Striking Distance: Professional Bowlers Association finds Parkersburg lanes right up their alley
The Professional Bowling Association (PBA) returned to Parkersburg for the first time in almost 20 years with a tournament at Emerson Lanes this past weekend. The PBA Central Regional Tournament was held at the local bowling center which featured 54 professional bowlers including a number of national titlists. Organizers are hoping to make it a regular event. (Photo Provided)
PARKERSBURG — The Professional Bowling Association (PBA) returned to Parkersburg for the first time in almost 20 years this past weekend with a tournament at Emerson Lanes. The PBA Central Regional Tournament was held this past weekend at the local bowling center which featured 54 professional bowlers including a number of national titlists, said Justin Malik, general manager of Suburban Lanes in Morgantown who came down to help the people at Emerson Lanes put on the event. “This event is helping to promote bowling as a sport,” he said. “Many people have watched professional bowling on TV since they were kids.” This nationally rated PBA event was the first to occur in Parkersburg since the early 2000s when the area played host to the tournament two years in a row, said Becky Rhodes, assistant manager at Emerson Lanes. “It has been about 18 years since we had it here,” Malik said. “What we are trying to do is bring something here for our league bowlers and for people throughout the area to watch, and see, and be entertained by.” The hope is by having these professionals here it would inspire local bowlers to practice and get better so they could compete at this level, he said. “We want to jog peoples’ brains and get them thinking about bowling again,” Malik said highlighting the renovations that have been done at Emerson Lanes, which includes a new arcade, and more, to make it “a family fun center” while also highlighting all the opportunities for people to come out and bowl. “If people come out to watch the bowlers, they will be able to see everything that has been done here and maybe they will come back,” Malik said. The organizers are hopeful they can bring back the PBA for future events and tournaments. However, that will require a lot of local support as the bowlers are paid to come here, they said. On Friday night they held a Pro-Am event where the professional bowlers got to meet and bowl with around 40 local bowlers. The local bowlers paid $50 a piece to do that. They could have accommodated 80-100 local people. “They can come and bowl with the pros and have a good time,” Malik said. “They don’t have to be any good as anyone can come in. “They can come in and bowl and have a good time and get autographs and pictures, ask questions and that raises money to fund them to be able to come back to town. The people who came in (Friday) night had a blast.” Professional bowler Daniel Farish of Louisville, Kentucky, said they would have a group of bowlers coming together with a mix of amateur and professional bowlers. “We chat it up and bowl with them and they get to see what the other side is like,” he said. “It was a lot of fun. “They talk about the local bowling centers, the local area and their history in bowling (and what their averages are). It is fun to talk to all the different skill levels and experiences. We are able to see what the local area is like and get a feel for it.” Everyone in the tournament was divided into two groups and bowled eight games. The top 12 finishers moved on to the finals on Sunday. Farish was second in his group and was expecting to compete on Sunday. Farish had competed in Morgantown on a couple of occasions but this was the first time he had been to Emerson Lanes in Parkersburg. “I like it here,” he said. “They have put a lot of money into the facility and you can really tell. It is a really nice facility.” One of the featured bowlers, Graham Fach, has 17 regional titles and two national titles. “For professional athletes these guys are very approachable, they answer questions and they are very good with people,” Malik said, adding most people don’t have that level of interaction with athletes in other professional sports. “We are looking for ways to improve,” Rhodes said. The weekend event in Parkersburg featured eight other regional titlists with multiple titles from the surrounding states of Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Maryland and West Virginia with some of the bowlers having competed around the country. The participants were here competing for a $2,500 first place prize which pays down to 18 places with the final finishers getting about $800 a piece. The qualifying rounds were held Saturday and the finals were held Sunday, Rhodes said. They will be working to better prepare and market future events with the hope of really generating a lot of local interest, Malik said. He highlighted that an event like this that lasted Friday through Sunday can be an economic driver for the area as the people involved in the tournament are staying at local hotels, eating in local restaurants and shopping locally. “It is good for everybody,” he said. “It helps the local economy. It is small, but anything is good.” Emerson Lanes General Manager Matt Myers said they are already planning for the future. “We are looking to do it again next year,” he said. “With local support, it could be a yearly thing. “Everyone has had a great time. With the right approach I think we can grow it and make it something big here.” Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com.