By BILL SNIER
COLUMBUS — Jody Boyd referred to last weekend’s tournament as “the retirement tour of the MEGA.”
But although the 48-year-old Lancaster tournament promotor is hoping to have a sixth annual MEGA Singles event at HP Lanes in Columbus in 2025, there also will be changes after the event drew 141 players this season.
“I guess I’ve seen it coming. You could tell with the $300 entry fee each year,” said Boyd, who put together a $200 doubles event on Friday followed by the MEGA Singles two-day event. “It’s difficult and the $300 is a lot for a lot of bowlers.
“We tried to kill one night this year (no team event Thursday), but even the doubles wasn’t packed (41 teams). It wasn’t a bad turnout, but shifts and squads of around 70 bowlers just aren’t enough.”
Boyd admitted is “wasn’t a good weekend” for the event, with other tourneys plus some regular participants being in Las Vegas for the USBC Open Championships.
But with fields of around 250 his first two years and 180 last year, he feels changes are in order.
And that starts with the entry fee and format.
“You have to get more people in. I honestly think we have to go to a $120 entry fee and make it for $#4,000 or $5,000 (first place),” Boyd said. “You’r not going to get all of the same bowlers, but you have to focus on your locals.”
Other changes Boyd is contemplating:
— Allowing re-entry and running three shifts with a maximum of five people per pair. The first two shifts would be fresh oil (re-oiled between the shifts) while the third would be on the “burn.”
— Each qualifying shift would be five scratch games.
— The overall field would be cut to the top 48, with places 17 to 48 starting the second day with a two-game match play round by seed. Those survivors then would join the top 16, who receive a bye in the first round, for additional rounds of two-game match play, with cuts after each round.
— Rather than the modified oil pattern, used during the past two MEGA events, the tourney would return to a house oil pattern.
“All of my other events are on house oil patterns,” Boyd said. “When we first put this together, the people I ran it with traditionally were sport-shot people.
“My bowling community is mostly house-shot players and they’ve given me a lot of support over the years, even though maybe some of them shouldn’t be here. But you also don’t want to go to a tourney and bowl bad.”
Tournament director Dawn Altimore Eckenrode helped come up with the modified pattern used a year ago and again this season for the MEGA Singles. The doubles was bowled on a house oil pattern.
“The first three years, we ran the same pattern, but the third year we had the lefty debacle so we had to change it,” said Boyd, referring to left-handed domination in 2022. “Dawn knows more about those types of things than I do and she did a lot of research on it.
“It played out really well last year and it blended well. And, this year, it blended well again. But you don’t want 10 lefties or 10 righties at the top … you have to blend somewhere going forward.”
Boyd feels match play would alleviate advantages on either side.
“Anything can happen in a two-game match,” Boyd said. “I think it’s the only way we can get enough entries to make it worth it, and it’s also a realistic way to battle the lefty advantage.
“Every year, people text me about re-entry and we haven’t had one. This will give them that opportunity, and some people may prefer the burn to the fresh oil.”
AKRON NEXT UP
Next up in Ohio for Boyd is the $4,000 Akron Open, which is set for Aug. 24 and 25 at Station 300 in Akron.
“I debated about it, but with the center putting in new lane surfaces and a new scoring system, this will be fun to promote,” Boyd said. “It’s also at a good time of the year … bowlers are getting ready for their league seasons. With the MEGA, some of the bowlers haven’t thrown a ball in six weeks.”
The Akron Open has two qualifying squads of six games available for a $130 entry fee, with 1-in-5 moving on to the five-game cashers’ round the next day. The final 24, with pinfall carryover, will then bowl another five games before the field is cut to the top five for the stepladder finals.
“This is on a house shot and house shots attract more players. And this event has a better chance of attracting locals because of the entry fee,” Boyd said, adding entries are in the 260 range at this point. “But promoting these events is getting harder and harder.
“There’s a lot of competition out there, and we have to adapt. It’s been a good run, but we have to make changes.”
For information on the Akron Open, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/events/602080075460035
BOWLERO YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS
AMF Hall of Fame Lanes in Canton was one of 40 sites — and the lone one in Ohio — to host the Bowlero Youth Classic.
Hall of Fame’s event was held June 8-9, with competition in three divisions — ages 9 and younger, 10-13 and 14-17.
Bowlers rolled a four game scratch series and multiple entries were permitted. SMART fund scholarships ranging from $4,000 to $750 were guaranteed to the top four finishers for a $40 entry fee per shift, with two squads being held per day.
Lake High School senior Zachary Abbott topped the 14-17 division with a 1,027 series. Others in the top four included Jonathan Rasch 966, Veronica Flanagan 965 and Tyler Williams 963.
In the 10-13 division, Isaiah Durflinger topped the field with 997 followed by Miles Gordon, who bowled all four shifts with series of 977, 925 and 911.
Joshua Worley and Aaron Cabiness topped the 9 and younger division, with Worley taking first and fourth with 979 and 664, respectively, and Cabiness taking second and third with 793 and 664.
Christy Dean turned in the high scratch game with 296,, followed by Tyler Williams at 290 and Rasch, Duflinger and Aidan Furukawa at 289. Elijah Sanford posted the high over average, going 55 over, followed by Robert Shouey twice with 54.13 and Jonathan Waggoner 51.63.
