Being a team captain at the USBC Open Championships takes hard work and dedication.

Captains must be well-organized and willing to serve as the team's leader, recruiter, accountant, courier and even travel agent.

This year, the Open Championships is being held at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev., for the second consecutive year, marking the first time a city has held back-to-back events. With this in mind, USBC challenged team captains to help make the unprecedented return a memorable one.

In order to reward and recognize team captains for their hard work, USBC and the Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority formed an exclusive club, THE USBC EAGLE'S NEST.

The Eagle's Nest includes more than 5,900 captains, who brought teams to Reno in 2010 and have signed up to return in 2011, while some went above and beyond, registering four or more teams.

In all, 200 captains have earned "Super Captain" status. Let's meet one now:

Captain: John C. Spicer

Hometown: Largo, Fla.

Age: 64

Number of teams: six

Date and time of team event: May 13 at 2:30 p.m.

Open Championships appearances (through 2010): 28

Favorite host city: Billings, Mont.

Best Open Championships memory: n/a

My favorite part of the Open Championships experience is: Billings

I am a team captain because: I took over for my dad 15 years ago and went from four to six teams.

The thing I am most looking forward to about the 2011 tournament is: Lake Tahoe

Favorite place to stay in Reno: Circus Circus

Two favorite (appropriate) Reno memories: 1. first year of the Stadium

Three favorite things to do in Reno when not bowling: 1. Lake Tahoe; 2.Virgina City; 3. motorcycling to both

Four favorite places to eat in Reno: 1. steakhouse in Circus Circus; 2. buffets; 3. Silver Legacy

If you only had five minutes to recruit a new bowler, how would you sell the Open Championships: I have recruited bowlers from Ohio, Wisconsin, Georgia and all over Florida. I have found a lot of bowlers would like to bowl tournaments, but they don't know anybody who wants to take the time to put teams together.

Last year, I took eight teams to the Florida State Tournament. I also recruited five teams to bowl the Southeast Bowling Association tournament in Montgomery, Ala., in June 2011. My association (Suncoast USBC BA) will be hosting it.

Last year in Montgomery, they only had 389 teams. I have recruited the help of the Florida state association manager for labels to all captains. The Southeast TNBA will be having their tournament in our area, and I will be promoting it. We are hoping to go over the 600 mark. I could have put two more teams together, if I could have gotten the same squad times.