Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Clash of Champions on CBS Network TV

Watch Bowling's Clash of Champions on CBS on May 10 & 11.

Rhino Page Joins Storm Staff

Rhino Page joins the Staff of Champions of Storm Products. Page, of Topeka, Kansas, completed the greatest rookie season in the history of the Professional Bowlers Tour in 2007-08, which included a title at the Go RVing Classic in March. The 24-year old left-hander racked up five championship round appearances as a non exempt player finishing second twice, third and fifth.

Page graduated from the University of Kansas and is a five-time member of Team USA. He was a member of 2004 Intercollegiate Bowling Championships men's national team and the 2005 U.S. Amateur champion. He is the only bowler in history to win a (July) High Roller title (amateur), and a PBA national title.

USBC Queens ESPN2

Tune into United States Bowling Congress Queens Bowling Championships on ESPN2 tonight (April 30th) at 7pm EDT/6pm CDT.

As for bowlers, watch Lynda Barnes of the Dallas area as top seed. Joining Barnes in the stepladder finals are second seed Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y., third seed Amy Stolz of Castle Rock, Colo., fourth seed Joy Esterson of Annapolis, Md., and fifth seed Carol Gianotti of Australia.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Chilcutt to Ebonite

Ebonite International has announced that the company has restructured the Powerhouse® brand in order to put additional resources behind bowling coaching and bowler development programs.

Veteran coach and pro shop operator, Brian Chilcutt, has accepted this new position with the Powerhouse™ brand. In that capacity, he will oversee the company’s bowling and bowler development initiatives as well as the Powerhouse™ Pro Shop Equipment and Pro Shop Training Clinic businesses.

“In today’s business, qualified bowling coaches are a necessity, not a luxury. Without coaches, bowlers have no way of improving and therefore no desire to remain in the sport,” said vice president of marketing Bob Reid. “By adding coaching and bowler development to the charter of our Powerhouse™ brand, we are making an even further commitment to our great sport. “Brian Chilcutt is the ideal person to lead our brands, and really the entire industry, in the creation and implementation of programs, events, educational courses and other initiatives that will truly build better bowlers.

He has proven experience in the organization and promotion of targeted programs on the pro shop and bowler levels and it’s those successes that will help him lead the new Powerhouse™ brand in its coaching and bowler development plans.”

Chilcutt, a Gold certified coach who has been named a “Top 100” coach by Bowler’s Journal magazine for the past three years, has worked in every capacity of the bowling business from pro shop manager to lane technician to sales and event coordination. His shop, Striking Difference Pro Shop, is inside Hawthorn Lanes in Vernon Hills, Illinois.

“It’s an honor to be chosen for this position. It’s a responsibility that I do not take lightly and to which I will completely devote all my talents and skills. We’re out to build better bowlers, and better pro shops and to do so on a very large scale.” Chilcutt has relocated to the Hopkinsville area and can be reached at bchilcutt@powerhousebowling.com or 270-881-1200.

Media Watch: Bowling

From the Bowling Proprietor Association of America
USBC's latest public service announcement, featuring MVP candidate and USBC spokesperson Chris Paul, will air Saturday during Game 1 of the Hornets-Mavericks first-round series, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Eastern and nationally broadcast on ESPN.

Even Howard Stern recognizes the significant marketability of bowling. Earlier this week, Howard TV filmed "Girls. Bikinis. Bowling" in a Manhattan Bowling Center. The "wild international bowling competition" will be a May pay-per-view feature through the iN DEMAND Network.

Brandweek, a publication to companies and marketers interested in branding, did a nice article in it's April 7th issue on the Strike Ten - VH1 promotional partnership which included a photo of the Scott Baio stand up that STE sent to participating centers.

A four page story with photos on bowling appeared in Vibe magazine. One page had a full color shot of the NBA's Chris Paul bowling.

A movie to be called "Vicious Minds" had some scenes shot at Sky Top Lanes in Torrington, CT this week. Stars from the CSI TV series are in the movie.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

New Ball Spec To Take Effect Next April

From Luby Publishing's
BOWLERS JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL e-BOWLER NEWSLETTER

The USBC and bowling ball manufacturing company representatives have worked together during the past two years on a comprehensive study of bowling ball motion. Now complete, the cooperative research project's goal was to determine which characteristics have greater effects on the motion of modern, high-tech bowling balls as they roll down a lane.

One of the technical study's main findings is that the major factor in how a ball reacts on a lane is the chemistry of its cover material. Modern bowling balls can be constructed with extremely aggressive, porous chemical materials in the cover, giving the balls potential to easily gain traction and hook hard and sharp into the pins, despite heavy amounts of oil on the lane surface.

Left unregulated, modern bowling balls could have a disproportionate impact on scoring relative to player skill in the sport of bowling, a USBC press release said.

With that finding in mind, USBC has created a new manufacturing specification dealing with the porosity and chemistry of bowling ball surfaces. Recently approved and set to be implemented in April 2009, this initial specification sets precise limits for the first time on the gaps between microscopic indentations on the outer surface, or cover stock, of bowling balls. The distance between the tiny gaps has a significant impact on how aggressively a ball can hook on a lane. This component was determined to be the No. 1 factor that affects bowling ball motion.

Bowling's U.S.Women's Open Will Return

The U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN will return this fall with five consecutive weeks of telecasts on ESPN, showcasing the world's best women bowlers on national television for the second consecutive year. The event will take place July 31-Aug. 6 in the Chicago suburb of Romeoville, Ill., at Brunswick Zone XL. All five telecasts will be taped Aug. 5-6 and will air for five consecutive weeks beginning Sunday, Sept. 7 on ESPN at 1 p.m. Eastern.

