Motley Crew

This is the group of ladies travel from Fort Worth, Texas to Reno, Nevada just to throw some balls down the lane and attempt to knock down 10 pins.  Our fearless leader Colleen Gore has been going to the Women's Championship for 24 years.  About four years ago she asked me if I would like to join them.  This year we had three teams of four, as you can see we didn't go with uniforms.  Me being an airline pilot I would prefer a uniform so I don't have to stress over what to wear.  But some of these gals have been bowling almost as long as I have been alive.  So I just wear what feels right.

This is not just your normal get your ball out and roll a few games.  The United States Bowling Congress really does it right and makes it a special event.  We are in a huge bowling stadium with state of the art equipment and scoreboard system.  They have some really dedicated people who show up every year to work the tournament.  They are professional but yet they try to make it fun with music and dancing and the lane monitors come over to joke with you.  Opening day will we march in order clapping and dancing onto our lane slapping hands with the lane monitors and people that have come to watch.  We sing while they play the star spangled banner and then we practice for a few minutes.  We have three events the team event, doubles and singles.  Over two days we will roll 9 games total.  Three the first day and six the next day.

The conditions are more difficult than you have in your normal house.  Most of us bowl out of Citiview Lanes in Fort Worth and we have a house pattern.  That means the oil they put down is in a certain pattern.  We get pretty good at it because we bowl on the same pattern all year.  At Nationals they put down a harder pattern because over the summer we will have approximately 25,000 bowlers. ( I am guessing based on past numbers)  They want the scores to be lower so we don't have too many high scores and then it is harder with ties.  So we bowl on patterns that the professional bowlers use to make it more difficult.  Let's just say our scores are lower than we would like.  You really have to work hard to get your average.  That is one of the reason's I love it and sometimes I hate it.  It is definitely a challenge.

Our group is very diverse and we all like to do different things on our off time.  Some of us like to explore, gamble, go to shows, and of course we like to eat.  Finding a good meal and getting together one night is a tradition.  We like to sit in a big table and talk about how we bowled and our lives outside of this tournament.  Most of them, I only see in passing at the bowling alley or even just this one time a year.  So we catch up on each others lives and dreams.

Bowling is a sport like golf where you control  your own outcome and outlook.  It is physical for sure but the mental game is the place where most of us fail.  My theory is bowling is just like life.  Sometimes you are on top of the world and can do no wrong.  Sometimes you are in the valley and nothing is working.  How will you handle these situations will determine the joy you have playing the sport.  Our group of ladies are very encouraging to one another.  We cheer for each other when something good happens.  We encourage each other to be positive when we are struggling.  That is the best part of our trip is sharing a lifetime experience together and enjoying each and every little victory together.