The Cornerstone
The Foundation Newsletter
Volume 12, Issue 9 August 2009
"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?"
The Foundation
“One World, One Game”
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Letter from the Editor
The “New” Bowl.com
By now you’ve probably seen the new website, www.bowl.com. It was released a few weeks ago. If you have yet to visit the new site, by all means, please go take a gander. If you have perused the new site, perhaps you’re experiencing some of the same issues that I am.
Let me preface my opinion by saying I realize that ALL new launches, whether it be a new product or a new website, have their respective issues. Nothing comes out perfectly on the first try. There will always be some “bugs” to work out of the proverbial system. That said I’d like to log my complaints…and my compliments.
Let me start with my issues so we can get the “bad news” out of the way first.
First, the website is slow to load. Unless you have a quick processor and a quick internet connection, the website just doesn’t load very quickly. I also dislike clicking on a link and having the link open in a new page or a new tab. I don’t want to have 10 browser pages or tabs open. Secondly, I can’t find half of what I’m looking for. I realize that all of the old “archived” news articles and tournament blogs may not be functional (or they may not be included at all) but I should be able to find current news. I looked for a link for the results from the Tournament of the Americas and was unable to find anything. Additionally, results from tournaments like the US Women’s Open weren’t updated in a timely fashion. Several times I clicked on round results only to find no results were posted. Lastly, as a bowler, I’d like to be able to check my league standing sheets and it seems a lot of that information disappeared. It’s like the info wasn’t loaded at all and leagues had to “reregister” in order to upload updates. Why do that in the middle of the league season?
Now to the positive changes; so we can end on a good note.
The website has a very sleek, modern look to it. I like the scrolling “flash” news articles. It changes daily and sometimes a couple of times per day so you can really stay on top of bowling news. I also like the recent headlines section on the main page. Here I can find a handful of the recent headlines and features from the past few days (or so). The “search for” feature at the top of the page is also quite nice. It’s a quick link to find a coach, member, tournament, etc. If you just want to verify an average, this is the place to go.
All in all, the new website certainly has potential. Though I wonder why the site was changed at all. I had no problems finding anything on the old site. I thought the old site was user friendly, easy to navigate and nice looking. The new site is nice looking too but I spend several minutes waiting for things to load and then several more trying to find what I’m searching for.
Do I like the new site? For me, the jury is still out.
Mark Estes wins $20,000 at The Summer Mini-Eliminator
South Point Casino, Las Vegas, Nev., USA (June 30 - July 4, 2009) -- In one of the most exciting finishes in the 16 year history of The Mini-Eliminator Mark Estes of Grapevine, TX came from 41 pins down in the 7th frame to defeat Gerardo Loredo of Mexico, 213-209.
Mark, the senior division champion, finished with six strikes to earn the $20,000 top prize and the champion’s trophy. Gerardo, who was the 205 and under champion, earned $10,000 for his second place finish.
Rounding out the final shootout was third place finisher Danny Inocencio, the 49 & under champion from College Station, TX, who rolled a 176 to earn $5,000.
The Mini-Eliminator also produced three other champions during the week.
Winning the three early bird tournaments, and the $1,000 top prize, were champions; Justin Veitch of St. Petersburg, FL, Rod McLean of Las Vegas, and Dan MacLelland of Saginaw, MI, who rolled a perfect 600 two-game series.
A total of 60 bowlers cashed in the Early Bird Tournaments which paid out $9,000 in prize money and attracted over 500 entries.
Mini-Eliminator attracted 355 bowlers which generated just under 1,000 entries. Eighty-eight bowlers made it to the finals which paid out over $100,000. Total prize money distribution for the week exceeded $150,000 and was paid out to 140 different bowlers from around the world.
Over 40% of the bowlers that entered cashed. This event’s entry count almost doubled last summer’s event and was even larger than the February Mini-Eliminator. During the week Columbia 300 staffers distributed balls to every competitor that attended. The Mini-Eliminator at South Point was presented by Columbia 300 and sponsored by Kegel and Artistic Impressions who is the official apparel company of the event. The dates for The Mini-Eliminator Winter Classic will be announced shortly.
Champion Crowned At U.S. Women's Open
By Lucas Wiseman; USBC Communications
LAS VEGAS - After undergoing back surgery in 1997, Tammy Boomershine of North Ogden, Utah, completed her long recovery Sunday by winning the 2009 U.S. Women's Open, a United States Bowling Congress event.
