GREENDALE, Wis. — Sport Bowling action rolls into homes nationwide Monday, Sept. 16, 2002 on ESPN2 (10-11 p.m.) as the Professional Women's Bowling Association's top stars battle for $25,000 in the Sport Bowling Champions Challenge at Fern Valley Strike and Spare in Louisville, Ky.
Sport Bowling, developed by the Women's International Bowling Congress and the American Bowling Congress, features challenging lane conditions that emphasize skill and technique while reestablishing credibility in the sport of bowling.
The Sport Bowling Champions Challenge will feature the nine 2002 PWBA champions from the spring and summer swings. Kim Terrell (left), Michelle Feldman, Kim Adler, Kendra Gaines, Brenda Norman, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, Cara Honeychurch, Leanne Barrette, and Marianne DiRupo will compete for the title of Sport Bowling Tournament Champion. The top three scorers advance to the ESPN2-televised stepladder finals on official WIBC/ABC Sport Bowling lane conditions. The champion will receive $7,500 and the revered Sport Bowling crystal pin trophy.
The Sport Bowling Champions Challenge was conducted in conjunction with the Louisville Open July 28-Aug. 1. The finals were taped Aug. 1 for a later airing.
ROCKFORD, Ill. (August 3, 2001) — Following extensive negotiations with the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America on the prize structure of and broadcast time allocations for the 2001 BPAA U.S. Open, the touring players of the Professional Women's Bowling Association have voted not to participate in the event, scheduled to be held December 1-9 at Fountain Bowl in Fountain Valley, Calif.
Bowling's U.S. Open, which is conducted by the BPAA, has been staged as a co-ed event the past three years, with an equal distribution of the prize fund contributed by then-presenting sponsor AMF Bowling Inc. and with equal television for women and men. AMF Bowling's involvement with the U.S. Open ended with the 2000 Bowling's U.S. Open.
Earlier this year, the PWBA was informed by the BPAA that it was entering into a licensing agreement with the Professional Bowlers Association for the U.S. Open that would guarantee the men a purse of $350,000 and all 90 minutes of television coverage allocated for the event, while the women's share for participating at the same venue and with the same competitive format would come to $187,500 or less with no television coverage. The U.S. Open is considered the most prestigious national championship for amateur and professional female and male bowlers in the country, and all competitors regardless of gender should be treated equally in terms of television exposure, prize funds and on-site amenities. Despite numerous attempts over the past several weeks to sway BPAA officials to this position, the inequity remains and the 2001 U.S. Open will be conducted within the above-stated parameters.
Therefore, guided by the principle that in any co-ed sports competition, female and male athletes should be treated equally with regard to purses or prize money, television coverage, and the provision of on-site amenities, 49 touring members of the PWBA, including the top 20 ranked players for 2001, agreed to adopt the above-stated principle of competition as a provision of the PWBA Tour Code of Ethics and for membership, and have pledged not to participate in any co-ed tournament that does not offer equal prize money*, television time and on-site amenities to female and male bowlers (*tournaments in which prize money is wholly determined based on entry fees alone to be excluded).
"PWBA members are very disappointed by this development in one of our major championships," said Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, president of the PWBA Players' Association and the top-ranked woman on the 2001 PWBA Tour. "We appreciate the BPAA's hosting it, and we enjoy competing in it on the same lanes and under the same format as the men. However, we believe that such a prestigious event should reflect the principle of equal treatment of female and male athletes. The PWBA would never have suggested to the BPAA that women receive twice the purse of the men for this event, and the PBA would never have permitted that to happen. The PWBA cannot and will not accept unequal prize purses and television coverage. We say this not only as professional women bowlers, but as potential role models for the next generation of women who want to pursue careers as professional athletes."
Billie Jean King, founder and chair of the Board of Trustees of the Women's Sports Foundation, noted in support of the PWBA players' decision that "It is so important for athletes and administrators to be leaders. Doing the right thing starts with saying the right thing and standing on principle. There are still men and women's championship events all over the world that are stuck in the Dark Ages. What's the big deal about valuing men and women, and male and female athletes, equally? It's time for all of us to embrace gender equity in sport.
"I think it's great that the [PWBA] women are united. It's important to speak with one voice and they are doing that by standing up as a group and saying very clearly, 'It's time for equality in our sport.' They are accepting responsibility for their destiny by taking this step to be a positive force not only for the sport, but for all women athletes of this generation and the next."
"The Women's Sports Foundation applauds the position of the PWBA Tour players and the PWBA Players' Association, and the fact that they have eloquently stated a principle which should be adopted by all amateur and professional sports associations and event hosts: "In any co-ed sports event, men and women should be treated equally," said Julie Foudy, president of the Women's Sports Foundation. "The Foundation will ask all its members to join with members of the Women's International Bowling Congress in contributing $1 for the proposed "Women's U.S. Open Bowling Championship" as a statement of support. We urge others in sport to consider doing the same."
The PWBA Players' Association is exploring additional avenues of funding and staging the proposed Women's U.S. Open Bowling Championship.
ROCKFORD, Ill. (June 12, 2001) — Top women amateur bowlers may compete and cash in Professional Women's Bowling Association national tournaments on a limited basis under a new eligibility policy, PWBA President John Falzone announced last week.
Effective immediately and applying for the remainder of 2001, a woman bowler who meets the minimum average guidelines for PWBA membership at the regional level (a 180 average for at least 66 league games in each of the two previous league seasons) and satisfies all attendant provisions mandated by the PWBA (e.g., applicants under the age of 18 must submit parental consent in writing to compete) may participate in any PWBA national tournament except for the Hammer Players Championship and the PWBA Invitational. In addition, she may cash in up to three national PWBA tournaments in each calendar year before being required to join the PWBA as either a regional or national member or forego the privilege of participating in additional tournaments that year. The WIBC Queens Championship, the BPAA U.S. Open, and any PWBA national doubles tournaments will not count toward the three-cash limit.
The new provisions do not affect the rule regarding participation in PWBA regional tournaments, where amateurs may keep any prize money they earn. They also do not affect rule XXII (A)(2(a) regarding Rookie of the Year consideration, whereby any bowler who bowls in four or more PWBA tournaments during her life, whether as an amateur or as a PWBA member, becomes ineligible for that award.
"Our members felt that our previous rule had proved to be too restrictive, and that some very good amateur bowlers who had the potential to compete on the tour were staying away because it wasn't financially feasible for them to 'test the waters' first," Falzone said. "It's never been our intention to discourage talented amateurs from joining the PWBA, and we're hopeful that this rules change encourages more of them to compete with and join the greatest women bowlers in the world."
Amateurs will be required to pay a higher entry fee than members. They will also be required to attend the orientation meeting as scheduled by the PWBA Tournament Director prior to competing in their first national tournament.
Falzone also announced a rules modification concerning PWBA regional players' participation in national tournaments. Previously, a regional member could bowl in a maximum of three national tournaments a year. Under the revision, regional members may now bowl in more than three national events per year (except the Hammer Players Championship), but for the fourth and every tournament thereafter, the entry fee will increase to the amateur fee. In lieu of paying the higher entry fee, regional players may opt to upgrade their membership status to national level provided they meet national membership eligibility requirements.
ROCKFORD, Ill. — PWBA player and Ebonite staff member Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, N. Richland Hills, Tex., will be a guest host for "The X Show," which will be broadcast on the FX Channel at 10 p.m. on January 15, 2001.
The men's magazine/talk show will be focusing on "fun" bowling and will showcase a variety of Ebonite's fun balls, bags, and accessories.
"This is a great opportunity to show the public how much fun bowling is," said Dorin-Ballard. "Bowling balls and equipment have changed—they aren't just black anymore. Bowling is a fun sport, and now we have the equipment to showcase that," she added.
Going into her 12th year as a professional, Dorin-Ballard has 10 national titles, has bowled 14 perfect games, and is a top contender on the PWBA Tour. She was ranked second for the year 2000, finishing no lower than 15th and was third in earnings with $104,977. Dorin-Ballard is known for her consistency on the tour: She has cashed in every tournament for the last two seasons and earned Runner-up Player of the Year honors for the last three consecutive years (2000 results pending).
ROCKFORD, Ill. — The Professional Women's Bowling Association has announced that an agreement has been reached with ESPN2 for the year 2001. The entire 23-week PWBA schedule will be broadcast on ESPN2, including the Women's International Bowling Congress Queens Tournament.
"This is the earliest we have reached an agreement in years," said PWBA President John Falzone. "It's great, our host bowling centers and sponsors now have time to promote, and our first 12 events are almost all scheduled."
The first event in 2001 will be the prestigious Queens Tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., May 7-11. Following the Queens, PWBA will start an 11-week swing that will take the tour from coast to coast twice.
"We are very satisfied with the PWBA, and we know that the tour has a large following on our network," said Bob Yalen, ESPN director of brand management.
Said PWBA Marketing Director Jan Schmidt: "We are very excited that viewers in approximately 70 millions homes will have the opportunity to watch the best women bowlers in the world. Scheduling tour stops early for 2001 will give the PWBA a definite advantage over previous years as we work to secure additional partnerships."
ROCKFORD, Ill. – Eleven-year veteran Carol Gianotti-Block of Morley, Perth, Australia was elected 1998 PWBA Player of the Year by her fellow members, making her the first international player ever to win the honor.
