Foundation Games I

July 2000  PBA Southern Regional ( At Kegel )

1. Pete Dohan, Tampa, Florida
2. Joe Fulner, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
3. Jim Lewis, Waldorf, Maryland

Sebring, Florida: The Foundation is a group of dedicated bowling enthusiasts who are determined to make the Sport Of Bowling what it was intended to be: a challenge. It has been determined by those who know the most about the problems, that a bowler should be challenged in the following manner:

A. Accuracy. B. Power. C. Repeatability. D. Versatility.

With "those" priorities in mind, The Foundation has administered a series of events called: The Foundation Games. A total of five (5) "prototype" tournaments have been held, all with some degree of success. The word of these experiments has gotten around, with interest being shown on the National and International bowling scene.

Harry O'Neale, long-time PBA Southern Regional Director, contacted The Foundation about the possibility of running a Foundation Games tournament in his Region. Mr. John Davis, President of Kegel and Foundation Co-Founder, welcomed the idea and sponsored the event at The Kegel Bowling Center on July 14-16, 2001.

A field of 54-bowlers competed in the inaugural event. Bowlers could use any type of bowling balls that they wanted, as long as they were previously approved by the PBA. However, the lane conditions were 3-different patterns. Therefore, the choice of equipment was extremely important. There were 3-squads of qualifying. One squad faced a 50-foot pattern with 23.6 mL of oil. The next squad bowled on a 40-foot pattern with 11.3 mL of oil. The 3rd pattern was very short (30-feet), with 6.3 mL.

When the dust settled, Pete Dohan emerged as champion, earning $2500.00. Second place went to Joe Fullner who earned $1300.00. Third place was Jim Lewis who earned $900.00. In addition to the cash prizes, Medals were also awarded, with 1 st place receiving Gold; 2 nd place receiving Silver, and 3rd place receiving Bronze. Dohan is now recognized as the first "Official" Foundation Games champion and will be invited to compete in the International Foundation Games Championship to be held at a later date.