BATON ROUGE - The dates have been announced for the 2026 Greater Baton Rouge Open and Women’s Championships as the tournament will return to later fall dates in early December.

The event will take place at All Star Lanes in Baton Rouge on Dec. 5-6 and 12-13 with both tournaments featuring the usual team, doubles, singles and all-events divisions.

As per the norm, bowling may bowl only once in doubles and singles, but may bowl three times in the team event under the rules that to place more than once in the prize list for team events, at least two players in the lineup must be different.

There will also be the popular crossover doubles and the association will add an addition $500 to handicap team, doubles and singles in both the open and women’s divisions. There will also be the usual mystery score, eliminator and high game side events.

Shifts on all four dates will be at 8:45 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. with doubles/singles first followed by team on Dec. 5 and Dec. 14, with team first and doubles/singles in the afternoon on Dec. 6 and Dec. 13.

Entry blanks are available at the bowling centers.

Youth Association Championship

The annual youth association championship will also be held at All Star Lanes on Dec. 5-6 with shift times at 8:45 a.m. and 1;45 p.m. as well. On Dec. 5, it will be doubles/singles first and then team and the opposite schedule on Dec. 6.

I think it’s a great showcase for the city when all three tournaments are bowled at the same time as you see the generations of bowlers take to the lanes for the championships.

The league coaches and centers have the youth championship entry blanks.

This will be the first of two big youth events at All Star in the coming months with the State Grand Prix Scholarship Tournament in January.

Parker Bohn Still Winning

Parker Bohn III is one of the legends of the PBA Tour and has been a fixture for decades. He’s 63-years-old and recently scored his 42nd regional win and his 90th title overall at the PBA Elite Regional event in Binghamton, New York.

There are a lot of big names on the PBA50 Tour and it is great to see some of them getting the chance to bowl in their own division in these PBA Elite Regionals.

It’s also great that they are showing some of them on the weekend on the free Bowling TV site. Right now that is the extent of live coverage as we wait for an announcement of the 2027 PBA Tour which is expected to start, I assume in February.

Finally, Ava Doucet returned to her home state a weekend ago to compete for UAB in the Colonial Lanes Classic in Harahan, an event won by Louisiana Tech.

The St. Joseph Academy graduate was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Rookie of the Week following her first collegiate event.

Doucet helped the Blazers to five wins and a sixth-place finish at the Colonial Lanes Classic. Doucet recorded scores of 152 and 168 in two traditional matches while contributing to three Baker-format victories.

Back with you next Monday.

Until then, good luck and good bowling,

                                                      Kent Lowe