With COVID-19 death toll rising in Florida, PBA postpones PBA50 Tour World Series of Bowling

Monday the PBA announced that it was postponing the PBA50 Tour World Series of Bowling that was scheduled for Aug. 8-15 at The Villages, Florida.

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PBA League Rescheduled for September 26-28; Miami Waves and Phoenix Fury Teams Drafted

New York, NY – The Professional Bowlers Association has completed its roster of twelve teams to compete in the 2020 PBA League Elias Cup with the addition of 10 of the world’s best female bowlers to the Miami Waves and Phoenix Fury.

The twelve teams now split into two divisions, Carter and Anthony, will take to the lanes at *Bayside Bowl in Portland, ME, on September 26-28, with hometown team Portland Lumberjacks, looking to defend the prestigious Elias Cup. Bowling’s most thrilling team event was postponed due to Covid-19 health and safety precautions.

The seeding round will take place on September 26, followed by eight hours of live competition broadcasted on FS1 in four telecasts on consecutive days as follows:

PBA Elias Cup: Quarterfinals – Sunday, September 27, 12 p.m. ET on FS1
PBA Elias Cup: Quarterfinals – Sunday, September 27, 7 p.m. ET on FS1
PBA Elias Cup: Semifinals – Monday, September 28, 7 p.m. ET on FS1
PBA Elias Cup: Finals – Monday, September 28, 9 p.m. ET on FS1

After winning the coin toss, Phoenix Fury selected two-time, reigning PWBA Player of the Year Shannon O’Keefe as the first pick of the special PBA League Draft, followed by 5-time PWBA Champion Danielle McEwan to the Miami Waves. The draft was conducted virtually live on FloBowling with 35 eligible players based on 2019 PWBA Points. The two new 5-player rosters were selected in order (listed below), followed by 2020 full rosters.
Shannon O’Keefe, Phoenix Fury
Danielle McEwan, Miami Waves
Liz Johnson, Phoenix Fury
Dasha Kovalova, Miami Waves
Jordan Richard, Phoenix Fury
Clara Guerrero, Miami Waves
Stefanie Johnson, Phoenix Fury
Liz Kuhlkin, Miami Waves
Maria José Rodriguez, Phoenix Fury
Missy Parkin, Miami Waves

2020 PBA League Division Line-Ups and Rosters

Carter Division:

Dallas Strikers
Manager: Norm Duke
Norm Duke
Tommy Jones
Bill O'Neill
Brad Miller
Nick Pate

Philadelphia Hitmen
Manager: Jason Couch
Dom Barrett
Tom Smallwood
Shawn Maldonado
Jason Sterner
Matt Ogle

Brooklyn Styles
Manager: Johnny Petraglia
Walter Ray Williams Jr.
Brad Angelo
Rhino Page
BJ Moore
Thomas Larsen

Silver Lake Atom Splitters
Manager: Mark Baker
Chris Barnes
Jesper Svensson
Tom Daugherty
Chris Via
AJ Chapman

Las Vegas High Rollers
Manager: Amleto Monacelli
Francois Lavoie
Andrew Anderson
AJ Johnson
Richie Teece
Ildemaro Ruiz

Phoenix Fury
Manager: Kim Terrell-Kearney
Shannon O’Keefe
Liz Johnson
Jordan Richard
Stefanie Johnson
Maria José Rodriguez

Anthony Division:

NYC KingPins
Manager: Carolyn Dorin-Ballard
Pete Weber
Marshall Kent
Kyle Sherman
Darren Tang
Osku Palermaa

Motown Muscle
Manager: Del Ballard
EJ Tackett
Anthony Simonsen
Josh Blanchard
Mitch Hupe
Matt McNiel

Portland Lumberjacks
Manager: Tim Mack
Wes Malott
Kyle Troup
Kris Prather
Martin Larsen
Packy Hanrahan

L.A. X
Manager: Andrew Cain
Jason Belmonte
Jakob Butturff
Stu Williams
Patrick Girard
Anthony Lavery-Spahr

Brew City Ballers
Manager: Marshall Holman
Sean Rash
Ryan Ciminelli
Dick Allen
Christopher Sloan
Zeke Bayt

Miami Waves
Manager: Bob Learn Jr.
Danielle McEwan
Dasha Kovalova
Clara Guerrero
Liz Kuhlkin
Missy Parkin

*Location subject to change due to local government restrictions.