The 14-17 division drew 100 entries, while there were 33 in the 10-13 and 17 in the 9-and-younger.
The tournament extends through June 30 at various Bowlero sites. Players bowled on the Big Ben oil pattern. Additional scholarships will be awarded at a 1-in-3 ration, according to Bowlero.
For more information, go to:
https://www.bowlero.com/bowlero-youth-classic
MORE TOURNAMENTS
LEGACY SUMMER SPORT SHOT CHALLENGE: Roger Adams topped a field of 34 bowlers to win the Summer Sport Shot Challenge at Legacy Lanes and Lounge in Coshocton. Adams finished with 636, with Michael Adams taking second (618) and Tom Booher Jr. third (611). The next sport shot challenge will be June 16. Go to https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=legacy%20lanes%20%26%20lounge for information.
SUPER SENIORS SHOOTOUT: Tom Carter’s Pro Shop will be present the Scratch Singles Super Senior Shootout at 2 p.m. July 1 at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl. Ebgtry fee is $125, with bowlers ages 60 and older bowling five qualifying games. Before the field is cut for two-game match play by seed. First place based on 64 entries is $2,000. The event precedes the PBA60 Tour event at the center, but you do not have to be a PBA member to enter. The tournament is operated by Ohio Matchplay Tournaments. See an entry form below:
PORTAGE COUNTY DOUBLES: Jacob Garrett and Colton Riddle finished with 3,095 to capture the Portage County USBC Handicap Doubles on Sunday at Spins Bowl Kent. There were 37 teams in the field. See final results below:
SUMMER SPORT SHOT SERIES: The next Summer Sport Shot Series event at AMF Mt. Lebanon Lanes in Mount Lebanon will be bowled on the PBA Viper pattern at 8 p.m. June 14. Entry fee is $50. For information go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/1158714758656367?ref=newsfeed
PBA CENTRAL REGION: Ryan Speer defeated Ryan Lopano 277-190 in the final match to capture the PBA Pro Bowl West Central-Midwest Challenge in Fort Wayne, Ind. This was a one-day event for non champions as Speer claimed his first regional title and earned $1,600 in the 100-player field. Jordan Malott was the top qualifier with 1,666 total pinfall for the opening seven games before the cut was made to the top 16 for match play. Jace Myer earned the final match play spot with 1,488, just four pins ahead of Brandon Kennard. The tournament paid 33 spots, with BJ Satkowki earning the final cash spot with 1,431. See complete results below:
PBA REGIONAL QUALIFIER: A PBA regional qualifier — The Night Before … — will be held at 6 p.m. June 21 at Park Lanes in Heath. Entry fee is $50 with bowlers rolling a four-game scratch qualifier, followed by a five-bowler stepladder finals. Tourney will be bowled on the PBA Hardwick 44 oil pattern. Winner receives a pair entry into the regional event. For information, go to: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10169114993460346&set=gm.7446438972152501&idorvanity=128425513953920
IRON SHARPENS IRON: No. 2 qualifier Joe Bailey captured Friday’s Iron Sharpens Iron Summer Sweeper Series event at Roseland Lanes in Oakwood on the PBA Wolf pattern. The remainder of the top finishers were Dean Vargo, Dylan Mishak, Kyle Dunne and Ian Morrison. Vargo was the top qualifier with 932. The next event is set for 7 p.m. June 14 at Roseland on the 2024 PBA Cheetah pattern. Entry fee is $50, with bowlers rolling four qualifying games. For information, go to: https://www.facebook.com/groups/443415548248593
AKRON DOUBLES SWEEPER: A scratch doubles sweeper will be held at 4 p.m. June 30 at Spins Bowl Akron. Entry fee is $110, with teams bowling four games. The field will then be cut to the top four for the stepladder finals. For information, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/events/7771763512882185/?ref=newsfeed
HDP MIXED SHOOTOUT, QUEENS: An HDP Scratch Mixed Shootout is at 7 p.m. June 28 at Rollhouse Parma in Parma. Entry fee is $120, with teams bowling three games. It is the precursor to the main event, the HDP Queens, which is June 29 and 30 also at Rollhouse Parma. Entry fee is $105, with first place being worth $2,500, ifs paid by June 8. Trisha Reid is the defending champion. Bowlers will bowl four games Saturday morning and four more Saturday afternoon before the field is cut to the top 16 for four more games Sunday, with pins from Saturday carrying over. After those four games, the field will be cut to the top eight for two-game match play by seed. Those winners will then bowl a stepladder finals. For information, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/HitDemPockets
OHIO MASTERS: The 2024 Bowler X Ohio Masters will be held Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 at Eastbury Bowling Center in Canton. The event is open only to adult bowlers sanctioned in Ohio. No youth bowlers are permitted to enter. Entry fee is $100. Bowlers will bowl five qualifying games beginning at 11 a.m. Aug. 31. The field then will be cut to the top 50 percent of the field, which will bowl five additional games at 5:30 p.m. with pins from the early block carrying over. The field then will be cut again to the top 32 (based on 120 entries) for single-elimination, two-game match play by seed until a champion is declared. The field is limited to 128 players. Ric McCormick is the defending champion.For information, go to: