Pictured Is: The Ball Busters Women's Bowling League.
Ball Busters Women's League To Begin New Season At Bowlero Kyrene On September 7th.
By Michael 'Chip' Begg
Managing Editor - thetenpinexpress.com
Director Mesa Metro Association
Chandler, AZ. - - - When the Ball Busters women's bowling league begins its fifth year on Wednesday September 7th. You will notice three new things about this reenergized group. They are: a new night to bowl on, a new center to bowl in, and a new attitude towards bowling to go with it.
When the league was first formed by Cindy Coor, four years ago, it was her mission to have the all-women's league take place in the East Valley. It has bowled at Mesa East since its inception during the 2017-18 season. It has managed to field 12 teams every year since, but it could not expand any further.
It has shared the center with the Monday Night Girl Watchers league which fielded 20 teams, with the center having 32-lanes. With no room for expansion for either league, the decision was made to move the league in late spring after a survey was done. Driving some of the decision for the move was the fact that 90% of the league had a 6–7-person roster. There were other women who expressed an interest in joining our league but unfortunately there were no available spots and no room for additional teams," she said, of the Ball Busters decision to move. "The decision was a difficult one but one that the majority of the league wanted. The women in the league are extremely excited to move forward bowling in a new center and experience different lanes, atmosphere and the fact that it will be the only league that night. It allows all women who would like to join an opportunity to do so." We hope to attract ladies from the area around Chandler, Casa Grande, Maricopa and surrounding areas. They are able to have a choice of another league specifically for women to bowl in.
The unique thing about the Lady Ball Busters league is that women with all levels of bowling skills are welcome," she says of what has made her league successful. "From beginner to advanced. This league was designed to not be a competitive league and thus makes it very very enjoyable," she says of the make-up of the Ball Busters. "Ball Busters has some very special women who drive hundreds of miles to come to bowl in our league. We have had women from Litchfield Park, Prescott Valley, Shumway, Overgaard, Heber, Florence, Flagstaff just to name a few. We are very grateful to have them in the league." She feels what separates her league from other women's bowling leagues, is the fact that it is open to anyone. Females from outside of the Valley have traveled long distances to be able to take part in the league.
"As with any move or change there will be new memories to be had. We are excited to bring some new incentives this year that will give women an opportunity to compete in a year-end tournament. More to come on that as it is still in the works!," she says, of the Ball Busters move to Kyrene. "We are currently soliciting sponsors for the league as this will help with some of those incurred costs. When you do something that you love and have a passion for, it seems to be contagious to those around you, and so it's been a labor of love. With the move of a bowling league into a new center, she is hoping that new Kodak moments will be made. While not forgetting about the Kodak moments that were made at Mesa East the last four years. This league will hopefully continue to grow and with growth, good memories will be created. "The most notable memories are simply the interaction with all the ladies in the league. We support one another in triumphs as well as tragedies. We pride ourselves in recognizing our ladies who are cancer survivors. We always do something special for Christmas," she said, of the memories she will have of Mesa East the last four years. "We have donated blankets, socks, underwear to homeless veteran's shelters, we have done Christmas angels with Sunshine Acres. We dress up for Halloween, do a gift exchange for Christmas, have Super Bowl Pools to name a few.
"I would like to thank Mesa East, specifically Ericka Swarze, for the years that the Ball Buster league called home and all her support. We look forward to the same relationship with Jodi Bach and Jay Jay Newell at Kyrene Lanes."
She recently retired from MCC and is enjoying retirement with her husband Mike, who retired two years ago. She has served on the White Mountain Women's Bowling Association, the Mesa Metro Board and is currently on the Arizona Bowlerettes Board as a Director.
Located in Chandler, Bowlero Kyrene Lanes hopes to step up to the plate. And deliver big time to the Ball Busters when their new league arrives in September. Kyrene has eight more lanes (40), which helped in the decision to relocate there for expansion. For more information contact Cindy Coor at ballbusters2016@gmail.com or Kyrene Lanes to join!
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AZ State USBC Ammends Tournament Rules - Courtesy Of AZ State USBC
The USBC Board has rescinded the changes made to USBC rules in 2019-2020 which were instituted in response to the COVID pandemic. Effective Aug. 1, 2022, the following rule changes will be in effect:
Rule 18 – Bowlers will no longer be allowed to use isopropyl alcohol to clean a bowling ball once the competition has started.
Rules 113a and 113b – The use of two lanes immediately adjoining each other will again be required to be used for league competition.
Rules 320a and 320b - The use of two lanes immediately adjoining each other will again be required to be used for tournament competition.
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JBT News - Courtesy Of JBT.
Results From Saturday June 18.
Phoenix - - - Cerell Cardines continued a dream June, while Samuel Winemiller capped off a dream day, as champions of the 2022 JBT Arizona Conference Invitational tournament, held at Let It Roll in Phoenix.