Someting Old Something New

From Bob’s Business bowling products distributor, current balls being discontinued include: Brunswick’s Fury, Fury Pearl, Mammoth, Red Zone, Total Inferno, Ultimate Inferno, and Vapor Zone. Columbia’s Wrath High Flush. Ebonite’s Angular One, NVS, RXS300, and Total NV. Hammer- Black Widow Clear, No Mercy, Raw Hammer Doom and Raw Hammer Toxic. MoRich is losing the Sahara. Roto Grip- Epic Saga, Horizon, Horizon Solid, and SD-73. Storm – Paradigm, Paradigm Domination and Paradigm Passion.

Bowling stores (called pro shops) should be seeing the new Street Rod series from Storm Bowling. With Reactor coverstocks, the solid in Blue and Black is finished at 2000 Abralon, while the pearl, Red Pearl/Blue Pearl cover is 1500 finished with polish, and the Turbine core (lightbulb with a flip block on the bottom) produces RG/Diff numbers of: #16-2.53/.040, #15-2.55/.038, #14-2.58/.035. “Very Jolt like numbers but stronger” from Ernest Goedicke, Technical Director at Storm. And of course, the question you all need answered, the solid smells like blueberries and the pearl, strawberries. Love it! Check it out at: http://www.stormbowling.com/products/balls/ click on the new Street Rod or street Rod Pearl under HOT Series label.

Bowling is #1

The new SIMMONS NATIONAL CONSUMER SURVEY figures are in for year-end 2007 on number of people who bowl at least one time per year.

2007 = 67,136,000 with participation up 1.3%,
2006 = 66,279,000 with participation up 3.5%,
2005 = 64,048,000 with participation down 7.1%

Since 2005 (a down year), participation has increased. We can officially quote 67+ million bowlers annually over 6 years old - keeping bowling the nation's #1 participant sport.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

A Smattering of News from IBPSIA

Gleened from the weekly NET NEWS.

It took a lot longer then first thought to get the My 300 Club web site up and running. But it is finally ready, my300club.com. Developed by Danny Speranza Vice President of Product Development at 900Global. Speranza is former Manager of the Equipment Specification Department for the ABC/WIBC, Columbia 300 ball designer, AMF design engineer (AMF Angle and HPL9000). You can also get to the site from the 900 Global home page.

The Coaching Camps and Clinics Listing, a state-by- state directory of bowling camps and clinics, is up and running on bowl.com.

IBPSIA first year board member and Secretary Brian Chilcutt has accepted the position of Brand Manager for the PowerHouse Brand, announced V.P. Marketing of Ebonite International, Inc., Bob Reid. Both Chilcutt and Reid are in Arlington, Texas attending the first Skills Center training. Brian previously was the proprietor of Striking Differences Pro Shop in Hawthorne, IL. PowerHouse still has an opening for a product manager working for Chilcutt in developing the PowerHouse Brand. Go to www.ibpsia.com and click on Employment Opportunities for more information.

Roto Grip declares April "Movie Month." This is your opportunity to win Free Roto Grip equipment. All you need to do is submit your videos using Roto Grip equipment, being creative of course, to our Youtube.com group. Remember, we are looking for your creativity, Anything goes! The only requirement is somewhere in your video you must feature the Cell. Submissions accepted April 1 - 30. Top ten announced May 1st; loyal Roto Grip Kingdom fan club then votes through a Roto Grip website contest. Video with the most votes wins the grand prize.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Register for a Youtube.com account if you don't already have one.
2. Record and upload your video to your youtube account.
3. Go to www.youtube.com/group/rotogrip and upload your video to our group.

A scientific look into Bowling’s future science and coaching are coming together in exciting new ways to propel the sport of bowling into a new era. Take a peek at:
(http://www.bowl.com/sportbowling/articleView.aspx?i=14075&f=12at). You will find sophisticated biomechanics technology developed by USBC that could soon change the way coaches gives lessons.

New certification courses have been added to the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) 2008 schedule. Registration is quick and easy for Bronze and Silver level courses at bowl.com.

STRIKE TEN, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH VH1, is hosting special viewing parties of VH1 Celebreality TV shows at select bowling centers across the country. That's right! 500 simultaneous viewing parties all tuned in to VH1 on Sunday nights between 8PM and 11PM (check local listings for exact times). Drawings will be held for in-center giveaways. Participating centers are listed at www.vh1.com, www.gobowling.com and even linked from Bret Michaels website. There is also a Sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip for two to VH1 Rock Honors!!!

Columbia 300 has once again committed to sponsor the Mini-Eliminator, one of the world’s most famous tournaments, and the 2008 Summer Classic. Scheduled for June 30 – July 6, the Summer Classic will offer $42,500 in guaranteed prize money, including a $20,000 top prize and $5,000 for the winner of the Columbia 300 Shootout.

TEXAS COMES THROUGH WITH GRANT FOR USBC MOVE. The United States Bowling Congress is the recipient of a $693,000 award from the Texas Enterprise Fund, clearing the way for the organization to move its headquarters to Arlington, Texas.

BROADCAST TEAM SET FOR THE 'CLASH' Former NFL star and Hall of Famer Lynn Swann, bowling great Nelson Burton Jr. and CBS Sports play-by-play announcer Bill Macatee will call the action for "Bowling's Clash of Champions" on CBS Sports later this spring.