The World Series of Bowling for The Professional Bowlers Association Players 50+

THE VILLAGES, Fla. - The World Series of Bowling concept has come to the PBA50 Tour. The Professional Bowlers Association has announced the first-ever Florida Blue Medicare PBA50 WSOB, slated for August 8-15 at Spanish Springs Lanes at The Villages, Fl.

The multi-faceted event will feature three PBA50 title tournaments on different Legend oil patterns (PBA Roth 42, PBA Ballard 34 and PBA Petraglia 46), plus the main event PBA50 Florida Blue Medicare National Championship as the focal point PBA50 major on PBA Holman 37.

A full field of 192 of the greatest bowlers more than 50 years of age is expected for the $224,000 PBA50 WSOB event, including many PBA Hall of Famers such as Walter Ray Williams Jr., Norm Duke, Pete Weber, Parker Bohn, Johnny Petraglia and Amleto Monacelli. PBA50 newcomers and Hall of Famers Chris Barnes and Jason Couch are also expected to compete.

FloBowling will have exclusive coverage of all rounds of the competition, including four different match play rounds and all of the finals.

Faced with the global pandemic threatening the cancellation of the entire 2020 PBA50 Tour, the PBA and longtime partner Larry Ducat at The Villages worked together to create this event, in the mold of the Go Bowling! PBA Tour WSOB and its multiple opportunities for players in one location with one entry fee, which celebrated its 11th year earlier in 2020.

As in the PBA WSOB, the PBA50 WSOB qualifying games in the PBA Mark Roth Championship, PBA Del Ballard Championship, and PBA Johnny Petraglia Championship will count towards the main event PBA National Championship.

Health and safety measures will be paramount at the event at The Villages, considering state and local guidelines. Among other things, there will be three squads of qualifying to ensure social distancing during play.

The rest of the previously scheduled 2020 PBA50 Tour has been canceled, meaning the following events: Johnny Petraglia BVL Open, Mooresville Open, Lubbock Sports Cup, Suncoast US Senior Open, Fountain Valley Open, River City Extreme Open, South Shore Open, Championship Lanes Classic, Spectrum Lanes Open, Jax 60 Open, and the PBA60 Dick Weber Classic.

The PBA expresses thanks to all the previously scheduled 2020 PBA50 Tour hosts and hopes to be back in 2021 to all the great partner venues.

One $750 entry fee enters each player into all four events. The PBA50 National Championship will have a first place prize of $15,000 and pay ratio of 1:3, plus eight Super Senior cash spots. The top 24 in each of the three Legend Pattern events plus four Super Senior will cash, with the winners of all three Legend Pattern events earning $3,500. Entry information is at pba.com.

Roto Grip Introduces the New MVP Attitude August 7th

ROTO GRIP MVP ATTITUDE STREET DATE - AUGUST 7

Coverstock: VTC-H20™ Hybrid Reactive Weight Block: Neutron NXT™ Core Factory Finish: 3000-grit Color: Golden Pearl / Violet Pearl / Purple Solid

Featuring the same proven Neutron NXT™ Core as its predecessors, Roto Grip took the step forward in hybrid cover stock technology with the VTC-H20™ by adjusting material ratios in order to ensure mid-lane performance without losing responsiveness to friction thanks to the two parts pearl. Not to mention the cover is finished with a 3000-grit Pad to ensure this ball has adequate traction in oil. This is definitely a reaction missing for both Storm and Roto Grip brands in the lower price points for quite some time now. Engineered For – Medium Oil conditions

New Storm Bowling Balls to Hit The Streets August 7th.

