The Cornerstone
The Foundation Newsletter
Volume 10, Issue 9 September 2007
"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
A PBA “Learning” Experience
Before I even begin, I would like to preface my thoughts and say I have a completely new respect for the upper echelon of athletes in our sport. While I knew that success did not generally come easily, I had no real idea of how difficult it must be to compete on some of the most difficult lane conditions and not only have success for one week but continue to find successes week in and week out.
Little did I know what I was actually getting into when I signed up for my PBA Experience league. I knew it would be tough but, as I have learned, tough is not the best choice of words. After consulting with my trusty thesaurus I would have to choose something more along the lines of excruciating, tortuous or inhuman. Let’s put it this way, I paid my penance with all my mistakes as did my fellow PBA leaguers.
Forgive me for sounding a bit callous as I am actually quite pleased with my overall experience. The league shots were difficult and demanding, often grueling and confusing, but nonetheless an opportunity to learn and grow as an athlete in our sport. And I approached the experience as just that. I knew going into this league that my inadequacies as a bowler would certainly become apparent; which of course, they did.
I embraced the PBA league, knowing that my weaknesses would shine like the lights over the Vegas strip. But I did not let that deter me from the experience. I approached each week with confidence and tried reverently to apply what I had learned in the previous weeks. I focused on each shot and applied myself mentally in a ways that I had not before. When I made a good shot, I was happy and when I made a less than good shot, I did not let that weigh me down. I left it at the line and moved on to the next shot.
This experience has been a tough one but it has also been a learning experience and a growing experience. I know if I ever expect to compete as more than a “house” bowler, I need to work on a few things in my game; most importantly, my spare shooting. But I also learned the importance of having fun. If it isn’t going to be fun for you, then it just isn’t worth doing.
Now my league is over and I look forward to working on my game and improving upon what I have learned so that next time I can compete at a higher level.
2007 ETBF European Men’s Championships
By: John Janawicz
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Location: Vienna, Austria
Conditioner: Kegel Offense HV
Cleaner: Kegel Defense-C @ 5:1
Pins: Twister
Machine: (2) Kegel Kustodian ION
Pinsetters: Brunswick A-2
Surface: Active Lane (@8 years old)
I arrived in Vienna on the morning of the 28th after the 9 hour and 12 minute flight from Atlanta to Vienna. I was picked up by Helmut Amstatter, the head coach of Team Austria. This is my fourth trip to Vienna as I have been here to do lanes for three of the last four EBT Vienna Opens. It’s always a pleasure to see Wolfgang Lohschmid, Thomas Tybl and all of my friends at the laceName w:st="on">PluslaceName> laceName w:st="on">BowlinglaceName> laceType w:st="on">CenterlaceType>.
When I was here in October I spent a couple of days setting up the patterns for this tournament after the Vienna Open. I worked with Germany’s Axel Frehde in October, who was the technical delegate for this tournament, in the design of these patterns then and I met with him on the morning of the 29th. We had set up the basic framework for the patterns in October. Now that it was the end of June we wanted to re-check the patterns to make sure they still looked alright.
While bowling on the patterns, the shape seemed pretty good but it seemed like there was more hook than what I remember from October. We do have a different conditioner (HV vs. Infinity) and the bowling center is a touch warmer than it was in October. I took the pump up from the 40 mic stream to 45 to keep the shape intact but just bring the overall volume up. Moving the pump to 45 mics brought the total volume of both patterns to just a touch over 22 and a half milliliters. Bowling on them afterward they looked the same, not really that much tighter but we figured the added volume would be better to help for durability.
Ball reaction looked pretty good during qualifying. The ladies played all over the lane but most of them seemed to settle in the track. Outside didn’t look bad, but it just didn’t develop with the varied cross-traffic. The best reaction appeared to be inside or outside of the track as qualifying wore on with more of the women opting for the inside line. As the tournament got into the match-play portion after multiple re-oils it seemed like the inside angle deteriorated and the 5-6-7 angle really showed up.
