A bowling ball and an opportunity to learn from professional
bowlers are some of the benefits Joint San Antonio members receive when they
join the JBSA Summer Pro Am League that starts in June.
League competition is scheduled from June 2 to Aug. 18 at
the JBSA-Fort Sam Houston Bowling Center, the JBSA-Lackland Skylark Bowling
Center and the JBSA-Randolph Bowling Center. Participants pay a weekly fee to
bowl in the league.
Bowlers who participate in the summer league will get a new
bowling ball at the end of league competition and automatically be entered into
the JBSA Pro Am Tournament Aug. 27 at the JBSA-Lackland Skylark Bowling Center.
The JBSA Summer Pro Am League is in its fourth year of
existence, with 150 bowlers from all three JBSA locations participating in last
year’s league competition.
Steve Barinque, JBSA-Randolph Bowling Center manager, said
each JBSA bowling center will determine the format for its league competition,
whether it will be individual or team based, in meetings that will be held
after the sign up period.
Bowlers of various skill levels and ages, from youth to
adult, can participate in the league, Barinque said.
League bowlers will get to bowl with professional bowlers at
the JBSA Pro Am Tournament. Professional bowlers that are scheduled to appear
at the tournament include Randy Pederson, Wes Malott and Carolyn Dorin-Ballard.
“Every bowler will bowl a game with a professional, who will
be giving pointers to bowlers while they are bowling with them,” Barinque said.
The tournament will include coaching clinics given by
professional bowlers and bowling ball demonstrations.
Bowlers will compete for $2,500 in tournament cash prizes.
Youth bowlers who win a cash prize will get their payment in the form of a
scholarship.
Ron Crosby, an Air Force retiree, has bowled in the JBSA
Summer Pro Am League the last two years.
Crosby said he likes bowling in the summer league because it provides a
fun, family-friendly atmosphere.
“I got to bowl with my daughter and I got to bowl with
professional bowlers, the ones you see on TV and who are your idols,” Crosby
said. “You can’t beat it.”
Leonard Gray, a retired Air Force major, said he enjoys the
intense competition and camaraderie of the bowlers in the summer league. Gray
has bowled in the league twice.
For more information about the JBSA Summer Pro Am League and
to sign up, active-duty service members and Department of Defense cardholders
can call the JBSA-Fort Sam Houston Bowling Center, 221-4740; the JBSA-Randolph
Bowling Center, 652-6271; or the JBSA-Lackland Skylark Bowling Center,
671-1234.