STORM PARALLAX™ - PREMIER LINE 

With their large weight block volume and heavy, dense materials, most asymmetrical balls from Storm have a very low radius of gyration. But the new Aeroflo™ Core isn’t like most other balls. If you look closely, you’ll see a very large portion of the inner weight block has been removed to allow light weight core material to flow around and through the unique shape inside. This design creates a much higher center of gravity while maintaining a large amount of differential, both total and intermediate. 

Coverstock: TractionX7™ Hybrid ReactiveWeight Block: Aeroflo™ CoreFactory Finish: 1500-grit Polished

STORM TREND™ - SIGNATURE LINE

Benjamin Franklin’s famously quoted in 1789 that “there are no sure things in life other than death and taxes,” but he forgot a third guarantee in life—that in our sport, more entry angle leads to a wider pocket! And if you have been using Storm for a number of years, then you know that feeling you get when you leak the ball a little more to the outside than others on your pair and still get it to come back to the pocket! You know that feeling, and it’s a good one! It’s how tournaments are won.

Coverstock: R2S™ Pearl Reactive
Weight Block: Piston™ Core
Factory Finish: 1500-grit Polished

!Q™ Tour NANO - MASTER LINE

The premise is wickedly simple: create a ball that’s worthy of your time, energy, and dollars. It’s no mystery that the !Q has become a staple in Storm’s lineup of high performance bowling balls. Favored by bowlers of all levels all over the globe, anyone and everyone can benefit from the benchmark reaction the !Q series is able to provide.

Coverstock: Nano™ Pearl Reactive
Weight Block: C³™ Centripetal Control Core
Factory Finish: 3000-grit Polished®


These Storm bowling balls hit the street August 7th, 2020

USBC MODIFIES RULES TO HELP ALLOW A RETURN TO COMPETITIVE BOWLING

ARLINGTON, Texas – The United States Bowling Congress Board of Directors approved waivers and modifications to USBC Playing Rules to allow certified leagues and tournaments more flexibility to return to bowling while adhering to local health guidelines related to COVID-19.  

The modifications allow certified competition to take place on one lane for the entirety of a game. Additionally, bowlers will be allowed to use isopropyl alcohol, more commonly known as rubbing alcohol, to clean their bowling ball during competition. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lists isopropyl alcohol as an approved disinfectant for use against COVID-19.

“As bowling centers around the country are reopening, USBC intends to give operators the most flexibility possible to resume bowling within their local guidelines,” USBC Executive Director Chad Murphy said. “We have been listening to proprietors and members as they prepare to resume certified play and made these changes based on that input. Our goal is to facilitate bowling again in a way that meets the need locally and USBC is ready to quickly consider and activate additional changes based on feedback from centers and associations.”

The USBC Board has the authority to temporarily amend or suspend league and tournament rules in emergency cases. With the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, USBC reviewed its rules and policies to identify areas of concern relating to player safety and to determine how it could promote efforts while centers adjust operations to meet local guidelines.

Effective immediately, USBC has temporarily waived USBC Playing Rules 106a, 106b, 320a and 320b, which state two lanes must be used for competition and bowlers must alternate lanes – bowling five frames on each lane of the pair. It also waived the requirement that both lanes must be used for a bowler to be eligible for awards and average recognition.

The temporary waiver allows competitions to use one lane for the entirety of a game and allows recognition of scores bowled on a single lane for USBC High Score Awards and for a bowler’s official average.

USBC will continue to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and can rescind the waiver of Rules 106a,106b, 320a and 320b at any time.

USBC also created an exception for Rule 18, which restricts the use of liquid cleaners to clean the outer surface of the bowling ball during USBC certified competition. The exception for Rule 18 applies only to isopropyl alcohol – no other USBC-approved cleaners will be allowed during competition.

