April 4, 2008

By: Mark Martin

USBC WOMENS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Next week the bowling world will be focusing on the Detroit area when the first of 7,330 teams invade the area to compete in the United States Bowling Congress Women’s Championships.

The nearly 40,000 women bowlers will compete in five-player team, doubles and singles competition in five average divisions at Super Bowl in Canton . Bowlers from all 50 states and several foreign countries will compete.

The official opening ceremonies for the Women’s Championships will take place at Super Bowl on April 10 at 7 p.m.

The Women’s Championships, which is the national championship for women’s bowling, will run for 88 consecutive days and will conclude on July 6.

Making its first visit to Detroit since 1953, the Women’s Championships is the highlight of the bowling season for thousands of USBC women members. It’s a vacation as well as the opportunity to compete in one of the sport’s most prestigious tournaments.

From a convention and tourism perspective, the influx of approximately 600 bowlers plus family and friends each day is expected to provide an estimated economic boost of approximately $40 million to the Detroit area over the course of the event.

“This marks our third trip to Detroit and we’re looking forward to sharing our sport and this event with the Detroit community,” USBC Vice President of Tournaments Jack Mordini said.  “As one of the great bowling cities in the world, the participants will not only experience that tradition but also all the Detroit area has to offer.”  

Conducted for the first time in 1916 as the Women’s International Bowling Congress Tournament, the Women’s Championships is widely-recognized as the largest participatory sporting event in the world for women. The Women’s Championships had previously been held in Detroit on two other occasions, 1928 and 1953. 

The prize fund for the Women’s Championships is expected to exceed $2 million.

Regular USBC Women’s Championships competition will be suspended for five days when the world’s best women bowlers will compete in the USBC Queens April 26-30.  As one of the most demanding events in professional bowling, an expected field of 300 bowlers will compete for a $200,000 prize fund and $30,000 first prize.

Competition consists of traditional qualifying and double-elimination match play at Super Bowl, which determines the five players who will compete in the stepladder finals April 30 at Skore Lanes in Taylor . The finals will be telecast live by ESPN2 April 30 at 7 p.m. Eastern.

The USBC Queens, along with the U.S. Women’s Open, are the only major women’s bowling events still remaining after the Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) ceased operations in 2003.

Conducted concurrently with the Queens , the 9th annual USBC Senior Queens will be held at Skore Lanes. The Senior Queens features approximately 150 of the world’s top women players 50 years and older.

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HONOR SCORES

300 Games

Date, Name, Hometown, Center, League

March 20, Allen Bordui Jr., Hazel Park , Hartfield Lanes, Thursday Night Men’s

March 21, Marcus Giles III, Madison Hts., Fairlanes, St. Cletus Men’s

March 24, Terrance Bell, Pontiac , 300 Bowl, Pontiac Community Mixed

March 25, Darryl Alexander, Warren , Astro Lanes, Suburban Architectural

March 26, David Craft, Waterford Twp., Airway Lanes, Wednesday Eagle League

March 26, David Alsheskie, Troy , Bowl One Lanes, Ford General Classic

March 27, Jerome Lee, Southfield , Sunnybrook Lanes, SHAP Trio Mixed

March 28, David Derkacz, Waterford Twp., Airway Lanes, Westside Merchants

March 29, David Thompson Jr., Waterford Twp., Cherry Hill Lanes North, Latebirds

March 29, Thomas Bilski Jr., Washington , Troy Lanes, MDUSBC Open Championships

March 29, Scott Grundner, Warren, Fairlanes, Saturday Night Pinjammers

March 30, Joseph Barraco, Macomb , Hazel Park Bowl, Hamtramck Singles Tournament

March 31, Joseph Petrone Jr., Roseville , Bowl One Lanes, Gus Ponder’s Senior Classic

April 1, Troy Franz, White Lake , 300 Bowl, Tuesday Shootout

April 1, Donald Lawson, Mayville, 300 Bowl, 300 Tuesday House

April 2, Mark Shay, Waterford Twp., Airway Lanes, Wednesday Eagle League

800 Series

Date, Name (Score), Hometown, Center, League

March 21, Marcus Giles III (805), Madison Hts., Fairlanes, St. Cletus Men’s

March 25, Julius Bierkamp (802), Ferndale , Hazel Park Bowl, Tuesday Classic Trio

March 25, Thomas Hodges (803), Walled Lake, Woodland Lanes, Woodland Tuesday Night Men

March 27, Jerome Lee (817), Southfield , Sunnybrook Lanes, SHAP Trio Mixed

March 29, Scott Grundner (816), Warren, Fairlanes, Saturday Night Pinjammers

April 1, Jeffrey Austreng (801), Waterford Twp., 300 Bowl, Tuesday Shootout

Mark Martin writes a weekly bowling column for The Daily Oakland Press and is the association manager of the Metro Detroit USBC Association. He can be reached at (248) 443-2695, faxed at (248) 443-2690 or e-mailed at mark.martin@mdusbc.com.