THE WORLD'S ONLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO THE BUSINESS OF BOWLING
CONTENTS
VOL 21.4
6 ISSUE AT HAND Back to School 2.0
frager@bowlingindustry.com Skype: scottfrager
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Chris Holmes
32 PROFILE
holmes@bowlingindustry.com
Bowling’s Globetrotter
EDITORIAL CONSULTANT Gregory Keer
A look at the long and colorful career of the one, the only, Paul Lane.
By Scott Frager
PUBLISHER & EDITOR Scott Frager
By Fred Groh
keer@bowlingindustry.com
OFFICE MANAGER Patty Heath heath@bowlingindustry.com
CONTRIBUTORS
8 SHORTS • BPAA makes it easy– a grassroots handbook to affect legislation • Bowl Expo’s show up and win incentive • Reno welcomes new 44-lane “temporary” center
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40 SPECIAL REPORT From Swings to Spares Pro golfers Mark Calcavecchia and Jeff Sluman share their passion for bowling.
Compiled by Patty Heath
By Mark Miller
16 CENTER STAGE
54 REMEMBER WHEN
Turning the Ordinary into Extraordinary At The Lanes Bowl and Bistro, bowling, food and the art of found objects converge.
Fred Groh Patty Heath Anna Littles Mark Miller Jackie Wyckoff
Miller High Life By Patty Heath 20
By Anna Little
20 COVER STORY
44 Showcase
The BPAA Delivers Bowling 2.0
46 Datebook 47 Classifieds
With the new Bowling 2.0 program, the BPAA, along with its partner USBC, has developed a practical method designed to bring new league bowlers to your center. By Jackie Wyckoff
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EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Jackie Fisher fisher@bowlingindustry.com
ART DIRECTION & PRODUCTION Designworks www.dzynwrx.com (818) 735-9424
FOUNDER Allen Crown (1933-2002)
12655 Ventura Boulevard Studio City, CA 91604 (818) 789-2695(BOWL) Fax (818) 789-2812 info@bowlingindustry.com
www.BowlingIndustry.com
HOTLINE: 888-424-2695 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: One copy of International Bowling Industry is sent free to every bowling center, independently owned pro shop and collegiate bowling center in the U.S., and every military bowling center and pro shop worldwide. Publisher reserves the right to provide free subscriptions to those individuals who meet publication qualifications. Additional subscriptions may be purchased for delivery in the U.S. for $50 per year. Subscriptions for Canada and Mexico are $65 per year, all other foreign subscriptions are $80 per year. All foreign subscriptions should be paid in U.S. funds using International Money Orders. POSTMASTER: Please send new as well as old address to International Bowling Industry, 12655 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City, CA 91604 USA. If possible, please furnish address mailing label. Printed in U.S.A. Copyright 2013, B2B Media, Inc. No part of this magazine may be reprinted without the publisher’s permission.
MEMBER AND/OR SUPPORTER OF:
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Cover photo and TOC photo courtesy of Ron De Roxtra and Kelly Bednar.
THE ISSUE AT HAND
Back to School 2.0 By the time you read this, I’ll have headed to Arlington, TX, and the IBC to go back to school for the first time. That’s right, it’s been 24 years since graduating college the first time and I’m finding myself going back to school: the 5-day BPAA Bowling Center Management School. Or, as I call it “College 2.0.” This time, rather than giving my loving mom and dad a kiss and hug before making the relatively short drive to the University of Kansas, I’ll have given Jackie and the kids the hugs and kisses. As I write this column, I am excited to be gathering with a group of professionals, who, like me, are always striving to improve. I have no idea who my classmates will be nor what their industry experience might include. There could be freshmen, sophomores and even bowling doctorates sharing and learning from each other. The anticipation builds as the days draw closer. I don’t think it’s too much of a leap of faith to acknowledge that anyone willing to invest so much in ongoing education shares the common bond for the love of the business and the sport of bowling. This commitment to ongoing education did
not come lightly. There’s a significant cost for tuition and, like my alma mater, room and board aren’t included. Adding to the stress is knowing that the time spent away from responsibilities at the office and center do not go away for this student body even though we are away from our centers. While at College 2.0, I’m sure I’ll get the latest insights, concepts and scoops behind IBI’s cover story this month: Bowling 2.0. Reading the article so thoughtfully crafted by IBI’s own talented Jackie Wyckoff gives me a boost of adrenaline in anticipation of its success. Is the International Bowling Campuses’ latest effort, Bowling 2.0, the very curriculum needed to teach the industry how to recruit new league bowlers? From the testimonies of four respected proprietors, it seems as if Bowling 2.0 holds great promise for our collective future. As for my re-education, I promise to report on my experiences in Texas. I can only hope that by placing my number one instructor, Bart Burger, on the cover, he won’t have any problem choosing a teacher’s pet at the bowling management school.
– SCOTT FRAGER, PUBLISHER AND EDITOR frager@bowlingindustry.com
THIS MONTH AT www.BowlingIndustry.com April showers bring May flowers or, as they say on the web, April postings bring new ideas. Signing up in April on IBI Online showers you with choices. Window shop through the Groups; check out what is happening. The group Beyond Bowling is seeing a lot of action and members. Why? There is a plethora of videos. Partial to Tom & Jerry? “Bowling Alley Cat” from 1942 is just fun to watch. Prefer something more educational? How about the highest viewed video, “IBI Webinar—Bowling 2035.” Browse through all the listings; there is something there you’ll want to view. News? See what is happening in the U.S. and around the world. And, the Forum gives plenty of space to read and respond to what has been posted. Showers do bring flowers and being a member of IBI Online brings a shower of ideas just waiting for you to discover. The blooming is up to you. Go online or sign in now! www.bowlingindustry.com is waiting. 6
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SHORTS
EXPANSIONS, OPENINGS & NEW BEGINNINGS The upper snow valley of Colorado will once again have bowling. Mark Reece signed a lease on approximately 6,000 square feet of subterranean space. Reece said he has received zoning approvals from the town of Snowmass Village and will submit a building permit application. He hopes to open by summer. The vision will be a boutique operation of eight lanes, gourmet food, couches in a family oriented environment. The space has had many reincarnations, a movie theater, a stage theater and a ballroom, but Reece feels this is the perfect spot for a center as the space is rectangular and long. “I can’t wait,” he adds.
The old Nags Head Bowling Center on the Outer Banks in North Carolina has reopened as OBX Bowling. Jeff Meads, an experienced bowling operator and proprietor, has leased the renovated space. A new grill has been added along with new lighting, new tables and chairs and a spruced up main counter, which have brought new life to the now climate-controlled facility. More than $225,000 been invested thus far has in cosmetic and operating improvements.
Kings has expanded once again. This time, Orlando, FL, will offer up Kings-Lanes, Lounge, Sports for public fare. Two separate spaces called The Royal Room and the King Pin Room will be available for private parties and 22 lanes will be in use for the public. Currently under construction, the opening is scheduled for sometime in the spring. Similar to other Kings locations, there will be a dining room, a full bar and a large outdoor patio with large open doorways leading inside. Outside will be a bocce ball court.
PROFIT PLATFORM® The Profit Platform® gets a Patent GKM International, LLC has received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its Profit Platform . A portable and expandable platform designed specifically to allow bowling centers to easily transform their uneven lane and gutter areas into a flat surface for special events, this patent will now allow GKM to invest more resources to develop strategic partners. The company states that being able to multi-task the lane area, which is typically 60-70% of a center’s total square footage, comes at a perfect time as every center is looking to increase revenue and maximize space. The Profit Platform is manufactured in the USA using recycled plastics. The product is currently being used by over 40 bowling centers in the U.S. and Japan. 8
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TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE IN RENO The U.S. Bowling Congress’ Open and the Women’s Championship will be arriving in Reno at the same time! Even in a city known for bowling and home of the National Bowling Stadium, this can be a problem. However, ingenuity is the mother of invention and thus, a new, temporary center is being set up at one end of the Reno Sparks Convention Center. It will be a state-of-the-art, 44-lane center with pro shops, concessions and offices says USBC Production Director Greg Moore. It will also have a huge electronic score board stretching the length of the lanes. The new center arrived in town in more than 30 trucks loaded with material, the lanes, the pinsetters, and 14,000 pins, all waiting to be put together. Moore and his crew have a little more than 40 days to assemble it. Other than the walls and the roof, it is like building a brand new bowling center. “This is as complex as any project gets,” says Moore, “in part because of the electrical demands that are much different than if you’re building a house or a building.” Besides the electronic score board, there’s the detail work of leveling the lanes. While “temporary,” it will be up and running for awhile. Once the competition is over this summer, it will remain available for other tourneys and a TV show. Then next spring, it will host the women’s championship again. The goal is April 12th when a now empty space will be ready for competition.