The USBC Board, which has the authority over General Playing Rules, was able to make the rules waivers following the adoption of General Playing Rule 14 - Emergency Authorizations. Rule 14 states USBC may authorize temporary modifications to the General Playing Rules, Award, League and Tournament Rules in cases of emergency and that such authorizations will be for a specified period.

Visit BOWL.com/Rules for more information on USBC Rules.

PBA League Draft Announcement

The 2020 PBA League Draft will be held Sunday, May 17, at 7 pm ET, and presented virtually, live on FloBowling, the PBA announced today. The draft will be conducted remotely for the first time, with team managers making their selections from their home locations due to COVID-19.

The PBA League, established in 2013 by the Professional Bowlers Association, features 5-player teams of the top bowlers in the world. Competition is slated for July 20-23 in Portland, ME, at Bayside Bowl, with live coverage of the seeding round on FloBowling, July 20, and finals on FS1, July 21-23.

The League will be adding two expansion clubs this season, the Las Vegas High Rollers and the Brew City (Milwaukee) Ballers, bringing the the number of teams to 10.

The High Rollers, managed by PBA Hall of Famer Amleto Monacelli and Ballers, managed by fellow PBA Hall of Famer Marshall Holman, own the first selections (based on coin toss) and will fill out their full 5-player rosters at the draft.

The other eight teams, including defending champion Portland Lumberjacks, will make two selections during the serpentine draft to fill out their five player rosters. Each of the eight original teams (Portland, L.A. X, Dallas Strikers, NYC KingPins, Silver Lake Atom Splitters, Motown Muscle, Brooklyn Styles and Philadelphia Hitmen) have previously protected three players from their 2019 rosters (listed below).

Lumberjacks manager Tim Mack, by virtue of his team's Elias Cup winning performance in 2019, twill select 10th in third round, and first in the 4th round.

To be eligible for the draft, players must be ranked in the top 75 from a rolling PBA points list of 2019 and 2020 events. Headlining the list of eligible players are PBA champions Sean Rash, Francois Lavoie, Dick Allen, Andrew Anderson, BJ Moore, Jake Peters, Thomas Larsen, Jason Sterner, Ryan Ciminelli, DJ Archer, Osku Palermaa, Andres Gomez, Richard Teece, Ronnie Russell, Matt Ogle, Matt Sanders, Graham Fach, Ryan Shafer and Chris Loschetter. (Full draft eligible list below).

The 2020 Draft was originally slated for March 15 at the site of the PBA World Series of Bowling in Las Vegas, but was postponed due to COVID-19.

PBA CEO Colie Edison and PBA Tour Commissioner Tom Clark made the announcement of the virtual draft Wednesday April 29th on FloBowling.

Draft order:

First pick, for expansion teams Brew City or Las Vegas decided by coin toss to launch draft. Then, those two expansion teams will get first two rounds: For example (in scenario Las Vegas wins coin toss):
Round 1: 1. Las Vegas (if win coin toss). 2. Brew City.
Round 2. 1. Brew City. 2. Las Vegas.
Then, other teams join snake draft, in reverse order of finish in 2019, with expansion teams first.
Two rounds of full league draft will finalize existing team rosters.
Round 3: 1. Las Vegas. 2. Milwaukee. 3. Philadelphia. 4. Brooklyn. 5. Motown. 6. Silver Lake. 7. NYC. 8. Dallas. 9. L.A. 10. Portland
Round 4: 1. Portland. 2. L.A. 3. Dallas. 4. NYC. 5. Silver Lake. 6. Motown. 7. Brooklyn. 8. Philadelphia. 9. Milwaukee. 10. Las Vegas.
Round 5 (expansion teams only, to complete rosters): 1. Las Vegas. 2. Milwaukee.
Draft complete.

