City Tournament hoping to draw large field at Boulevard Bowl

PHOTOGRAPHER: Bob Weiner

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Don’t put your bowling ball away just yet.

The 79th annual Schenectady USBC BA City Championship Tournament kicks off Monday at Boulevard Bowl, and the Schenectady Bowling Association is hoping for a huge turnout in its premier event.

Entry fee for the four-person team event is $80 per team. Doubles is $40 per team, and singles is $20 per bowler. The fee for all-events is $5, and that must be paid before the bowler competes in any individual event.

All participants must be Schenectady USBC BA-sanctioned. Handicap will be 90 percent of 240. The tournament will pay one in eight spots in the handicap divisions and the top three spots in the scratch divisions.

To get the tournament off on the right foot, tournament organizers have scheduled a “Scratch Challenge” squad for Monday night, with an extra $5 to enter. The winning team will be declared “City Challenge champion” and will win all the extra money. Their scores can also be used for the regular team event. The winners of the City Challenge also receive championship trophies and free entries into this year’s awards and hall of fame banquet.

The rest of the tournament schedule will be Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., Thursday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m., and May 8 through May 11 at 6:30 p.m.

With Boulevard Bowl proprietor Mike Scaccia urging his league members to enter, and the SBA office being located at Boulevard, this stop for the City Tournament is usually one of the best, in terms of total entries.

By the way, the SBA hasn’t increased the cost of this tournament, in any of the divisions, for the last six years. That’s a pretty good buy in this economy.

For more information, contact Steve Renzi (399-2942) or association manager Lloyd Denny (355-5632).

PRO CORNER

Local bowlers made a strong showing at last weekend’s PBA East Region 900 Global Open, held at Hoe Bowl in Catskill.

Although touring pro Ryan Ciminelli of Cheektowaga won and took the top prize of $2,500, Mike Drexel of Delanson finished 10th and took home $650.

Other local players who cashed included Roy Vanderbogart of Gansevoort in 20th ($425), former touring pro Brian LeClair of Athens in 21st ($425), Tom Yadanza of Saratoga Springs in 35th ($225) and Len Reyngoudt of Catskill in 38th ($250). Yadanza and Reyngoudt are seniors.

Albany’s Nunzi Manuli (32nd), Catskill’s Gene Speenburgh (42nd), Athens’ Conor LeClair (45th), Petersburg’s Chuck Douglas (51st), Catskill’s John Riozzi Jr. (52nd), Canajoharie’s Jeff Voght (62nd), Clifton Park’s Bob Kavanaugh (63rd), Schenectady’s Chris Fawcett (68th), Ballston Spa’s R.J. Martinez (80th), Burnt Hills’ Ed Gumm (83rd), Hudson’s John Porreca Jr. (88th) and Johnny Cassera (89th), and Schoharie’s Eric Race (91st) also participated.

Lennie Boresch Jr., making his PBA Senior Tour debut, defeated 2011 Senior Rookie of the Year Ricky Beck of Box Elder, S.D., 278-266, to win the PBA Senior Sun Bowl In The Villages, presented by Storm, Tuesday at Spanish Springs Lanes.

Boresch’s good fortune continues when he is inducted into the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame later this week. He just turned 50 on April 19.

Boresch is known for his success in PBA regional competition, where he has won 25 PBA regional titles. His top finishes on the PBA national tour are a fifth and two sixth-place finishes. He also owns three USBC Open Championships titles.

PBA Hall of Famer Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Ocala, Fla., boosted his career PBA title total to 81 overall, including regional wins, when he defeated reigning PBA Senior Player of the Year Ron Mohr of Eagle River, Alaska, by 116 pins recently to win the PBA South Region Don Carter Signature Series Tampa Senior Open at AMF University Lanes.

In women’s pro bowling, Diandra Asbaty of Chicago defeated USBC Hall of Famer Carolyn Dorin-Ballard of Keller, Texas, 244-227, to win her first career major title at the 2012 USBC Queens, presented by Storm.

CERTIFICATION NEEDED

Beginning this fall, coaches seeking certification at any level through the United States Bowling Congress will have to be approved through the Registered Volunteer Program (RVP). The USBC Coaching Certification and Development team also announced that current coaches will need to be approved through RVP as part of their continuing education process.

USBC implemented RVP, a background screening program, to help provide a safe environment for USBC Youth members. The program ensures the USBC is doing everything it can to protect youth bowlers. As the NGB for bowling, USBC follows guidelines of the United States Olympic Committee and the USOC launched its SafeSport program earlier this year.

