What is probably the biggest sports event ever conducted in Billings, Mont., the 99th American Bowling Congress Championships Tournament, began its 135-day run Feb. 9 at the MetraPark Expo Center.

The first of 10,806 five-player teams competed on opening day, which was highlighted by the traditional Joe Bowler ceremony. The 2002 ABC Tournament is the fourth largest ever and the largest outside of the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev.

Dedicated to U.S. service people and those affected by last September’s attacks, this year’s opening ceremonies took on a patriotic theme. A crowd of more than 1,000 and all 240 bowlers on the 7:30 p.m. team squad carried small American flags. Miss Montana 2001, Kara Svennungsen, sang “The Star Spangled Banner,” and Sound Barrier, a barbershop quartet, performed “America The Beautiful.”

Svennungsen and ABC Assistant Executive Director Jack Mordini hosted the night’s activities. ABC President Tom DeChalus of Deer Park, N.Y., and Billings Mayor Chuck Tooley made opening remarks and welcomed the bowlers. Mayor Tooley also declared Feb. 9 “American Bowling Congress Day.”

“Billings is proud to host one of the world’s largest sporting events,” Tooley said. “This is the culmination of a lot of hard work by a lot of people. I can assure you that Billings will do everything in its power to make the bowlers and visitors feel welcome.”

Max Shellabarger, a 47-year-old civil service quality manager from Roy, Utah, was crowned Joe Bowler and rolled the ceremonial first ball of the tournament. Dressed in the traditional cape and gown, Shellabarger, who was picked at random from all the bowlers competing on the opening night squad, left the 3-10 split.

“We’ve been bowling the opening night since 1994 and we just love it --- it’s a great tradition,” Shellabarger said. “I know that a lot of guys don’t want to be Joe Bowler, but I thought it was a great experience.” Assisting with the Joe Bowler festivities were Hall of Famers Dick Weber and Bill Lillard who competed in the Bowlers Care For Kids charity the night before. In addition to a good-luck kiss from Svennungsen, Shellabarger received two airline tickets to the 100th ABC Tournament in Knoxville, Tenn., in 2003.

After the opening day’s team competition, G & S Truck Repair (Bob Mills, Scott Albrecht, Bruce Biedrzycki, Chad Crayton and Paul Bergamini) of Charleston, S.C., and Rollin’ James No. 2 (James Leathem, James Kupres, Michelle Mumma, Michael Valentine and Clinton Smith) of New Port Richey, Fla., tied for the lead in the Regular Team division with 2,793. Valley Express (Gary Berns, Karen Berns, Todd Westmeyer, Ron Wingerter and Gerald Freitag) of Billings held the top spot in Classified Team with 2,622.

The 99th ABC Tournament is presented by Eldorado, Silver Legacy and Circus Circus in Reno and runs through June 23. For expanded results or more information on the 2002 ABC Tournament, visit ABCtournament.com.

Veteran Brunswick team from Pittsburgh area captures first 2002 ABC Team Challenge

Florida always has been good to members of Pittsburgh’s Brunswick team when it comes to the American Bowling Congress/Brunswick World Team Challenge. That trend continued Feb. 10 when the quintet won the opening event on the 2002 BWTC trail at Seminole Lanes in Seminole, Fla.

Robert Alexander, Jeff Poholsky, Roger Kossert, Doug Becker and Bruce Hollen combined for a 447-404 two-game Baker System championship victory over Sawgrass Lanes of Sunrise, Fla., to earn airfare and lodging for the BWTC Grand Championship in November plus $3,050 in cash, Keepsake championship rings and a sponsor’s trophy.

Brunswick won the Seminole BWTC qualifier during the 1995-96 season and in Winter Haven, Fla., in 1997-98 and 1998-99. The team placed 20th in the 1996 Grand Championship, 7th in 1997 and 11th in 1998.

Brunswick used a clean 220 first game to move ahead by 30 pins. Consecutive strikes by Alexander, Poholsky, Kossert and Becker in frames 6-9 of the second game sealed the outcome. “We made shots when we had to and bowled well as a team,” Poholsky said. “We’ve been together for six years. We know each other’s games.”

The winners earned $550 of their total prize winnings for placing seventh after qualifying. They added $1,500 plus a $1,000 bonus for winning the event. Brunswick advanced to the title match with a 412-380 victory over PK Limited of Davie, Fla.

Sawgrass Lanes (Craig Auerbach, Darin Hays, Don Yoshihara, Arturo Quintero and Andres Gomez) earned $2,600 for second place ($1,500 for first in qualifying plus $1,100). PK Limited (Bobby Walters, Andrew Shultz, Mike Roberts, Chris Loschetter and Chris Collins) collected $2,050 for third place ($1,100 for second place in qualifying plus $950).