Congratulations to Thomas Gross and Thomas Tybl of Austria on winning the doubles, Jari Ratia, Kimmo Lehtonen and Joonas Jehkinen of Finland on winning the Trios, Osku Palermaa of Finland winning the All-Events, Sweden on winning the Team Event and Mads Sandbaekken of Norway on winning the Masters. Overall I thought it was a very good tournament with good left/right balance and decent scoring pace. I thought the scoring pace was a little higher than I thought it was going to be (looking at the pre-tournament inspection) but overall I felt the results were just fine.
I had a couple of extra days in Vienna after the tournament which was nice, but it was good to get home. Thanks once again to Helmut Schmekal and all of the staff at the laceName w:st="on">PluslaceName> laceName w:st="on">BowlinglaceName> laceType w:st="on">CenterlaceType> as well as Helmut Amstatter, Wolfgang Lohschmid, Thomas Tybl and fellow technical delegate Axel Fredhe for helping me with everything else regarding my end of lane maintenance operations to make my job much easier. I look forward to coming back in October for the 5th Vienna Open.
Women’s Bowling Back in the Lights
By: Brandy Padilla
It has been on hiatus since 2003 but the US Women’s Open is finally back in the lights. The USBC resurrected the Open after its four year sabbatical and paired with the PBA to offer a tournament within a tournament.
The US Women’s Open began August 13 at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada. More than 100 top level women athletes from around the world entered to compete in one of the most prestigious women’s bowling events. Additionally, the women could elect to enter the PBA Women’s Tour Trials. For an additional fee, women could use their scores from the four qualifying rounds to earn one of the 16 spots available for the PBA’s Women’s Tour, a mini series of sorts that will be held in conjunction with four Denny’s PBA Tour events during the 2007 – 2008 season. While full details of the four events are not known, the 16 women will be in a “mini tour” and the finals of each event will be televised as part of the ESPN telecast of the Denny’s PBA Tour event.
During the Women’s Open, competitors will bowl eight games on each of the following Denny’s PBA Tour patterns: Viper, Shark, Scorpion and Chameleon. At the end of 32 games, the field of more than 100 bowlers will be cut to the top 16. The top 16 then face the final Denny’s PBA Tour pattern, Cheetah, and a single elimination bracket. Bowlers will face one opponent with the winner of one game advancing in the bracket. During the first round of bracket play, the matches will be taped for airing on ESPN at a later date. Four total shows with three matches during each show. After the four airings, there will be four remaining winners. These winners will be flown back to Reno at a later time for a live airing of the semifinal and championship matches.
Those women that elected to participate in the PBA Women’s Tour Trials will also cut to the top 16 after the four rounds of qualifying. These women will then compete in mini tournaments at the following Denny’s PBA Tour events: 2007 Motor City Classic, 2007 Etonic Championship, 2007 Lake County Indiana Classic presented by United Way, and 2007 Great Lakes Classic.
As of this writing, Kelly Kulick is leading both the US Women’s Open and the Women’s PBA Tour Trials. She is trailed by Shannon O’Keefe, Wendy Macpherson, Michelle Feldman and Shannon Pluhowsky in the Women’s Open. In the Women’s Tour Trials, she is trailed by Wendy Macpherson, Michelle Feldman, Shannon Pluhowsky and Carolyn Dorin-Ballard.
It is so good to see women’s bowling getting back in the limelight; it has been away far too long. With last year’s Women’s Challenge at the Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas, women’s bowling got a much needed attention boost. Additionally, Kelly Kulick’s run during last year’s PBA Tour Trials which earned her the first woman’s exemption onto the tour put women’s bowling back on the map. Couple this with Kelly’s recent televised Queen’s win, Diandra Asbaty’s World Ranking Masters win and the US sweeping gold in the Pan-Am Games and I’d say women’s bowling is moving in a positive direction. It’s in the lights with the ESPN airings of both the Women’s Open and the PBA Women’s Tour Series which is exactly where it needs to be. I think people will tune in just to see what’s happening in women’s bowling and I for one cannot wait to tune in.
“I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR THE USBC.”