Boomershine defeated USBC Hall of Famer Carolyn Dorin-Ballard of Keller, Texas, 269-225, in the championship match at Sunset Station's Strike Zone Bowling Center. She earned $25,000 for the victory, which will be featured on a tape-delayed basis by ESPN for five consecutive Sundays at 2 p.m. Eastern beginning Sept. 13.
"It's so surprising to me to be in this position after all I've been through," Boomsershine said. "I'm truly honored to bowl against Carolyn, one of my best friends and one of the best bowlers ever, and to beat her for a major title is a huge accomplishment."
After earning Professional Women's Bowling Association rookie of the year honors in 1994 and finishing runner-up for player of the year honors in 1996, Boomershine won her first title since the back surgery derailed her career. And she nearly did so in dramatic fashion.
Boomershine had her sights set on a $100,000 bonus for a perfect game in the championship match, starting with eight consecutive strikes before a ringing 10 pin put an end to her bid for perfection.
"Once I let the ball out of my hand, I thought it would strike," Boomershine said. "I wanted to throw a strike more to end the match, but I was definitely thinking about that $100,000."
Dorin-Ballard could only sit and watch as Boomershine built a 40-pin lead after four frames. For Dorin-Ballard, it was her second career runner-up finish at the U.S. Women's Open. She also finished second in 2003 to Kelly Kulick.
"I'm proud of the way I bowled," Dorin-Ballard said. "It's a lot easier to lose when you know that you've bowled well. I'm at peace with what happened today."
In the semifinals, Dorin-Ballard started with six consecutive strikes before missing left and leaving a 3 pin in a 268-232 victory over Shannon Pluhowsky of Phoenix. Boomershine threw eight consecutive strikes starting in the third frame as she knocked off Missy Bellinder of Fullerton, Calif., 269-206.
Dorin-Ballard earned $15,000 for the second place finish, while Pluhowsky and Bellinder took home $8,500 as they shared third place.
The U.S. Women's Open will be televised on a tape-delayed basis starting Sept. 13 and continuing for five consecutive weeks at 2 p.m. EDT. The five television shows will feature the top 12 players in the field in their quest to win the U.S. Women's Open.
2009 U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN
At Sunset Station's laceName w:st="on">StrikelaceName> laceType w:st="on">ZonelaceType> laceName w:st="on">BowlinglaceName> laceType w:st="on">CenterlaceType>, Henderson, Nev.
SEMIFINALS
Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, Keller, Texas, def. Shannon Pluhowsky of Phoenix, 268-232
Tammy Boomershine, North Ogden, Utah, def. Missy Bellinder, Fullerton, Calif., 269-206
FINALS
Boomershine def. Dorin-Ballard, 269-225
A NEW ERA
The Professional Bowlers Association Tour is, by far, the most important and effective promotional vehicle in bowling. A new era in the PBA will feature 23 tournament telecasts slated for the 2009-10 season, beginning with the creation of the Lumber Liquidators PBA World Series of Bowling (WSOB). The WSOB will be held in the Detroit area and kick-off at longtime PBA host center, Taylor Lanes, Michigan.
This will mark the 1st time the PBA will spend an extended period of time in one city. Six events will be staged at Thunderbowl Lanes. This is a 90-lane facility featuring a unique setup for taping of the ESPN telecasts; as well as continuous online coverage of the PBA Tour’s live streaming video service “Xtra Frame” on pba.com. Thunderbowl Lanes features an arena that originally housed the Detroit franchise of the old National Bowling League and later catered to the Detroit All-Star bowling league.
The seven PBA championship events will air out what has been traditionally the first half of the PBA season from mid-October to early December 2009; Sunday afternoons on ESPN. The second half of the season, from January to April will feature live Sunday telecasts and travel to at least 10 cities across the country, including three major championships; USBC Masters, PBA Tournament of Champions, and the US Open.
In my estimation, the advantage of the seven-week stand in one location FAR outweighs the loss of tournaments in other areas, particularly from a financial standpoint. The savings in travel costs will be a financial boom to the PBA as well as the PBA players.