Davis Donation Correction It has come to our attention that the address on the memorial page for John Davis in the March issue of IBI was incorrect. To honor the memory of John Davis, the founder of the Kegel Company and a leader in the bowling industry, donations should be sent to the International Bowling Museum & Hall of Fame at the following address. It should be noted that one-hundred percent of the proceeds will be applied to the preservation, organization and research of historical bowling documents and artifacts. IBM/HF 621 Six Flags Drive Arlington TX 76011
SHORTS
67 ANNUAL VETERANS BOWLING TH
TOURNAMENT
LETTER TO THE EDITOR A Cautionary Tale I read Mark Miller’s article, “Tenpin Dinosaurs,” in the February issue. As a pro shop owner for 27 years, I have run into all kinds of issues. I think it is prudent to point out that when you have a business in your home, there is some homework you need to do to insure that you won’t get stung down the line. Cities and states have rules that govern where and how a business can be set up, and the IRS is very specific about what can and cannot be done for tax purposes. Be sure the licenses, compliances, insurance coverage and zoning regulations have been studied. I know that rules vary, but it is wise to know what you’re up against. Dale Underwood Spare Time Sports, Waldorf, MD 10
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GOODWILL CENTRAL
The first Veterans Bowling Tournament was created for U.S. troops returning home from battlefields in Europe and Asia in 1946 and was conducted on the White House bowling lanes with President Truman conferring awards. Sixty-seven years later and going strong, the 2013 tournament took place throughout the VA Medical Center system in March and was coordinated through recreation therapists on site at the different facilities. This year’s event included nine separate divisions based on hospital size, as well as physical and age limitations. There were also two divisions for electronic bowling.
As always, bowling centers across the U.S. are involved in supporting community philanthropic activity. Bowling is one sport that includes everyone and everyone comes out to bowl and support charitable works. Biddle Bowl, Wyandotte, MI: For the 6th year, through the generosity of Biddle Bowl’s customers, the Wyandotte Goodfellows’ “No Child without a Christmas” campaign was a success with $2,500 being raised for the cause. Keglers Bowling Center, Manawa, WI: The Manawa Area Chamber of Commerce held its annual Bowling Tournament to raise funds to help support the Chamber which helps promote local businesses. West Valley Family Bowl, Tracy, CA: Abigail Hickman, 9 years old, turned her love of competitive bowling into a fundraiser for the Tracy Animal shelter. “I really love to bowl,” she said to correspondent Anne Marie Fuller of the Oakland Tribune. “My high game is 175 and my average is 108. I hope people will donate a lot of food, toys and money for the animal shelter.” Her goal is $1,500. All Star Lanes, Kenner, LA: To celebrate Super Bowl 2013, the 8th annual NFL Foundation Super Bowl Celebrity Bowling Classic was held to raise money for local charities. Many football greats attended and players signed special bowling pins. Thunder Alley, Dickson, TN: Students of the Future Farmers of American at Perry County High School and students from the Tennessee School for the Blind (TSB) participated in a bowling tournament. The goal was to help finance the construction of a two-lane bowling facility for students at TSB. Dale’s Weston Lanes, Weston, WI: The event was 2013 Bowl for Kids’ Sake which helps Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northcentral Wisconsin raise about one-third of its annual operating budget. The theme was Big Scare; participants dressed up in their favorite Halloween costumes while bowling with friends and family. Main Bowling Center, Greensburg, PA: 20th Annual “Bowling for Disaster Relief” Tournament was held over two days and provided an opportunity for corporations, small businesses, members of the medical community and school clubs to have fun while pitching in to support local disaster relief efforts. Lewisville Lanes, Lewisville, TX: Sports celebrities from the Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers and many others came out to bowl with community members to benefit CureDuchenne. Duchenne is a progressive muscle-wasting disease that impacts 1 in 3,500 boys. Pin-o-Rama, Utica, NY: The Children’s Miracle Network held its 22nd annual Bowling for Miracles Bowl-a-thon. All proceeds were designated for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals division Luke’s Healthcare in Utica. AMF Bowlero, Milwaukee, WI: The annual Beastly Bowl-a-Thon helped raise funds for the Zoological Society’s program, “Sponsor an Animal.” Owego Bowl, Owego, NY: “Build It Bowl” offered 24-lanes of bowling to help raise money for Tioga County Habitat for Humanity. Brewster Lanes, Reedsburg, WI: Proceeds for the 13th Annual 9-Pin Bowling Tournament and Steak Feed will go to “Angel on My Shoulder” to continue to provide assistance for cancer patients and their families.
SHORTS
THE BOWLING FOUNDATION
AWARDS GRANTS The Bowling Foundation in Arlington, TX, announced that as part of its continuing effort to help enhance the lives of others through the sport of bowling, the Foundation awarded six grants in the form of mobile bowling equipment to schools and organizations across the country. The Mobile Bowling Equipment program annually helps schools, parks and recreation departments, youth groups, disabled and disadvantage service groups and other organizations teach students the lifelong sport of bowling. The grants are awarded in the form of bowling kits (valued at $1,200 each) which include six carpeted bowling lanes, rubberized balls and pins and an instructional DVD to assist coaches and teachers. Nancy Schenk, president of The Bowling Foundation, said it is always a joy to award these grants. “Bowling is an American pastime and one of the few sports you can do your entire lifetime.” An organization is eligible to receive funding once every three years.
Schools receiving the grant in 2013: Genesee Area Focus Fund, Flint, Mi; Farmingdale Public Schools, Farmingdale, NY; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School, New Orleans, LA; Sally Potter School, Lake Forest, IL; Westwood Elementary School, DePere, WI; and Tusculum Elementary School, Nashville, TN.
PEOPLEWATCHING Tracy Sarris, president, has officially announced the launch of her professional service company INOVA that specializes in providing management and marketing services for non-profit associations and forprofit businesses. Formerly of IALEI prior to its merger with IAAPA and Tracy Sarris the last two years with Alpha-Omega Amusements & Sales, Sarris stated, “…it has always been my goal to build INOVA to a point where I could utilize my time and experience to offer consulting services to help clients move their businesses forward.” Industry clients currently include: Quik n’ Crispy Greaseless Fryers, Laserforce International Laser Tag and Alpha-Omega Amusements & Sales.
Brunswick Bowling announced the promotion of Michael Postema who will now be responsible for new center development, focusing on nontraditional bowling venues. He has been with Brunswick since 1991 and Michael Postema has held various positions both in the Brunswick home office in Muskegon and in field sales for 14 years in the Midwest. The Midwest sales position will be handled by Chris Kakavas. Postema will report directly to Kurt Harz, vice president sales, and Kakavas will report to Dan Borgie, director of sales, Eastern region.
BPAA Handbook on Legislative Action The BPAA feels bowling proprietors need to be aware of potential laws and actions that will affect their businesses. Across the country, state legislatures are engaging in debates over key proposals like alcohol or soda tax hikes, high minimum wage rates and ignition interlock mandates to name a few. These types of topics play a major role in the bowling business and affect the way business is run. The BPAA with Berman and Company has put together a grassroots handbook, Government Affairs: The Basics, to help center owners become aware of the how they can play a part in influencing the laws and regulations that most affect their bottom line. Knowing why and how to become involved in the political process is the key. The handbook has been created to provide tools and resources to engage in the public policy process. For further info, contact the BPAA or Carson Putnam, putnam@bermanco.com.