Cardines began the month by winning the So Cal Invitational, then followed with a win at the Mojave Invite, the two wins in one season already being a feat only accomplished four times before (Zach Greim, Cortez Schenck, Gage Baker, and Jared Starr-Moncayo). Nobody has won three Invitationals in a season- there's just so many pitfalls in the triple-elimination matchplay format to dodge, it's close to unthinkable. However, Cerell was up to the challenge, eliminating Cesar Padilla in matchplay round eight, earning a bye while Chris Mayes finally ousted Matthew Garrett. Cardines was able to beat Mayes in the finale, securing the win, the 21st of his fantastic JBT career, and another $1,000 scholarship windfall.
Kyler Harden started hot in the handicap division to earn the #1 seed for matchplay, but struggled thereafter, eliminated in round four. In round nine, just three bowlers remained, and in that round Winemiller enjoyed a rare second bye, while fellow Cactus bowler Araceli Hunt eliminated Jacob Ellis in third place to set up an all-Tucson finale. Hunt opened the season with the Desert Open win and was looking to close it with an Invite win, but Samuel remained strong, bowling a solid game to beat Araceli for his first career title and the $1,000 top scholarship prize.
Cesar Padilla finished up a dominant U17 season by beating Josh Abigania for that subdivision win, while Mackenzie Theophilus was strong all day, beating Katelyn Abigania in the girls scratch finale for that win, leaping her onto the all-star team in that category.
Mathew Adragna fired the event's only 300 game en route to the scratch division top seed, and Bryce Nakunz won the day's bowling ball from our fantastic title sponsor Ebonite. Huge thanks to the whole team at Let It Roll for a smooth job hosting this prestigious event, which awarded over $5,800 in scholarships to all skill levels and ages. Top season-long scorers now advance to the Touring Players Championship, our most important event of the year, in July in Las Vegas!
Results From Sunday June 19, 2022.
Cortez Schenck showed a new generation what his level of dominance looked like, while 3 others enjoyed the feeling of JBT victory- two for the first time- in terrific action at the JBT's Tournament of All-Time Champs, and simultaneous Tournament of Future Champs, held at Phoenix's Let it Roll.
The T of C is always one of our favorite events as we welcome back anyone who ever won a JBT event, creating a unique, fun, and tough atmosphere as today's stars take on the best of all time. Cortez started the day with 280-279 to open up a lead he never lost. After Josh Molloy beat Allex Zieg to start the stepladder, Jakob Butturff edged Molloy in a great match to set up a title match between two of JBT's all-time greats, not to mention established and rising PBA stars. Jakob and Schenck had played for many JBT titles in their overlapping careers, each coming out with wins, but Butturff, with 32 career JBT wins, couldn't keep up with Cortez' front seven in the final, and Tez cruised to the win, which happens to be #99 of the JBT g.o.a.t's career.
The handicap stepladder featured four Southern California juniors, as Brandon Rother beat Lindsay Greim and Jon Abigania to face top seed Bryce Nakunz for the title. The familiar foes have faced each other numerous times, but after a tense tenth frame, Brandon escaped on top for his third career JBT title and $500 top prize.
In the non-champs event, Brendan Bobersky led start to finish, and fended off fellow GCU 'lope Ben Laffoon to finally win his first JBT title, and a measure of redemption after a season filled with some oh-so-close calls. Nathan Harnit beat Dylan Donahue and Connor Meliska to advance against top seed Christian Ortega for the handicap non-champs win. The 11 year-old from Casa Grande showed no fear in the finale, rolling another solid game to become a JBT champion with the win.
Conner Pendergrass delighted the crowd with the only 300 game of the day, and the first of his career. DJ Kneifel came close to joining him, with a 299 to open the scratch non-champs stepladder against Dodge Flynn. Mountain Invite champs Xaden Todacheenie won the day's ball from our terrific title sponsor Ebonite.
giant thanks to the team at Let It Roll for an excellent hosting job, and all our alumni for coming back to be JBT bowlers again for one fun day. Check out our schedule for upcoming dates and we'll see you soon!
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Strike Force Tour News - Courtesy Of SFT.
Chandler - - - We kicked off our 2022 Summer Circuit this weekend, July 9-10, at Bowlero Kyrene and we had a great turnout! We would see 140 entries (108 qualifying and 32 economy parlays) with 35 cashers, a 1 in 4 cash ratio and paid out over $9,000.00 in main and side event prize funds. The players bowled on a squirrely 35ft PBA Cheetah pattern that played a bit longer than the previous versions that was laid out. There was a difference in how to attack the pattern, but those that found success were able to play up the gutter and get their ball to roll correctly through the pins. The average cut score was a bit higher, but with this shorter pattern scores are usually on the high side.
