It was all about fun at first USBC Bowling With The Stars
05/11/06
With popular television shows such as "Skating with Celebrities" and "Dancing with the Stars," could a similar formula work for bowling?
After a positive reception from rising young celebrities and Los Angeles-area bowling fans, the United States Bowling Congress Bowling with the Stars charity event held on May 8 could be the start of something big.
Some of Hollywood's popular young television and movie stars teamed up with three top woman bowlers in a Baker format competition to benefit USBC's Bowl for the Cure®, a fund-raising initiative in partnership with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The event was held at Corbin Bowl in Tarzana, Calif.
Former Professional Women's Bowling Association stars competing were Kim Terrell and Carolyn Dorin-Ballard along with amateur standout Diandra Asbaty. All will be contenders for the title at the 2006 USBC Queens - the only major event in women's bowling - to be conducted June 17-21 at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev.
One woman pro and three celebrities comprised each Bowling with the Stars team, named after three major USBC bowling programs:
Team USBC Youth
Captain Diandra Asbaty is the official spokesperson for USBC Youth bowling. She is the reigning women's U.S. Amateur champion and an eight-time member of USBC Team USA.
Stars: Tequan Richmond, 13, stars as "Drew" in the acclaimed Chris Rock show "Everybody Hates Chris;" Chloe Suazo, 14, stars as "Zoey" on ABC's sitcom "Freddie;" and Michael Alan Johnson, 15, hosts The Disney Channel's "Mike's Super-Short Show."
Team USBC High School
Captain Carolyn Dorin-Ballard is the official spokesperson for USBC High School bowling. She is a 20-time PWBA titlist and is the 2001 Queens champion.
Stars: Max Prado, 14, recently appeared on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno and plays "Nelson" in the hit film "The Benchwarmers;" Shelbie Bruce, 13, starred alongside Adam Sandler in the film "Spanglish;" and Alex Solowitz, 26, former star of MTV's "2Gether," stars in the upcoming Bruce Willis and Justin Timberlake movie "Alpha Dog."
Team USBC Collegiate
Captain Kim Terrell is the official spokesperson for USBC Collegiate bowling. She is a nine-time PWBA champion and won the 2002 Queens.
Stars: Alyson Stoner, 12, star of the films "Cheaper by the Dozen" 1 and 2 and featured on The Disney Channel's "Mike's Super-Short Show;" Robby Bruce, 11, vocal performer for films including "Stuart Little 3" and "Into the Blue;" and Shawn Parr, a host on KZLA 93.9 FM in Los Angeles, the voice of the Golden Globes and costar in the upcoming film "Lucky You."
The event's Baker format required each bowler on the team to alternate frames with the pro woman bowler bowling the second, sixth and 10th frames, respectively. The team with the highest three-game total score was crowned the first USBC Bowling with the Stars champion.
Prior to the event each star received a complimentary specially-fitted Storm bowling ball, bowling shoes from Etonic and a retro-style USBC bowling shirt.
"This is like Christmas," Shelbie said. "I can't believe how cool this stuff is."
For the "Dancing with the Stars" and "Skating with Celebrities" shows, celebrities undergo weeks or months of training prior to competing. The celebrity bowlers had to rely on a 30-minute crash course with the woman pro bowlers prior to competition.
"Kim was a great coach," Alyson said. "The most important thing I learned was to make my spares."
After guidance from the pros the celebrities were soon learning how to throw effective hooks and developing a much improved form.
"At first I thought it was best just to throw the ball down the middle of the lane," Robby said. "But after learning how to curve it, I could knock down more pins."
"I definitely gained an appreciation for everything that's involved," Michael said. "There was so much I had to learn just about my arm swing."
Dorin-Ballard's Team USBC High School took home the first Bowling with the Stars title, racking up a 483 three-game total with a clinching strike on the first ball in the 10th frame of the last game. USBC Collegiate took a close second place with 453 and USBC Youth finished with 320.
"They were just great," Terrell said of her celebrity teammates. "The stars took the event very seriously and wanted to learn. I think they saw some results -- they were good students."
So with the first Bowling with the Stars in the books, could this be something to build on for the future?
"Judging from the enthusiasm of the participants and fans I think this is something we can do more of," Asbaty said.
Each fan attending Bowling with the Stars made a $10 donation to Bowl for the Cure®, ultimately raising more than $1,000 for the Komen Foundation.
