete Dohan, USA , 1274 and Lucy Sandelin, USA , 1274; 10. Mike Sopper, USA , 1273; 11. Andres Gomez, Colombia , 1256; 12. Bettina Lund , Denmark , 1247.

RECAP: Day 2 Totals after 12-games of qualifying for both A and B. Long Pattern:

Andres Gomez, Colombia won the Long Pattern "bonus" of $500.00 for his 6-game total of 1423 which featured games of 299 and 289 and propelled him from 11 th place yesterday, all the way to 2 nd today. 1. Jaros , USA , 2694; 2.Gomez, Colombia , 2679; 3.Dohan, USA , 2643; 4. Tuholski, USA, 2625; 5.Lai Kin Nogh, Malaysia, 2615; 6.Jeff Smith, USA, 2608; 7.Shalin Zulkifli, Malaysia, 2571; 8.Johnson, USA, 2567; 9.Sandelin, USA, 2559; 10.Dino Castillo, USA, 2558 (and he rolled a 300-game); 11.Luoto, Finland, 2536; 12. Ferreira , Venezuela , 2535.

RECAP: Day 3 Totals after 18-games of qualifying for both A and B. Mixed Pattern:

Jaros' sets the pace and wins the Long Pattern "bonus" of $500 for his 1387, 6-game series. For the 3 rd consecutive day, there were 6-bowlers off of "A" squad and 6 bowlers off of "B" squad in the top 12 that advanced to the Match-Play Finals. 1.Jaros, 4081; 2. Gomez, 3994; 3.Tuholski, 3935; 4.Johnson, 3923; 5.Dohan, 3919; 6.Smith, 3876; 7.Zulkifli, 3875; 8.Sandelin, 3832; 9.Castillo, 3804; 10.Kin Nogh, 3796; 11.Gaines, 3773; 12.Brad Snell, 3767.

Day 4: Sunday July 27, 2003 . The Match-Play Finals. 1-4 Short 5-8 Long 9-12 Mixed

The key this day was to advance to the exciting step-ladder finals, which was the top 3 positions. Jaros and Johnson (of PBA and PWBA fame), stayed in 1 st and 2 nd position throughout most of the match-play, but that all important 3 rd position was up for grabs. The steady play of WTBA star Gomez, earned him the right to challenge the lady pro in the first step-ladder match. Johnson, Foundation Games V Champion proved to be too strong as she won, 268-242. She then almost duplicated that score and soundly thrashed Jaros, 266-215. The Foundation "rule" for this championship (in fairness to the tournament leader), was that the leader would have to be beaten twice in order to earn the title. Jaros regained his form and won the title with a game of 268 of his own, to Johnson's 200 for the coveted title, the Gold Medal and the $7000.00 top prize.

The old phrase: "What Happened?" was never heard.

The new phrase is: "What's Next?".

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Foundation Games XVII