BATON ROUGE - It has survived a pandemic and a couple of years off to become one of the premier youth events in this state and right now it pretty much owns the Labor Day market for the sport on the lanes of All Star in Baton Rouge.

For the 13th time, on Sept. 5-6, the Capital City Strike Out will return and there is a chance this could be, thanks to a few tweaks and surprises, quite an event.

The event features an eight-game qualifying round on Sept. 5 with the cut to a minimum of six bowlers for a double elimination shootout on Sept. 6. What has made it interesting over the years is the moments where future stars in the age division were discovered or in some cases, winners added another important title to their youth resume.

This year there are five divisions with the return of the U15 girls’ division added to the boys/girls U12, the U15 boys plus the U18 boys and girls’ brackets. Those divisions with 25 entries are guaranteed to bowl for a $500 first place scholarship.

Before we discuss a couple of other differences in the event this year, we have been given the patterns to announce for this year’s event and unlike past years, I will not attempt to explain how best to play them. You’re welcome!

The two qualifying sport shots on the first day will be the 39-foot Tungsten pattern (Games 1-4) and the 44-foot Lithium (Games 5-8). The finals will be bowled on the 42-foot Chromium pattern.

There is an early bird special with a discount of $25 on the entry fee if postmarked by Aug. 26.

Now, all the details aren’t announced yet, but there is going to be a bonus event for the tournament entrants that will include a post-qualifying game for more added scholarship funds. It will be a separate event with its own funds from a source to be announced but everyone will get the shot to participate after the qualifying.

Labor Day and youth bowling has been a Baton Rouge tradition since the old Mid-South event that dated back to the 60s at Circle Bowl. It’s been great to see the Strike Out capture that spot with a great tournament year-after-year.

PBA ANNOUNCEMENT

At a time when All Star Lanes was getting involved with the PBA after a very successful PBA SW Regional in June, there are lots of questions regarding what is happening with PBA regionals. The PBA recently put out a statement that many PBA regionals already scheduled for the rest of the year have been cancelled and replaced with the new PBA Elite Regional Tour.

The event will have 21 events across seven regions, featuring the largest regional tournament prize fund in PBA history, creating more opportunities than ever for the nation's top regional players. With elevated events, enhanced player experiences, dedicated marketing support, expanded media exposure, and a direct pathway to the PBA National Tour, the PBA Elite Regional Tour is built to showcase the next generation of professional bowling stars.

The schedule is supposed to be announced Monday and it will be interesting to see how this is all put together. There also before the end of the year is expected to be a PBA Combine which will identify new players for the 2027 main PBA Tour.

Good or bad? Members only or will some of the great college non-members get to complete. Lots of questions, not many answers yet. We should have more next week.

A FEW OTHER NOTES

It was just coincidence but it did feel good to get the bowling ball out of a six-week hibernation for a practice session at All Star Saturday on what happened to be National Bowling Day. The session proved one thing: I need more practice.

Senior event with team doubles and singles gets a first go this weekend at All Star. Senior bowling is big here in the Baton Rouge area, so it should be fun to see what scores are posted

Usually we discuss match game champions looking to win the double of match games and the Strike Out. Guess what? There was no match game tournament in its previously normal July spot. The event will be Oct. 10-11 as the state association has moved the event from a July date that wasn’t getting much traction of late.

This year’s tournament is at Bowlero Kenner which is a step in the right direction. Having been involved in bowling in my Shreveport days, I can tell you over the years that event does not play well north of I-10. Never did back in the past and hasn’t in the present in my opinion. The Junior Gold schedule doesn’t help, so hopefully this will get things moving in the right direction for this event.

Back with you next Monday with more Spare Notes.

Until then, good luck and good bowling,

                                                          Kent Lowe