Nov 16, 2003 By Gary George Commentary 4 min read

Special moments in bowling deserve special recognition. Here are two: Last Saturday, Jimmy Matis, Fairbank Bowling Center, called to tell me that his niece Nicole (Nikki) managed to do something that happens very, very rarely. She converted the 7-10 split. I have only seen that done once and that was when Ol’ Dad, Alan Scabis, converted it during a Championship Bowling TV show. Of course Alan has had hundreds of opportunities to tackle the 7-10 over the past 30-some years he has bowled.

But Nikki, that is something else. She is only 9-years-old.

Congratulations, little lady, that is some great bowling.

Another special moment took place two Fridays ago at Manor Lanes just as I was walking in the door. Chuck Frangipani, of the Rockwell Friday Night League, rolled his first-ever 200 game. It was a 201.

Chuck has been bowling for only four years, but I know he has been working on his game. So, it is nice to see when some of that work pays off.

And, the ABC will award him for it with an ABC coaster that is given to any sanctioned player with a 140 or less average who rolls a 200 game.

Congratulations, Chuck, on that first big milestone. Now we are waiting for your first 600 series.

Manor Times

Championship Bowling is back at Manor with qualifiers starting this week. The first night, Wednesday, 11/19, is at 10 p.m. Then there is: Thursday, 11/20, at 10 p.m.; Saturday, 11/22, at 3 p.m.( lasting till 6 p.m.); and Sunday, 11/23, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Next week will be: Tuesday, 11/25, at 10 p.m.; Wednesday, 11/26, at 10 p.m.; and then the Big Turkey Qualifier Thanksgiving night.

There are no guaranteed spots at Manor except for the “under 200” bowlers, and there will be one spot for 25 or fewer entries in that category and two spots for more than 25.

Fairbank

Don’t forget the 9 Pin Tap Tournament at Fairbank today. The squad times are 10:30a.m. and 1:30p.m., and the cost of entry is $17 (with $11 going into the prize fund).

There will be a men’s and a women’s division with 35 percent of the prize money collected from the men going to first place for the men, and 35 percent of prize money collected from the women going to first place for the women. You must have a league average or you will have to bowl scratch. You may enter both squads if you like.

Big turkey qualifier

The Great Thanksgiving Day Turkey Qualifier for Championship Bowling is just around the corner. It is at Manor Lanes this year on Thanksgiving night and the first squad will start bowling at 7.

We have the whole house to ourselves that evening (no open bowling), so that means we can spread out across 16 lanes if need be. That being the case, we might actually get to bowl three or even four squads that night as long as we get the last one started before midnight.

Note that Dave Show and Walt Barclay have added a little more incentive to the evening just as they did last year. Since we are sure to roll at least twice, Dave and Walt are going to give away a new bowling ball to the player with the “high five”. That means, if you bowl more than one squad, you may pick your “best five games” to qualify for the ball. The interesting thing is that we may actually roll three or four times that night, so you could be picking your best five out of 9 or even 12 games.

Therefore, it definitely benefits you to roll more than once.

Dave and Walt are also giving away a nice double ball bag to the second- and third-place finishers in the “high five” competition.

We will also run a last night jackpot with “High per Game”. But to really spice things up a bit for this special Thanksgiving evening, there will be cash awarded for:

A 230-plus game ($5), 250-plus game ($10), 260-plus game ($15), 270-plus game ($25), 280-plus game ($30), 290-plus game ($40), and 298-plus game ($50).

Then, just for fun, and as an incentive for everyone, regardless of his or her average: An “All Spare Game” will receive $20, and a “Dutch 200 Game” will get $30.

The cost of getting into the pot will be $15 with at least 16 entries.

The Big Turkey Qualifier is a once a year special event. Don’t miss it.

I’ll see you on the lanes.