bwfeb2018

8 www.bowlingworld.com - February 2018 Helen Duval’s Bowling Tips Did You Lift at the Foul Line? Did someone tell you to lift the ball at the foul line and you did? You had interpreted lift as ―straight up in the air‖. The word ―lift‖ is misunderstood a great deal in the game of bowling. Lifting at the foul line comes from basically two things: If you start too low or in a crouched position in your stance or go down too soon in your approach, then you are too low at the foul line and invariably rear up, like the Statue of Liberty holding a bowling ball rather than a torch. Someone told you to lift the ball and you do just that at the release point. Do you wonder why your ball is on the nose of the headpin and you are always to the left of your spot or arrow (for right-handers)? Then you hear the classic explana- tion: ―You pulled the ball.‖ All of these things are caused by an excess amount of lift. By lifting straight up, you have what we call ―fingers in the ball‖. This causes the ball to miss your spot or arrow a board or two to the left or inside. And, of course, by the time the ball reaches the pins, with the distance it travels, there you are on the nose. To define proper lift at the foul line, the statement ―resist the ball as it comes off your fingers‖ is very explicit. Remember, you thumb should come out first, and for a split second you ball should be on your two fingers. If you keep the fingers firm and curled, you’ll be surprised how much ―stuff‖ you’ll put on the ball. The pins will literally jump up when your ball hits them. Now that you have that straight, I will point you in the direction of where you should be at the foul line at the delivery point. Pretend you are an airplane coming in for a landing. Picture a sloping glide angle. Keep your knees bent all the way to the foul line and you will automatically be in a down position to lean over the foul line; then lift and follow through with your delivery. In other words, stand erect in your stance position, knees flexed slightly and in a relaxed position ready for the push-away. Work your way down (knees bent) to the foul line and lean over the foul line to release the ball. Resist the ball coming off your fingers and—WOW—what a ball you will have. Shoulders, knee and sliding foot should be in line. You should be balanced over your sliding foot, thereby having control of the ball, and have follow-through from your lift. Remember, a ball laid, dropped or dumped on or at the foul line is ineffective by the time it reaches the pins. It rolls to much and too far and it is all pooped out at the pins. Such a ball is traveling is slowest at the contact point, believe it or not. Snowboarder Chloe Kim Wins Olympic Halfpipe Gold At The Age Of 17! Kim, hails from Torrance, California, became the youngest American woman to ever medal in snowboarding at the Olympics! Congratulations to Arielle Gold for her Bronze medal finish also! Congratulations from Bowling World! USBC Announces Gold, Silver Partners: Kegel Remains Official Lanes Maintenance Provider By Terry Bigham ARLINGTON, Texas – The United States Bowling Congress has renewed spon- sorship agreements with eight companies, and Kegel has renewed its agreement to handle lane maintenance for USBC events. Brunswick, Columbia 300, Ebonite, Hammer, Kegel, Roto Grip and Storm will be Gold sponsors, while Motiv and Track renewed their three-year partnership deals at the Silver level. Columbia 300, Hammer and Storm have been Gold partners since the levels of partnership were launched in 2015, while Brunswick, Ebonite and Roto Grip are upgrading after three years as Silver partners. ―These organizations are heavily involved in our sport, and USBC is excited to extend our partnership with each of these companies,‖ USBC Managing Director of Marketing Tramon Thomas said. The Gold partnership provides ball companies with many benefits, including the use of the USBC Industry Partner mark for all products and the use of event name and logo for promotion of USBC tournaments, including the USBC Masters and USBC Queens. Gold partners also will be highly visible, with signage at event venues, plus they receive unlimited bowling ball approvals instead of paying for each ball submitted, and receive ball booth space at the USBC Open Championships, among many benefits. Silver partnership agreements include a limited number of ball approvals and use of the USBC Industry Partner mark. Kegel also is a Gold partner in addition to its agreement as Official Lane Mainte- nance Provider of USBC. Kegel has handled lane maintenance equipment and supplies, as well as techni- cal and on-site support, for USBC events since 2006. This includes the Open Championships and USBC Women’s Championships, plus short-duration events from the professional to the youth level 2018 Go Bowling! PBA Tour Schedule Through April More dates and locations to be announced soon. Tuesday, February 13, 2018 - Sunday, February 18, 2018 Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic, Indianapolis, IN Monday, February 19, 2018 - Sunday, February 25, 2018 Barbasol PBA Players Championship, Columbus, OH Monday, February 19, 2018 - Sunday, February 25, 2018 Mark Roth/Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship presented by BowlerX.com, Columbus, OH Sunday, April 08, 2018 - Sunday, April 15, 2018 USBC Masters, Syracuse, NY Monday, April 16, 2018 - Thursday, April 19, 2018 PBA Xtra Frame Maine Shootout, Portland, ME Thursday, April 19, 2018 - Sunday, April 22, 2018 PBA League, Portland, ME