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SHORTS
Media IN AND AROUND WATCH
BRUNSWICK In a press release, Brunswick Bowling announced that it has partnered with Dinghong Bowling to expand its coverage in China. Dinghong will service the mainland China market as a distributor of capital equipment to modernize or build bowling centers, as well as for after-market and consumer goods. Dinghong Bowling was founded in 1996 with the first introduction of bowling to China. It operates seven centers and is very prominent in growing the sport. “Dinghong brings strong, operational expertise and business background, along with the desire to educate those who wish to also expand the bowling industry in China,” said Gary Smith, vice president of international sales.
PBA BOWLING CHALLENGE UPDATE
Brunswick partnering with MC Bowling has secured a GSA (U.S. General Services Administration) contract which gives Brunswick the ability to accept GSA orders for capital equipment, parts and supplies, including lane machines. Military bowling centers will work directly with Brunswick sales representatives and coordinate purchases with MC Bowling. Military-based centers ordering after-market parts and supplies will work directly with MC Bowling.
Comedian Chris Hardwick’s Nerdist Industries and AMC have announced a multi-platform deal. Included in this arrangement is a development deal with Nerdist to take the YouTube program, All Star Celebrity Bowling, and develop it as a potential series for the network. The web series features the casts and crews of popular shows, such as The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, the Conan O’Brien Show and Mad Men, facing off at a bowling center. It is expected to start off as a special on AMC. [See one segment on IBI Online which shows Conan
In a press release by PRLEAP.com, Concrete Software, developers of mobile games, and the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) have released PBA Bowling Challenge on the Google Play store. Concrete Software has partnered with the PBA twice before to create games which allow players to bowl against PBA greats like Pete Weber, Walter Ray Williams, Jr. and Mike Fagan. Their most recent outing takes that winning formula further with improved graphics, updated physics, and a robust tournament system. “Playing PBS Bowling Challenge is like watching the PBA on TV—very addictive,” said PBA Commissioner Tom Clark.
AMC LIKES “THE NERDIST”
O’Brien and his pals bowling against the Hardwick team. Go to www.bowlingindustry.com and then scroll down to videos and enjoy.]
Once-in-a-Lifetime Prize “Do you feel lucky?” No, Clint Eastwood is not holding a gun to your head. The BPAA has just announced a very exciting opportunity for bowling proprietors to win a $100,000 Bowling Center Makeover! All BPAA domestic, non-military member centers in attendance at the 2013 Bowl Expo this summer in Las Vegas are eligible to win. “As a bowling proprietor myself, I know the significant impact that a simple renovation can have on a bowling center’s bottom line,” said BPAA President Cathy DeSocio. “By offering this $100,000 prize, our proprietors will have a chance to enhance the guest experience in their center for years to come, and 14
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more importantly, increase their profit margins long-term.” In addition to the monetary prize, the winning center will also receive a complimentary review of center performance and BPAA staff will implement a complete overhaul of programs and services at the winning center. There will also be two full-tuition waivers to an upcoming Management School at Bowling University (a $2,998 value); complete access to Bowling University’s online training catalog ($3,100); website hosting and unlimited updates for one year ($780); and a multi-day operations review performed by an industry expert ($3,600). Do you feel lucky? A trip to Vegas never seemed more enticing. Visit www.bpaa.com , www.bowlexpo.com or call (800) 343-1329 for additional information.
CENTER STAGE
By Anna Littles
The art Of good food
and good fun A city in Massachusetts turns to a wellestablished restaurant group to open a boutique bowling experience. 16
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CENTER STAGE
and owned s a h t n e y of anagem nts in the cit e M e n r by By staura a uniqu ars Bob uccessful re y, they have e y elf: 1 1 s r pan r hims ery m e v o d or ove c e n e a u r s ed th the fo d, and etts. A operat metho s in sachus ement from s r a u M O , . a ee at rdinary ts.” This w Mashp d mission st c extrao a hen y n if r a t a , r a o n in s. S w s nd ord u visio a o e e h m t g a f a gu ake are mon “We m is using lan r which they ashpee Com nd ent a dness, restaurants fo ey in the M . Presid , on t ur ma ll n a o d e n g a d m n e e s li g b sult inde the pu o add a bow Byrne Mana The re o t ” . e y c r n t a y b in owling refere looking roached Bob traord ique b x t s e u a o y w b r y a ey app e the ordin ro opened, a the cit mall, th r o Bist mad o d t ou oore “ anes Bowl & M f f e J L self. owner 6, 2013, The form unto it rt y1 is an a Januar e that c n ie r expe
F a e Andre with wif yrne. ) ft e (l bby B Moore Jeffrey ess partner Bo in s u and b
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CENTER STAGE
To helm this new adventure, Moore tapped one of his best managers for the job, Zeph Dannewitz. Dannewitz was responsible for the overall design of the new venture. He consulted Jeff’s wife Andrea, and she had an unusual vision; she imagined “Al Capone’s basement.” From there they went with the industrial style of that era. And with the facility being an old supermarket, it was a perfect fit. The other part of the design inspiration came from their photo gallery exhibit, Pinsetter Boys. The exhibit features black & white photos from the early years of the sport. The 10 bowling lanes feature large monitors for viewing sports and videos and the walls another on-going and revolving art exhibits. The masking units use the old pinsetter boy images. Dannewitz is clear to point out that the bowling alley “may be small, but we take bowling seriously.” They also take great food, drink and entertainment seriously. It’s what makes them stand out. “There is nothing like that on Cape Cod. We are very unique,” and Dannewitz is quick to add that along with the vision to open up a boutique style bowling alley, they wanted the food to be just as important as the bowling. While the company’s other three restaurants offer an American-type menu, executive chef James O’Shea set up a different menu for The Lanes Bowl & Bistro. They went Italian with pastas, paninis and pizza. This is not your average pizza: the menu declares it as “Industrial Strength Pizza!” The demographics are solid: during the week it’s a family 18
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affair where kids have a great time and where birthday parties dominate the weekend days. However, when Friday and Saturday night hit, it’s 21 and older, where the bistro turns into a nightclub scene with local bands and solo performers. Another unique component that sets them apart is their commitment to recycle, reuse and be green. This follows their vision statement on using artifacts as a language to reveal the soul of The Lanes Bowl & Bistro. Many of the bistro fixtures and art installations are created out of recycled materials. For instance, they feature a light fixture that is made out of recycled pull tabs; a partition drape is made out of burlap coffee bags; a piece of wall art made from discarded film reels; and an old bike wheel has been repurposed as a bar clock. As for their bowling equipment, they use string pinsetters manufactured by AMF. These pinsetters are going to be the trade standard in the future, as they use 75% less energy. This energy efficient equipment falls within The Lanes Bowl & Bistro’s aim to be a green establishment. With an Earth friendly commitment, in a nice comfortable setting, wonderful bar, fresh hand crafted drinks, and great food, The Lanes Bowl & Bistro has revealed its soul, and it’s extraordinary! ❖
Anna Littles, a screenplay and freelance writer and producer originally from the Bronx, New York, now resides in Santa Monica, California. You can see her work on YouTube, IMDB, or on her website at Anna@alittleLA.com.
COVER STORY Photo provided by Ron De Roxtra ad Kelly Bednar.
Carolyn Dorin Ballard, USBC Director of Coaching and Certification, and BPAA's Vice President of Business Development Bart Burger, deliver Bowling 2.0 straight to your center with a learn-to-bowl program along with marketing and point of sale materials.
