The 2008 USBC Championships officially reached its halfway point last weekend at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

Since the event opened on Feb. 16, nearly 30,000 bowlers on more than 6,000 teams have made the march down the tournament's Center Aisle hoping to join the latest group of Open Championships titlists.

So far, 10 bowlers have achieved perfection on the championship lanes. There also has been one 299 and two 298s, and 12 other bowlers have tossed 11 strikes in a row. Jason Price (pictured left) of Grand Island, Neb., holds the Regular Singles lead with 817, the only 800 series of the year.

Competitors at this year's Open Championships have bowled more than 270,000 games and knocked down nearly 50 million pins for an overall average of 171.61. Regular Division bowlers have averaged 176.72, while Classified bowlers are at 154.68.

"Our return to Albuquerque has been an exciting one, and the bowlers really seem to be enjoying themselves this year," said Open Championships Tournament Director Brian Lewis. "Because we are in a nice big venue, we've been able to add some things to enhance the tournament experience, and everything is running smoothly. With more than 30,000 bowlers yet to come, we know there's still a lot of hard work, and hopefully a lot of great scores, ahead of us."

Behind the scenes, pins are replaced after 13 days of use, and 5,800 pins have been put into play. While cleaning and oiling the lanes three times each day, the lane maintenance crew has used 180 gallons of Kegel Defense-C cleaner, 86.25 gallons of Kegel Infinity lane conditioner and 56 rolls of duster cloth. In the scale room, approximately 125,000 balls have been weighed twice each, once for team and once for doubles and singles.

The Open Championships first was held in Albuquerque in 2000, when 10,688 teams traveled to the Land of Enchantment for the 129-day event. This year's tournament will run for 143 consecutive days and conclude on July 7.

"We have seen the bowlers out and about around Albuquerque and know that local businesses are enjoying their patronage," said Dale Lockett, President/CEO of the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau. "Each bowler is a potential future leisure visitor, so we hope they are scouting out the places they may want to return to explore on their next trip to Albuquerque. We appreciate all that the USBC has brought into our city and look forward to the remainder of the tournament."

Looking further ahead, the 2009 Open Championships at the Cashman Center in Las Vegas officially will feature 56 lanes for the first time.

The lanes will be accompanied by new scoreboards that are comparable to the oversized screens often found in sports venues and arenas across the country, but will offer a clearer picture thanks to the latest 10mm technology. They will feature enhanced graphics with 4.4 trillion colors and streaming video capabilities and will be tagged as the world's largest mobile scoreboard of its kind.

A sample of the new technology has been on display and in a testing phase above the Roto Grip Sport Bowling Challenge inside the Albuquerque Convention Center. The new setup also will include a 12 feet by 9 feet, high-definition video display screen over Center Aisle, which has been in place during the 2008 event.

As of April 15, more than 10,000 teams were signed up for the 2009 tournament, which will mark the first visit to Las Vegas since 1986, the first time the event featured 10,000 teams (10,019).

Prior to walking into the Albuquerque Convention Center this week, Brian Washington of Hopewell, Va., had never been to the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships and had no idea what to expect.

After nervously making his first trip down the tournament's traditional Center Aisle and struggling in team and doubles, the 28-year-old right-hander finally was able to calm down, and a big move on the approach helped him find his way to the top spot in Classified Singles on Thursday.

Washington shot 488 in team and was at the end of a 435 set in doubles when he decided to move eight boards left on the approach and completely change his line to the pocket. He then moved an additional two boards at the start of singles and posted games of 208, 191 and 277 for a 676 series. He struck on 10 of his last 11 shots to move past Tim Wagner of Hardin, Mont., who previously held the lead with 669.

"Yesterday was all nerves," said Washington, a record storage coordinator for the HCA healthcare network of Virginia. "My dad said once you get a frame or two out of the way, the nerves would go away, but since it was my first tournament, it took a few games. Today, I told myself to get out there and just bowl."

Although he competed in youth bowling leagues many years ago, Washington recently returned to the lanes after 16 years away because he wanted the chance to bowl with his father, Charles. That is the same reason he chose to make his USBC Open Championships debut this year.

