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Around NYS  -- September 2019

Two Centers in Syracuse Close Their Doors

The Central NY USBC was hit with a double-dose of bad news this week when the proprietors of the 24-lane Bowl-Mor Lanes in East Syracuse and 16-lane Lakeview Bowling Center in Liverpool announced that they are closing, effective immediately.

According to Syracuse.com, in both cases, the owners cited rising costs and decreasing number of league bowlers as reasons for their decisions to cease operations.

“It is with a great deal of sadness that we announce Bowl-Mor Lanes will be closing its doors,” said Mark MacBain and Bob Lazzaro, in a statement on their Facebook page. “We wish we had more notice to give but we have worked behind the scenes to try to prevent this from happening.”

They added that they are working to find other league options in the Syracuse area for their bowlers.

At Lakeview Bowling Center, the closing comes three years after the death of proprietor Gary Vincitore, who operated the facility with his family for more than 30 years.

Matt Manley, who married Vincitore’s daughter, Mami, was quoted as saying that “bowling is declining. It’s not what it used to be. I think this is the hardest decision we’ve had to make since Gary died.”

They, too, are doing what they can to make sure those who bowled in leagues at Lakeview find another center.

Northeast Council Gears Up for Meeting, Tourney

The Northeast Council of USBC Associations has scheduled its Fall 2019 Meeting and Tournament for Sunday, Oct. 6 at Bowl 360, 98-18 Rockaway Blvd., Ozone Park.

Hosted by the New York City USBC, the day will start with a continental breakfast at 8 a.m. and a four-person team handicap tournament at 9 a.m. The entry fee per team is $84.

CLICK HERE for more information and a tournament entry form.

The council’s tournament and awards luncheon will take place at Villa D’Este Restaurant in Floral Park immediately following bowling.

NYS Women’s Senior Singles
Three Albany Bowlers
Top Final Standings

UPDATE -- SEPT. 11, 2019

RESULTS ARE OFFICIAL:
PRIZE CHECKS WILL BE MAILED OUT ON FRIDAY, SEPT. 13

CLICK HERE for official standings.

CLICK HERE for official prize list.

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AUGUST 27, 2019 – The lead in two age classifications changed hands over the weekend as the 39th NYS Women’s Senior Singles Championships drew to a close at North Bowl Lanes in Plattsburgh.

All results are unofficial pending average verifications. The NYS USBC has 30 days to finalize prize list and send out prize checks. One in six in each age group will cash.

In the 55-59 age group, Donna Gilfus (Auburn NY USBC) moved into the top spot with a 1,408 six-game total with handicap, putting her six pins ahead of previous leader Shelly Thompson (Malone USBC).

In the 75 & Up age group, Jeraldine Beeman (Fulton County Regional USBC) registered 1,436 with handicap to edge Vivian Johnson (New York City USBC) by 15 pins. Both of those ladies jumped past previous leader Peg Gilmore (Auburn NY USBC), who had posted 1,382.

First-place bowlers in the four other divisions stayed on top – Tammy Devins (Northern Adirondack USBC) in the 50-54 group, Charlene Brandow (Albany USBC) in the 60-64 group, Darlene Spivey (Albany USBC) in the 65-69 group, and Barbara Sim (Albany USBC) in the 70-74 group.

Six-game combine leaders in the six age classifications (unofficial) are as follows:

50-54 – Tammy Devins (Northern Adirondack USBC), 1,395 with handicap; Dena Harty (Albany USBC), 1,348; Lynn Zagorski (Greater Buffalo USBC), 1,338.

55-59 – Donna Gilfus (Auburn NY USBC), 1,408; Shelly Thompson (Malone USBC), 1,402; Anita Brody (New York City USBC), 1,391.

60-64 – Charlene Brandow (Albany USBC), 1,397; Kathleen Young (Northern Adirondack USBC), 1,383; Suzette Pavone (Northern Adirondack USBC), 1,370.

65-69 – Darlene Spivey (Albany USBC), 1,390; Linda Garrand (Northern Adirondack USBC), 1,369; Barbara Vaughan (Westchester County USBC), 1,339.

70-74 – Barbara Sim (Albany USBC), 1,456; Sylvia Simpson (Staten Island USBC), 1,389; Sylvia Bisson (Central NY USBC), 1,345.

75 & Up – Jeraldine Beekman (Fulton County Regional USBC), 1,436; Vivian Johnson (New York City USBC), 1,421; Peg Gilmore (Auburn NY USBC), 1,382.

Six-game combine champions in each division will be eligible to represent New York State at the 2020 USBC Senior Championships in Lousville, Ky.

Nancy Hulbert (Fulton County Regional USBC) won the breast cancer awareness bowling ball.

The NYS USBC would like to thank the Northern Adirondack USBC association for its assistance in running the tournament and the Munson family, proprietor of North Bowl Lanes, for hosting the highly-successful event.

Spivey Finishes 2nd, Pantley 5th
at USBC Senior Championships

AUGUST 9, 2019 -- Darlene Spivey placed second in the Women's Division 65-69 age group today, rolling 678 with handicap for her three games in the Advancers Round and finishing with a 708 series, including 30 bonus pins.

