BY JUSTIN MOORE, BPAA

Mechanicsville, Va. - QubicaAMF Worldwide (QubicaAMF), the world’s leader and largest manufacturer of bowling and mini bowling products, and the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America (BPAA) teamed up at Bowl Expo 2017 to present the Pro-Skills Challenge at Bowl Expo 2017. The event took place June 22 at the QubicaAMF booth.

“We were very excited to include the Pro-Skills Challenge as a new event at the International Bowl Expo, which continues to grow each year,” BPAA Executive Director Frank DeSocio said.  “Thanks to QubicaAMF’s support and hosting of the event, we were able to engage our pro bowlers, attendees and one of our key sponsors all in one setting, sending home eight lucky attendees with a total of $6,000 in cash and prizes."

Eight attendees had the opportunity to be paired with one of four Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) members – Tommy Jones, Bill O’Neill, Dom Barrett and Josh Blanchard.

Each bowler represented an audience member, playing for cash prizes totaling up to $6,000. The four PBA bowlers played two unique Skill Games, Last Pin Standing and Head Hunter, which are exclusive to the BES X Bowler Entertainment System.

Last Pin Standing was the first event; the objective of the game is to knock down as many pins as you can without hitting the head pin.

With a score of 120, Jones ended up in first place, winning $1,000 for his represented audience member, Brian Borowski from Classic Lanes in Kenmore, New York. Barrett (representing Kevin Mumpower) finished second, Blanchard (Daniel Budwick) was third and O’Neill (Nick Kornick) finished fourth.

The second event of the Pro-Skills Challenge, Head Hunter, had the PBA stars attempt to hit the head pin without recording a strike. For the score to count, the ball must hit the head pin, and the total score reflects the pinfall on the successful attempts.

Blanchard was victorious in this event, posting a score of 88 while representing Scott Craddock of Plano Super Bowl in Plano, Texas, earning Craddock the $1,000 top prize. O’Neill (Reggie Frederick) was the runner-up, followed by Barrett (David McDonald) and Jones (Phyllis Mento).

“We are dedicated to supporting both the industry as well as the sport of bowling,” said Pat Ciniello, Chairman of the Board of QubicaAMF. “We are so excited to see pro bowlers engage with the world’s only Bowler Entertainment System, BES X, and put on a great show doing it!  We love the synergy that is built within our products, which combines the elements of competition and fun all through one brand.”

In addition to the Skill Games, one audience member also was awarded with a $1,000 prize through a raffle offered to anyone watching the Pro-Skills Challenge event. The winner was Corby Taylor from Eldon Lanes in Eldon, Missouri.

The partnership, new in itself, brought together the BPAA as bowling’s largest association and the industry’s largest manufacturer of bowling products in QubicaAMF. QubicaAMF has supported Bowl Expo for many years and was the presenting sponsor of Club Expo on June 22, and a supporting partner of the Sponsorship Pavilion seminars June 19.