A new “GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling IX Chronicles” produced by Xtra Frame’s Jef Goodger made its debut on PBA’s YouTube channel this week, with a PBA Chameleon Championship, presented by Reno Tahoe, qualifying episode kicking off a series that will give PBA fans an inside look at the WSOB.

Video features, which also are being posted on PBA’s Facebook page and on Xtra Frame, will include qualifying and match play episodes recapping each of the PBA’s four animal pattern events plus the PBA World Championship, providing fans with a glimpse of PBA competition they never get to see on national television before the finals air on ESPN.

The first of the feature videos features – WSOB IX Chronicles Part 1 – Chameleon Championship Qualifying was followed by WSOB IX Chronicles Part 2 – Chameleon Championship Match Play.

PBA Shark Championship presented by Xtra Frame episodes will debut Thursday (Part 3 Qualifying) and Friday (Part 4 Match Play). ESPN’s coverage of the Chameleon and Shark championship rounds begins at 1 p.m. EST on Sunday.

Next week it’s PBA Cheetah Championship presented by PBA Bowling Challenge Mobile Game (Part 5 Qualifying) on Tuesday and Cheetah match play (Part 6) on Wednesday. Pepsi PBA Scorpion Championship presented by GoBowling.com (Part 7 Qualifying) debuts next Thursday followed by the Scorpion match play (Part 8) on Friday.

The following week will contain episodes for the World Championship.

“Specto” data will provide added dimension to WSOB IX Finals

Also upcoming is another high-tech look at GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling competition through the “eyes” of Kegel’s new “Specto” data tracking system.

Specto, which uses a high-powered sensor to display data about a bowler’s ball path and ball motion, has been designed as a teaching tool for bowling centers, coaches and individuals. Data is delivered through an easy-to-use app, and it will be used to analyze player data for each of the WSOB IX television finals. For more information about Specto, click here.

Specto data for the PBA Chameleon and Shark Championships, which air Sunday on ESPN beginning at 1 p.m. EST, will be included in next week’s PBA Spare Shots and on PBA’s social media outlets.

PBA Regional sponsor to present 300 ring to Special Olympian on “FB Live”

Bowling Dynamix Pro Shops owner Mike Austin, sponsor of this weekend’s PBA/PBA50 Houston Southwest Open Doubles at Emerald Bowl in Houston, Texas, is going to use the platform of the event to make a special Facebook Live presentation of one of his own USBC 300 rings to a young man who otherwise might never get one.

“When Mike saw a Facebook post about Doug Kelley, a Kentucky Special Olympian bowling a perfect game, he was excited,” Austin’s wife Lisa noted.

“It didn’t matter that he had never met the man or that he probably never would. But it’s a special accomplishment and Mike wanted to do something to recognize him.”

Knowing that 300 rings are only awarded for bowling in a certified league or tournament, Austin – an eight-time PBA Regional titlist and Houston Bowling Hall of Fame member, got an idea. He asked his wife to find Carol Farwell, identified as his coach in the news clip he saw. Lisa contacted Carol at Erlanger Super Bowl, and together they planned a Facebook Live presentation for Saturday (Dec. 16) at around 8 a.m. (CST) before the PBA Regional Austin is sponsoring gets underway at Emerald Bowl.

The 300 ring, which has already been shipped to Kentucky, will be “awarded” to Kelley in a similar Facebook Live presentation at Erlanger Super Bowl.

According to Austin’s research, Kelley is the first Special Olympian in Kentucky to shoot 300 in competition.

“Bowling is probably the only sport where Doug and I can compete with bowlers who are at all different skill levels and everyone has a shot at winning,” Austin noted, adding the two men may never meet, but Kentucky is special to him because his father, Bruce, was born in Kentucky and Austin has been on Track’s bowling staff since 2012. Track, one of the Ebonite family of brands, is based in Hopkinsville, Ky.

Entries are now open for “Big February” events

Entries are now open for the 2018 Go Bowling! PBA Tour “Big February” events including the PBA Tournament of Champions, Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic, Barbasol PBA Players Championship and the Mark Roth/Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship presented by Bowlerx.com.

2018 PBA Tournament of Champions, Fairlawn, Ohio, Feb. 5-11 (max. field size 80)
Prize Fund: First place $50,000 25 cash spots based on full field
To enter: Contact PBA Tournament Entries Coordinator Mary von Krueger (email: [email protected]; phone: 206-332-9688).