"My dad has been bowling in this for more than 20 years, but I don't know how many more he'll be able to come to because of his health, and I really wanted to bowl in it with him at least once," said Washington, who finished his debut with a 1,599 all-events total. "I really had a great time, and the environment was a lot more comfortable because most of the people I bowled with here are from our league at home."

Presenting sponsors for the 2008 USBC Open Championships are Eldorado Hotel Casino, Silver Legacy Resort Casino and Circus Circus Reno in Reno, Nev. Other participating sponsors are Kegel, official lane maintenance provider; Brunswick, capital equipment supplier; Storm Products, Inc.; Roto Grip, official sponsor of the Roto Grip Sport Bowling Challenge; Isleta Casino & Resort; Santa Ana Star Casino, the official brackets sponsor; Rainbow Ryders, the exclusive hot air balloon company of the 2008 Open Championships; and Sandia Resort & Casino.

Albuquerque Convention Center, Albuquerque, N.M.

Top 10 division leaders with hometown and pinfalls

Team
1, Rhino for President (David Haynes, Steve Kloempken, Ted Hannahs, Bill Hoffman, Rhino Page), Pleasant View, Utah, 3,298. 2, Marcor Technologies, Gaylord, Mich., 3,235. 3, Armstrong Printing 1, Naperville, Ill., 3,231. 4, Clone Huskers, Milwaukee, 3,228. 5, K & K Bowling Service 1, Henderson, Nev., 3,208. 6, Cambridge 1, Feeding Hills, Mass., 3,201. 7, Buddy Tierno Senior Tour, Mount Laurel, N.J., 3,197. 8, Pollard's Bowl, Versailles, Ind., 3,176. 9, Janz's H.I., Beaver Dam, Wis., 3,174. 10, Lodge Lanes 1, Saline, Mich., 3,172.

Doubles
1, John Socha, Oak Creek, Wis./Dennis Rakauskas, Apopka, Fla., 1,467. 2, Todd Koehler, Appleton, Minn./Doug Blood, Montevideo, Minn., 1,444. 3, Erik Mattingly, Puyallup, Wash./Robert Hanson, Tacoma, Wash., 1,441. 4, Steven Levering, Landisville, Pa./Jim Rutherford, Coatesville, Pa., 1,428. 5, Ron Case, Oakley, Calif./Sam Carter, Ben Lomond, Calif., 1,422. 6, Mike Granberg, Batavia, Ill./Dave Rodak, Naperville, Ill., 1,419. 7, Brian Corley, Piedmont, Okla./Brett Erickson, Oklahoma City, 1,409. 8, Patrick Smart/Ricky Meneley, Santa Maria, Calif., 1,404. 9, Dan Guerrieri/Joe Nuzzo, Youngstown, Ohio, 1,401. 10, George Aboud, San Jose, Calif.,/Jeff Frankos, Daly City, Calif., 1,399.

Singles
1, Jason Price, Grand Island, Neb., 817. 2, Wilbert Moorer, Dover, Del., 784. 3, Warren Crawford, McKinleyville, Calif., 779. 4, William Uthoff, O'Fallon, Mo., 775. 5, Alan Pecora, Drums, Pa., 773. 6, Don Pyle, Wilmington, Del., 768. 7, Mike Preston, High Springs, Fla., 764. 8, Greg Benefield, Lees Summit, Mo., 763. 9, Mike Leonard, Front Royal, Va., 762. 10 (tie), Andrew Udahl, Elk Grove, Calif., and Scott Shimer, Kokomo, Ind., 761.

All-Events
1, Randy Weiss, Columbia, S.C., 2,160. 2, Warren Crawford, McKinleyville, Calif., 2,159. 3, Edward Gallagher, Clarksville, Tenn., 2,141. 4, Chris Gibbons, Madison, Wis., 2,122. 5, Don Pyle, Wilmington, Del., 2,118. 6, Brian Diede, Huron, S.D., 2,113. 7, Jeff Jensen, Fall River, Kan., 2,111. 8, David Beres, Waukesha, Wis., 2,094. 9, John Gaines, Orlando, Fla., 2,092. 10, Richard Thomas, Middleton, Wis., 2,086.

