With an Eagle in His Eye

There aren't too many people in the bowling industry who don't know about the annual ABC Championship Tournament. As far as tournaments go, it's one of the largest and it is often called "Bowling's Greatest Tradition." For many, there is no honor higher than competing against some 12,000 teams in a plight to win an Eagle, the coveted trophy of the tournament. Winning one of the 23 awarded each year is an honor many thirst for but only an elite few will actually earn.

This year, 2004, marked the 101st anniversary of the tournament. In its 101 years, the ABC National Championship has traveled all over the United States, from north to south, from coast to coast visiting 47 different cities in 25 states. It is one of the most historic sporting events in the world, running longer, and visiting more venues, than most others. In its history, the ABC Championships historic, annual run has been interrupted only once - a three year period during World War II.

During the tournament, bowlers participate in several events in one of two divisions. There is the regular division for bowlers who average better than 180. There is also a classified division for bowlers who average less than 180. In each division, bowlers can participate in a 5-person team event, a doubles event, a singles event, and an optional all events category (total of bowler's scores for team, doubles, and singles). Eagles are awarded to the top bowler or team in each event.

Teams also have the option of participating in the team all-event category. During team all-events, each bowler's scores from all three events are totaled to achieve one overall score. Eagles are awarded to the team with the highest total.

Each year, the tournament begins in early spring and runs more than 100 days. This year, the tournament began on February 14 and concluded on June 28. That is 136 days of almost non-stop bowling.

Every year it seems more and more bowlers pay their dues to bowl for bragging rights. And every year it seems that more and more records are set as each year proves better than the one before. This year proved to be no exception. In fact, for one bowler, this year proved to be record-breaking beyond his imagination.

John Janawicz, known to his family and friends as JJ, began preparing for the ABC tournament weeks before he went to Reno, Nevada. He worked on 'fine-tuning' some aspects of his game and worked with some new bowling equipment before he made his trip. He also set one goal for himself: to bring home one Eagle.

John has bowled many tournaments during his bowling career and, in my opinion, he is an accomplished bowler. But he has yet to bring home the trophy from an ABC Championship. Little did he know how that would soon change.

On April 8, John rewrote the record books by shooting the highest individual series in the history of the ABC Tournament. John rolled games of 300, 279 and 279 for an 858-series to win the Regular Singles title. John broke the previous record of 857 set by Derek Sapp in 2003 at the Knoxville, Tennessee tournament by just one pin. In his quest for a title, John defeated more than 60,000 other singles bowlers to claim victory. But he didn't stop there.

John also won the Regular All-Events championship with 2,224. He added 687 in doubles and 679 in team to his singles set. In the all-events category, John defeated more than 59,000 bowlers. By winning both the singles and all-events titles, John became the first person in more than 30 years to claim both titles in the same year.

"I still don't really know what to say, even now it really hasn't sunk in believe it or not," said John. "To shoot that high of a score in the world's largest tournament is more of a dream than a reality. It's still pretty shocking."

But the attention doesn't seem to bother John. In fact, John told me it has been kind of a whirlwind for him. He has done a lot of public relations work and advertisements for many industry magazines and for the upcoming ABC Championship tournament. He has been interviewed by newspapers and magazines. For many who know him, he's become like a celebrity. But through it all, John remains himself. He is very modest about his accomplishments and still seems as though the fact that he won TWO Eagles hasn't really sunk in yet. Maybe it's because he has yet to receive or even see those Eagles.

On October 9 the Eagles finally landed. During the Florida State Bowling Jamboree, John finally received his Eagles. The South West Florida Bowling Association hosted this year's jamboree. The jamboree is a series of meetings and events for local bowling associations from across the state. Saturday, October 9, the SWFBA hosted the jamboree dinner. During the course of the evening, several presentations were made and John was finally able to see and hold the rewards of his accomplishments.

The Eagle presentation was the first of the evening. John, who was joined by his parents (pictured) and a few friends and teammates, watched and listened as speakers detailed his accomplishments. Members from his home bowling association, the Space Coast Bowling Association, presented his Eagles.

After the presentation, John stepped up to the podium to say a few words. He thanked his parents, for supporting him throughout the years. Neither of the bowl, but they have both stood by him and supported him throughout his life. He thanked his friends and teammates for being there to support him. He thanked his friend, Skip, for asking him to bowl that first time.

When it was all said and done, it was obvious to me that all of this still hasn't sunk in with JJ. To this day, with two Eagles sitting on his desk, he is still as humble as ever. I bet if you asked him, he would still say he was in shock. My favorite JJ quote is "Did I do that?" and those of us who know him understand the comedy of that line. But, JJ, to answer your question, yes, you did do that and we couldn't be more proud. There is no one I can think of who is more deserving of such an honor.

John plans to defend his titles in Bator Rouge during the 2005 ABC National Championship. Will it be another record-breaking year? Who knows; and only time will tell. The tournament has already had an unprecedented number of entries. Tournament dates have been extended to accommodate additional teams. As of this writing, the 2005 tournament is scheduled to last 138 days. Maybe this will be another record-breaking year. If past history repeats itself, I am sure we all have something to look forward to.