Her total was 12 pins less than divisional champion, Susan Sweatman of Trout Creek, Mt.

She earned $570 for her efforts.

In the Women's Division 50-54 age bracket, Maureen Pantley finished in sixth place, rolling 651 with handicap and totaling 661, including 10 bonus pins. She won $210.

Marion Kosiak of Goffstown, N.H., won the group with a 757 series.

Final results can be found in the Tournaments seciton of bowl.com.

PREVIOUSLY TODAY:

AUGUST 9, 2019 -- Darlene Spivey (Albany USBC) and Maureen Pantley (Tri-County NY USBC) have made it to the Advancers Round of the 2019 USBC Senior Championships at Western Bowl in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Spivey placed third in the Women’s Division 65-69 age classification while Pantley finished fifth in the Women’s Division 50-54 age group on Thursday to advance to the rolloffs, which were scheduled for 9 o’clock this morning.

The top six in each age group in the Women’s and Mixed Divisions qualified for the Advancers Round.

Spivey rolled 436 scratch yesterday to finish with a 1,350 handicap total and Pantley rolled 350 scratch to finish with a 1,314 handicap total.

In the Women’s Division 75 & Up Division, Janice Thompson (Mid-Hudson USBC) placed seventh, but still claimed a prize check of $115. She missed the cut by 26 pins after a 454 scratch three-game series on Thursday.

Other New York USBC members in the Women’s Division were Katherine Yochum (Corning USBC), who placed 28th in the 60-64 group, and Janice Markowitz (Hudson Valley USBC), who finished 25th in the 55-59 group.

In the Mixed Division, Troy McClure (Rochester NY USBC) rallied with a 657 scratch series but fell short of the rolloffs, placing 11th with a 1,257 total.

Other New York USBC results:

55-59 – Kimberly Hawkins (Mid-Hudson USBC), 12th place, 1,245.
60-64 – R. Jeffery Ward (Greater Buffalo USBC), 25th place, 1,203.
65-69 – Wayne Potter (Canandaigua USBC), 15th place, 1,261.
70-74 – Richard Cook (Finger Lakes NY USBC), 29th place, 1,166.
75 & Up – Robert Mossotti (Central NY USBC), 17th place, 1,244.

Pathways Fundraiser Brings in $3,570

AUGUST 1, 2019 -- This year's July lottery fundraiser conducted by the New York State USBC raised more than $3,500 to support the state association's charities.

CLICK HERE for a list of winners.

Donations made by bowlers and friends have resulted in a total of $3,570, which will be used to support the NYS USBC Pathways committee.

As in the past, contributions will be made to the Bowlers to Veterans Link, and for cancer research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and Roswell Park Alliance Foundation in Buffalo.

The tickets were sold by NYS USBC officers, directors and youth committee members and at various state tournaments. Winners were determined by the NYS Lottery Evening Number.

USBC to Lower Youth
Maximum Age to 18
Starting in 2020-21

JULY 25, 2019 -- The United States Bowling Congress will lower the maximum age for USBC Youth membership to 18 starting with the 2020-2021 season.

The decision to lower to the maximum age from 20 to 18, with agreement from the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America and the International Bowling Campus Youth Committee, will align bowling with other youth sports.

“Over the last decade, we have made changes to USBC Youth programs and tournaments to provide a model comparable with other youth sports,” IBC Youth Managing Director of Youth Development Gary Brown said. “We moved to age-based divisions, as opposed to average, for events, to provide peer-to-peer competition. Setting the maximum age for youth bowlers to 18 aligns us with the standard of other national youth sports organizations.”

A U18 division will become the top division for the Pepsi Youth and Bowling.com Youth Open Championships for the 2020-2021 season. During the next season, USBC will address how the age change will impact the 2021 Junior Gold Championships, which will have a separate U20 division.

Please visit BOWL.com/YouthAgeChange for additional information.

Starting with the 2020-2021 season, USBC Youth membership policy will state youth membership is available to individuals who have not reached the age of 18 prior to Aug. 1 of the current bowling season. The decision to lower the maximum age will directly impact 3.3 percent of the total youth membership. The change also better aligns USBC Youth membership with new regulations from the U.S. Center for SafeSport requiring training for those over 18 who participate in a sport with minors.

Any USBC Youth member who reaches the age of 18 during the bowling season is required to complete the U.S. Center for SafeSport online education program, which is free, to continue to compete in leagues that have participants under age 18. This requirement was announced with the release of the revised Registered Volunteer Program (RVP) handbook.

The new age limit marks the second time the USBC Youth maximum age has been lowered. In 2009, USBC lowered the maximum age for youth bowlers from 22 to 20.

NYS Open Senior Entry Form is Posted

UPDATE -- JUNE 24, 2019

CLICK HERE for 2019 NYS Open Senior Championships entry form -- October, Sportsmans Bowl, Schenectady.

Hotel information -- $80 per night plus tax includes breakfast - Quality Inn, 2788 Hamburgh St,, Schenectady NY 12306. Phone: 518-355-1111. The hotel is about five minutes from the bowling center.