2018 Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic, Indianapolis, Feb. 12-18 (max. field size 224)
Prize Fund: First prize $30,000, 56 cash spots (one in four) based on full field
To enter: Click on the member log in link on pba.com.

2018 Barbasol PBA Players Championship, Columbus, Ohio, Feb. 19-25 (max. field size 120)
Prize Fund: First prize $40,000, 30 cash spots (one in four) based on a full field
To enter: Click on the member log in link on pba.com.

2018 Mark Roth/Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship presented by BowlerX.com, Columbus, Ohio, Feb. 19-25 (max. field size 50 teams)
Prize Fund: First prize $22,000, 13 cash spots based on full field
To enter: Contact PBA Tournament Entries Coordinator Mary von Krueger (email: [email protected]; phone: 206-332-9688).
Note: Open to PBA members only; all participants must also bowl the Barbasol PBA Players Championship.

Concrete Software “Beat the Cheetah Champion” Challenge is coming

Reminder: Concrete Software, creator of the PBA Bowling Challenge Mobile Game, has issued a “Cheetah Challenge” in conjunction with the PBA Cheetah Championship finals, presented by PBA Bowling Challenge Mobile Game.

The rules are simple: if you haven’t already done so, download the free PBA Bowling Challenge app at Google Play or the Apple App store. Then select the “Limited Tournament” button on the landing page of the app to enter the tournament.

“Bowl” one virtual game and if your game score beats the actual PBA Cheetah Championship winner’s score, you will be automatically entered into a drawing to win 5,000 Gold Pins (in-game currency) and a pin signed by the Cheetah champion. Multiple entries are allowed.

The sweepstakes will begin at 1 a.m. EST on Dec. 24 and end at 12:59 p.m. on Jan. 2.
Click here for the official rules.

Speaking of the PBA Bowling Challenge Mobile Game, another new PBA League venue has been added to the game this week. This week’s addition to the PBA League venues features the Silver Lake Atom Splitters venue.

Xtra Frame Holiday Sale begins Friday: Save $10 on “XF Season Ticket”

For the bowling fan in your family, a great Christmas gift that will keep on giving is a full-year of PBA Xtra Frame access, available exclusively Dec. 15-31 for the holiday discount price of only $54.99.

That’s just over $1 a week for 12 months of live streaming of PBA, PBA50 and PWBA Tour action, access to a great library of past PBA Tour telecasts plus player interviews, bowling instruction, and more.

Visit xtraframe.tv between 8 a.m. EST on Friday and 11:59 p.m. EST on Dec. 31 and enter “PBAHOLIDAY17” in the promo code box to secure the $10 discount price.

PBA Regional Update: Jason Sterner wins first regional held at a truck stop

Jason Sterner (right) of Rockledge, Fla., will become a footnote in PBA trivia after capturing the inaugural PBA Petro TA South Open Sunday at Beltline Lanes in Columbia, S.C., by defeating top qualifier Kyle Troup of Taylorsville, N.C., 246-240.

The trivia tidbit is that this was the first PBA Regional title decided at a “truck stop.” Beltline Lanes is a unique bowling and entertainment center built inside the TA (TravelCenter America) Petro Stopping Center on the outskirts of Columbia.

Troup, who finished the title match first, ended his game with six strikes in a row, forcing Sterner to double in his 10th frame for the win. Sterner collected $3,000 for his effort.

Sterner, the no. 3 qualifier, disposed of Mike Vitalone Jr. of Lake Worth, Fla., 222-216, in the first stepladder match, also needing a double in the 10th to win that match. In the second stepladder match, Sterner eliminated Zack Brown of Holly Springs, N.C., 247-195.

Kevin Donovan (left) of Painted Post, N.Y. defeated amateur Kyle Condrick of Austintown, Ohio, 247-245, to win his first PBA Regional title in the McKinley Lanes Central/East Challenge at McKinley Lanes in Niles, Ohio, Sunday.

Donovan, who earned $1,500, downed amateur Devon Miller of Dublin, Ohio, 200-187, and Condrick topped Sam DeWitt of Neville Island, Pa., 249-205, in the semifinal round to set up the championship match. The tournament field consisted of PBA members who do not hold a PBA title or non-members who have never won a PBA event.

For complete PBA Regional schedules, rules and entry information, click here to find the event(s) in your area.

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