It Was An Exciting Tournament

I ended up in 7th place out of a qualifying field estimated to be more than 165 entries. I lost in the semifinal match play 209 - 199. We were told by the house that they had put down the PBA shot called, "Cheetah". There were many complaints and discussions, however, most of us took it in stride and merely had to make our adjustments (and of course, getting the right ball with the right reaction). Being a line bowler, I never had a chance with any inside lines so I ended up on the 2-board , with more speed than normal for me, and pointing the ball in - can't try to loop it from that angle because it was immediate gutter ball.

Where the majority of people (including 'watashi' - me, in Japanese) messed up was the spare shooting. Many people shooting 180 and 190 games with two or three opens as well as 200 or 210 - with one or two opens. Remember these tournaments are handicapped based on 80% of 210. According to the statistics, in order to make the quarterfinals, the "A" Division (200 and above averages) it took a +8 (608 series) and the "B" Division (199 and below average) it took a +19 (619 series).

It was pretty balanced and the quarter finals included 10 women and an equal number of 60+ Seniors out of the 40 total who made it that far. Three women made it to the first semifinal cut and one of them advanced to the top six.

Great turnout, wonderful venue, and terrific competition!

Practice Bowling & Sport Shot League

Last night's bowling practice was a terrific one. I bowled 8 games without getting winded or having my back hurt, which has been a problem since getting out of the cast and crutches in November and starting back up with my bowling in January. The exercising and bowling practice are paying off slowly. Another thing I did was gear the bowling practice toward tournament competition rather than league play. Since the two types are different, it stands to reason that the practice for each should be different also. To wit: in the 8 games, I started on the first arrow (5 board), then after three frames, moved to the second arrow (10 board), then continued this until I was as deep inside as I was able to which was the second arrow from the left side gutter (30 board). I then went back, every three frames, five boards at a time till I was back at the 5 board again.
I played "scenario games" with myself such as, "okay, everything left of the center dot on the approach is water soaked so you're going to have to finish the next few frames playing the second arrow. I therefore, had to play with my hand positions, ball speed, approach speed and whatever I could think of to get the ball to the 17 board in the 1 - 3 pin pocket. Overall, it was very satisfying and had me moving all over the approach, the lane, and moving my hand position and adjusting my ball speed all through the practice session. These are tournament conditions because, unlike league where you might be able to work with basically the same conditions every week, the tournaments take us to a different bowling alley each week and therefore, different oil patterns, scenarios, and so forth.
I finalized the Sport Shot League I am helping to form for the summer and we will begin advertising and signing up people for it. It should be a fun time since we will be bowling under tougher conditions than the regular, high-scoring, house shots. Keep you posted on this one. My goal is to average at least 190 for this league. It will help me learn and study oil patterns and ball reactions. I'm wound up for it.

Buffalo (NY) Here She Comes?

Our champion bowler continues her march for titles. At the Pepsi Junior Bowler qualifying tournament, Mikela had games of 141 - 118 - 139 for a 399 series. With her average at 111, she had 240 handicap giving her a series of 638. The final results will not be known until later this week; but, she has a good chance to qualify for the Nationals that are to be held in Buffalo, NY in July. Notification letters are supposed to be sent to all qualifiers by Tuesday so we'll know by Thursday.

BTW, got myself a new ball from Visionary Bowling Products, a new company. My favorite ball driller, Sonny Eubanks at Glenfair Lanes, recommended it to me and I took his word for it. The ball is drilled to not hook as much as my Doom Hammer and it came in handy at Squaw Peak Lanes this past weekend in the 5-gamer. Because of Mikela's tournament, I did not plan to bowl until the last aquad so you can imagine that the lanes were pretty dry. I took the VBP "Ogre" and moved inside to the 17 board, tucked my hand under and had about a two or three o'clock hand position swinging about four boards. Shot a 1202 for the five games so I feel pretty good. Nowadays, I'm trying to adapt my game to being as flexible as possible meaning I will be using whatever ball, hand position, and inside- or outside line will work for that particular time.

Sunday, Julie and I traveled to Lake Havasu City to help with the one-day divisional tournament and as always, had an enjoyable time. The people in the "smaller" cities are so friendly and treat us special when we hold tournaments in their bowling centers. They certainly appreciate us going there to run tournaments for them.