From staff, wire reports
CANTON — The 2026-27 high school bowling season officially kicks off Saturday (Nov. 14) with the Stark County High School Bowling Conference’s annual Early Bird Tournament at Eastbury Bowling Center.
The field will include 15 boys and 14 girls teams which will bowl two qualifying team games and five Baker System games before a cut is made to the top eight in each division for match play. Play begins at 9 a.m. with doors opening at 8:30 a.m. There is no admission fee, but there will be ball and 50-50 raffles to support the conference.
Teams participating include Canton Central Catholic, Canton McKinley, Coventry, East Canton, GlenOak, Green, Jackson, Lake, Lake Center Christian, Louisville, Marlington, Massillon, North Canton Hoover, Perry and Triway.
Quarterfinal and semifinal rounds will be best-of-three Baker match play with the title match being best-of-five. The 2027 OHSAA sectional-district oil pattern will be used.
USBC HALL OF FAMER GRAHAM DIES
ARLINGTON, Texas – Linda Graham, a United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer whose accomplishments included national and international titles, died on Nov. 2, 2026, following a car accident. She was 76.
Graham, of Des Moines, Iowa, enjoyed success at the USBC Women’s Championships, capturing the doubles title in 1985.
She also represented the United States as a member of Team USA and earned the 1989 U.S. Amateur championship, adding another national title to her bowling resume.
Graham reached the top of the international stage the following year, winning the women’s title at the 1990 AMF Bowling World Cup in Pattaya, Thailand.
Her achievements on the lanes earned her induction into the USBC Hall of Fame in the Superior Performance category in 1992.
Born on June 5, 1950, in Des Moines, Graham graduated from Norwalk High School in 1968 and attended Simpson College. She built a successful career with Meredith Corp., retiring after years of dedicated service.
A memorial service will be held Nov. 24 at Memorial Services of Iowa, 4208 N. Ankeny Blvd., in Ankeny, Iowa. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to a charity of the donor’s choice.
PBA: REGIONAL PLAYERS INVITATIONAL SET
The 2026 Regional Players Invitational (RPI) presented by USBC is returning to the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev., from Dec. 10 to 13. The RPI is the only major of the PBA Elite Regionals season.
The 2026 RPI will feature the top 123 regional players competing for a chance to become priority players on the 2027 PBA Tour.
After 18 games of qualifying, the top three players earn priority status for the 2027 PBA Tour season. Players four through 15 after qualifying will earn invitations to the inaugural PBA Combine, taking place at the Kegel Training Center in Lake Wales, Fla., Dec. 16-18.
The top four PBA Combine performers also will earn priority status for the 2027 PBA Tour season.
The 2026 RPI presented by USBC will feature a total prize fund of $125,000 for both the PBA and PBA Senior divisions, with top prizes of $15,000 and $10,000, respectively.