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COVER STORY
With the new Bowling 2.0 program, the BPAA partners with the heavyhitters of the USBC deliver a plan to drive in new league bowlers. By Jackie Wyckoff
I
n the mid-1960s, bowling and learn-to-bowl classes were the ultimate and all that was swell and swanky in the participation sports world. Everybody who was anybody, from Fred Flinstone to Uncle Milty came to play and learned the basics of the game in their local “alley.” Can we do it again nearly a half-century later? “Absolutely!” says Bart Burger, BPAA Vice President of Business Development. And Bowling 2.0 was born. The new Bowling 2.0 is a four-week comprehensive learn-to-bowl program developed in a joint effort between the BPAA, Strike Ten Entertainment (STE) and the USBC. It is designed to be the feeder system to create new league bowlers. The full blown Bowling 2.0 promotion was rolled out at the BPAA mid-winter Summit on Monday, January 28 in San Antonio, Texas. The obvious value of the program is evident in that nearly 150 member centers have ordered the kit. Burger explained that the target demographic is the brand new adult bowler, those nearly 200 million Americans who identify themselves as non-bowlers. “Teaching someone to bowl in four weeks is good. Rolling them over into a league in week five is great. We need to go from good to great,” said Burger, and the Bowling 2.0 program will give proprietors the tools to do just that. Bowling 2.0 was the brainchild of the BPAA League Development Committee. During his first committee meeting in Reno, NV, in June of 2012, Al Blough, proprietor of Berks Lanes in Redding, PA, voiced his concern that the industry
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COVER STORY Proprietor Al Blough of CHB Sports, Inc. in Sinking Springs, PA, says that, “Using the program will give people a reason to choose bowling when he or she decides how to spend their recreation time.”
was in dire need of a learn-to-bowl program. He recalled huge successes in the 1970s by using coaching pioneer Fred Borden’s programs to create new league bowlers. The Committee reviewed past USBC and BPAA programs, including the 1990s era The Special Sport Learn-to-Bowl Program and the 2002 kids’ program Bowling Rocks. They decided they didn’t really need to reinvent the wheel, just spiff up the hubcaps and tighten the lug nuts. Bowling 2.0 was developed to appeal to the more active lifestyles of today’s families. The program was fast-tracked and with the collaboration of BPAA, USBC and STE, the end-product is a stunning accomplishment. The kit contains everything a center needs to run a successful learn-to-bowl program, including proprietor guide, coaches guide, weekly lesson plans with DVD, color and black and white flyers, table tents, posters and a 3’ x 6’ banner. Proprietors are also encouraged to download an email template, a website ad and a 30-second promotional video. All of the marketing and point of sale materials are customizable and available for a small fee to BPAA member centers. David Barden, chairman of the BPAA League Development committee said, “This program is truly an industry initiative. I believe that it can have a huge impact on more people bowling more often and having more fun.” The committee was involved with program review as it was being developed, and as it evolved, Burger would send out draft pieces for review and feedback. It’s no surprise the end product is a huge success as the committee is a veritable who’s who in the bowling biz, including Albert Blough, Rick Braden, Andrew Cain, Ted Hoffman, Collin Kerschner, Mary Krahe, Bill Mann, Kathleen Perry, Jim Stubler and Bill Wammes. “We know that the students are not going to go through this program and then immediately join a traditional league,” said Barden. “However, they may join a short season league, go bowling casually more often and possibly get more friends and family to go bowling because they are getting better and enjoying it more. We also felt that there are many existing league bowlers that could use some help. With the difficulty in the retention of first year league bowlers, we thought this program could help that situation.” Kathleen Perry, proprietor of Easton Bowl, a 24-lane traditional center in Easton, MD, is the poster child for the program. Perry was excited to be asked to test the program but was concerned there would not be enough time to properly develop it. After consulting with center manager Tammy Hatfield, they decided to push ahead to beta test Bowling 2.0 and scheduled their first class to start on January 11, 2013. In mid-December of 2012, Perry and Hatfield received promotional materials 22
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and personalized them with the center logo and information. Their market was adults over 18 that didn't know how to bowl or were not able to keep the ball on the lanes. They met with the center staff and developed an incentive program for their employees for signing people up for the four week class. “We watched and if someone didn't know how to pick a bowling ball or had low scores, we would go speak with them,” said Perry. “By the start of our program we had 60 new people signed up. Tammy developed a log sheet for us to contact each sign up. The first contact was a phone call within 48 hours, and then we sent an email on designated dates, second phone calls were made and of course a follow up with the people who signed up but didn't show. The first week we had 39 bowlers in class, week two we added five new bowlers for 44. The students
The Coaches Guide lays out the weekly lesson plans which include a handout as well as the video lesson and follows a simple progression to “graduation” to league bowling. Plans focus on:
WEEK 1 Introduction Playing Field Four-Step Approach
WEEK 2 Posture Arm Swing Targeting
WEEK 3 3-6-9 System Key Pins Alignment
WEEK 4 Fundamental Finish Pro Shop Bowling Terminology Week 5 will be for turning your students into league bowlers and lifetime customers. Or as Burger puts it, “Going from good to great!”
COVER STORY loved the class, and the DVDs were well received.” The success of the program is evident in the results. Perry and Hatfield never discussed league bowling with students during the first two sessions. On week three they placed the flyers on concourse tables and started asking if the students would like to bowl in their 10 by 10 League where each bowler receives their own bowling ball. “Of the 44 students enrolled in Bowling 2.0, we lost four before the end of the program for various reasons. Of the remaining 40 bowlers, we rolled 32 into our new league and most of them pre paid so they could order their bowling ball for the start of league. We are in week four of the league and not one person has dropped out.” “Bowling 2.0 makes perfect sense, because it provides an opportunity for belonging. It gives new bowlers the chance to learn to bowl and join the club,” said Robin Williams, director of marketing for Holiday Lanes in Bossier City, LA. “Our center manager Bill Mann became involved in the BPAA League Development committee and I was on the BPAA Action Committee, both of which were instrumental in the development process of Bowling 2.0. We wanted to help make this program a success and decided to implement it at Holiday Lanes,” said Williams. Holiday Lanes is a 44lane hybrid center with 36 traditional and 6 boutique lanes. Williams contends that the program virtually sells itself. “We started promoting the Bowling 2.0 program to the public on February six, with planned classes on Wednesdays beginning March 27. We had over 30 registrations in the first day and by February11 announced a second class on Sundays to begin on March 17.” Williams has been working email, social media and website promotions, including using the 30-second promotional video, on the Holiday Lanes website. The rest of the staff at Holiday Lanes has pitched in and has done an excellent job in promoting
Kathleen Perry, proprietor of Easton Bowl in Easton, MD, carried out the first beta testing of Bowling 2.0. Perry reports, “The students loved the class, and the DVDs were well received.”
in-house registrations. “Our league coordinator Paula Hadwin and center manager Bill Mann really created a buzz within the center, going lane by lane with promotion flyers. Our customer service reps were taking registrations as fast as they could,” said Williams. “The program initially was not designed for kids, but we had such an overwhelming response that we made allowances based on what the demand became. We currently have 82 bowlers enrolled with 51 signed up for the Sunday class and 31 for Wednesdays. The ages range from 7 – 73 with sixteen of the sign ups in the Sunday class under the age of eighteen. We David Barden, chairman of the BPAA League Development committee said, “This program is truly an industry initiative. I believe that it can have a huge impact on more people bowling more often and having more fun.”