Other finalists in the 49-team field from four states were: 4, Thrown Together, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., $1,500 (6th in qualifying-$650 + $850); 5, Brian Brazeau Pro Shop, Ocala, Fla., $1,600 (4th-$850 + $750); 6, Vic Telemarketing, Westfield, Mass., $1,600 (3rd-$950 + $650); 7, Kegel Training Center, Sebring, Fla., $1,300 (5th-$750 + $550); 8, Roto Grip-Dyno Thane, Tamarac, Fla., $800 (10th-$350 + $450); 9, Green Parrot Pub, Tampa, Fla., $800 (9th-$400 + $400); 10, Top of the Line Pool Service, Clearwater, Fla., $800 (8th-$450 + $350); 11, The Inside Angle Pro Shop, Pensacola, Fla., $650 (11th-$325 + $325); 12, It’s About Time, Hollywood, Fla., $570 (13th-$270 + $300); 13, Bowlers Hut II, Gainesville, Fla., $565 (12th-$300 + 265).

Team Challenged of Tavares, Fla., won the new three-player Second Chance event for teams not cashing after qualifying. Scotty Newell, Rick Morgan and James Higgs split $600. The next BWTC qualifier is Feb. 16-17 in Indianapolis. For entry information, contact Tom Boedecker at (800) 514-BOWL, Ext. 3415 or visit bowl.com.

U.S. males, Japan females dominate FIQ International Senior Open Masters events

Three male bowlers from the United States plus two females from Japan and one from the U.S. were the Masters winners Feb. 10 in the second annual Federation Internationale des Quilleurs International Senior Open at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev.

”Our bowlers are some of the best in the area and they are tired of the same old easy house shot,” League Secretary Linda Taylor said. ”Sport Bowling fulfills that need for competition and gives our bowlers the opportunity to become better. ”It is the cheapest lesson to buy in bowling. It teaches you to be an accurate bowler and it increases your skill as you practice on the lanes.”

Rudy Moreno, Reno, Nev.; Ed Sanwo, Fresno, Calif.; and H. Dean Garrett, Chesapeake, Va., walked away with the men’s gold medals. Moreno captured the men’s A division (ages 50-56), Sanwo the men’s B division (ages 57-66) and Garrett the men’s C division (67 and over).

In the women’s competition, Suzuko Hashimoto earned the A division crown and Nachiko Nishitani took the C division title and Victoria Krys, Sparks, Nev., won the B division championship. Moreno had a 1,766 pin total and averaged 221 for eight games to win the men’s A Masters gold medal.

James Garriott, Reno, Nev. won the A division silver medal with 1,732 and the bronze went to Mike Schwartz, North San Juan, Calif., with 1,583. Sanwo took the men’s B Masters in 12 games with a 2,794 total and averaged 223 for the tournament. Mike Martin, Vancouver, Wash., earned the silver medal with 2,692 and Toshihiro Takahashi, Shizuoka, Japan, earned bronze as the only male international player to earn a medal.

Garrett averaged 198 for the tournament and had a 1,580 pin total for eight games while going 6-2 in match play. The silver medal went to Don Der, Clarksville, Tenn., with 1,572 and bronze was awarded to Roger Wiemer, Springfield, Mo., with 1,539. Hasimoto, a 152 Japanese Bowling Congress average competitor, won the gold in the women’s A Masters with 1,093 in six games while averaging 182.

Linda Scott, Portland, Ore., earned the silver medal with 1,032 and Ann Bailey, Dalpark, South Africa, had 990 to win bronze.

In the women’s B Masters, Krys, a 187 Women’s International Bowling Congress average player, earned 1,502 and averaged 188 over eight games to win the gold medal. Tatsue Saito, Japan, won the silver medal with 1,497 and the bronze went to Yukiko Takahashi, Japan, with 1,583. Nishitani took the women’s C Masters in two games with a 381 total and Machiko Miyazaki, Japan, earned silver with 293. Gerd Utteberg, Oslo, Norway, did not finish due to an injury but earned the bronze medal.

For complete results and information, visit bowl.com.

Storm of Utah team members take leads in three events at ABC Tournament

Members of the Storm of Utah team moved atop three divisions after the opening weekend of the 2002 American Bowling Congress Championships Tournament in Billings, Mont. Wes Pye, Terry Leong, Tim Mack, Max Shellabarger and Corbet Austin combined for the team all-events lead with 9,324. Team all-events is the 45-game combined individual all-events score for all five team members.

Pye, Ogden, Utah, who took the individual all-events lead with 2,039, also moved into the singles lead with a 723 series. He was followed by: Mack, Stroudsburg, Pa., 1,919; Leong, San Francisco, 1,835; Shellabarger, Roy, Utah, 1,832; and Austin, North Odgen, Utah, 1,699.

Storm of Utah got off to a slow start, rolling a disappointing 2,740 in team competition Feb. 9, but came on strong in doubles and singles. “Traditionally, the shot moves inside at the ABC Tournament, but that wasn’t working for us,” Pye said. “In doubles and singles, we decided to move outside, and found we had a better reaction.”

Michael Valentine and Clint Smith of Port Richey, Fla., took the early lead in Regular Doubles with 1,319. Smith paced the duo with 672 while Valentine shot 647.

In Classified Doubles, Allen Richard and Ken Wylie of Wolf Port, Mont., grabbed the early lead with 1,207. Richard also posted the top score in Classified All-Events with 1,811. Both Richard and Wylie were competing in their first ABC Tournaments.

The 2002 events are taking place in Florida. The USA Junior Gold tournament is being held in Lakeland and Winter Haven, while the Coca-Cola Youth Bowling Championships will be exclusively in Winter Haven. The International Workshop is being conducted in nearby Orlando.