It's finally tournament time, that exciting time of the year when we all gear up for city and state tournaments, and of course, the USBC Open Championships. Since I will be busy at the Open Championships in Albuquerque for the next six months, my time on the lanes will be limited, but this weekend I had an opportunity to travel back to Milwaukee for a couple of prestigious events.
On Saturday, I bowled the team event of the Wisconsin State Tournament with Kristin Warzinski, Lucas Wiseman and Nick Siefers (also employees at USBC Headquarters) and Greg Thomas, who used to work at the USBC/Storm Bowlers Journal Championships. Despite a slow start, we finished with a 3,317 scratch total, and most of us were pretty satisfied with the overall effort. Although our score likely won't win, it was exciting just to participate in the event for the second consecutive year. Bowling in these tournaments is one of the main benefits of being a USBC member.
On Sunday, I bowled in the GMBA Classic Team Tournament with Team USA member and recent USBC Team USA Trials winner Derek Eoff and Bryan O'Keefe (also USBC employees), two-time Open Championships titlist Steve Brinkman and fellow left-hander Eric Fritton. Two years ago we won the event, but this year things just didn't go our way. With 26 teams, it was twice the size of the previous two events, and there were a lot of talented players from Wisconsin, Illinois and even Iowa. Honestly, I have no idea where were ended up, but we were far from making the cut to the top six.
Personally, at one point I thought I'd figured things out and started one of the four qualifying games with the front five, only to follow it up with an 8 pin and four splits for 190. Not the finish I was hoping for, but it was good for a laugh or two. I still have not heard who won, but whomever it was definitely earned it. The conditions were challenging and spares were VERY important, as it should have been. Definitely worth the trip just for the experience. Shot making, spare shooting and accuracy were the keys to success, just like the Open Championships, the Bowlers Journal Championships and the Roto Grip Sport Bowling Challenge in Albuquerque. Events like these are a great test of progress and ability and a great warm-up for the next event.
Anyway, after the tournament, a handful of us went off to the second big event of the day, an exciting all-you-can-eat sushi session. It was a good opportunity to have a nice meal and spend time with some really good friends before heading back to Albuquerque. You can bet I won't miss the freezing temperatures and piles of snow in Wisconsin, but I have met a lot of really great people in my time up there.
But with the fun weekend behind me, it's back to business. Things are continuing to come together at the convention center. In fact, last night they hung the new test scoreboards over the 12 side-event lanes. So far they look amazing and the graphics are sharp. I would encourage anyone who has time to check them out on the webcams. Also check out the seating areas, Center Aisle, Center Desk, the vendor booths, etc. It's really beginning to look like the one-of-a-kind stadium that we are so proud of each year.
With the venue almost ready, it's time to get the staff in place. Our managers and supervisors have been hard at work setting up their areas and training schedules and many of our travelers are in town, helping out and ready for the main event to begin. Orientation starts this coming weekend, and we'll all be hard at work early next week.
As of right now, I have planned an end-of-construction open house for sponsors and media on Feb. 6. The days after will be filled with our sweepers and practice sessions for local bowlers to test the lanes, machines and scoreboards, the high school tournament, Special Olympics, Bowlfest, youth tournament and finally opening day! Only 18 more days.
It's really something to be here and see this all come together and see the pride in everyone's eyes as the start of the tournament approaches. We are all glad to be here and to be able to put on such a memorable show for the bowlers each year.