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COVER STORY
Robin Williams, the “Marketing Maven of Holiday Lanes” in Bossier City, LA, contends that the new program virtually sells itself and has been a great success converting the Bowling 2.0 participants into league bowlers.
anticipate over 100 registrations for the two upcoming sessions. We offer the program as a free service to our bowlers. To add value, we estimated the cost of the program and promoted it as having an approximate value
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of $146, and we indicated that the program was limited to the first 60 people which created a sense of urgency in sign-ups.” Williams goes on, “The BPAA did a fabulous job in the development of this program which is proving to be successful. It’s definitely worth incorporating into your center. We are excited about the prospect of the way Bowling 2.0 is shaping up at Holiday Lanes. It’s making bowling available and fun for people to learn to bowl. Bowlers are actually thanking us for providing the program and are looking forward to becoming more knowledgeable of the game of bowling.” The initiator of the program development, Al Blough, started his first class at Berks Lanes on January 29 with twelve students, all of whom joined a league following completion of the Bowling 2.0 classes. Blough’s company, CHB Sports, Inc., which includes Berks Lanes, Heister Lanes and Limmerick Bowl, plans to use the program continuously throughout the year to add bowlers to their league base. “I think every bowling proprietor should use this program. Our industry has neglected to teach bowling and instead relied on bumpers to entertain our bowling guests. Using this program will give people a reason to choose bowling when he or she decides how to spend their recreation time. They will have an idea what to do in the bowling center: how to hold the ball, how to execute the push away, how to go through the steps and properly release the ball. They will have an idea on how to make a spare or strike. In other words have FUN. Maybe not everyone will join a league but there is a good chance they will become a regular customer.” The program is so well developed that everyone agrees it is quite simple to run. The kit is complete and the materials will accommodate up to 50 students. continued on page 30
COVER STORY continued from page 26
Proprietors may copy classroom and point of sale materials for continuing classes. The instruction DVD is a marvel with the prologue and epilogue by Bart Burger. Carolyn Dorin Ballard, USBC Director of Coaching Certification and Development spearheaded the video project and does a great job as the friendly and knowledgeable host with newly minted USBC Gold Coach Stephen Padilla as the Coaching Specialist. IBC (International Bowling Campus) staff members act as the students. Herman Glenn, USBC Director of Equipment Certification and Specifications, makes a cameo appearance discussing lane surfaces. “The reason for the lane surface section was to give the casual bowler insight into the different lane surfaces, what they are called and what they do, and to take notice of what type of surface is in their center,” said Dorin Ballard. “We felt it was important information for the new bowlers’ arsenal.” Dorin Ballard explained that the curriculum was developed and the instruction video was compiled to follow and more succinctly explain the printed materials. “You are always positive about what you are working on, but it comes down to marketing and
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promotion of the program. The proprietors really made this program a priority, and now we are seeing the benefits. Teaching the casual bowler to knock down pins while learning the fundamentals is opening the door to a whole new group of lifelong bowlers.” Kathleen Perry notes, “There is a real added value in having the USBC Coaching staff doing the video classes. They explain the process simply and they made it exciting and easy for new bowlers to understand.” “The USBC coaching staff adds prestige to the video and the program in general,” said Al Blough. Lesson Week One is around fifteen minutes long, Weeks Two and Three videos are each slightly over eleven minutes. Week Four is just over nineteen minutes and ends with an introduction to the International Bowling Campus, Training and Research Center and Bowling Hall of Fame and Museum. “Having the pros coaching on the DVD gives real credibility to the sport of bowling,” added Robin Williams. With the proven success of the program, it appears to be on track to become an industry standard in creating new league bowlers for years to come. Now the only question left to answer is when do you start your center’s Bowling 2.0 Learn to Bowl Program? ❖ Jackie Wyckoff, who started bowling in 1968, is a San Francisco (CA) Bay Area native, avid Giants fan and gourmet chef. She was President of the Bowling Writers Association of America, 2009-2011. Wyckoff has worked and volunteered in the bowling industry since 1972 with jobs including Center Manager, USBC (WIBC) Association President and Writer and Promoter for all things Bowling. She was a PWBA Regional Player with several state and local titles to her credit.
PROFILE
By By Fred Groh
S
“
omehow there was always a team of people supporting my efforts,” Paul Lane says in his smiling British accent. “People around me that were excellent at what they do and usually filling in the gaps in areas I did not excel in or did not enjoy.” But there has to be more to explain this man’s remarkable 60-year career in bowling, even if you believe in luck and think you’re a lucky person. Which he does, on both counts. Even if he was, as he says, “sort of an accidental tourist,” going from one part of the industry to another with someone never failing to point the way when he needed it. Even if he is, as he also says, a B-type personality, an optimistic, practical man who knows how to shrug his shoulders instead of letting the world drag him down. Lane has one of the richest résumés in the industry, after all: pro bowler for AMF, clinic instructor, manager of the World Cup, talent scout and signer of pros, director of marketing and marketing services for AMF, bowling ambassador to five dozen countries,
Pro Bowl West Fort Wayne, IN (56 Lanes) We congratulate David Small on his purchase of this fine center and thank Dr. Robert Cornfeld for trusting us to handle the sale. We wish David and Dr. Cornfeld all the best in the future.
Bowling’s Only Full-Service Brokers, Appraisers & Financial Advisors 28200 Southfield Rd., Southfield, MI 48076
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key figure in the formation of the National Bowling Council of Japan, recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee Medal for his contribution to British sport, consultant, raconteur, collector of jazz, connoisseur of fine cigars... Also, 20-year writer for IBI on all things considered about sales, promotion and PR in the bowling center and the pro shop. We were warned. “If you were to sum me up in a description, it wouldn’t really be me,” Lane told us when we broached this story. But that’s only because we’d run out of energy before we finished the description, Paul. Lane did not like the countryside or the small inn that his mother ran there, in the east of England and about an hour north of London. The village had no traffic passing through it because if you drove to the end of town, you were in marshland. Born and reared in the city, and going everywhere as a teen-ager with a sketchbook in hand, he wanted to get back to London and attend commercial art school. But he had to fill a few months before classes started, so on January 4, 1954, he dropped in at the U.S. Air Force base in Mildenhall, a few miles away,
PROFILE
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1. Lane conducting a ball drilling/pro-shop seminar for military personnel at a U.S. Air Force base in England (circa 1975). 2. Paul Lane outside St. Basil’s Cathedral (in Moscow’s Red Square) while making a goodwill visit to the Russian Ministry of Culture (circa 1977). 3. The cover of the French publication, Sport Bowling. Lane appeared with Dick Weber on a Merv Griffin show in 1966, which was filmed at the Bowling de Paris bowling center in Paris, France (Dick Weber in the circle while Lane is in action in the background).
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where he heard they were hiring civilians. “When I said I wanted a job, a burly tech sergeant with a cigar butt stashed in the corner of his mouth eased himself out of his chair, pointed out the window to a hanger-like building down the street, and said: ‘Bowling alley.’ I had no idea what [that] was.” He stayed for six years, starting as a pinboy and progressing to janitor, shellacker of lanes, snack bar assistant, front desk receptionist, manager of the pro shop, and center manager. He also wound up managing the bowling at another USAF base five miles away. Inevitably he threw a bowling ball one day and discovered to his surprise, as well as everybody else’s, that he was a natural bowler. There had been nothing athletic in his background. “I just seemed to gravitate to it. My arms and legs seemed to sort themselves out. By the second time I bowled, with nobody giving me instruction, I started making adjustments [to] what felt right, and it worked.”
So impressive was Lane as a bowler that when half of a two-man exhibition team touring UK military bases for AMF fell sick and was unable to play at Mildenhall, Lane filled in. AMF’s promotion manager asked him if he could finish out the remaining half-dozen bases on the tour. The year was 1959—the same year Lane ordered probably the first automatic pinspotters in the UK, which introduced him to some of the AMF executives, and met Dick Weber at a contract signing with AMF in London. A few months later AMF invited Lane to attend the grand opening of the first commercial bowling center in the UK, AMF’s house at Stanford Hill. A few months after that, he received an invitation that could not have surprised observers: would he like to join the company as an instructor and exhibition bowler, in time for the opening of AMF’s second UK center? “I found a sketch I did the other day, from 1953 or something,” Lane reflects. “I thought
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PROFILE 1. Lane conferring with Rudolfo Perez Sanchez (former president of Boliches AMF Mexico) while planning the 24th AMF Bowling World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico in 1988. 2. Lane and his wife of 43 years, Minister Joan Lane, at the 24th AMF Bowling World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico, 1988. 3. Lane and Nick Keppe (Managing Director of Bowltech U.K.) at the ZOT Pinsetter Parts booth during a trade show.
