Today, I bowled in my first association event since my return. I knew some good bowlers were going to be in it, and I also knew it was going to be a tough shot (they chose the USBC national tournament pattern), so I wasn’t expecting much, but just being there to support the association was good enough for me. I bowled the 2:00 squad, and I was privileged to be on the same pair as two Hall of Famers, my old friend Steve Travers and Jim Ferguson.

My bowling, frame-by-frame (Linked to BowlSK sheet)

The national tournament pattern can expose weaknesses in one’s bowling game like few other patterns can, and that was definitely the case for me. You have to keep making good shots on it, but, because of my recurring problem of not getting the ball over the foul line, I didn’t have as many good shots as I would have wanted. When everything was right, however, I actually looked pretty decent, and I remarked to my friends afterward that my first game was better than some of the members of Bowlers Edge Pro Shop, the defending Regular Team champions at the Open Championships, had in the first game of their title defense, which I watched some of last night.

In the end, Hy Bao won a three-way final match with a score of 231 (with handicap), with Jane Welch (218) finishing second, and Tyrone Thornton (217) third. The association website should have a wrap-up and full results within the next week.

Did it count or not?: I probably should have posted this last night when I learned about it, but Sean Richard shot an 856 for his first three games the other night in the Boston Bowl Invitational Singles league. It would’ve tied the house record, but there was a snafu contacting the person he was supposed to bowl as a sub for, so Sean was considered a pacer for the night; therefore, the effort couldn’t count for honor awards. I hope he gets another crack at the house record.