Foundation Games II

September 2000  PWBA National ( At Kegel )

1.  Lisa Bishop, Belleville, Michigan
2.  Cara Honeychurch, Australia
3.  Wendy Macpherson, Henderson, Nevada

HOW IT BEGAN

The Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA), and The Kegel Company officials met in the summer (2000) to discuss the possibility of a major, nationally televised tournament to be hosted at The Kegel Training Center, in Florida.

Sponsorship of the event was to be The Kegel Company, with The Foundation Games to be the major theme of this unique event. There had been one previous "official" Foundation Games tournament involving the PBA Southern Region. The official name of this tournament would be: "The Greater Sebring PWBA Foundation Games II".

Several unique ideas (and "firsts") for this tournament were to be in place. First, the format would be entirely different than ever before used. The format would call for the lady pro's to bowl on 3-different and distinct oil patterns for 3-days. The 3-patterns would be: A. Short distance and low volume. B. Medium distance and medium volume. C. Long distance and heavy volume. (Note: The amounts of oil used and distances were similar to the amounts used in the '70's, '80's and '90's). Each day the oiling pattern would be different. Secondly, John Davis would host a clinic prior to bowling on that particular pattern to give the ladies some insight as to what they could expect. His clinics were enlightening, technical and forthright. All questions posed by the ladies were answered. Third, the ladies would have an opportunity to practice extensively on each condition, prior to bowling in the competition. This allowed them to adjust their equipment and get acquainted with each pattern. Prior to coming to Sebring, the PWBA chose which patterns were to be bowled on, and in what order they would be used. The main reasoning behind this idea was based upon challenging the pro's and finding out who possessed: Repeatability (shot-making ability), Versatility, Accuracy and Power.

Once 18-games of qualifying was over, the field was cut to the top 24-finalist (scorers). The top-24 would then bowl three, 8-game blocks (in two days) on the exact same 3-patterns that were used in the original qualifying. No match-play was used and no bonus pins were allotted (also a "first"), as total pins would be the only determining factor as who would advance to the TV finals. The TV finals also produced many "firsts", which will be detailed later in this review.

PWBA officials; Wyatt Slaughter, Darlene Priscilla and Gus Falgien worked wonderfully together with the Staff at Kegel, as nothing but praise was heaped upon each other at the conclusion of the event. Hopes are that THIS can (should) be done again, and done soon.

TV Show

The 4-finalist for the nationally televised TV show, all had totally different styles. Cara Honeychurch, a gifted left-hander, was the leading qualifier and led for the last 3-rounds. She took the lead on day #4 with a great block of 1962 on the "short" pattern, and never looked back. Wendy Macpherson, a smooth stroking right-hander, was the leader after day #2 based on her great performance on the "medium" pattern. Lisa Bishop, another right-hander, qualified #3 based on her continued improvement on all of the patterns as the week wore on. Michelle Feldman, took the lead on day #3 with a superb performance on the "long" pattern. The powerful righty rolled 820 on her final 3-games of the night.

The stage was now set for this historic telecast, four experienced players with 4-different styles. Based on their qualifying positions, Honeychurch and Macpherson would be able to select the "pattern" to bowl their particular matches on. This unique twist from the norm, allowed the announcers; Jan Schmidt, Lisa Wagner and special guest Richard Shockley, to create more conversation about the strategies of those selections.

The show opened with an explanation of the amounts of oil that were used in the event. A black light was used to demonstrate those amounts which were displayed in a calibrated cylinder; the exact ones used by the lane crew to verify the process used. Also featured was the use of C.A.T.S. (which was developed by ABC/WIBC) and the Kegel Digital Coach. These technical aids allowed commentary on how well (or poorly) each of the finalist were performing. These invaluable tools revealed several technical aspects of player execution that the naked eye can NOT see, such as; ball velocity, location, launch angle, entry angle, rev-rate, etc. Obviously, these tools were a great addition to the telecast, as viewers were treated to accurate analysis on each and every shot.

In match #1, Wendy chose the "medium" pattern (which was expected), due to her performance on it during the 2nd day. She also liked "it" in round #5 as she averaged 225.

In actuality, Wendy bowled great on all 3-conditions throughout the week, never being below 3rd place after any round. However, this was a different day. She was troubled by a swollen thumb and had a lot of difficulty getting out of the ball. Feldman also had trouble, never getting lined-up in the one-game match. Bishop won the see-saw match by doubling in the 9th and 10th and ending up with a very respectable 214.

Honeychurch chose to bowl the championship match on the "short" pattern, which was also expected based on her performances in round #1 and round #4. However, her choice also backfired as Bishop came out smoking. Lisa finished with a brilliant 257 to become the 2nd Foundation Games champion. Cara never did get lined up and ended up with 193.

The closing was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen, with the top-3 standing on Olympic type podiums, holding flowers, and with Foundation medals around their necks. Based on immediate feedback from bowlers, fans, web chat-rooms and forums, the show was a huge success. ESPN executives were pleased with the added technology used, and hopefully it won't be long until we see this again.