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I wasn’t that good. But I can’t do it now. It’s gone. I’ve no feel for it at all.” There were no regrets, though, leaving commercial art neither now nor then, once he had found his footing in bowling. For the next three or four years 3 he attended and gave exhibitions at more than 100 grand openings in the UK, bowled on more than 40 TV shows, and anchored or did the color commentary for a similar number. In 1963, Lane copped the Paris International Championships, a satisfying come-frombehind victory that awarded him the Freedom of the City, presented by the Paris mayor. These were heady days for bowling in the UK and Europe as well as the U.S. “There were so few bowlers that averaged 200”—his average—“that ABC’s yearbook used to publish [all of them in] three pages at most,” Lane remembers. “In those days you had a bowling ball like a lump of granite. Nothing sophisticated about [the game] at all.” He came to the attention of George Lord, managing director of AMF UK. Lane’s exploits were writing a de facto field manual for promotions. Why not invite him to join the promotions department as assistant manager at AMF headquarters in London? In the mid-1960s, Lane hung up his bowling shoes. He became involved in every promotion AMF did. He put promotions together, ran tournaments and an awards program for high-scoring bowlers, and got known as a man who was task-oriented, who took a hands-on approach to every assignment and, as he says, minimized problems by turning them into opportunities. “I think of luck as positive thinking—bearing in mind that positive thinking has no effect unless it’s followed up by positive action,” he believes. In 1968, he had a large opportunity to be positive. AMF established a chain of UK centers that year, Humber Bowling. Lane’s boss, George Lord, assumed Lane would move with him to the new assignment but by an oversight, forgot to 34
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make Lane an offer or even to tell him about the move. “So,” Lane says, “I stayed put.” “Bob Conor, who was head of AMF International at the time and headquartered in London, came by my office and was surprised to see me there. When I told him why, he said, ‘Good,’ and within a few weeks, I was on my first major international trip.” Conducting clinics and instruction programs and teaching instructors, he stopped in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Lebanon and Iraq on that first trip. By the time he left AMF, he had worked in more than 60 countries. He relishes airports, although “not so much anymore, with all this security stuff.” He gets “pumped up anytime I go anywhere,” whether or not he’s been there before, but Japan and Southeast Asia are special. They are “so different” from the West and from one another, he observes. “Love the food in every one of them. I used to go to some pretty remote places. Never got sick. I always put that down to going native, not trying to find a steak or a hamburger in a small town in China. I think local food exists for a reason. It’s part of the climate; everything about it is right. Eat the local food, you’re all right—or at least I was,” and he laughs. Ensconced in the International division of AMF, Lane became the director of marketing and marketing services for the division. He describes his job as “boiling down to a sort of ambassadorial role” with AMF distributors and the AMF offices and their ad agencies in various countries. He also staged the first PBA Tour stops in Europe (Paris, 1982; Crawley, England, 1983) and met one of his closest friends since the ’70s, Dick Ritger. “The best instructor there ever was. He was a protégé of [Frank] Clause and Bill Bunetta but he took everything to such a high level after that. We did lots of tours all over Europe together—Dick on his own, Dick with Cheryl Robinson, Dick with Jay and Cheryl Robinson together. I was the tour manager but I toured with them as well.”
PROFILE Also in the cast was Dick Weber, one of AMF’s pro staff, which Lane would manage from 1981 to 1990. Lane says he learned more about being an ambassador from Weber than from anybody. “He was the ultimate. I guess he was a bit of a ham. He would admit to it. He had that ability to remember names, or make people believe he remembered them; it seemed like he always did, to me. He had an inborn ability to be gracious, and bags of personality. Pretty good public speaker. Loads of charisma. He had everything. I never tried to emulate him,” Lane continues. “I never tried to emulate anybody. I learned I’ve got to be me. We’ve got to be ourselves. So few people are.” Why? “People think they have to conform, I think. Was it Emerson who said the world whips you for nonconformity? Just being yourself is a form of being a nonconformist today, in the modern world.” Weber was an original, as was Victor Kalman, from whom Lane took over management of the World Cup in 1971. Kalman was flamboyant, in contrast to Lane’s immensely likeable but more “properly British” demeanor. “I knew it would be a mistake to emulate Vic’s style, and had to simply knuckle down and get the job done.” Much to the company’s satisfaction, he did, because he stayed on
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to manage 18 of the first 25 World Cups and never failed to be fully sponsored. “The terms were: in the host country, AMF should not put their hand in their pocket, and we accomplished that every single year. I don’t think they could do that today. Too hard because of the economic climate.” When the tournament was over, Lane would sit and edit a custom video package for every country that wanted the coverage. “With today’s media technology it’s laughable, but it wasn’t laughable then. [Getting] 8-12 countries a year to take a package of highlights, customized so it featured their players, was a big deal. We once got news coverage in 36 countries [through] a news agency in England. In its day, that was monumental.” In 1982, Al Spanjer, director of advertising and promotion for AMF U.S. operations wanted to take early retirement. According to Lane, Spanjer nominated a couple of replacements to the division president, who were refused. Then Spanjer recalled trips he had made to Japan with Lane in the late ’70s to help organize the National Bowling Council of Japan. Spanjer was a key man in the National Bowling Council in the States and he and Lane drew from that experience to bring Japanese proprietors, bowler associations and manufacturers together for the purpose of promoting Japanese bowling. Lane made eight or nine trips to Japan over 18 months, all but two of them on his own. Now ready to retire, Spanjer proposed Lane for his replacement. Woody Woodruff, number-two man in the U.S. division, flew to Paris, where Lane happened to be, and offered him the job. In January 1983, Lane moved to the U.S. Now responsible for U.S. marketing for AMF, the only thing he stayed involved with internationally was the World Cup. He did all the prep work during the year leading up to the event, then sent in a team to run it. AMF brought him back to run the 24th in Guadalajara, Mexico, and the 25th in Dublin personally. The day after he left AMF in 1990, the first telephone call was from Dick Weber. “I heard you left AMF.” “Yeah.” 1. Lane conducting a school for instructors at the Four Seas Bowling Center in Kowloon, Hong Kong (circa 1970).
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2. Paul Lane receiving the BETS (Bowltech European Trade Show) 1997 Lifetime Achievement Award from Hans Krol, President Bowltech International, in Made, The Netherlands. 3. It looks like Lane is threatening NASA astronaut, the late Neil Armstrong, at an AMF sales meeting in 1981, but the conversation was more cordial than it would appear.
PROFILE Lane strolling along “Have you heard from Eddie?” Weber meant a typical market in Eddie Elias, founder of the PBA. Tokyo, Japan, circa 1984. “No.” “Oh, you will. Stay in touch.” Lane put the phone down and it immediately rang again. “Hey Paul, it’s Eddie. I heard you left AMF. Good. We need some help. I’ll send you an airline ticket.” Lane flew out to Akron, OH to talk with Elias and spent the next 18 months or so visiting ad agencies in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago to pitch the Senior Tour. “That was when I realized what a terrific salesman, what a wonderful person Eddie Elias [was]. The guy was a genius, because it was the hardest thing I ever did in my life. He had ‘stickability,’ I guess. My respect for him when I tried to do some of the stuff he did just went skyhigh.” Marketing and promotions advice, strategies and projects have followed in the years since then with Ebonite and Master Industries among other clients. Currently Lane works with ZOT Pinsetter Parts in Denver. The part of his life he missed most after he retired from AMF was, “oddly enough, corporate structure. Most people can’t wait to get out of it.” But for Lane, there was always a network of people “to cover all the bases. You could do anything.” And as an individual, he was never held down by the corporate culture, he says. Indeed, it was liberating in his case. Approaching his retirement date, he didn’t have the status of permanent resident that would have permitted him to continue living in the U.S. AMF brought in an immigration lawyer who had been in the State Department and knew his way around. The lawyer obtained an extension for Lane’s visa, next to impossible to get at the time, and then the “green card” of the permanent resident noncitizen. Lane estimates AMF spent $25,000 on his behalf. “They promised me I would have a green card before I left [the company], and I did.” He made a seamless adjustment to life in another country, only missing traditional
English clothes and the delectable Cuban cigars he could buy in England. “I don’t like plans,” he offers at one point. “I think plans are limiting.” Isn’t running the World Cup full of planning? “My philosophy about that is: don’t work out the plan, let the plan work itself out.” What’s the best thing about traveling? “New experience. Growth.” How do you want to be remembered? “As someone who never tried to bluff his way out. There’s no growth in bluffing.” Talent is in the man, obviously: organizing, managing, communicating, improvising in unexpected situations. His rise in one of the biggest bowling companies and his adventures worldwide prove it. He’s known people who have helped him by pointing the way. But there is also an itch in him to do more, be more, grow more. He even leaves open the possibility of re-locating. It would be “somewhere new,” he says—Asia perhaps—although at age 74, he doesn’t think it’s highly likely. “Always think about moving forward, never going back,” Paul Lane says. It is a life’s motto for some of us. ❖
Fred Groh is a regular contributor to IBI and former managing editor of the magazine.