The oil pattern will be a 43-foot Recreation pattern.

2019 NYS USBC Annual Meeting

GETTING TOGETHER: One hundred twenty-four voting delegates and about a dozen guests converged upon DoubleTree by Hilton Syracuse on Saturday (June 1) for the 8th New York State USBC Annual Meeting.

NYS USBC OFFICERS, DIRECTORS: Elected at Saturday's Annual Meeting to serve on the New York State USBC board for two-year terms, effective Aug. 1, were, front from left, Adult Directors Maresse Wager-Walawender of Canandaigua and Randy Snyder of Apalachin and Youth Director Thomas Solimine Sr. of White Plains; back, Adult Director Robert Kaverman of Jamestown, Sergeant-At-Arms Dennis O'Donnell of Auburn, and President Roger Buckman of Victor. Snyder and Wager-Walawender are new to the board while Solimine was elected after sitting out a year due to term limits.

YOUTH LEADER AWARDS: Amber Lupi, left, president of the NYS Youth Leaders, presents the Youth Leader Coach of the Year Award of Jayu Kulkarni of Lake Ronkonkoma at Saturday's Annual Meeting, Also pictured, from left, are Emily Kulkarni, Youth Leader of the Year; Jamie Masclee of Rochester, Bridging of the Gap Adult Award recipient, and Mike Callan of Rochester, NYS USBC Youth Director.

Snyder, Wager-Walawender,
Solimine Sr. Elected
to NYS USBC Board

JUNE 3, 2019 – More than 120 delegates, representing 30 local associations, elected two new directors and got to meet the recently-appointed USBC Northeast regional manager at the 8th New York State USBC Annual Meeting on Saturday at DoubleTree by Hilton Syracuse in East Syracuse.

Randy Snyder of Apalachin (Southern Tier USBC) and Maresse Wager-Walawender of Canandaigua (Lake Ontario USBC) were elected as Adult Directors in a voice vote along with Robert Kaverman of Jamestown (Jamestown Area USBC), who will be continuing his service on the NYS USBC board.

Click on Memorial tab for another photo.

In voting for the one open Youth Director position, Thomas Solimine Sr. of White Plains (Westchester County USBC) received 67 votes to outdistance Mimi Lucey (Rochester NY USBC) and Jayu Kulkarni (Long Island USBC), who garnered 33 and 24 votes, respectively.

Solimine, the longtime NYS Youth Committee chair, returns to the board after having to sit out a year due to term limits.

President Roger Buckman of Victor (Rochester NY USBC) and Sergeant-at-Arms Dennis O’Donnell of Auburn (Auburn USBC) were re-elected to their posts as they ran unopposed.

Delegates heard from John McCarthy of Louisville, Ky., who is completing his first season as the Northeast regional manager. McCarthy gave a 15-minute presentation on the bowling ball specification changes that will take place over the next couple years.

Effective Aug. 1, 2019, only a dry towel can be used to clean a bowling ball during competition, and effective Aug. 1, 2020, balance holes on balls will be eliminated, meaning that any hole in a ball must be used for gripping purposes and all holes must be used on every delivery.

Another change effective on Aug. 1, 2020 is that a bowling ball’s oil absorption rate must be more than two minutes, 15 seconds for the ball to be approved.

President Buckman officiated, calling on committee members to give their reports and allowing time at the end of the meeting for affiliate associations – NYS 500, 600 and 700 clubs and NYS Bowling Writers – to address the delegates.

Highlights of the committee reports:

-- Pathways Committee chair Kaverman reported that $24,000 was donated to the state’s cancer hospitals, BVL and youth scholarships through tournament and other donations in 2017-18.

-- Youth Committee spokesman Mike Callan reported combined scholarships of more than $60,000 from the Team, Pepsi, Adult-Junior and Youth Scholarship tournaments.

-- Youth Leaders President Amber Lupi announced this year’s award winners (see photo above) and reported on their activities, including their work at the Youth Team tournament weekend in Syracuse in May.

-- YES Committee chair Kathy Leitgeb reported on the scholarships that were awarded to students at all grade levels, with Daniel Palmer of Niskayuna as the recipient of the $4,000 Pat Zonneville Memorial Award for 2018-19.

-- Public Relations Committee chair Barry Vee reported that the NYS USBC Facebook page “likes” have increased significantly, and announced that the board of directors has approved a major upgrade of the NYS USBC website.

More than $1,500 was raised for charity prior to the Annual Meeting, including donations from Fulton County Regional USBC ($500), 700 Club ($100) and Bowling Writers ($150). Claudia Cinelli (Long Island USBC) also donated $283 to the Youth Team tournament.

Bowling Writers President Lucille Daignault said the organization will be dissolving effective July 31, 2019, citing increased use of social media and digital communication, and thanked Patricia Fuller of Medina (Genesee Region USBC) for her 29 years of service its secretary.

-- Association Manager Mike Pettinella recognized Leitgeb, Callan, Vee and Betty Kingsley for their years of service as each will be going off the board, effective July 31.

Future NYS USBC Adult
Championship Tournaments

CLICK HERE for NYS Adult Championship tournaments through 2021.