By Juette Holseth The Metro Bowler, publisher
The United States Bowling Congress (USBC) has plans to build a special Training Facility near their Research and Testing Facility. Why would the USBC want to build a facility like this when a very small number of people will use it? First, let’s take a monetary look at this question.
A new 8-lane center like this will cost about $2.5 million. That includes 8,000-10,000 sq.ft. at $225 per sq. ft., and about $500,000 for equipment (lanes, approaches, seating, machines etc.), plus CATS and other video equipment. Payment on $2.5 million (at 7% interest) will be about $15,000 + per month over 25 years. Add to that the salary and health benefits for coaches and a mechanic, utilities (gas, electricity, telephone, internet), lane maintenance (repairs, parts, oil, lane cleaner), insurance (general liability) plus other daily/weekly/monthly expenses.
If an off-the-street customer pays $200 per day to be coached by the best in the country - more than 15 paying customers per day would be needed - 365 days a year for the next 25 years! How many people will actually make use of this facility each a year? Oh, Team USA will travel to it perhaps 4- times annually (high estimate) for practice, coaching and preparation for upcoming national and international events. Their expenses (travel, lodging, food, etc.) would undoubtedly be paid by USBC because Team USA is our country’s bowling representatives. No income would come from that group of approximately 50 people (bowlers, coaches and related officials) - so their appearances at the facility cannot be counted as income because the money will be coming from USBC coffers. Therefore, the daily ‘cost of doing business’ remains the same.
Let’s be realistic. Minnesota bowlers are about 5-hours driving time from Milwaukee - a 2-day roundtrip. If they practice for 2-days - their trip becomes a 4-day adventure. How many of them will travel to Milwaukee each year - and pay to use the Training Facility at $200 per day? My guess is less than 30. Perhaps Illinois and Wisconsin could have a few more taking advantage of the facility - but bowlers from farther away will have higher travel costs and time expenses. How many total bowlers does USBC expect to use the Training Facility to pay for this building? Only the USBC knows that projected answer - but I don’t think they’re being realistic.
There is at least one option.
The Kegel Co. and John Davis have a tremendous 12-lane training facility at their office and plant in Florida where they manufacture state-of-the-art lane conditioning equipment and are well-known for technological advances within the industry. Their building has everything the Training Facility wants to install - and what’s not in place could be added. Davis is a strong supporter of bowling and would probably be glad to be part of this venture. He may even allow Team USA to practice there for little (or no) cost. The general public is welcome to use the Kegel facility with only a little advance notice.
Perhaps my assessment of the finances needed to build a center and keep it running are flawed - or could it be USBC’s zealous anticipation of how many paying bowlers will be passing through the doors? Either way, this will be a very costly venture for everyone who supports USBC in each and every way.
Of course, the USBC was the immediate recipient of $1 million in savings when they disbanded the Field Representative positions a few weeks ago. These men and women were the go-betweens for local associations/bowlers and national headquarters. The knowledge these people possess and the help they gave with one-on-one familiarity, will be sorely missed. It’s unfortunate - but USBC didn’t see a need for this type of customer service in its ranks.
In my humble opinion, the numbers just do not add up to a break-even business - and that’s what USBC must strive for as they are a registered non-profit entity.
Does Team USA’s current training (without an official facility) provide them with the necessary knowledge and expertise to win medals in international competition around the world?
YES - and they’re doing it consistently!
Does Team USA deserve the best coaching available? YES
Is there a more cost-effective way to accomplish this goal? YES
Our opinions will probably mean very little to the powers-that-be at the National level, but we have the right to express them. Remember, every league bowler will be paying for this facility through their sanctioning fees if the facility cannot get to a break-even point. It may be only a few cents from each bowler - but the money has to come from somewhere.
At some point in the future I may have to extend my apology for making incorrect assumptions about the financial stability of a bowling Training Facility when the venture proves to be successful without major corporate sponsorship (which has never been mentioned). Should I hold my breath and wait . . . ?
If you’d like to voice your opinion and perhaps ask USBC other questions about the facility- I suggest doing it as soon as possible. Write to USBC, 5301 South 76th Street, Greendale, WI ostalCode w:st="on">53129ostalCode> . Feel free to mention this editorial along with your positive or negative opinions to these USBC officials.
