TAT Wraps Up Another Great Event In Las Vegas - Courtesy Of Jamie McWilliams.
Las Vegas - - - A HUGE thank you to everyone that helped make the 2026 TAT Nationals a record event with 6,294 total entries!
I am lucky to have a staff of wonderful people to support me and my bowlers during a long week in Vegas. You guys are the best!
THANK YOU to my bowlers for coming from all over the world to compete. I tried my best to give you all a wonderful experience this week, so I truly hope you enjoyed it. Shout out to my Norway crew, who is taking the TAT to Munich in August 2026!
South Point is the best venue in bowling, so I have to thank Angie, Joel, the desk staff, and how about those mechanics who always have the machines on point! I thank you, and my bowlers thank you.
Storm Bowling once again proved why they are the dominant force in the bowling industry. Like I do, Storm puts the people first above all else because they want to help people. They add tremendous value to the event each year with their knowledge and love for the sport. Thank you to Matt, Blair, and Lee for taking care of bowlers, and to everyone at HQ for supporting us. Leanne, Gary, Tyler, and Hank are always behind the scenes plotting something great for bowlers!
Creating the Difference helped bowlers with surfacing all week and made a big difference in the scores. No one surfaces more balls for tournament bowlers than they do, and they have the science to back it up.
Thank you to CoolWick for keeping bowlers in the stands warm and looking good! Gerald Richardson represented well this week.
I am working on our July 2026 6-page brochure, which will be done next week, and the event starts July 5th, 2026.
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SMART To Get Additional Funding In 2026 - From Bowl.Com
ARLINGTON, Texas – The United States Bowling Congress Scholarship Management and Account Reporting for Tenpins (SMART) program is making an investment earnings allocation of $8 million to provide additional scholarships for youth bowlers. Funding will take place on Feb. 14.
For 2026, SMART will have a $7 million standard allocation, which is consistent with funding provided since 2022 and matches the largest investment earnings allocation in SMART history.
In addition to the standard earnings allocation, SMART is allocating $500,000 in earnings to support USBC national scholarship programs. This funding allows USBC to continue to provide added scholarships to the USA Bowling and Junior Gold programs as well as other USBC-conducted national programs.
SMART also approved $500,000 for additional SMART Pell Grant Match funding for the 2025-2026 school year.
Due to policy adopted in 2021, a portion of annual investment earnings immediately goes to new scholarships for youth bowlers. SMART is progressively paying more benefits for students every year. In 2025, SMART processed the largest total disbursements in program history, reaching $15.2 million. This exceeds the previous record set in 2024 of $13 million.
Included in the 2026 allocation (approximate numbers):
- $2.6 million in bonus scholarships to the 7,996 active SMART Recipients. These are students who used SMART funds in 2025. Each student will immediately receive a new $328 SMART scholarship.
- $1.8 million in new SMART deposited unassigned funds for Providers to allocate toward future scholarships. This is in addition to the new $3.5 million SMART deposited unassigned funds Providers received for allocation in December from expired Recipient accounts.
- $2.6 million set aside for the SMART Pell Grant Match Program for the 2026-2027 academic year.
“The decision to allocate more money this year to our Recipients and Providers is one we take great pride in,” USBC President Dennis Hacker said. “SMART is helping kids in so many ways now, and we can tell our efforts are successful when we are able to fund USA Bowling, Junior Gold and other national programs, while at the same time maintaining the increased demand in secondary education.”
The federal Pell Grant is a national program that helps students and families with the greatest financial need pay for college. The SMART Pell Grant Match maximizes the power of this federal program for bowlers by matching it dollar for dollar. The SMART Pell Grant Match will be available to any student who has a SMART account balance less than $1,000 and who has four prior seasons of USBC membership, with at least one of those seasons being a USBC Youth membership specifically. Students can request the SMART Pell Grant Match by visiting BOWL.com/SMART.
“The ability to help youth bowlers in financial need through the SMART Pell Grant Match program simply can’t be overstated,” said Frank Wilkinson, chair of the USBC SMART Committee. “Through this program, SMART is helping to break down the barriers to higher education for so many youths and assisting in their ability to reach their goals and dreams.”
In 2021, the USBC Board of Directors approved a series of policy changes for SMART, designed to increase scholarship benefits for SMART Recipients. The new policy allocates a portion of investment gains to be awarded as new scholarships in SMART Recipient accounts.
For more information on SMART, visit BOWL.com/SMART.
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TUCSON METRO USBC UPDATE - February 14, 2026
By Mark Kerr, President
The first month of the new year has been a busy one for Tucson Metro USBC, with the City Youth Championships, the Inaugural Swiss Tournament, and the start of the 82nd Annual Open Championships and the 76th Annual Women’s Championships.