The WSOB is exactly what it implies. All events are open to professionals as well as amateurs. Amateurs may enter directly into the open event fields; (Motor City Open; PBA World Championship; PBA Women’s World Championship; and PBA Senior World Championship). Amateurs may also enter Lumber Liquidator’s PBA exempt Tour events; but must qualify through Pro Tour Qualifying Rounds. All amateurs who finish among the top 10 in the TQR’s will advance to the field of 72.
WSOB exempt events will consist of 41-players from the 2008-09 points list; 8-players from the PBA Tour Trials; 7-players from the PBA Reg. Players Invitational; 3-international players exemptions; 1-Golden Parachute qualifier; 1-player from a medical deferment in 2008-09; (Tommy Delutz) the 2008-09 TQR points list leader; and 10-players (including one amateur) that advance from the TRQs’.
One of the main features of the World Series of Bowling is the appearance of THREE two-handed-thumbless bowlers; Finland’s Osku Palermaa, Australia’s Jason
Belmonte, and former Team USA member, Cassidy Schaub. After a deal with the European Bowling Tour, the WSOB asked all international stars to apply for exemptions. They had dozens of applications and decided on three outstanding international players that included: Palermaa, the European Bowling Tour points leader; Tae-Hwa Jeong, a 10-time Korean PBA Tour winner as well as a five-time Japan PBA Tour titlist; and Amleto Monacelli, a 19-time PBA champion.
In addition to this, there were entries into WSOB events from players from Sweden, Denmark, and Russia. Add to this, Mika Koiveniemi of Finland and Jason Belmonte of Australia who are currently on the PBA exempt list. Stuart Williams from England and George Lambert from Canada qualified through the tour trials, thus establishing the WSOB as truly an international event.
The women’s World Series of Bowling consist of 12 players from their U.S. Women’s Tour Trials, six champions from 2008 and at least two players qualifying through TQR’s.
The capacity for the Motor City Open is 196 players. For the PBA World Championships the capacity is 200 entries. The maximum for the Senior World Championships is 140 and the maximum for the PBA Women’s Championship is 100.
There will also be eight side events and sweepers. Three side events with a $250 entry fee are restricted to amateurs and non-exempt PBA players. Five sweepers with entry fees of $100 and $80 are open to ALL players. All side action will go directly into the prize fund; no lineage fees or administrative fees will be deducted. In order to participate in any side event, a bowler must enter at least one of the main tournaments or any of the TQR’s . Each of the five sweepers will be contested on five different PBA lane patterns…Earl Anthony, Tournament of Champions, U.S.Open, Dick Weber and Shark.
I feel confident that the “new” PBA format will not only be successful, but with telecasts of the events aired internationally, it will increase TV ratings and create greater worldwide interest. It will surely inspire younger generations of aspiring bowlers.
The regular PBA tour featuring 64 exempt players will include numerous new bowlers and number of veterans who re-qualified. Two of the most notable players failing to gain exemption for the 2009-10 season were David Traber and Dave D’Entremont.
Bowlers who qualified for the 2009-10 season were; Dave Arnold, Mitch Beasley, Joe Ciccone, P.J Haggerty, Tim Mack, John May, Derek Sapp, Cassidy Schaub, Thomas Smallwood, Brian Waliczek, Lonnie Waliczek, Stevie Weber, and Troy Wollenbecker.
Although the “new” PBA look is a product of united and cooperative PBA employees, much of the credit must be attributed to Tom Clark, the deputy commissioner of the PBA. Clark, a former USA Today sports reporter, has demonstrated an uncanny ability to promote bowling as no other individual in recent years. He has been most instrumental in resurrecting women professional bowlers and did an excellent job in his short stint with the USBC. And now he is displaying the greatest promotional skills on the PBA staff since Eddie Elias founded the organization.
The PBA’s greatest coup of the 2009-10 season was the selection of Brian Voss as the Golden Parachute exemption. The choice of Voss, who failed to qualify for the 64-man exemption list, was a no-brainer. The former poster-boy of the PBA tour is a 24-time PBA champion and is fully capable of holding his own among the PBA touring players.
Meanwhile, the addition of several new faces, the re-qualification of a number of veterans and the initiation of the World Series of Bowling promises to make the 2009-10 PBA season one of the greatest ever!
(Rewritten with permission from a recent story by Hall of Fame writer, John Jowdy).
