Florida bowler reaches 50-year milestone at Women’s Championships
June 21, 2026
LAS VEGAS – Earlene Bellamy of Orlando, Florida, celebrated a major milestone of 50 appearances at the United States Bowling Congress Women’s Championships during her recent trip to compete at the South Point Bowling Plaza.
Bellamy was presented with a plaque, chevron and commemorative necklace in recognition of her longevity at the tournament. She made her debut at the 1973 event, also held in Las Vegas.
For Bellamy, bowling started back in 1965 in the Philippines. She then moved to the Travis Air Force Base in California and started bowling more tournaments in the 1970s.
“My journey in bowling all started in the Philippines in 1965 and continued when I moved to Travis Air Force Base,” Bellamy said. “Shortly after, I started making my appearances at the tournament in 1973 in Las Vegas.”
Over the years, things have changed for Bellamy as teammates have come and gone throughout the tournament. Even though things have not always been the same for her, she’s kept her head held high and still showed up to bowl.
“It’s a very sad story along these 50 years,” Bellamy said. “I lost my husband in the meantime and lost a lot of the bowlers that we started with. We only have like two left from then, and we used to come with around 10. The ladies I bowled with when I started were from all different states, starting from California, Texas and Florida.”
Although she’s experienced a lot, one of her longtime teammates – Rose Scott – is still with her. Bellamy and Scott have been bowling together for over 20 years now, starting through a league back in Florida.
“The person I am bowling with now (Rose Scott), we’ve been bowling for 20 some years now,” Bellamy said. “She started bowling in the league I went to.”
Bellamy has had some amazing memories over the years coming to the tournament, and she is trying for one more appearance next year.
“I have one more year, if I make it next year, because I have cancer, which came back,” Bellamy said. “The chemo that I went through was very hard on my body, but I promised some of the ladies that I would come back next year.”
Making an appearance was important for Bellamy. The journey she has been on hasn’t been easy, but she’s stayed with it. Staying with it is the message she has for other bowlers getting close to their 50th appearance, because she knows how special that major milestone is and what it brings.
“I would just tell them to stay with it and just hang in there – it’s worth it, you know,” Bellamy said. “The excitement, I love it. The people that you meet, different places you go to and being able to see different things is just awesome.”
Bellamy finished her time at the Women’s Championships strong and proud. Achieving her 50th milestone is an accomplishment she can check off now, and she can look forward to her 51st appearance next year in Charlotte with her teammates.
The Women’s Championships is celebrating its 106th edition in 2026 and making its sixth trip to Las Vegas. The 2026 event is scheduled to feature more than 16,000 bowlers and 4,200 four-player teams competing across 65 consecutive days at the South Point Bowling Plaza.
Follow the action from the tournament’s official Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Bellamy was presented with a plaque, chevron and commemorative necklace in recognition of her longevity at the tournament. She made her debut at the 1973 event, also held in Las Vegas.
For Bellamy, bowling started back in 1965 in the Philippines. She then moved to the Travis Air Force Base in California and started bowling more tournaments in the 1970s.
“My journey in bowling all started in the Philippines in 1965 and continued when I moved to Travis Air Force Base,” Bellamy said. “Shortly after, I started making my appearances at the tournament in 1973 in Las Vegas.”
Over the years, things have changed for Bellamy as teammates have come and gone throughout the tournament. Even though things have not always been the same for her, she’s kept her head held high and still showed up to bowl.
“It’s a very sad story along these 50 years,” Bellamy said. “I lost my husband in the meantime and lost a lot of the bowlers that we started with. We only have like two left from then, and we used to come with around 10. The ladies I bowled with when I started were from all different states, starting from California, Texas and Florida.”
Although she’s experienced a lot, one of her longtime teammates – Rose Scott – is still with her. Bellamy and Scott have been bowling together for over 20 years now, starting through a league back in Florida.
“The person I am bowling with now (Rose Scott), we’ve been bowling for 20 some years now,” Bellamy said. “She started bowling in the league I went to.”
Bellamy has had some amazing memories over the years coming to the tournament, and she is trying for one more appearance next year.
“I have one more year, if I make it next year, because I have cancer, which came back,” Bellamy said. “The chemo that I went through was very hard on my body, but I promised some of the ladies that I would come back next year.”
Making an appearance was important for Bellamy. The journey she has been on hasn’t been easy, but she’s stayed with it. Staying with it is the message she has for other bowlers getting close to their 50th appearance, because she knows how special that major milestone is and what it brings.
“I would just tell them to stay with it and just hang in there – it’s worth it, you know,” Bellamy said. “The excitement, I love it. The people that you meet, different places you go to and being able to see different things is just awesome.”
Bellamy finished her time at the Women’s Championships strong and proud. Achieving her 50th milestone is an accomplishment she can check off now, and she can look forward to her 51st appearance next year in Charlotte with her teammates.
The Women’s Championships is celebrating its 106th edition in 2026 and making its sixth trip to Las Vegas. The 2026 event is scheduled to feature more than 16,000 bowlers and 4,200 four-player teams competing across 65 consecutive days at the South Point Bowling Plaza.
Follow the action from the tournament’s official Facebook and Instagram accounts.