Edmonton Youth Scholarship All Events

This is by far the best tournament of the year - lots of fun, low pressure.

So this is how it works. It's a tournament comprised of team, doubles and singles events. 3 games for each shift. There is also a "mini tournament" of 3 games on a difficult oil pattern, which we call a sport shot. As well, there is a skills competition where specific pins are set up and we get points for making the spares; with more difficult spares garnering more points.

Skills is divided into 160 average and under & 161 and over. The field usually gets cut to the top 6 in each, and they move on to the second round & more difficult spares. The winner wins a bowling ball, and gets their name on a plaque. This year I got 12 points, but the cut off was 13 points so I just missed making the cut - I think I was the same for last year as well.

For payouts, I'm not 100% how it works, but I think the amount depends on how many entries were in each event and division. So each event will pay different amounts. The big thing about this tournament is in the name - All Events. They take your combined scores from teams, doubles and singles (but only from the first shift of each, as you can enter as many times as you like). It's also scratch and handicap, so there's 8 ways of winning.

Now for my results. Keep in mind, my average is 179, so for each shift, an average total would be of about 540.

Teams: 629, 210 ave
Doubles: 590, 197 ave
Singles: 637, 212 ave
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All Events: 1856, 206 ave

(2 high games of 227)

Teams scratch I think we ended up either 3rd or 4th for scratch and maybe 2nd or 3rd for handicap. So we'll hopefully cash a bit of money.
Doubles was a lost cause because my partner didn't do too well.
For singles scratch, the lowest I could end up is 2nd but I think I managed 1st so that should be a decent payout. I'm not too sure how I fared in handicap, but considering I was 33 pins above average I stand a decent chance! I won't be cashing for all events because so many people had really high scoring games this weekend, but that's all right.

Now for the sport shot. I had never done it before and didn't know what to expect. I've shot difficult patterns at world cup and of course CNCs and sort of from CYCs but I still wasn't sure what would be out there. My first game was a tough 154, lowest of the day and tourny for me, but it was about what everyone else was doing as well. Near the end of that game I decided to try a different line (stand and aim elsewhere). It paid off for the rest of the shift and I added a 214 (second highest for the shift - a girl I was bowling with had a 216 that same game) and then a 198, for an average of 188. I came tops in girls and second overall, only 7 behind the top boy (though overall doesn't matter). I'm not sure if I get paid for it, because I won a bowling shirt, coupon for the pro shop and a kit from the pro shop. Fingers crossed that I do though.

So it was a heck of tournament for me. There were so many high games though. There was a 300, a 299 and a 289. All boys of course. I'm really proud at how consistent I was, always around that 200 mark (besides that 150 game, but that's forgivable). And I also figured things out on my own, for the most part.

It's a good thing it came at the end of reading break so I was nicely rested and relaxed. It's also a good warm up for YBC provincials next Sunday. I just need to get my mental game back and not put too much pressure on myself.

That Dream Of Mine

What a horrible title THAT was for a post.
But anyway. I just wanted to touch base with how those goals of mine have gone this year.

#1 - I DID bowl most of the summer! I believe Once July hit me and the guys were going every week to Gateway. And it was a blast. I owned them all and averaged about 200 each week. And then sadly league started and I don't know where that went. But I'm back to that now :)

#2 - I ended up getting 2 balls from that lady I know but they were useless. They had been used to much, and re-drilled too many times. But I did get switch grip. Though honestly I'm starting to think maybe I should have put that towards a new ball instead, my one strike ball is about to hit the dust..

#3 - I haven't done all the tournaments, because, well, that's a shit ton of money to be throwing away like that. I did world cup this year though which was a neat experience. I wouldn't do it again unless I thought I could win though. That's $60 down the drain.

The season is not yet done and I'm unsure if I'll get to CNCs this year, but either way I should keep practicing. I don't know why I hadn't been going even just by myself. I kept waiting for practice to spring up, but more than anything I just needed to get a lot of games in. Chelsey seems to bowl 2-3 times a week (or at least 3 now in preparation for tournies (she does youth & adult league)) and it's seemed to pay off so far. She kicked a lot of butt this weekend, averaging 217.

So really, for now that's my only goal. Practice. But it is easier said than done. Chelsey is done school, I'm still trying to get into a program. She has a lot more time, and not to mention more money than me. And a wish would be to get a new ball. I didn't win any of the 5 on raffle at the tourny this weekend which blows, because I doubt I'll have enough to buy one myself. I've been trying to subtly hint ato my mom to buy me one but I don't think that'll ever fly. Which honestly really pisses me off. She doesn't support me in any way financially, and she used to pay for bowling all the time, is it really too much too ask to chip in a bit for a ball? That's probably a bit selfish of me, but still..

Look forward to a recap of this weekend's scholarship tournament, previous tournaments and tournaments to come!

New Plan

Alright, when I originally created this blog, I intended it to be a sort of memoir. Keep track of my progress and have memories of these awesome national tournaments. I've decided now that I'm just going to turn into a full out bowling blog. It's tournament season this month and for the next few weeks, and I'd like to share what my experiences have been. It may very well be the case that no one reading this has that much interest, but for myself, it would be nice to look back at what I accomplish throughout the year.

So I need to change the title of the blog.. I'm kind of liking the name #yegbowling (you know, to go with the twitter trend). Any ideas? Let me know!