Korea Wins Team Gold at World Women's Championships
By: Matt Cannizzaro; USBC Communications
LAS VEGAS - For the second time this week, the bowlers from Korea stood atop the medal stand at the World Tenpin Bowling Association World Women's Championships and celebrated a hard-earned gold medal.
This time, they stood together as a team after defeating Team USA, 1,175-1,071, to win the five-player team event at laceName w:st="on">CashmanlaceName> laceType w:st="on">CenterlaceType> on Saturday night. Their previous win came in doubles two nights earlier.
"I feel incredibly proud and happy right now," Kim Yeau-Jin said. "We work so hard together, and team success is our biggest goal. It has been a long road, and this is a great prize."
Kim and Jeon Eun-Hee led the way in the championship match, each rolling 258 games, and they were followed by Son Yun-Hee (257), Hwang Sun-Ok (212) and Gang Hye-Eun (190). It was Hwang and Gang who claimed the doubles gold medal with a win over Australia's Carol Gianotti and Ann Maree Putney on Thursday.
The Korean team started Saturday with the highest three-game team effort in WTBA World Women's Championships history and never looked back. The group opened with 3,433 on the short oil pattern (WTBA Stockholm, 34 feet) and added 3,171 on the medium pattern (WTBA Athens, 40 feet) in the afternoon to earn the top seed with a record 6,604 six-game effort.
Team USA found itself in familiar territory after six games of team competition, qualifying second behind Korea with 6,451, but hoped the tournament's new format would work in its favor.
In previous years, the winners were determined by total pinfall, so instead of settling for a third-consecutive team silver medal without a fight, the format change gave Team USA a chance to battle for the gold.
After six qualifying games, the field of 35 teams was cut to the top four for head-to-head match play. Team USA defeated No. 3 Singapore, 1,035-934, in one semifinal, while Korea downed No. 4 Sweden, 1,041-974, in the other.
Korea struck early and often in the championship match, and Team USA couldn't gain any momentum. Liz Johnson led the way with a 259 game and was followed by USBC Hall of Famer Carolyn Dorin-Ballard (232), singles gold medalist Stefanie Nation (225), Kim Terrell-Kearney (189) and 12-time Team USA member Lynda Barnes (166). USBC Hall of Famer Wendy Macpherson helped the team to the semifinal win against Singapore.
"We did all we could do, and we just weren't supposed to win tonight," said Barnes, who earned her third-consecutive team silver medal. "Of course I'm disappointed, but we couldn't have worked any harder, and we couldn't have been any more prepared."
At the 2005 event in Aalborg, Denmark, Team USA finished 12 pins behind Chinese Taipei, and two years later in Monterrey, Mexico, it was silver again, just seven pins behind Malaysia. The last time the United States claimed the team gold medal was at the 1987 event in Helsinki, Finland.
This year's tournament marks the first time professionals are allowed to compete at the World Women's Championships, and competitors from 45 countries have competed in singles, doubles, trios and team so far this week. The final event is the Masters competition, which starts Sunday morning and includes the top 16 players in the all-events standings.
Colombia's Clara Guerrero won the all-events gold medal with a 5,330 total for 24 games and will lead the top 16 players beginning Sunday morning at 11 a.m. EDT. Sweden's Helen Johnsson claimed the silver medal with 5,278, and Dorin-Ballard won bronze with 5,195. Team USA's Nation and Johnson also qualified for Masters competition, finishing 10th and 12th, respectively. Competition will be broadcast live on bowl.com throughout the day.