We want to quickly welcome our new bowlers that joined us for this event! Jessie Croxton Jr., Ron Hovis, Ismael “Izzy” Traverso, Angela Wolfe, Michael Allen, Kert Stiller, Kevin Dohrman, Jason Medling and Jeremy Becker bowled in their first SFT AHT event this weekend! It is awesome to still see new faces and we hope you all had a great time. Unfortunately, there were no Parlay Power Players this weekend which goes to show you the difficulty of the pattern. Congrats to Michael LePage, Myles Hamilton, Brad Erickson, William Nedry, Johnny Boyd, Kyle Fritz, and Teri Hamilton who made their first ever quarterfinals or their first quarterfinals in quite a while! Also, congrats to Isaac Chavira who would win Momma’s Mystery Pot for $500.00 with a score of 168! Your winner of the free plastic ball drawing, with an option to upgrade to any Track high performance ball for $85.00, was Ron McDonald.
The quarterfinals would be bowled on the fresh oil pattern and the scores showed as we would see scores more in line with the 1st squad of the tournament. With the bigger turnout, we would cut to the Top 3 in all three Divisions. Picking up spares was the key as it would come down to the final few frames to see who would advance to Semi-Final round.
The A Division would see Chris Brunick (+130) and he would have to face off against Josh Molloy (+94) and Myles Hamilton (+72). The B Division had Isaac Chavira (+90) emerge as the #1 seed as he would take on Jake Howell (+59) and Sean Molloy (+49). The C Division #1 seed would be Mathew Wykoff (+50) and he would be up against Kyle Fritz (+48) and Michael LePage (+22).
The A Division semi-final match would be shoot out with all three bowlers lined up on the pair. It would go back and forth with all three bowlers having a chance to win the match and it would all come down to the ninth and tenth frames. Chris Brunick would finish the match punching out in the ninth and tenth frames to finish at 234. Josh Molloy would finish the tenth frame needing to double in order to win the match. Josh’s first shot in the tenth would crush the pocket but would leave a ten-pin. Josh would pick up the spare and then strike on the fill to finish at 231. Myles Hamilton would be up in the tenth coming off a double in the eighth and ninth frames. Myles would need a mark and count to win the match. Myles’ first ball in the tenth would hit the pocket light leaving a mixer ten-pin. Myles would spare and then Greek Church (4-6-7-8-10) on his fill ball to finish at 240 and advance to the Finals.
The B Division would see Sean Molloy runaway with the match as Isaac Chavira and Jake Howell would struggle to get lined up on the pair. Jake would finish at 203 while Isaac would finish at 184. Sean would win the match by shooting an impressive 242 to punch his ticket to the Finals.
The C Division would be a close one as it would come down the tenth frame to see who would win the match. Kyle Fritz would finish the match with a score of 162 as he would struggle on the pair. Your #1 seed Mathew Wykoff would be up next and would finish with a spare and nine on his fill ball to finish at 210. Michael LePage would get up in the tenth needing to a mark and good count to win. Michael’s first ball would go a bit high leaving the baby split (6-10). Michael would pick up the spare and the get nine on his fill ball to win the match with a score of 215.
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A new era in league bowling is coming. Courtesy Of Bowlero.
Richmond, VA - The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) will be launching its League Bowler Certification program this fall across more than 300 bowling centers in the United States with over 180,000 league bowlers enrolled. This will be a new national membership program offering a multitude of exciting benefits for league bowlers. The program will start with Bowlero Corp.’s footprint, and soon after the PBA will work to expand to all U.S. bowling centers.
The PBA, which has featured the greatest bowlers in the world since 1958 coupled with the sport’s largest media reach, and parent company Bowlero Corp., owners of the biggest chain of bowling centers in the world, are combining their resources and expertise to create the PBA League Bowler Certification program in order to enhance the league bowler experience.
“It's exciting that league bowlers of all skill levels will be able to gain real value from this new PBA-certified membership program," said Tom Clark, PBA Commissioner. "The competition and camaraderie of league bowling creates a strong community and the fresh opportunities ahead will make it even stronger."
As the program rolls out for the 2022 fall league season, there will be new benefits under four key pillars that bowlers will have access to, in addition to their current league benefits.
Starting with statistics: League bowlers will have access to official averages, full league standings, leaderboards, and special accomplishments. These statistics will be accessible in real-time through PBA LeaguePals, a robust technology platform.
The second pillar will include exclusive new tournaments for all skill levels. The tournaments included in the PBA League Bowler Certification program will be highlighted by a new national tournament that will feature unprecedented prize money, national TV exposure and digital coverage.
The third pillar will be awards. League bowlers of all skill levels will be recognized for their accomplishments, stamped with PBA approval, through a creative and engaging digital awards program.
Finally, there will be new rules and an equipment specifications department, led by a world-renowned expert Neil Stremmel, former Vice President of Rules and Equipment Specifications at the United States Bowling Congress and for World Bowling. The regulations in PBA League Bowler Certification program and tournament competition will be supremely transparent and work toward the betterment of the game and its bowlers.
“I am truly honored to work with the PBA,” said Neil Stremmel, incoming PBA Rules and Equipment Director. “In this new role I am looking forward to launching such an incredible program to support the bowling community starting this fall.”
Stay informed about the PBA League Bowler Certification by visiting pba.com or following @PBAtour for more updates.
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