USBC News
Hollywood's rising young stars teamed with top woman bowlers for charity exhibition
With popular television shows such as "Skating with Celebrities" and "Dancing with the Stars," could a similar formula work for bowling? After a positive reception from rising young celebrities and Los Angeles-area bowling fans, the United States Bowling Congress Bowling with the Stars charity event held on May 8 could be the start of something big.
Some of Hollywood's popular young television and movie stars teamed up with three top woman bowlers in a Baker format competition to benefit USBC's Bowl for the Cure®, a fund-raising initiative in partnership with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The event was held at Corbin Bowl in Tarzana, Calif.
Former Professional Women's Bowling Association stars competing were Kim Terrell and Carolyn Dorin-Ballard along with amateur standout Diandra Asbaty. All will be contenders for the title at the 2006 USBC Queens - the only major event in women's bowling - to be conducted June 17-21 at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev.
One woman pro and three celebrities comprised each Bowling with the Stars team, named after three major USBC bowling programs:
Team USBC Youth
Captain Diandra Asbaty is the official spokesperson for USBC Youth bowling. She is the reigning women's U.S. Amateur champion and an eight-time member of USBC Team USA.
Stars: Tequan Richmond, 13, stars as "Drew" in the acclaimed Chris Rock show "Everybody Hates Chris;" Chloe Suazo, 14, stars as "Zoey" on ABC's sitcom "Freddie;" and Michael Alan Johnson, 15, hosts The Disney Channel's "Mike's Super-Short Show."
Team USBC High School
Captain Carolyn Dorin-Ballard is the official spokesperson for USBC High School bowling. She is a 20-time PWBA titlist and is the 2001 Queens champion.
Stars: Max Prado, 14, recently appeared on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno and plays "Nelson" in the hit film "The Benchwarmers;" Shelbie Bruce, 13, starred alongside Adam Sandler in the film "Spanglish;" and Alex Solowitz, 26, former star of MTV's "2Gether," stars in the upcoming Bruce Willis and Justin Timberlake movie "Alpha Dog."
Team USBC Collegiate
Captain Kim Terrell is the official spokesperson for USBC Collegiate bowling. She is a nine-time PWBA champion and won the 2002 Queens.
Stars: Alyson Stoner, 12, star of the films "Cheaper by the Dozen" 1 and 2 and featured on The Disney Channel's "Mike's Super-Short Show;" Robby Bruce, 11, vocal performer for films including "Stuart Little 3" and "Into the Blue;" and Shawn Parr, a host on KZLA 93.9 FM in Los Angeles, the voice of the Golden Globes and costar in the upcoming film "Lucky You."
The event's Baker format required each bowler on the team to alternate frames with the pro woman bowler bowling the second, sixth and 10th frames, respectively. The team with the highest three-game total score was crowned the first USBC Bowling with the Stars champion.
Prior to the event each star received a complimentary specially-fitted Storm bowling ball, bowling shoes from Etonic and a retro-style USBC bowling shirt.
"This is like Christmas," Shelbie said. "I can't believe how cool this stuff is."
For the "Dancing with the Stars" and "Skating with Celebrities" shows, celebrities undergo weeks or months of training prior to competing. The celebrity bowlers had to rely on a 30-minute crash course with the woman pro bowlers prior to competition.
"Kim was a great coach," Alyson said. "The most important thing I learned was to make my spares."
After guidance from the pros the celebrities were soon learning how to throw effective hooks and developing a much improved form.
"At first I thought it was best just to throw the ball down the middle of the lane," Robby said. "But after learning how to curve it, I could knock down more pins."
"I definitely gained an appreciation for everything that's involved," Michael said. "There was so much I had to learn just about my arm swing."
Dorin-Ballard's Team USBC High School took home the first Bowling with the Stars title, racking up a 483 three-game total with a clinching strike on the first ball in the 10th frame of the last game. USBC Collegiate took a close second place with 453 and USBC Youth finished with 320.
"They were just great," Terrell said of her celebrity teammates. "The stars took the event very seriously and wanted to learn. I think they saw some results -- they were good students."
So with the first Bowling with the Stars in the books, could this be something to build on for the future?
"Judging from the enthusiasm of the participants and fans I think this is something we can do more of," Asbaty said.
Each fan attending Bowling with the Stars made a $10 donation to Bowl for the Cure®, ultimately raising more than $1,000 for the Komen Foundation.