Jersey City bowlers enjoy USBC Youth Open Championships
07/16/07
For almost a year, dozens of bowlers from Hudson Lanes in Jersey City, N.J., lived in anticipated for their trip to the 2007 United States Bowling Congress Youth Open Championships.
The 40 bowlers formed 10 teams, all wearing matching shirts, to compete at AMF Thruway Lanes on Sunday morning in the inaugural Youth Open Championships, which began Friday and continues through July 21.
"For the past year, our whole league has been focused on coming to this tournament," said 16-year-old Michael Rayes. "I love going to places where I might never get back in my life. It makes it even better that I can combine the trip with something I absolutely love to do, which is bowling."
Group coordinator Claire Schroeder-Hurley, who has run the adult/youth Family Fun League at Hudson Lanes for 22 years, helped organize the 10 teams. A longtime bowler, Schroeder-Hurley wanted her youth bowlers to experience a national tournament.
"I bowled in the USBC Women's Championships for 18 years," Schroeder-Hurley said. "I wanted the kids to be able to experience the same things I did when I traveled to all those tournaments."
To ensure all the bowlers could afford to make the trip, they held fundraisers throughout the bowling season. In all, they raised more than $6,000 to cover entry fees and travel costs.
"We went out and asked sponsors to give us $100 per team and we also ran other fundraisers," said Schroeder-Hurley, whose group ranges in age from 9 to 21 with averages anywhere from 54 to 193. "We held no-tap tournaments, dinners, dances and 50-50 raffles during leagues. Now, a lot of the kids already want to go to Detroit next year, so we've got our first fundraiser scheduled for August."
Rayes, who entered the Youth Open Championships with a 157 average, said competing against the best is another reason he decided to make the trip.
"This tournament is all about bowling against some of the best in the country," Rayes said. "It's always fun to have a lot of new competition and to get to bowl in a house you've never bowled in before."
The tournament is broken into four average divisions (129 and below, 130-159, 160-189 and 190 and above) and is based on actual pinfall. One out of every four entrants in team, doubles and singles will receive scholarships, while one in six will receive scholarships in all-events.
2007 USBC Youth Open
AMF Thruway Lanes in Buffalo N.Y., United States (July 13-21, 2007)
For almost a year, dozens of bowlers from Hudson Lanes in Jersey City, N.J., lived in anticipated for their trip to the 2007 United States Bowling Congress Youth Open Championships.
The 40 bowlers formed 10 teams, all wearing matching shirts, to compete at AMF Thruway Lanes on Sunday morning in the inaugural Youth Open Championships, which began Friday and continues through July 21.
"For the past year, our whole league has been focused on coming to this tournament," said 16-year-old Michael Rayes. "I love going to places where I might never get back in my life. It makes it even better that I can combine the trip with something I absolutely love to do, which is bowling." Group coordinator Claire Schroeder-Hurley, who has run the adult/youth Family Fun League at Hudson Lanes for 22 years, helped organize the 10 teams. A longtime bowler, Schroeder-Hurley wanted her youth bowlers to experience a national tournament.
"I bowled in the USBC Women's Championships for 18 years," Schroeder-Hurley said. "I wanted the kids to be able to experience the same things I did when I traveled to all those tournaments."
To ensure all the bowlers could afford to make the trip, they held fundraisers throughout the bowling season. In all, they raised more than $6,000 to cover entry fees and travel costs.
"We went out and asked sponsors to give us $100 per team and we also ran other fundraisers," said Schroeder-Hurley, whose group ranges in age from 9 to 21 with averages anywhere from 54 to 193. "We held no-tap tournaments, dinners, dances and 50-50 raffles during leagues. Now, a lot of the kids already want to go to Detroit next year, so we've got our first fundraiser scheduled for August."
Rayes, who entered the Youth Open Championships with a 157 average, said competing against the best is another reason he decided to make the trip.
"This tournament is all about bowling against some of the best in the country," Rayes said. "It's always fun to have a lot of new competition and to get to bowl in a house you've never bowled in before."
The tournament is broken into four average divisions (129 and below, 130-159, 160-189 and 190 and above) and is based on actual pinfall. One out of every four entrants in team, doubles and singles will receive scholarships, while one in six will receive scholarships in all-events.