By DAVE SCHROEDER
PWBA Communications
ARLINGTON, Texas – The Professional Women’s Bowling Association heads into the 2025 season with a number of exciting and innovative events in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the tour’s relaunch.
BowlTV will be on hand to cover all the action live from start to finish, with live TV coverage expected for the finals of the three majors – United States Bowling Congress Queens, U.S. Women’s Open and PWBA Tour Championship – along with the finals of the PWBA Anniversary Open in Green Bay, Wis.
The season begins in Kansas with the PWBA Go Bowling Topeka Open at West Ridge Lanes in Topeka, Kan, from May 8-10, and concludes with PWBA Tour Championship week at ABC Gates Bowl in Gates, N.Y., from Aug. 5-12. In all, 12 PWBA national titles will be awarded in 2025.
Stow’s Jillian Martin, who became the youngest player to win the USBC Queens last year at age 19, is expected to return to defend her title in the year’s first major from Suncoast Bowling Center in Las Vegas from May 14-20.
Malaysia’s Sin Li Jane is the defending champion for the other two majors in 2025. The second major will be the U.S. Women’s Open from Sun Valley Lanes in Lincoln, Neb. (June 10-17), and the year’s final major, and final event of the 10th anniversary season, is the PWBA Tour Championship (Aug. 10-12). Sin’s performance in those two majors propelled her to 2024 PWBA Player of the Year honors, becoming just the second international player (Carol Gianotti) to earn the award.
In addition to the three majors, highlights of the season include:
- a return trip to Topeka, Kan., for the first time since 2015;
- new formats for the PWBA Summer Series – Cleveland, where titles will be awarded at Yorktown Lanes in the PWBA Cleveland Open, PWBA BowlTV Open and PWBA Rock ‘n’ Roll Open;
- a second stop in three seasons for the PWBA at Cadillac Xtreme Bowling Center in Waterloo, Iowa, for the PWBA Bowlers Journal Waterloo Open;
- a special lane installation and live arena finals in Green Bay, Wis., for the PWBA Anniversary Open (more on that below);
- the 25th anniversary of the Professional Bowlers Association/PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles event (also known as “The Luci”) at Copperfield Bowl in Houston; and
- the conclusion to the season with titles being awarded during PWBA Tour Championship week in the PWBA Rochester Open, PWBA Pepsi Open and the aforementioned PWBA Tour Championship.
As part of the PWBA’s commitment to empowering athletes and enhancing the competitive experience, the membership program was discontinued effective Dec. 31, 2024. This change streamlines participation and makes national and regional PWBA events more accessible to all competitors, removing barriers to entry and fostering a more inclusive environment.
This shift allows athletes freedom to pursue opportunities and projects outside of PWBA based on their interests, individuality and personality. Players no longer need to ask permission to use their name, image and likeness, nor to participate in conflicting events. Instead, players can market themselves, build a social media brand and engage in projects as they see fit, without the constraints of a one-size-fits-all conduct standard.
Details of the PWBA’s 2025 TV schedule will be released in the near future.
In addition to PWBA National Tour events, the 2025 PWBA Regional schedule features 10 events beginning with the PWBA Greater Detroit Regional at Vision Lanes in Westland, Mich., on Feb. 23, and ending with the PWBA Regional Showdown at Airport Lanes in Sanford, Fla., from Dec. 4-6. The complete 2025 PWBA Regional schedule can be found here.
As part of the 10th anniversary celebration, the PWBA will be conducting a trio of telecasts on specially installed lanes in an arena setting at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis. The live TV finals of the PWBA Anniversary Open will be contested on the same day as the taping of the finals of the USA Bowling National Championships for the U15 and U12 divisions, which will serve as a kickoff to the 2025 Junior Gold Championships. Thousands of fans are expected to be in attendance for the arena finals of these three events.
Registration for the 2025 USBC Queens will open on Jan. 22 and registration for the U.S. Women’s Open will start on Jan. 29. Registration for the first event of the 2025 PWBA season (PWBA Go Bowling Topeka Open) opens March 27.
A summary of PWBA changes appears below:
