This year I participated in the USBC Open Championships in Reno for my first time. I went with a big group of bowlers from the IBM bowling league here in Tucson, several of us touting 190+ averages in our house league. My teammate Chris and I drove to Phoenix to get a cheaper and direct flight to Reno, but our flight was delayed a couple hours (Southwest has been pretty bad lately!), so by the time we made it to the Silver Legacy in Reno, it was 2am and late enough to cash in right away...a big weekend was ahead of me.
On Friday morning, Chris and I walked the city a little, grabbed lunch at Hash House A Go Go and got worked at the Craps and Blackjack tables at Harrah's. By 1pm we were ready to go to the National Bowling Center, check-in, get our equipment checked. There was a good amount of down time before we were ready to bowl at 3pm, but the bowling center was pretty cool to check out. They built this center just for USBC Championships anyway.
At 3pm, we marched onto the lanes, which was definitely one of the highlights of the trip! Everyone lines up inside the orientation room based on their lane assignment and we march through the tunnel down the center of the lanes in 2 single-file lanes. As you walk out onto the lanes, there is a big spotlight shining at you, music playing, and everyone is clapping to the beat of the song lol. A TV overhangs from above the tunnel showing everyone who is walking through. It actually made me feel like a semi-pro!
It was on to the bowling event. Friday was our Team Event and we had two 5-player teams from Tucson. I was on the Red Team (we did Blue and Red and represented U of A), which had some pretty legit bowlers on it. The lane conditions were really tough as expected. I ended up bowling a 130 my first game, a 178 my second, and a 138 my last. Everyone struggled however, as these lanes were just that tough. If you even made the slightest mistake in your approach or delivery, your ball would take off and just not end up anywhere where you wanted it to. I definitely have more respect for professional bowlers I see on TV, knowing it's not easy to bowl some of these harsh lane conditions that change very rapidly.
It was interesting to see that most of the people participating were much older and I'd say the average age was around 50. There definitely weren't many people my age bowling in this event. One of my teammates feels like bowling is a lost sport that will continue to go downhill as generations pass. I really hope not, because I do love bowling...
That evening, most of us got together to have dinner at Brew Brothers inside Silver Legacy. Chris and I signed up for the players club to get coupons for buy-one-get-one-free pizza and wings. I ended up eating a ton of food, polishing off a full medium pizza, a dozen wings, and two 22-pint beers LOL. Vacation stomach strikes again! That night, we spent some time gambling, playing Pai Gow Poker and Blackjack, but called it a night at 11:30pm since we had to be at the bowling center very early in the morning... UGH.
On Saturday we were scheduled to bowl our Doubles AND Singles event...and at a 7am start time! :/ Unfortunately this slot was the only time available during registration months ago. Nonetheless, we proceeded with the events starting with Doubles where Chris was my partner. I started off with a bang, bowling a 181 game, but struggled afterwards to keep it up, ending up with 130 and 127. :( Immediately after bowling the 3 games for Doubles, we started the Singles Event to bowl 3 more games. Chris told me that the Team Event is all about focus while the Double and Singles are all about endurance. Fortunately, I woke up a little for the Singles event, stringing together my best series: 158, 190, and 167. I was able to break 500 in one of my series, which was my weekend goal!
That pretty much concluded the Open Championships for us. Chris and I grabbed the buffet lunch at El Dorado before heading back to Phoenix that afternoon. This experience was a lot of fun for me. I like traveling for competition; it's a nice change as opposed to traveling for weddings, bachelor and birthday parties, or just to visit friends. It is definitely something I would consider trying again.
I'm also thinking of purchasing a new bowling ball before the 2014-15 season. I think it's about time, since I've had my Storm Gravity Shift for over 5 years now. Woohoo, I love bowling!