2009 WTBA WORLD WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIPS (at laceName w:st="on">CashmanlaceName> laceType w:st="on">CenterlaceType>, Las Vegas)
TEAM
Gold medal: Korea
Silver medal: United States
Bronze medal: Singapore, Sweden
Semifinals
(1) Korea def. (4) Sweden, 1,041-974
(Hwang Sun-Ok 210, Gang Hye-Eun 208, Jeon Eun-Hee 226, Hong Su-Yeon 204, Kim Yeau-Jin 193; Malin Glendert 214, Nina Flack 192, Victoria Johansson 154, Veronica Lantto 196, Helen Johnsson 218)
(2) United States def. (3) Singapore, 1,035-934
(Carolyn Dorin-Ballard 186, Kim Terrell-Kearney 235, Wendy Macpherson 179, Stefanie Nation 189, Liz Johnson 246; Jasmine Yeong-Nathan 178, Bernice Lim 184, Cherie Tan 172, Shayna Ng 176, Jazreel Tan 224)
Final
(1) Korea def. (2) United States, 1,175-1,071
(Hwang Sun-Ok 212, Gang Hye-Eun 190, Jeon Eun-Hee 258, Son Yun-Hee 257, Kim Yeau-Jin 258; Carolyn Dorin-Ballard 232, Kim Terrell-Kearney 189, Lynda Barnes 166, Stefanie Nation 225, Liz Johnson 259)
ALL-EVENTS
Gold medal: Clara Guerrero, Colombia
Silver medal: Helen Johnsson, Sweden
Bronze medal: Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, United States
Top 20
(24 games; top 16 advance to Masters)
1, Clara Guerrero, Colombia, 5,330; 2, Helen Johnsson, Sweden, 5,278; 3, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, United States, 5,195; 4, Rikke Rasmussen, Denmark, 5,183; 5, Mai Ginge Jensen, Denmark, 5,165; 6, Krista Pollanen, Finland, 5,149; 7, Hwang Sun-Ok, Korea, 5,145; 8, Maki Nakano, Japan, 5,130; 9, Jeon Eun-Hee, Korea, 5,126; 10, Stefanie Nation, United States, 5,121;
11, Gang Hye-Eun, Korea, 5,108; 12, Liz Johnson, United States, 5,104; 13, Cherie Tan, Singapore, 5,100; 14, Son Yun-Hee, Korea, 5,093; 15, Putty Armein, Indonesia, 5,081; 16, Siti Safiyah, Malaysia, 5,078; 17, Tina Hulsch, Germany, 5,066; 18, Britt Brondsted, Denmark, 5,061; 19, Lisa John, England, 5,049; 20, Anja Ginge Jensen, Denmark, 5,043.
Recent Phantom Radio Trivia Contest Winners
Phantom Radio’s monthly Trivia Contests continue to be popular with the listeners and the list of ‘Phantom Phans’ continues to grow. The contests are sponsored by Storm Bowling and you must be a “Phantom Phan Club Member” to be eligible to win. It’s easy to join, just go to our website, at: www.foundation300.com and look for: How to join The Phantom Phan Club. Listed below are the most recent Phantom Phan Club winners. Sign-up today to win a Storm bowling ball, a Storm bowling bag, a Storm accessory item or, other Prizes.
July – August – Sept. - 2009
July – 2009
1. Art Johnson :Wins a Storm Accessory Item from Storm Bowling. Art, please contact me so that I can put you in touch with our friends at Storm Bowling. CONGRATS !!
2. Jon Wolfe: Wins a Carmen Salvino, Bobble-Head Doll and an autographed picture.
3. Mike Carroll: Wins a Souvenir Shirt from the popular Don Glover Masters Scratch tournament to be held later in the year.
4. Tom Smith: Wins a Souvenir “Carry Bag” from Bowl Expo 2009.
August – 2009
1. Dale Diamond: Wins a beautiful Bowling Bag from Storm Bowling. Dale, please contact me so that I can put you in touch with our friends at Storm Bowling. Congrats!!
2. Warren Friedl: Wins a Souvenir Shirt from the popular Don Glover Masters Scratch tournament to be held later in the year.
3. Don Schiele: Wins a Carmen Salvino, Bobble-Head Doll. This is a very nice item.
4. Allen Wallace: Wins a Kegel Shirt that he can proudly wear while he works on his game.
September – 2009
1. Jim Raudy: Wins a Storm Bowling Ball. Jim, please contact me as soon as possible so that I can put you in touch with our friends at Storm. Congratulations!
2. Kathleen Scoppettuolo: Wins a very popular Carmen Salvino Bobble-Head Doll.
3. Lonnie Senior: Wins a nice shirt from Kegel and The Foundation.
4. John Weber: Wins a nice shirt from Kegel and The Foundation.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THE TRIVIA CONTEST WINNERS.
It’s easy to join, we hope that you will - and we know you’ll be happy you did.
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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.
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BowlersParadise.com
Virtualtournaments.com
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David Driscoll & Associates
International Bowling Industry Magazine
Stars and Strikes Bowling Newsmagazine
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The Foundation
“One World, One Game”