BPAA award winners announced
Cathy Cooper, Hazel McLeary and Kerm Helmer were named 2003 Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America Bowling Industry Service winners at the recent BPAA Board of Directors meeting held in Chandler, Ariz.
Cooper, Anderson, Ind., president of the Young American Bowling Alliance and USA Bowling and one of the BPAA’s representatives to the YABA Board, will be awarded the BPAA President’s Medal for her dedication and longtime service to BPAA and youth bowling.
McLeary, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, former chairperson of the Bowling, Inc. Board of Directors, WIBC Hall of Famer and bowling writer, will receive the coveted V.A. Wapensky Award named after BPAA’s longtime Chief Executive Officer, V.A. (Chief) Wapensky. McLeary is being recognized for her strong support of BPAA, contributions to the WIBC, youth bowling, her Canadian influence and service to Bowling, Inc.
A ‘President’s Special Award’ will be presented posthumously to the family of Kerm Helmer, Buffalo, N.Y., recognizing his many years of contributions and dedication to collegiate and junior college bowling. Helmer was known as one of the most successful junior college bowling coaches as well as a respected bowling writer.
These awards will be presented during International Bowl Expo 2003 in June in Las Vegas, Nev.
IBC TROPHY RE-NAMED THE HELMER CUP
College Bowling USA has announced that the Intercollegiate Bowling Championships trophy given to the national champions in both the men’s and women’s divisions will be re-named the Helmer Cup in honor of the late Kerm Helmer. Helmer, Erie Community College’s longtime bowling coach, lost a short battle with cancer last October at age 59.
“Re-naming the IBC trophy the Helmer Cup is just one way to recognize Kerm’s contribution to the sport of bowling, the collegiate program and the IBC,” said College Bowling USA Director Brian Graham.
As coach of the Erie Community College bowling teams, Helmer led his Buffalo, N.Y., squads to a combined 37 National Junior College Athletic Association titles and four Intercollegiate Bowling Championships. The men claimed IBC titles in 1986 and 1988, while the women took top honors in 1980 and 1982.
For his efforts, Helmer received numerous awards, including being inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame in 1998 and being named the 2000 National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association Gordon Teigen Award recipitent, awarded annually in recognition of outstanding service to collegiate bowling.
Helmer’s presence in collegiate bowling wasn’t limited to the Buffalo area. He also directed the Association of College Unions International Bowling Championships for 18 years and was heavily involved in organizing the NJCAA Bowling Championships. In addition, he offered his assistance to the Intercollegiate Bowling Championships (which were held in Buffalo in 2002 due to Helmer’s efforts) and served as a member of College Bowling USA’s Collegiate Committee.
“Kerm’s dedication to college bowling was very instrumental in making it the successful program it is today,” Graham said. “College bowling may not exist today without the commitment and contributions he offered to the program over the past 35 years.”
The IBC is the climax of the college bowling season, as the top 16 men’s and top 16 women’s teams square off in a double-elimination, Baker-style format to determine who will be crowned National Champions. Teams are selected to participate in the IBC based on season records and qualifying through sectional qualifiers.
The two-time defending IBC champion Western Illinois University men’s squad and the Morehead State University women’s team will be looking to defend their titles from a year ago April 24-26 at Riverlanes in Tulsa, Okla.
The first Intercollegiate Bowling Championships was held in 1975 in Dayton, Ohio, under the title of the “Spectacular I.” The name of the event has changed many times over the years, before taking on its current name in 1991.
CREATION OF TEEN MASTERS ALFOND CUP ANNOUNCED
To Symbolically recognize the significant accomplishment of the Teen Masters champion, Killer ‘B’ Promotions is pleased to announce the creation of “The Alfond Cup.” This prestigious award, which will be given to each year’s champion, is being created to acknowledge the Alfond family’s generous support of the Teen Masters since its 1997 inception, their many contributions to the bowling industry, and their love of kids and the sport of bowling. Under Bill Alfond’s leadership, Dexter became the number one bowling shoe in the world.
In response to escalating scores, The Teen Masters was created as the “toughest test of skill in youth bowling.” What began as an event held in a single location has evolved into a national competition. A sixteen-city tour has produced an elite field of 32 teens who will face off in head-to-head match play competition to determine who will earn the title of “best teenage bowler in America.”
The finals of this year’s Teen Masters will be held at the new Kegel Training Center in Lake Wales, Florida, March 28-30, with 32 teens, ranging in age from 14-19, competing for the Alfond Cup and the $10,000 scholarship award that will accompany it. Among the field of 32 bowlers are three females, each who earned her invitation by outperforming both boys and girls in her respective qualifier.
The Teen Masters is sponsored by Storm Bowling Products, the American Bowling Congress and Kegel. For more information on the Teen Masters visit www.killerbpromotions.com or telephone (434) 823-2695.
USA JUNIOR GOLD BOWLING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
The sixth annual USA Junior Gold Bowling National Championships will be held July 12-18 at AMF Strike ‘N Spare Lanes in St. Louis, Mo., Brunswick Lakeside Lanes in Valley Park, Mo., and the Brunswick Four Seasons in Chesterfield, Mo. Strike ‘N Spare is a 48-lane center, while Lakeside Lanes and Four Seasons each have 40 lanes.
The USA Junior Gold Bowling National Championships features the best youth bowlers from across North America and military zones from around the world. Each participant advanced to the Bowling National Championships through local Junior Gold qualifying tournaments and leagues held throughout North America.
The competitors, most with 200-plus averages, compete for spots on Junior TEAM USA. Eight girls and eight boys become Junior TEAM USA members and earn a portion of more than $65,000 in scholarships available at this tournament. Junior TEAM USA represents the United States in international competition and is designed to be a part of a feeder system for the U.S. national amateur team, TEAM USA.
WIBC CHANGES SCHOLARSHIP NOMINATION DEADLINE
The Women’s International Bowling Congress announced that its 2004 Alberta E. Crowe Star of Tomorrow Scholarship deadline has been changed to Oct. 1, 2003. Previously applications were scheduled for acceptance through Oct. 15, 2003.
The award is named for Alberta E. Crowe, WIBC’s fourth President from 1960-81, and annually recognizes star qualities in a female high school senior or college student who competes in bowling. Star qualities include: distinguished sanctioned bowling performances on the local, regional, state, provincial and national levels; academic achievement; and extra-curricular involvement. Award winners receive a $1,500 scholarship, renewable for up to three years for a total of $6,000 in scholarships.
Lindsey Coulles of Centerville, Ohio, won the 2003 award to be presented at the WIBC Annual Meeting April 28-30 in Reno, Nev.
THIS COLUMN
Comments, questions or recommendations concerning this column are welcome. Telephone Ted Gruszkowski at (703) 590-2444.