CITY YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS: Eighty young bowlers took part in the 2026 Tucson Metro USBC Youth Championships, at Lucky Strike for Doubles/Singles and Cactus Bowl for the Team event, January 31/February 1. The final results will be posted on Tucson Metro USBC’s website and social media outlets. Tucson Metro USBC thanks the two bowling centers for hosting the tournament and the youth program coordinators for their help, as well as Todd Brown of Cactus and Jenine Moon of Lucky Strike, for hosting the tournament.
TUCSON SWISS: The inaugural Tucson Metro Swiss Tournament, held January 24, concluded in thrilling fashion, with the outcome decided by the last ball. Kn'Ives' Out staged a remarkable comeback to claim first place, followed closely by Gett Some in second, and The Ultimate Team securing third place among the cash winners.
1. Kn'Ives' Out, 5-1, 6005. 2. Gett Some, 5-1, 5799. 3. The Ultimate Team, 4-2, 5850. 4. Big Dawgs, 3-3, 6010. 5. Niko It's Roman Let's Go Bowl!, 3-3, 5914. 6. Yeet, 3-3, 5906. 7. Burke's Bees, 3-3, 5902. 8. Down and In, 3-3, 5623. 9. Team Shelton, 2-4, 5671. 10. Team Thach, 2-4, 5652. 11. Team Jay Jay, 2-4, 5332. 12. Team Talley, 1-5, 5337.
Pictured are the top three teams. Third - The Ultimate Team, Dwight Burns, Eduardo Vegas, Steve Dekker, Jeff Segneri ($200 each). Second - Gett Some, Sean Neves, Eric Stebleton, Richard Lewis. Jeff Houston and Robert Young ($300 each). First - Kn”Ives” Out, Louis Ives, Travis Peterson, Adam Wypych, Sean Brewster and George Cluff ($500 each).
TUCSON OPEN AND WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS: The 82nd Annual Tucson Metro USBC Open Championships and the 76th Annual Women’s Championships started on the weekend of January 31-February 1 at Bowlero Tucson. More than 500 bowlers are taking part in the tournaments, which are being run concurrently. Scores are posted on the Tucson Metro USBC website and social media outlets. Bill Simonar has the high game with a 299, followed by Dylan Donahue, who bowled a 298. The tournament runs through March 1 and Tucson Metro USBC thanks Gaby, Jacob, Dom, Ian and the staff at Bowlero for hosting the tournament.
HALL OF FAME PRESENTATION: On Sunday, March 1, at Bowlero Tucson, Tucson Metro USBC will induct the members of the Class of 2026 Hall of Fame: Shawna Strause, Richard Curtis, Cory Knop and Joe Salgado, at a ceremony at Bowlero Tucson, 114 S. Camino Seco, 1:00 p.m., or a little after the conclusion of the last team squad for the tournaments.
MASTER’S SWEEPER AND TOURNAMENT: Tucson Metro USBC will be holding their Master’s Tournament, Saturday, March 28 (qualifications) at 1:00 p.m., Sunday, March 29 at 10:00 a.m., at Cactus Bowl. The pattern will be PBA Shark. On Sunday, March 22, 10:00 a.m., Tucson Metro USBC will be holding a Sweeper Tournament at Cactus Bowl, to allow bowlers to try out the PBA Shark Pattern.
TUCSON METRO USBC V.P.: Stuart Duncan, who had served as Vice President and on the Board of Directors resigned from his post. I want to thank Stuart for his time on the Board, his commitment to bowling and the bowlers, and his work on our tournaments. Joe Shelton, who is the Board member and webmaster for Tucson Metro, was elected Vice President to serve the remainder of the term. Joe has been a great asset to bowling, serving on the Board, as well as a League Officer, and has brought forward items, online registration, and other online forms to life making it better for Tucson Metro and the bowlers.
CONGRATULATIONS TO:
Bryan Van Sickle did it again in the Knights of Pythias league at Tucson Bowl, with an 836 series in league play, January 15. Bryan bowled 280-257 and had a great run in game 3 with a 299 game! Congratulations Bryan!
Ben Wacks, who had a great run and finished with a 299, in the Ed Faulk Classic League at PINZ on January 16.
Brian Centers, who bowled a 300 game in the Park Avenue Jewelers/Miller Lite League on January 21.
Richie Barcalow of the PAJ/Miller Lite league rolls a nice 299 game on February 4 at PINZ.
Ryan Tetreault, who bowled a 300 game in the Awesome Foursome League at Lucky Strike on February 10.
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More To Come