SIGN IN YOUR ACCOUNT TO HAVE ACCESS TO DIFFERENT FEATURES

FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?

FORGOT YOUR DETAILS?

AAH, WAIT, I REMEMBER NOW!

GHUSBC

QUESTIONS? CALL: (713) 874-1277
  • Forms
  • Links and Resources
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Community Partner Rewards
    • Membership Meetings
    • Board of Directors
    • Greater Houston Bowling Centers
    • Event Calendar
    • GHUSBC Office Staff
  • Membership
    • GHUSBC Adult Averages
    • GHUSBC Youth Averages
    • GHUSBC Average Book Archives
    • GHUSBC League Awards
    • GHUSBC Association Awards
    • GHUSBC Secretary of the Year
    • USBC Find a Member
  • News
    • Greater Houston Bowling News
    • National Bowling News
    • News to Spare Archive
    • GHUSBC Record High Scores
  • Tournaments
    • Men’s Invitational
    • Women’s Championship
    • Open Championship
    • League Champions Invitational
    • Youth Championship
    • Youth Open Tournament
  • Youth
    • Youth Tournaments
      • Youth Championship Tournament
      • Youth Open Tournament
      • Youth Tournaments
    • Youth Awards and Scholarships
    • GHCPA Hall of Fame
    • Registered Volunteer Program (RVP) & SafeSport
    • USBC Youth
  • Home
  • News Archive
  • 2012
  • Special Olympics joins USBC Open Championships for 22nd year
July 1, 2022

Special Olympics joins USBC Open Championships for 22nd year

Special Olympics joins USBC Open Championships for 22nd year

by GHUSBC Admin / Friday, 05 July 2019 / Published in 2012, National Bowling News

For more than two decades, the United States Bowling Congress and Special Olympics have teamed up to provide a one-of-a-kind bowling experience to athletes from across the United States, and that partnership continued this week at the Baton Rouge River Center.

Nearly 350 bowlers from 15 states made the trip to Baton Rouge to compete in the Special Olympics National Unified Tournament, an event that has shared the stage with the USBC Open Championships every year since 1991.

The relationship has taken the athletes, coaches, family members and supporters to 13 different cities in 11 states and given them the chance to see parts of the country they might never have visited.

Some participants have been there almost every step of the way, including Gary Schwartz, who has brought teams to the event every year since the tournament was in his hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1992.

“If you’ve never attended this event before, you’ve really missed out on something great,” Schwartz said. “We have made friends from Alabama, Georgia, Wyoming and even Alaska, who we never would’ve had the chance to meet. And the format gives everyone a chance to compete and succeed, and that’s really what it’s about. It’s special for the athletes, and that’s something we strive for 52 weeks a year.”

While the Special Olympics athletes may not be participating in the Open Championships itself, they get the same championship experience, including a trip through the scale room and a ceremonial march down Center Aisle.

Competitors this week were divided into four-player teams Wednesday and returned for doubles Thursday. In all, there were 46 divisions, so no bowler went home without an award. Each team included two Special Olympians and their unified partners, which helps carry the message of friendship and camaraderie from year to year.

“This experience gets better every year, and we’re thrilled to be a part of the USBC family,” said National Unified Tournament Director Marty Allen.

“It has been fun watching the Open Championships and the venue change over the years, and our bowlers have changed a lot in that time, too. They’ve grown to appreciate the magnitude of the setup and the professionalism of the Open Championships, and you can see that reflected in their uniforms, ability and coaching. They are clearly proud to be a part of this tournament.”

The first National Unified Tournament was held alongside the 1991 Open Championships in Toledo, Ohio, thanks to the hard work of then Open Championships director Hal Kaminski and Bowling Ambassador for the Special Olympics, Jimmy Schroeder, a USBC Hall of Famer. Schroeder remains a part of the event and was joined in Baton Rouge this week by fellow hall of famer Bob Hart.

This year’s field included participants from Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.

“The Special Olympics has always been a big part of the bowling community. We’re excited to show the athletes and their coaches that Special Olympics bowling will continue to be supported by our industry,” said Eric Kearney, USBC Managing Director of Operations and Administration.

“This event serves as an example of ways we are working to expand that partnership by helping coaches and supporters make the bowling experience more enjoyable for the athletes.”

After the short break for the National Unified Tournament, competition will resume at the 2012 Open Championships, which will run for 151 days from Feb. 11 until July 10. More than 12,000 five-player teams are scheduled to compete on the tournament lanes for a prize fund of more than $5 million.

 Sponsors for the 2012 USBC Open Championships include Circus Circus Reno, Eldorado Hotel Casino Reno and Silver Legacy Resort Casino Reno. Other sponsors include the Belle of Baton Rouge, official brackets sponsor; Kegel, official lane maintenance provider; Humana, official registration sponsor; Bud Light and Budweiser, official beer sponsors; The Advocate, official publication sponsor; Brunswick, official lane provider; US Steltronic, official scoring system; Storm Bowling Products and Nationwide Insurance.

As posted on digitalbowling.com

  • Tweet

About GHUSBC Admin

What you can read next

Bowling and the Hurricane
STRING PINSETTER RESEARCH
2020 USBC OPEN AND WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS START DATES MOVED TO SEPTEMBER

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

SEARCH

RECENT POSTS

  • USBC AND STORM PRODUCTS ANNOUNCE AGREEMENT OF NATIONAL TOURNAMENT EXCLUSION AND BALL EXCHANGE PROGRAM

  • USBC REVOKES APPROVAL OF 2016 AND 2017 PURPLE HAMMER BALLS

  • USBC REVOKES CERTIFICATION APPROVAL OF STORM SPECTRE BALL

TAG CLOUD

QUICK LINKS

  • Board of Directors
  • Texas High School Bowling
  • GHUSBC Memorial
  • Texas Bowling Centers Association
  • Registered Volunteers
  • Bowl.com
  • Houston HOF
  • USBC Rulebook
  • Texas Bowling
  • USBC Membership

NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

By subscribing to our mailing list you will always be update with the latest news from us.

We never spam!

GET IN TOUCH

Phone: (713) 874-1277
Email: ghusbc@bowlhouston.com

GHUSBC Office
2616 Houston Blvd.
South Houston, Texas 77587
USA

  • GET SOCIAL
GHUSBC

© 2022 All rights reserved. Designed by JayBirds Co Inc.

TOP