It was reported here recently that USBC Hall of Famers Robin Romeo (Newhall, Calif.) and Jeanne Naccarato (Tacoma, Wash.) will be making their debut in the
2008 National Golden Ladies Classic (NGLC), to be held March 10-13 at the Orleans Hotel/Casino/Bowling Center in Las Vegas. The NGLC, or simply the Golden Ladies, was founded by
Jeanette Robinson, also a USBC Hall of Famer, at the old Showboat Bowling Center in 1991. Since then, the tournament--open to women who are 50 and older--has not only grown in stature but it has gained international fame.
For the average league bowler and even for some high average scratch players, the USBC Open Championships Tournament is the most exciting and prestigious tournament they will ever bowl. Our group of 20 regular California players from the Bay area have been participating for an average of 15 years, yet we never get tired of marching out, reporting to our lanes, and greeting teams and players from other states that we see once a year. While the USBC Open Tournament is one of the best run tournaments in the world, from our experience, it is a horse of a different color when you bowl the opening weekend.
PORTLAND, Ore. -- My husband, Alan, and my best bowling buddy, Eleanore Libby, and yours truly flew to Albuquerque to bowl in the USBC Open Championships on the opening weekend of the tournament. We arrived to a cold and windy Albuquerque, but the chill in the air was offset by the warm welcome of the residents who were eager to begin greeting the expected 63,000 bowlers. Our taxi driver from the airport spoke with the soft, Southwestern drawl and filled us in on the local highlights all the way to our hotel.
John McCoy came up with a bowling tournament for the average league bowler and 25 years later it is still going strong. While other mega-buck tournaments have been downsizing, the NABI tournament organization has been flourishing because it features something for everybody and features nine champions during the week of competition. McCoy, whose bowling roots range from a proprietor to an elite league bowler to a bowling hustler in the Southwest, loves bowling and bowlers and it shows.
In my opinion, the new attention being paid to bowling coaches is one of the most deserving endeavors for the game. After all, the development of coaches/instructors has become one of the most significant undertakings in the bowling industry for the past 10 years. How better can the industry display appreciation for individuals like veteran coaches Dick Ritger, Bill Bunetta, Tom Kouros, Fred Borden, Bill Taylor, Ron Hoppe, and others who have paved the way for spreading the bowling gospel all over the world?
The playing environment of bowling today may be as complex, unpredictable and chaotic as any time in the history of the game. We're not talking about the recreational league or club game where the participants just want to have fun and the conditions are designed as such. We're talking about professionally maintained and controlled tournament environments where bowling sports people compete.
Kim Terrell says she loves her new job as the bowling coach at Delaware State University. The popular San Francisco native took over the program at the beginning of the fall semester last September. That's why she was unable to compete in the recent PBA Women's Series on ESPN. It didn't take long for Terrell to make a favorable impression at Delaware State. This was verified by the monthly women's bowling poll conducted by the National Tenpin Coaches Assn. (NTCA), recognized as "the voice and leadership of NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Assn.) bowling."
Sean Rash (pictured) deserved to win the Masters, being the top seed for the TV stepladder finals. The personable 25-year-old Wichita State graduate, who now owns four Denny's Professional Bowlers Assn. titles, recorded his first major triumph, good for $100,000. Amazingly, Rash is still undefeated (7-0) in televised matches. The tall (6-1), handsome right-hander is exciting to watch. He has all the tools to be one of the PBA's most popular stars. And yes, ladies, he's a bachelor.