Draft eligible players (listed in order by PBA points 2019-2020):
5 Sean Rash Montgomery, Ill. 41,360.00
13 Francois Lavoie, Canada 28,660.50
17 Dick Allen, Lexington, S.C. 24,622.50
19 AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill. 24,165.50
20 Brad Miller, Lees Summit, Mo. 23,990.00
22 Darren Tang, Las Vegas 22,138.00
25 Nicholas Pate, Inver Grove Heights, Minn. 18,440.00
27 Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich. 17,838.00
30 AJ Chapman, Manchester, Iowa 16,887.50
31 BJ Moore, Greensburg, Pa. 16,378.00
32 Mitch Hupe, Canada 16,185.50
33 Jake Peters Henderson, Nev. 15,325.00
34 Thomas Larsen, Denmark 15,288.00
35 Jason Sterner, Rochester, NY 15,278.00
36 Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas 14,672.50
37 Ryan Ciminelli Lancaster, S.C. 14,500.50
38 DJ Archer Friendswood, Texas 14,290.00
39 Chris Via Springfield, Ohio 14,115.00
40 Zacharay Wilkins, Canada 14,090.50
41 Osku Palermaa, Finland 13,615.00
42 Patrick Girard, Canada 13,455.00
43 Andres Gomez, Colombia 12,080.00
44 Sam Cooley, Australia 11,723.00
45 Mykel Holliman, Collierville, Tenn. 11,320.00
46 Michael Tang, San Francisco 11,065.00
47 Richard Teece, England 10,620.00
49 Patrick Hanrahan, Wichita, Kan. 10,440.00
50 Christopher Sloan, Ireland 10,415.00
51 Martin Larsen, Sweden 10,390.00
52 Greg Ostrander, Brick, N.J. 9,588.00
53 Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind. 9,337.50
54 Arturo Quintero, Mexico 8,628.00
55 Sean Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas 8,562.50
56 Greg Young Viera, Fla. 8,490.00
57 Matthew Ogle, Louisville, Ky. 8,447.50
58 Matthew McNiel, Minneapolis, Minn. 8,300.00
59 Nick Kruml, Downers Grove, Ill. 8,183.00
60 Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela 7,752.50
61 Matt Sanders, Indianapolis 7,340.00
62 Kenneth Ryan, Farmingdale, NJ 7,235.00
63 Nathan Bohr, Austin, Texas 6,915.00
65 Kamron Doyle, Brentwood, Tenn. 6,623.00
66 Zeke Bayt, Westerville, Ohio 6,445.00
67 Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio 6,358.00
68 Brian Robinson, Morgantown, W.Va. 6,332.50
69 Graham Fach, Canada 6,152.50
70 Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y. 5,872.50
71 Michael Davidson, Versailles, Ohio 5,770.00
72 Jake Rollins, Glen Rock, N.J. 5,758.00
73 Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio 5,733.00
74 Michael Martell, Brooklyn, N.Y. 5,628.00
75 Pontus Andersson, Sweden 5,455.00

Current PBA League team rosters (three protected players from 2019):

Motown Muscle
Manager: Del Ballard
EJ Tackett
Anthony Simonsen
Josh Blanchard

Philadelphia Hitmen
Manager: Jason Couch
Dom Barrett
Tom Smallwood
Shawn Maldonado

Brooklyn Styles
Manager: Johnny Petraglia
Walter Ray Williams Jr.
Brad Angelo
Rhino Page

Dallas Strikers
Manager: Norm Duke
Norm Duke
Tommy Jones
Bill O'Neill

L.A. X
Manager: Andrew Cain
Jason Belmonte
Jakob Butturff
Stu Williams

Portland Lumberjacks
Manager: Tim Mack
Wes Malott
Kyle Troup
Kris Prather

Silver Lake Atom Splitters
Manager: Mark Baker
Chris Barnes
Jesper Svensson
Tom Daugherty

NYC KingPins
Manager: Carolyn Dorin-Ballard
Pete Weber
Marshall Kent
Kyle Sherman
 

Expansion teams:
Las Vegas High Rollers
Manager: Amleto Monacelli

Brew City Ballers
Manager: Marshall Holman