(NOTE: This article was edited for space and used with permission from Juette Holseth, who is the publisher of: The Metro Bowler. If interested, please contact her for the entire column).
Queen for a Day
By: Brandy Padilla
When I started writing my article last month regarding my Queens experience, I got a little side tracked and actually missed the point of what I had intended to say.
Queens was a tough decision for me all around. I had wanted to bowl for many months because it was close to home. Because of this, travel expenses would be minimal; no car rental, no airfare, no overweight or excess baggage charges. Just a moderate hotel room, some gas for my car and food costs (which I would have incurred no matter where Queens would have been). The fact that Queens was only a day’s drive away made it a very appealing option. Also, knowing that I could potentially visit my family in Virginia, there was some added appeal.
Unfortunately, as the months passed and the days drew closer, I found myself struggling with whether or not to make the journey. I had wanted initially for my coach to be able to go with me, for moral support and of course to help me during my journey. But, due to conflicts, that was not possible. I knew then, if I really wanted to do this, I would be doing it without my trusted extra pair of eyes. Additionally, most of my bowling friends were not going to be bowling so I knew that I was heading into unfamiliar territory with very few friendly faces to bring me comfort. It isn’t like Kelly Kulick, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard or Diandra Asbaty are close personal friends of mine. And let’s face it, in this arena; these are the sharks to beat so having a friendly relationship with any of them couldn’t hurt. What I am really trying to say is that I don’t know many people outside of my bowling circle so I wouldn’t have a lot of my friends with me to hang out with. Of course, there were people that I know that would be there so I would have a few friendly faces to hang with.
Knowing that there were some odds against me in that this was my first major tournament (as I’ve never even bowled the National events) and I wasn’t going to be able to take my coach with me, I geared up and practiced harder than ever. I literally spent hours each day practicing on sport conditions. I worked on simple things like not giving up the pocket and making my spares; things that would help me toward my goal of making the first cut. Before I knew it, it was time for me to pack up and travel.
I didn’t tell many people that I was making the trip and my decision to even compete was a bit last minute. I tossed around the idea of not going because I wasn’t really sure I was ready and my nerves were getting the better of me. In the end, I bit the proverbial bullet, mustered up all the courage I could find and made the nine hour trek to Matthews, North Carolina.
Now, I’m not the type to get starry-eyed when I see celebrities; and yes, I am calling the elite athletes of our sport celebrities. These people, while they are the best of the best, are still just people. They are human and put their pants on the same way I do (thanks to my parents for those words of wisdom). What I mean is that they are just like you and me only they happen to be really good at something, in this case bowling. I have a lot of respect for them and their skills and admire them on different levels. They worked hard to achieve success at this sport.
So, now I am at Queens and I am surrounded by people I don’t know at the largest tournament I’ve ever been to. I go through practice session focusing on what I need to do. I talked to the people on my pairs and for the most part everyone was pretty nice. But I still wasn’t sure what to expect going into the first day of competition. And I had no idea who the women were on my pair.
Saturday morning comes around and I’m up, showered and out the door to the bowl as quickly as I can. I watched the last bit of “A” squad before donning my shoes to start my squad. I bowled with three women I had never even heard of (although someone told me later that one of the women I bowled with bowled on the women’s tour many years before I ever got into bowling or before I even really knew what bowling was). We all introduced ourselves and gave a few good luck high fives to get things started. Then, the lights came on and it was time to work. Before I knew it, we were one game in and moving to our next pair. For the most part, the women I bowled with were relatively quiet. The two older women on my pair were very nice. I could tell they had bowled a time or two and their experience showed. The younger woman who was about my age was extremely quiet and appeared to be so focused that she hardly noticed that there were other bowlers around her (in a good way though). Now, I tend to be a bit chatty so I talked to the ladies on my pair as much as they would talk to me. But, I was always careful not to distract from bowling. Since I don’t really know people, I don’t want to disturb them while they are “working”.
