Looking at the history of where bowling events have been held, you wouldn't be surprised to see a vast majority of them being contested at bowling centers.

While the occasional TV appearance has been staged outside over the years, it's rare to see tournaments being held outdoors. But, have you ever heard of a tournament out at sea? You will now.

An upcoming event called the Jackpot Classic at Sea is looking to showcase a unique way to bowl, while also getting a premium cruise experience around the Caribbean Sea. The event is scheduled to take place from Dec. 31, 2023, until Jan. 7, 2024. 

Greg Olsen, executive director of the Washington State Bowling Proprietors Association and Tournament Director of the Jackpot Classic, came up with the idea of hosting a tournament on a cruise ship in 2019 during a casual meeting with other proprietors at his local West Seattle Bowl.

“We kick around ideas every Friday to see what we could generate for our members,” Olsen said. “One of the waitresses overheard us, and she told us a story about how she used to work for a company that threw rave music parties on cruise ships, where one of the cruise ships did a bowling party. The lightbulb in my head went off, and I immediately said ‘Jackpot Classic at Sea.’” 

Once Olsen had some rough plans set up, he called Norwegian Cruise Lines and got all the details planned out. The original time frame was set for the first quarter of 2020, but the idea was shelved as the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning to ramp up in the U.S. during that time.

“The last place you would want to be is on a cruise ship at that point in time,” Olsen said. 

Fast forward to June of this year, not long after the 2023 Jackpot Classic in Las Vegas had just concluded, and the idea of the tournament at sea was brought back up. Olsen reached out to a few professional bowlers to gather their thoughts and see if they would want to join in the event, and he quickly got positive responses from three stars.

Team USA member and 10-time PBA titlist Kyle Troup, PWBA member and two-time titlist Verity Crawley, along with 32-time titlist and PBA and USBC Hall of Famer Amleto Monacelli, will all be on board.

This would be a first-of-its-kind event and tournament where bowlers can not only be at sea for a week, but also bowl and be around three stars of the sport.  

“It's an incredible opportunity not just for me, but also for all the doubles teams gearing up to compete. I can't wait to connect with everyone on board this New Year's Eve and celebrate the arrival of 2024 in a truly special fashion,” said Crawley. 

Starting on New Year's Eve in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the cruise will make stops in the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Dominican Republic. Each day, there will be a doubles squad that bowls while at sea using the ship’s three lanes.  

The tournament portion of the cruise has room for 30 doubles teams over the course of the week and is almost sold out at this time. The interest also has remained high in just doing the cruise portion without bowling simply because of the star power that will be on board. 

“I was telling Norwegian that you really don’t know the pull these bowling stars have around the country and world, and they had no idea the interest would be so high for this. It’s an incredible opportunity for the bowlers that are really passionate and would go anywhere in the world to be around these amazing bowlers,” said Olsen. 

With the amount of interest this event has received, Olsen says it’s possible that this bowling cruise tournament will happen again soon, provided this first attempt goes well and the feedback is positive. 

For now, Olsen is just happy to be able to get this first-time event off the ground after the pandemic initially slowed this unique idea down.

“I wish this was happening tomorrow just to see people’s faces; I know they’re going to have a blast,” Olsen said. 

For more information, visit: https://jackpotclassic.regfox.com/wsbpa-jackpot-classic-at-sea.