Why Bowling Should Be An Olympic Sport

source: Bowlingdigital.com

There are numerous articles over the past decade on the push to make bowling an Olympic sport. In 2015, bowling was 1 of 26 venues to be considered for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. By 2016, the list had been narrowed to 5, but ultimately did not make the final cut.

Bowling was featured as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, South Korea. From Wikipedia, In all, a total 24 Ten-pin bowling bowlers, 12 male and 12 female, from 21 nations competed in the exhibition, which was held on September 18 at the Seoul's Royal Bowling Center.

Forward 30 years later. The website, bowlingdigital.com proves there's a lot more than 21 countries that are bowling. "World Bowling provides governance to international bowling and is made up of 115 member federations within three geographical zones." The 3 zones: Europe, America, Asia.

In November 2017, the 53rd QubicaAMF World Cup took place in Hermosillo, Mexico. There were 72 men and 57 women from 75 countries registered as participants.

Currently, the closest event to resemble bowling's equivalent to the Olympics (every 4 years), is the World Games. The most recent games took place in Wroclaw, Poland in July 2017.

To give you a flavor of international bowling, watch at least 20 minutes of the 15th Brunswick Euro Challenge in Unterföhring (suburban Munich), Germany. Sweden's Jenny Wegner defeated USA's Anthony Simonsen (women have an 8 pin handicap) in the championship match.

Danielle McEwan, Bernice Lim, Sin Li Jane, New Hui Fen, Daphne Tan, Dom Barrett, Stu Williams, Richie Teece, Sean Rash and Darren Tang also bowled this tournament.

Bowler's Thumb

my thumb on the mend

It should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me - I bowl year round. At least 3 times a week: Monday and Wednesday night league + Sunday morning practice.

With all that bowling and double layers of protection tape on my thumb to prevent swelling, sweating and soreness has a big drawback. The lack of moisture, especially in winter, causes the right side of the thumbnail to crack, split and bleed.

My remedy so far has been to moisturize and bandage the thumb. Healing can take weeks only to find the end of the thumbnail split again.

I've tried liquid bandage and super glue. Didn't help. Exacerbated the dryness and caused the skin to peel further down the base of the thumb (see above photo). The affected skin area is red, raw and very sore.

Waterproof bandages work, but not ideally. In most cases they're too small, too big and/or they're nasty looking from dirt buildup having worn them all day.

finger cots, size medium

After some online research, finger cots seemed to be the right solution. So I bought some on Amazon for a little over $5. And yes, they look like mini-condoms.

After I got them, I'd only gone through maybe 1/3 of the box. Why? The medium size is too small for my thumb. If I wore them like I was supposed to, it'd cut off the circulation at the bottom of my thumb. I then tried to wear them only halfway down, but they'd never stay on. By morning, I find it strewn on my bed, making it look like I had too much fun that night.

My next solution: new finger cots for the same price, size extra large. Hopefully, the better fit will result in a thumbs up outcome.

2018 Asian American Bowling Association - Lunar New Year Tournament Results

source: aababowling.com

In my little corner of the bowling world, it's nice to know that I can participate in local handicap tournaments, bowl well, and make out with some cash. Especially if I'm able to win back what I paid in entry fees. Anything more is icing on the cake.

For 2018's Asian American Bowling Association's Chinese New Year Tournament, my Wednesday league night teammate Jason Wu and I did that. We finished in a 4-way tie for 20th place among a total of 333 teams. We'll split $65.

To see the complete list of cash winners, go to http://www.aababowling.com

Next up, 2 April tournaments: San Francisco USBC's City Tournament at Sea Bowl, April 14 and 15. I'll likely be there on both dates, as a participant and SFUSBC board member. On April 22 and 23, I'll be in Reno for the Women's USBC Nationals at National Bowling Stadium.

What's For Lunch at Storm Nation?

source: bowlingdigital.com
L: Darren Tang, R: Michael Tang

Pardon last week's absence. I spent the weekend seeing old friends and all of Sunday in San Jose at the Asian American Bowling Association Chinese New Year Tournament in San Jose.

Without further ado, San Francisco's Darren and Michael Tang are the latest young hotshots on the PBA Tour. Darren is with Storm, younger brother Michael is with Roto Grip.

At a recent visit to Storm Nation, PBA and Team USA bowler Chris Via is a little confused at giving PWBA bowler Leanne Hulsenberg at lunch the right kind of Tang.

Be sure to watch them in action on Sunday, March 25 on ESPN at 10 am Pacific Time (1 pm Eastern). Team Tang will bowl as the 5th seed at the Roth Holman PBA Doubles from my birthplace, Columbus, Ohio.