It was a couple of games in, but I noticed that we were a five pair (five people on the pair) and there was a four pair following us and a four pair on each side of us. Because we had five, we bowled a little slower. Additionally, we kept getting “jumped” which put us even further behind. You see at the Queens, there is a two lane courtesy. To follow this, the rule of thumb is to let one person from the pair to the right and one person from the pair to the left bowl and then you can bowl. On the pair to the right, we got jumped continuously which made it extremely difficult for us to stay on pace. That in turn made the group that was following us a little mad. Some unfriendly comments were made as we moved to our final pair and ended up being one of the last groups to finish. We, on my pair, made a conscious effort to not let this happen on the second day.
The second day was better but we still had the jumping issues which caused complaints from the group following us. This made for a bit of an unpleasant experience. Some people just didn’t get the two lane courtesy rule and other people just didn’t get that sometimes things are beyond your control.
As I mentioned before, I didn’t really know very many people. There were a couple of people that I knew from college and a few people that I bowl leagues with but not many more of the 400 that were in attendance. I did meet a few new people though. I was on the phone with my friend who was in Florida. She asked me to say hi to some of her friends for her; which was cool for me because I got to meet some people that I otherwise might not have talked to.
Overall, I must say, that I learned not only a lot about myself during this experience but a lot about people in general. Many of the people I met were very nice while others, well, others just weren’t. The “stars” I met we are all very nice and extremely welcoming. Though I guess when you think about it, being welcomed by the sharks when you are a guppy could be a disconcerting thing. Really though, most of the people are met were genuinely nice and just wanted to bowl their best.
To me it’s always interesting to see how people act when you take them out of their comfort environment; out of their day to day lives and put them in a demanding situation. Some people will step up to the plate and others won’t. You can never be too surprised by what you learn.
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 Phan Club winners. Sign-up today and you could win, too!!
JUNE 2007
1. Bob Gritzke: Wins a GREAT prize from Storm, which is a brand new bowling ball.
Bob, Please contact me about claiming your prize…………AND, THANKS Storm!!!!!
2. June Davis: Wins a Dick Weber Documentary DVD. This ‘special prize’ was donated
by our good friend Ed Fox from EBNSERVICES.COM THANKS ED.
3. Jim Dressel: Wins a Dick Weber Documentary DVD. This ‘special prize’ was donated
by our good friend Ed Fox from EBNSERVICES.COM THANKS ED.
4. Keith Frye: Wins a Dick Weber Documentary DVD. This ‘special prize’ was donated
by our good friend Ed Fox from EBNSERVICES.COM THANKS ED.
JULY 2007
1. Rafel Cons: Wins a Storm Accessory Item from Storm Bowling. Rafel, please contact me
so I can put you in touch with Storm in order for you to get this nice prize.
2. Michael Patrick: Wins a Dick Weber Documentary DVD. This special prize is donated
by our good friend Ed Fox from EBNSERVICES.COM THANKS ED.
3. Vic Sockrider: Wins a Pete Weber Bobble-Head Doll. This prize was donated to us at
Phantom Radio by: Wes Pye and all of the good folks at Strike Ten Entertainment.
4. Mark Habich: Wins a Kegel Pen and Pad Set – and a 2007-2008 USBC guidebook
AUGUST 2007
1. Jon Wolfe: Wins a bowling-ball bag from Storm Bowling. Jon, please contact me so that I can put you in touch with our sponsor Storm, in order for you to get this nice prize.
2. Kathleen Scoppettuolo: Wins a Kegel Pen and Pad Set, an autographed Foundation Cap (by Jason Couch), a Mouse Pad from Strike Ten – and a 2007-2008 USBC guidebook.
3. John Weber: Wins a ‘Carry-Bag’ from Dexter, a Souvenir Program from the 2007 World Ranking Masters and a special ‘Light-Up’ ball point pen from: Guy Tek Network.
4. Joan Schliewenz: Wins a premium ball point Kegel Pen, a mouse pad from Strike Ten Entertainment and a Souvenir Program from the recent 2007 World Ranking Masters.
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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 Cornerstone,
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