When people learn that I was elected to a three-year term as president of the Empire State United States Bowling Congress Bowling Association, they usually ask, “Now just what does a state bowling association do?”
It’s a legitimate question, one that I really couldn’t have answered completely (other than knowing that the state association runs a couple tournaments) at the time of the elections last May.
Over the past six months, however, I have discovered that there is much more to a state association than conducting tournaments.
The ESUSBCBA, formerly the New York State USBC BA, operates under the auspices of the United States Bowling Congress – the sport of bowling’s national governing body headquartered in Arlington, Texas.
Our state association gets its funding from dues paid by its members, bowlers who join a certified USBC league or pay to enter a certified USBC tournament. The state association receives $1 from each of its members. Last year there were approximately 82,000 members.
The ESUSBCBA is primarily an organization of adult men bowlers, although there are women members. The majority of sanctioned women bowlers belong to the New York State USBC Women’s Bowling Association while junior bowlers are certified through the New York State USBC Youth Association.
This is the current structure, but things could change within the next two or three years as all three groups are looking into the feasibility of merging into one organization to serve all certified bowlers in New York State. The ESUSBCBA has formed a merger/transition committee, and is planning to meet with representatives of the other associations in the near future.
While a merger may be down the road, the ESUSBCBA has plenty to deal with now.
Financially, the association had to start over again after the former association manager embezzled $274,000 from the NYSUSBCBA treasury. He’s in prison, but none of the money was recovered; it ended up in the slot machines and on the card tables at Turning Stone Casino in Verona.
So, our 25-member board took the USBC’s projection that we’d have around 80,000 members this season. Vice President Jim Maguire, who is manager of the Long Island USBC Association, crafted the working budget in his role as chairman of the ESUSBCBA finance committee. The state gets its money after the USBC receives dues from the local associations, such as the Genesee Region USBC.
We hired an association manager, Paul Kupelian, an energetic senior from Constantia (in Central New York), paying him about a third of the budgeted amount. We purchased a computer, printer and other office equipment, and set up a telephone number. We opened general and tournament accounts with HSBC, making sure at least two signatures are needed on all checks and signing up for Internet banking to be able to verify funds at any time.
We took out necessary insurance policies and paid to have a website built. Check out the website – www.empirestateusbcba.org. We think it’s a good one, featuring complete listings of local associations and bowling centers in New York, along with information about ESUSBCBA programs. Barry Vee of Rochester, one of our directors, is doing a fine job maintaining it for us.
Here are some of the programs that the ESUSBCBA directors (volunteers other than partial mileage and expense reimbursement) will be talking about at Saturday’s board meeting at Laurel Bowl in Binghamton:
-- Scholarship. Vice President Frank Wilkinson of Staten Island, bowling center proprietor and an industry leader at the young age of 22, heads a committee that awards $1,000 scholarships to a senior boy and girl. The winners from applications submitted to the former association will be announced next week. ESUSBCBA scholarship applications will be available on our website soon.
-- Hall of Fame. Director Fran Bax of Niagara Falls is the chair of our Hall of Fame committee. A ceremony is planned for the evening of April 10 in Niagara Falls. Earlier that day, the ESUSBCBA is holding its annual delegates meeting and elections (of directors whose terms expire at the end of this season). An announcement on Hall of Fame inductees will be made after the first of the year.
-- Coaching/Training. The state association has contacted Brian Dodds of Ontario (NY), USA Bowling Silver Level Coach, with the idea of working with the NYS Bowling Proprietors Association to set up a network of coaching/instructional clinics, and publishing related articles on the website.
-- Tournaments. And, of course, tournaments are in the works. A State Masters is tentatively scheduled for April 3 at Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia – and the State Championship Tournament is set for Niagara Falls over five weekends – April 10-May 16 (except for Mother’s Day weekend). Entry blanks are on the website.
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TWO PERFECTOS IN MEDINA
Honor scores, non-existent last season, have returned to Medina Lanes.
Dwayne Raduns and Mike Lavender posted 300 games at the Orleans County hall this month – Raduns getting his in the Monday Industrial men’s league on Nov. 9 and Lavender notching his in the Thursday Firefighters league on Nov. 19.
For Raduns, a 47-year-old right-hander, it was his second career perfect game.
“I had been hitting the pocket all night but leaving 10-pins and 8-pins,” said Raduns, talking about his first two games. “But I went straighter and harder in the third game and got a couple of breaks. But the last three were right there … boom, boom, boom – three perfect shots.”
The Wolcottsville resident finished with a 742 series, using a three-year-old Brunswick Wizard bowling ball. He works at Babcock Utilities in Gasport.
A once-a-week bowler, he is averaging 206 for the Bottom Feeders team.
“We call ourselves the Bottom Feeders because our sponsor backed out on us a few years ago, and we usually end up on the bottom,” he said.
Lavender could not be reached for comment by press time.
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(Mike Pettinella’s Pin Points bowling column appears every Thursday during the bowling season in the print and online editions of The Daily News. If you have an item of interest for his column, contact him at mikepett2002@yahoo.com, at 343-3736 or by mail at 55 Edgewood Drive, Batavia).