Team All-Events
1, Team Pabst (Jeff Prein, Troy Cox, Scott Erickson, Kevin Thompson, Chris Gibbons), Madison, Wis., 9,977. 2, MoRich Enterprises, West Bend, Wis., 9,901. 3, Rhino for President, Pleasant View, Utah, 9,801. 4 (tie), S & B Pro Shop 2, Sterling Heights, Mich., and Pam's Boys 1, Salem, Ore., 9,736. 6, Pollard's Bowl, Versailles, Ind., 9,708. 7, J & S Auto Supply Inc., Valparaiso, Ind., 9,684. 8, Lodge Lanes 1, Saline, Mich., 9,664. 9, Browning Pontiac, Eminence, Ky., 9,662. 10, ABC Souvenirs 1, Fall River, Kan., 9,637.

Top 10 division leaders with hometown and pinfalls

Team
1, Lake Country Rollers 1 (Butch Booker, Dave Lisson, Wayne Booker, Michael Booker, Danny Booker), Clarissa, Minn., 2,799. 2, T-Rays, Jamestown, N.D., 2,795. 3, Garden Center Lanes 2, Alexandria, Minn., 2,789. 4, Plattsburgh Bowl, Plattsburgh, Mo., 2,773. 5, Sego Electric, Clarion, Iowa, 2,759. 6, Pla-Mor Lanes 5, New Weston, Ohio, 2,750. 7, Lady Pros, Albuquerque, N.M., 2,748. 8, Firenab 2, Lincoln, Neb., 2,745. 9, Red Carpet, Sauk Centre, Minn., 2,744. 10, Scots-Am, Hancock, Maine, 2,701.

Doubles
1, Jim Kohlman, St. Paul, Minn./Michael Roscoe, White Bear Lake, Minn., 1,196. 2 (tie), Lenny Boogaard, Osakis, Minn./Larry Sorenson, West Union, Minn., and Sue Kendall, Converse, Ind./Jeffrey Kistler, Marion, Ind., 1,184. 4, Butch Booker, Clarissa, Minn./Dave Lisson, Browerville, Minn., 1,181. 5, Myron Asleson/Tony Haugen, Devils Lake, N.D., 1,179. 6 (tie), Jim Selgo, Phoenix/Doug Krauss, Archbold, Ohio, and Mark Powell/Barry Fortner, Hobbs, N.M., 1,173. 8, Rich Ayers Jr., Webster City, Iowa/Darrell Pedersen, Eagle Grove, Iowa, 1,166. 9, Larry Kubasiak/Duane Kubasiak, Bronson, Mich., 1,165. 10, Gary Tomhave/Michael Donley, Fergus Falls, Minn., 1,163.

Singles
1, Brian Washington, Hopewell, Va., 676. 2, Tim Wagner, Hardin, Mont., 669. 3, Jeffrey Kistler, Marion, Ind., 668. 4, John Zapalac, Bishop, Texas, 662. 5, Randy Gaines, Austin, Minn., 658. 6, Ed Wethington, Poplar Grove, Ill., 657. 7 (tie), Dale Fuller, Otter Lake, Mich., and Bill Ingram, Aloha, Ore., 648. 9, Stefanie Suntum, Montrose, Colo., 647. 10, (tie), Lynn Parker, Berwick, La., and Mike Leblanc, New Iberia, La., 644.

All-Events
1, Jeffrey Kistler, Marion, Ind., 1,887. 2, John Millet Jr., Greenland, N.H., 1,821. 3, Troy Schultz, Clarion, Iowa, 1,820. 4, Dave Lisson, Browerville, Minn., 1,815. 5, Glenn Shields, Bowling Green, Ohio, 1,791. 6, Hartsell Duhart, Compton, Calif., 1,789. 7, Dave Dubois, Santa Monica, Calif., 1,782. 8, John Albaugh, Colorado Springs, Colo., 1,773. 9, Bob Godden, Las Vegas, 1,764. 10, Larry Kubasiak, Bronson, Mich., 1,764.