All statewide USBC-certified bowlers of age 50 and up are eligible to compete in the 45th annual Florida State Senior Handicap Championship Tournament, to be contested at Spring Hill Lanes in Spring Hill over the first five weekends of 2014.
Competition will take place in singles, doubles and four-player team event, and the entry fee has been set at $22 per bowler per event, plus optional handicap all-events fees of $5 for all nine games or $ for singles and doubles only. In addition, nine-game scratch all-events is available at an optional cost of $5.
Handicap will be on a 90 percent of 220 basis, and bowlers may compete only once in each event.
Tournament weekends will be Jan. 4-5, Jan. 11-12, Jan. 18-19, Jan. 25-26 and Feb. 1-2. Saturday squad times will be at 1:30 and 6 p.m., while Sunday squads will be at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., and entrants may request to bowl all nine games on one day if desired.
There will be one class in team and doubles events, and team members and doubles partners do not have to be in the same age bracket. Singles and all-events will be divided into five age classifications as follows: A (70-over), B (65-69), C (60-64), D (55-59) and E (50-54).
The six-game all-events champions -- counting only singles and doubles -- will be eligible to compete in the 2014 USBC national senior tournament. The age eligibility requires that all entrants will have reached their 60th birthday prior to competing, and the deadline for submitting entries is Sunday, Dec. 8.
Official entry blanks will soon be available at most statewide area centers. In addition, you may e-mail director Tom Garrett at flstateseniors@aol.com
Strike Out Breast Cancer event is Saturday
The Sarasota-Manatee Women's Bowling Hall of Fame will host a Strike Out Breast Cancer fun event, beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 5) at Sarasota Lanes.
The $25 per person cost will include two games of bowling, plus prizes, a silent auction and other surprises, and entrants do not have to be a USBC-certified bowler to participate. Children are welcome, and bumper bowling will be available for those under 10 years of age.
Proceeds will go to the local Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, the area Youth Scholarship Fund and the Sarasota-Manatee Women's Hall of Fame. Sarasota Lanes is donating use of its facilities for the event.
Complete information can be found on the official event flyer, and to view or download it, click here.
The final frame: Wayne Luckenbill
Wayne Luckenbill, formerly a good and avid area league bowler -- primarily at Sarasota Lanes, South Gate Lanes and Sarasota Galaxy Lanes -- died last week in Sarasota at the age of 85.
After moving to Sarasota in 1969, Luckenbill consistently maintained averages of 180-plus in a much-lower-scoring era, and he was competitive in both handicap and scratch competition.
[You may subscribe to Bill Herald's Examiner.com bowling articles -- free of charge -- by clicking on "subscribe" near the top of the column, after which you will receive e-mail notification each time a new item is published.]
