Foundation Games IX

May 2002  PBA Midwest Regional  Madison, WI  ( At Bowl-A-Vard )

1.  Steve Jaros, Bolingbrook, Illinois
2.  Mike Sopper, Schaumburg, Illinois
3.  Jeff Smith, Little Falls, Minnesota

For the second consecutive year, the unique Foundation Games "format" was implemented at the beautiful and hospitable Bowl-A-Vard Lanes, for a PBA Midwest Regional tournament. Once again, this particular event was a tremendous success. And, once again, Steve Jaros displayed his ability to dominate a star-studded field to become the only 2-time Foundation Games champion and successfully defend the coveted title he held from the previous year.

The top-5 players in this year's step-ladder finals possessed a near record of 77-PBA titles, surpassed only by last year's total of 85. Jaros' total domination of the field is a credit to his great physical and mental game that has rewarded him with 25-PBA Regional titles, along with 3-more on the PBA National Tour. When asked why he did so well here, Jaros said, "This type of tournament is like a Major on Tour. It is very tough and it makes you think and focus more. Concentration is a big part of bowling on demanding lane conditions, and I really like that."

Tournament Summary

Day One: Friday.  Foundation Official Len Nicholson met with Regional Director John Weber, Regional lane man Rory Holland, General Manager Bill Pounders, Jr., Head Mechanic Mike Gannon, Jim O'Reilly from Bob's Business and other staff members from Bowl-A-Vard Lanes. The in-depth meeting was to go over the entire timeline of the 3-day procedure for the tournament. Exact lane oiling patterns were previously developed at Kegel by John Janawicz, Norm Titus, Billy Guthrie and Jon Binger. Bob Hileman, who transports the machine for the Region, was also on-hand to further help teach Holland on the intricacies of the lane machine.

The lanes were double stripped and the prescribed patterns were applied for the Official practice session. Two different patterns were applied in the 40-lane center. Lanes 1-20 were conditioned with the "short" pattern which was to a total distance of 32-ft., and the volume was 18.45mL. Lanes 21-40 were oiled "long" to a distance of 44-ft. with the exact volume of 21.49mL per lane.

The practice session went from 2-5pm with the players being able to experiment with their equipment where and when they wanted to on the 2-different patterns. The actual tournament field was full with 80-competitors (along with some stand-bys), and about 50 of the 80 entrants were on-hand for the practice session.

Day Two.Saturday. After roll-call, Nicholson addressed the players with a short, informative "seminar" on why lanes play differently each day - even though they are "done" the same. After his explanation, he then presented "The John Davis Award" to a very surprised John Weber. The Award goes each year to a Foundation Member who exemplifies devotion to the sport of bowling and works diligently for the betterment and advancement of the game. The beautiful trophy was his to keep, while a perpetual plaque will be on display at the Kegel Training Center.

The entire field of 80-players were all on the same squad and bowled their first 5-games of qualifying on the "short" pattern. Jaros started with a below "par" game of 170, but then found a way (as he usually does) with 2-games of 279 in the next four, to end up with a total of plus 185 for his 5-games, a 237 average. Second place was plus 94 and 16th place was a mere, plus 39.

The players then took a break for lunch and the lane crew cleaned off the "short" pattern before applying the next test; that being the "long". This would be 5-more games of qualifying before cutting the field to the top-16, who would return on Sunday for the match-play finals which would consist of 16-games on both the "short" and the "long".

The "long" pattern saw the scores get a little higher, as the players were able to use more aggressive equipment, thus enhancing their pin-carry. Pete Argo zoomed to the lead (from 7th place) with a truly impressive 5-game total of plus 197 - a brilliant 239-plus average. 16th place went to Mark Johnson with a score of plus 88, a 10-game average of 208.

Day Three: Sunday.

The lane crew arrived at 5:00am and once again double-stripped the lanes. This day called for both patterns to be put out as this would further challenge the players throughout match-play by going from match-to-match on the different volumes and distances.

Jaros quickly jumped back into the lead and easily maintained a 200-pin lead (or more) throughout the day. However, the race for the other top-5 positions flip-flopped game-to-game between several other very talented players.

Top-5 - Stepladder Finals

Match #1 pitted together two of the most talented southpaws in the Region, Jeff Smith with 3-PBA titles, against the veteran Brad Snell who owns 22-titles. Smith, by virtue of being the higher qualifier of the two, had his choice of what pair to bowl Snell on, and decided on the "long". Smith, in a see-saw battle, needed a strike in the 10th to win and he got it, winning 210-205. Match #2 saw 18-time PBA titlist (and former Foundation Games champion) David Traber, take Smith to the "short" pattern and that proved to be a costly mistake, as Smith fired an almost perfect 258-game to Traber's 221. Match #3 brought in recent Regional champion Mike Sopper, who had the only 300-game of this year's tournament. Sopper wanted to bowl Smith on the "short" but NOT on the pair that Smith just won on. They moved pairs and Smith rolled yet another 258-game, only to be denied by 5-time champion Sopper who had an impressive 275.

The championship match saw Jaros take Sopper to yet another pair on the "short", where he started with the first 7-strikes before leaving the 4-7-10 split. Jaros finished with 252 to Sopper's 226. This was Jaros' 25th Regional title and 2nd Foundation Games Championship.

The tournament was hailed as a huge success and plans to do it again next year were already being seriously discussed by PBA officials and Bowl-A-Vard Lanes management. Rumor has it (from a reliable source), that someone saw Steve Jaros already give John Weber his entry fee.