It was an honor richly deserved after she won two titles—the Delaware Open in New Castle and the Storm Three Rivers Open in Pittsburgh. Gianotti-Block also qualified for a record-tying 12 telecasts—four more than her nearest competitor—in 23 tournaments. In addition, she made it to the championship match eight times and finished in the top 10 on 16 occasions, while cashing 22 times.
"I thought I had a good chance at winning, but you never know—I was on pins and needles waiting to hear the final results," said Gianotti-Block from Australia. "When you think about all the great players on tour and that these are the people who are voting, it just makes you feel great."
Gianotti-Block was the tour’s leading money-winner with a personal best $150,350, second only to Macpherson’s record total of $165,425 in 1997. The total moved the Aussie right-hander from ninth to sixth in career earnings with $735,139. She also led the Philip Morris points ranking with the second-highest total in history, 14,159.5 (behind Robin Mossontte’s 14,375 in 1989), and Gianotti-Block placed second behind only Dede Davidson’s record-breaking 217.25 average with 215.81.
Gianotti-Block was one of seven players with two titles in 1998, increasing her career total to 14 and tying her with Macpherson for 14th place on the career list.
Gianotti-Block joined the American tour after representing Australia in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea, where bowling was a demonstration sport. She later was voted to the Australian Team of the Decade for the 1980s. In 1992, Gianotti-Block finished as runner-up in (LPBT) Player of the Year balloting.
Professional Women's Bowling Association President John Falzone addressed members of the Bowling Writers Association of America March 12, 1998 in Reno, Nev., at the annual PBA/PWBA breakfast. His comments followed those of PBA Commissioner Mark Gerberich. The following is an edited transcript.
What [PBA Commissioner] Mark [Gerberich] alluded to is basically the same thing that’s happening on our tour. We are seeing our sport being publicized in publications all over the country—in the business section. After our tour left Long Island this past year, the New York Times Sunday newspaper they did a full-page story in on page 3 on Lisa Wagner. Something like that to happen was totally unheard of two or three years ago—it just wouldn’t have happened.
Alan Taylor Communications has been working very hard for our tour, getting a lot of pre-tournament publicity. We had Lisa Wagner on the "Today" show and Jan Schmidt was on "CBS This Morning," so we’re seeing this happen everywhere we go across the country.
We’re not calling the people in the sports department; we’re calling the people in the business section, we’re calling people at lifestyle, and they are coming out, they are doing interviews. And so bowling is getting exposure that it has just never gotten before.
And what Mark is talking about—the pre-tournament publicity—it does take time, it is going to take us a while. Strike Ten Entertainment has been around for 18 months, and the PBA folks have been out there working for a year. It’s gonna happen—but it is going to take some time. You’ve gotta bear with us. It took us 30 years to screw it up, we can’t fix it in 18 months. We’ll get there; it’s just going to take us some time.
1998 is going to be an outstanding year on our tour. We have 17 events that will be on ESPN. We have six events that will be in syndication—originally, we were going to have five. Our tournament in Atlanta was going to be the start of the ESPN series for the rest of the year. We were notified on Monday that ESPN had pulled that tournament from their schedule. So unfortunately, our Atlanta tournament is not going to air on ESPN; there’s nothing we can do about it.
I’d like to talk to you a little about the syndication package. We’re on the Paxson syndication network. We’ve met with the folks from Paxson. We decided to try a syndication package to see if it would work. Unfortunately for us, we’re just not cleared in enough major markets across the country. We are in 45 million homes—the availability of 45 million homes, but the syndication package for us just did not work.
On the upside, the 17 events on ESPN is going to be a major plus for us. Last year, we had only seven events on ESPN. Our shows are being done by Leandra Riley and Jan Schmidt this year, and that team will stay together for the entire year.
With regards to prize funds in 1998, and probably because AMF came on board as a presenting sponsor last year with the $150,000 AMF Gold Cup, a lot of people in the industry kind of re-looked at our tour. This year, the U.S. Open has a $187,500 prize fund—equal to the men’s prize fund—and that’s the first time that’s ever happened. The AMF Gold Cup will be a $175,000 tournament this year. Brunswick has come on board with the Brunswick Women’s World Open that also will be a $175,000 tournament. Our Players Championship remains at $100,000. Everybody at International Management Group in New York tells that that the Merit tournament is a go. That will be a $110,000 tournament. Our final tournament, which closes out the year at Sam’s Town, the Sam’s Town Invitational, this year goes to $200,000.
So we’re looking at $3 million in prize money. About two and one-half years ago, we were at $1.7 million. So we getting there—slow, slow—but we’ll get there. And that’s the same thing that’s going to happen with the rest of this industry—ever so slowly, we will get there.
Comments by PBA Commissioner Mark Gerberich
Kendra Cameron of Gambrills, Md., currently ranks ninth in Merit points (5,594), 10th in earnings ($35,895), and 14th in average (212.83 for 401 games).
Visit the PWBA site for latest tournament results.