Under the new guidelines that take effect Aug. 1, new coaching candidates will have to be approved through RVP prior to becoming certified. Coaches who will be taking part in upcoming Bronze, Silver and Gold certification courses have been notified of the new requirement.

For current USBC certified coaches, RVP is now part of the continuing education program. Coaches will need to become approved through RVP by the end of their continuing education period to remain active. Coaches will earn two Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for becoming RVP approved.

STRIKES AND SPARES

u The Huck Finn Jack Scaccia Sr. Memorial, the most lucrative and prestigious event of the year, will conduct its final qualifiers Sunday at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. at Boulevard Bowl, with the semifinals and head-to-head match play following at

1:30 p.m. The top four bowlers will advance to the live TV finals May 6 at 10:30 a.m. at Alpha Lanes in Troy. The finals will be televised on FOX23. Top prize will be $4,000.

u Chuck’s Stars, including Mark Tranelli, Jerry Hart and captain Chuck Farah, won the second-half and overall titles in the Gazette league at Sportsman’s Bowl. Mark Landolfo was the average leader with a 220.

u Team Peanuts, including Betty Mae Belli, Ellie Lewis and Nina Alger, won the Monday’s Funnies league at Sportsman’s Bowl.

u The Sportsman’s Majors league, which bowls Monday nights, is looking to expand next season. Anyone interested should contact Sportsman’s Bowl at 355-4330.

u Jimmy Schmitzer, 18, of Riverside, Calif., became the 20th bowler to roll a USBC-sanctioned 900 triple in the Green River Vegas mixed league at Brunswick Classic Lanes in Norco, Calif. last Friday night. The league consists of 17 five-player teams.

u The Capital District Youth Scholarship Tour wraps up its season with the Masters Tournament Saturday at Town ’N Country at 9:30 a.m. This special event will be a Junior Gold Qualifier, with scholarship funds expected to exceed $2,000. The tournament is open only to those CDYST members who competed in four or more events this season.

u Redwood Lanes will host the next New Era Senior Tour event May 5 at 11 a.m.

u Sportsman’s Bowl will conduct a 10-week PBA Summer League on Thursday nights, beginning May 17 at 7 p.m. The three-person teams will bowl four games each week on five different PBA patterns. Call Paul Adkins at 355-4330 for more information.

u Also at Sportsman’s Bowl, there will be a 10-week Tuesday Night Classic, beginning May 15. Three-person teams will bowl three games each week. Team average cap will be 675. Handicap will be 80 percent of 220, and weekly dues will be $20. Call Sportsman’s to reserve a spot.

u Sportsman’s will have an Adult/Child 10-week league, beginning May 6, and a 10-week Bumper league, starting May 15 at 6 p.m.

u The Schenectady-Scotia USBC Women’s Bowling Association’s City Championship begins Monday and runs through May 12 at Sportsman’s Bowl. Weekday squads begin at 6:30 p.m., while the Saturday squads will be held at 11 a.m. and as needed. Team competition will have one division, while the doubles and singles will have Class A, Class B and Class C. Handicap will be 100 percent in each event.

u The Schenectady-Scotia Women’s Bowling Association’s 75th anniversary awards dinner will be held June 12 in the Terrace Room at the Waters Edge Lighthouse on Freemans Bridge Road at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $32 and dinner choices are chicken marsala, prime rib or herb-crusted salmon. Contact Millie Kielmann at 390-9499 for tickets.

u Redwood Lanes’ Cutting Edge Doubles league will expand to 24 teams next season at 6:15 p.m. on Monday nights. Membership fee will be $150. There will be more than $26,000 in prize money. Last year, the league paid out $17,500 with 14 teams. There will be a 455 maximum scratch limit per team. The league will bowl for 32 weeks, plus a week of tournament play. Call 869-3581 or 496-7812 for more information.

u The USBC New York State Bowling Open Championship continues until May 6 at Spare Time-South Glens Falls.

u The Schenectady League at Rolling Greens Lanes is looking for bowlers for next season. The league bowls for 28 weeks at a cost of $25 per week. The league operates on a point-system basis. Interested bowlers should call Rolling Greens at 381-4848 or Cliff Ruth at 847-8089.

u Towne Bowling Academy will be offering various summer leagues, including sport leagues and adult-junior leagues, beginning this month and running for 10 weeks. Among those leagues will be a PBA Sport Trio league on Wednesday nights. That 10-week program will cost $20 per week, and will run through the last week of June. Call 355-3939 for more information.

u This is the final bowling column of the season. See you in September.