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SPECIAL REPORT
ler rk Mil By Ma
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chia vec lca Ca
W
hen professional bowlers need time away from the lanes, they often take to the links. For Mark Calcavecchia and Jeff Sluman, the exact opposite sometimes is true. Each were multiple winners when they were on the Professional Golfers Association tour and today they make their living on the PGA Champions circuit. But both developed a love for bowling as youths, a passion that continues today. Calcavecchia learned the game from father John, who managed Hillside Lanes in hometown Laurel, Nebraska, for several years. “I bowled a lot, played basketball and shoveled snow,” the 52-year-old said. ”There was not much else to do in the winter there. I just loved the sport. I enjoyed our eight-lane alley. I bowled five or six games before anyone got there. Some days I'd bowl 15 or 20 games." By age 13, the young Calcavecchia had a 185 bowling average. Soon after, however, his father's health concerns prompted the family to move to Florida. While he didn't like it there at first, the move did allow Calcavecchia to concentrate more on his golf game, including at the University of Florida. He went on to win 13 Professional Golfers Association Tour events and the 1989 British Open and captured his only Champions Tour title in 2011. After becoming a successful golfer, he and his family settled in the Phoenix area where his son Eric bowled in youth leagues, averaging nearly 130 by age 11. “We tried to do stuff indoors there in the summer to get out of the heat,” Calcavecchia said. Calcavecchia bowled whenever he could at Phoenix-area centers with a high game back then of 289 and high series of 675. “I can tell in the first
two or three shots if I have it,” he said. “If not, I try to make my spares and shoot 185. If I do have it, I can get well over 200. After he and his family relocated to Tequesta, Florida, Calcavecchia's wife Brenda insisted that two regulation bowling lanes be built in the basement of their home. “We had finished the plans on our new house and the building was in the middle of construction when I went to him and said, 'You need to change the plans. I want to add two bowling lanes,'” she told Laury Lively of the PGA Tour staff. “I was serious. (The builder), though, thought I was crazy.” The Lanes at Villa Nahar, as the Calcavecchias Ma rk affectionately call them, come complete with a rack of bowling balls and about 40 pairs of rental shoes. “Our neighbors were sure that addition to the house had to do with golf, maybe a place for Mark to practice,” Brenda said. “Sorry, we won't have a practice putting green at our house. But we do have two bowling lanes.” While his whole family enjoys the sport, it's Dad who seems to get the most pleasure out of his lanes. "It's usually me and my drunk friends," said Calcavecchia, whose high game on his home lanes is 254. “My lanes are tough.” He now averages around 205 and Brenda about 150. Maybe more important, however, is their work on a 2010 charity initiative put on by the PGA Tour wives called Shake, Rattle & Bowl held in conjunction with the Honda Classic.
The 54-year-old Sluman also was an avid youth bowler who later had a lane put into the
SPECIAL REPORT
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Hinsdale, Illinois, home he and wife Linda are currently trying to sell. He originally built it for daughter Kathryn, now 14. In addition to the bowling lane, he had a full arcade installed. “The only mistake I made was not putting in two lanes,” he said. Sluman started bowling at age 5 in bowling-crazy Rochester, New York. By age 10, he was averaging 171 and rolled a 771 an series as a teenager. Working at Dewey m Slu Gardens Bowling Center was even his first job. But he stopped bowling competitively in college at Florida State University in order to concentrate on golf. Winner of six PGA titles including the 1988 PGA Championship and four Champions Tour events, Sluman said there are basic similarities between two of his favorite sports. "You have to have tremendous concentration for those three, four or five seconds when in bowling you are rolling it down the lane or in golf hitting a shot," he once said. "You have to be able to relax in between shots. And in the pros, both are individual sports." Sluman believes another difference is that technology has changed bowling more than golf. Because of that, he had a suggestion to make things fairer for
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everyone in professional and major amateur bowling events, something that would prove new for the bowling purists to debate. "I would make them have to state the ball they would use," Sluman said. "That's what they did on our tour. You have to use one ball the whole round. Say we start with a Titleist Pro-V. You have to use that the entire round." Sluman and Calcavecchia aren't the only pro golfers who love bowling. PGA Tour player Chris DiMarco also has a lane in his Orlando, Florida, home and Champions Tour player Ken Green rolled 300 games in 1996, 2001 and 2005 before having a leg amputated in an RV accident in 2009. Maybe it’s the respect for skill mingled with the fun of competition that puts bowling at the top of the list for pro golfers as well as other sports professionals. ❖ Mark Miller is a freelance writer from Flower Mound, Texas. He is the national and Dallas-Fort Worth bowling writer for Examiner.com and a columnist for the Bowling News Network.
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C L A S S I F I E D S
EQUIPMENT FOR SALE REPAIR & EXCHANGE. Call for details (248) 375-2751. NEW & USED Pro Shop Equipment. Jayhawk Bowling Supply. 800-2556436 or jayhawkbowling.com.
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EQUIPMENT FOR SALE FOR SALE: 20 ea. Wells-Gardner 28” monitor boards for Qubica automatic scoring. $200/ea. – in working order when removed. Call Autumn Lanes (828) 286-9149. FOR SALE: 12 lanes 82/70s. MP Chassis, Hump Back Ball Returns. Spare Parts. 6 Sure Pics. 28 lanes AS-90 scoring. Wood lanes & approaches. ALL WORKING. Best offer. Call (317) 745-6247. Brunswick AS-80 scoring: over 32 lanes, complete package with extra parts. Excellent condition. $6,000 or make offer. Could be sold by the lane or individual parts. Contact Bill Henderson, Clearview Lanes (717) 653-1818. FOR SALE: 16 pair 36” Frameworx overhead monitors. $500/pair includes hanging brackets. Available May 25. Call Jason @ (816) 322-0488.
EQUIPMENT WANTED LANE MACHINES WANTED. We will purchase your KEGEL-built machine, any age or condition. Call (608) 764-1464.
ITEMS WANTED “WANTED TO BUY” Older Bowling Shirts. Paying $5 - $25 for button front shirts with embroidery or ink lettering on the back. HicardVintage@gmail.com (866) 312-6166.
CENTER FOR SALE NEW YORK STATE: Thousand Island region. 8-lane Brunswick center w/ cosmic bowling, auto scoring. Established leagues + many improvements. $309,000. Call Jill @ Lori Gervera Real Estate (315) 771-9302. WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA: One of the top five places to move! Remodeled 32-lane center. Good numbers. $3.1m gets it all. Fax qualified inquiries to (828) 253-0362. GEORGIA: busy 32-lane center, real estate included. Great location in one of fastest growing counties in metro Atlanta. 5 years new with all the amenities. Excellent numbers. Call (770) 356-8751. CENTRAL MINNESOTA: 6-lane center. Owner retiring. $99,900. hartmann@midwestinfo.net. (320) 760-3377. 48
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AMF • BRUNSWICK EQUIPMENT COMPLETE PACKAGES WORLDʼS LARGEST NEW – USED SPARE PARTS INVENTORY ALL AMF BUMPER PARTS, XS Q-BUMP, DURABOWL AND GEN II IN STOCK
SEL L
BUY
Danny & Daryl Tucker Tucker Bowling Equipment Co. 609 N.E. 3rd St. Tulia, Texas 79088 Call (806) 995-4018 Fax (806) 995-4767
Bowling Parts, Inc. P.O. Box 801 Tulia, Texas 79088 Call (806) 995-3635 Email - daryl@tuckerbowling.com
www.tuckerbowling.com
PROPRIETORS WITH AMF 82-70 S.S. & M.P. MACHINES Save $$ on Chassis & P.C. Board Exchange & Repair! A reasonable alternative for Chassis and P.C. Board Exchanges MIKE BARRETT Call for Price List
Tel: (714) 871-7843 • Fax: (714) 522-0576
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CENTER FOR SALE WASHINGTON COAST: 8-lane AMF center with automatic scoring & snack bar. Owner contract to buy business for $150,000 and/or lease to buy. Good league base. colrond@centurylink.net.
CENTRAL IDAHO: 8-lane center and restaurant in central Idaho mountains. Small town. Only center within 60-mile radius. Brunswick A-2 machines; Anvilane lane beds; automatic scoring. (208) 879-4448. NE MINNESOTA: Food, Liquor & Bowling. Established 8 lanes between Mpls & Duluth w/ large bar, dining room, banquet area. Two large State employment facilities nearby. High six figure gross. Call Bryan (218) 380-8089. www.majesticpine.com. EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA: 6-lane Brunswick center, bar & grill, drive-thru liquor store in small college town. Also, 3 apartment buildings with 40 units, good rental history. Call (701) 330-7757 or (701) 430-1490. SOUTHWEST KANSAS: well-maintained 8-lane center, A-2s, full-service restaurant. Includes business and real estate. Nice, smaller community. Owner retiring. $212,000. Leave message (620) 397-5828. 16-lane center in Southern Colorado mountains. Great condition. 18,000 s/f building w/ restaurant & lounge. Paved parking 100 + vehicles. Established leagues & tournaments. $950,000 or make offer. Kipp (719) 852-0155. CENTRAL ILLINOIS: PRICED TO SELL!! 8-lane center with AMF 82-70s, full service restaurant, pro shop. Plus pool tables, karaoke machine & DJ system. Asking $125,000.00 with RE. (217) 3515152 or toms-uvl@sbcglobal.net. NW KANSAS: 12-lane center, AS-80s, Lane Shield, snack bar, pro shop, game & pool rooms. See pics and info @ www.visitcolby.com or contact Charles (785) 443-3477. SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN: 8-lane Brunswick center w/ bar & grill & many improvements. Established leagues & tournaments. Six figure gross. Owner retiring. Serious inquiries only. Call & leave message @ (608) 767-3136.
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CENTERS FOR SALE MICHIGAN-SOUTH CENTRAL: Large center with late model equipment. Strong league base plus high-volume franchise. RE included. Sandy Hansell (800) 222-9131.
AMF and some BRUNSWICK PC board repair/exchange. 6-month warranty, fast turnaround. Call or write: WB8YJF Service 5586 Babbitt Road, New Albany, Ohio 43054 Toll Free: 888-902-BOWL (2695) Ph./Fax: (614) 855-3022 (Jon) E-mail: wb8yjf@earthlink.net Visit us on the WEB! http://home.earthlink.net/~wb8yjf/
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI: 8-lane family owned center w/ snack bar & large game room. 10-year-old AMF equipment. Only center in the county. Email: bowlingcntr@aol.com. Serious inquiries only please. NORTHERN ILLINOIS: Fully remodeled FEC—12 lanes, bar, restaurant, mini golf, go karts, batting cages, big arcade! Huge facility. Big summer business. Busy yearround! 40 years in community. $3.5M. Call (847) 363-8799
LEASE/OPTION TO BUY NORTHERN CALIFORNIA (Susanville): 10-lane center with restaurant—14,000 s/f bldg. on 2.35 acre parcel. Flexible terms. Contact Lori Johnson, Lester Company, (831) 722-2741 or lori@lestercompany.
SERVICES AVAILABLE Drill Bit Sharpening and Measuring Ball Repair. Jayhawk Bowling Supply. 800255-6436 or Jayhawkbowling.com. See a list that will help centers fill lanes w/ 1200+New Bowlers, Birthday Parties & Corporate Outings that generate $15,800— a 600% ROI from 4 payments starting at $378. Visit mcprs.bmamkt.com or call (888) 243-0685. AMF 5850 & 6525 CHASSIS. Exchange your tired or damaged chassis for an upgraded, rewired, cleaned, painted and ready-to-run chassis. Fast turnaround. Lifetime guarantee. References available. CHASSIS DOCTORS (330) 314-8951.
POSITION WANTED Seeking General Manager position— West Coast, Nevada, New Mexico and/or Southern region. 40 years in the industry—owner, GM & District Manager. Familiar with F&B, marketing, special events and youth programs. Has served on the Indiana BPA Board of Directors for 4 years. Resume and references available. Rudy Hinojosa (317) 590-5499 or email: rhbowl@yahoo.com.
MANAGER WANTED Don't miss your chance to grow with an Industry Leader! Looking for Experienced, Service-Oriented General Managers for our U.S. bowling retail center locations. Please check us out at www.brunswickcareers.apply2jobs.c om for more details on our current openings. Act Now! Apply Today! FACILITY MANAGER OPENING: AMF Deer Valley Lanes, Phoenix, AZ! Strong managerial experience and competency with Brunswick machines required. AMF offers competitive pay, bonus program, 401k with a company match, and a medical/dental/vision benefit package. Email your resume to Randy Bustillos at rbustillos@amf.com. 52
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"Bowling Center Construction Specialists" New Center Construction Family Entertainment Centers Residential Bowling Lanes Modernization Mini Bowling Lanes Automatic Scoring CONTACT
BRIAN ESTES
(866) 961-7633 ( Office: 734) 469-4293
Toll Free:
Email: build@capitalbowlingservice.com
www.CapitalBowlingService.com
MINIATURE GOLF COURSES Indoor/Outdoor. Portable/Pre-Fab. Black Light/Traditional/Pro Putter. 202 Bridge Street Jessup, PA 18434 570-489-8623 www.minigolfinc.com
SERVICE CALLS WORLDWIDE • PRE-SHIPS • WE SELL
AS80/90 • BOARD REPAIR • Frameworx NEW KEYPADS • FRONT DESK LCD MONITORS
LOCKER KEYS FAST! •Keys & Combo Locks for all Types of Lockers.
Michael P. Davies (321) 254-7849
291 Sandy Run, Melbourne, FL 32940 on the web: bowlingscorer.com email: mike@bowlingscorer.com
For FLORIDA CENTERS Call DAVID DRISCOLL & ASSOCIATES 1-800-444-BOWL 3800 Lake Center Loop, Suite B1, Mount Dora, FL 32757-2208 AN AFFILIATE OF SANDY HANSELL & ASSOCIATES
•One week turnaround on most orders. •New locks All types
All keys done by code #. No keys necessary.
•Used locks 1/2 price of new
E-mail: huff@inreach.com FAX YOUR ORDER TO US AT:
530-432-2933
CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-700-4KEY INT’L 530-432-1027 Orange County Security Consultants
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REMEMBER WHEN
DATE UNKNOWN
W
e all know bowling is, was and always has been the means to a good time! This ad uses bowling to show the high life – Miller High Life! It’s all there—camaraderie, skill or lack thereof, and FUN! Like the beer, it’s the champagne of recreation. Now, the next question is WHEN? What year? What
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decade? There is no date so we are left to sleuth it out ourselves. Clues? Many: the label on the bottle which has changed over the years; the scoring stand; our “star” bowler’s clothes along with his friends’; and the use of the term “alleys.” What do you think? 1930s? 1940s? 1950s? I’m leaning toward the 1940s. Agree? Email me your thoughts: heath@bowlingindustry.com. ❖