Love comes full circle at USBC Open Championships
June 12, 2025
BATON ROUGE, La. – Sharon and Paul Westerhold of La Habra, California, celebrated a unique anniversary this year at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, with the event’s return to the Raising Cane’s River Center.
The couple met through a mutual connection while competing at the 2012 event in Baton Rouge – the tournament’s last appearance in Red Stick. They have been inseparable ever since and got married in June of 2013.
“I was living in Salt Lake City, where I actually bowled a local league at the time with Sharon’s brother,” Paul said. “He never mentioned he even had a sister. One night at league, he asked me if I would be interested in bowling the national tournament with their group, since they were looking for a few bowlers to fill roster spots. At first I declined, but then I agreed to go after he asked me a second time.”
Baton Rouge was a city he had never visited. He didn’t know the trip would become the backdrop for something much bigger than just a tournament.
Their first interaction with each other caught Paul a bit off guard, too.
“Sharon approached me with these words, ‘I’m Sharon, I need your Social Security number, your name and your address,’” Paul said.
Despite the rather awkward encounter, it would end up developing into a lasting partnership.
Both bowlers, with their worlds unknowingly intertwined through Sharon’s brother, soon found themselves on the same team.
“We bowled team event, and everything went great, but I knew I wanted to talk to her more,” Paul said.
After bowling was complete, Paul and Sharon decided to walk to the Belle of Baton Rouge, located across the street from the River Center.
“We got to talking about life and our situations at the time, and I felt the need to want to talk to this man more after that moment, so we exchanged numbers,” Sharon said.
After the tournament, both Paul and Sharon went their separate ways but kept in touch.
Fast forward 13 years later, and they have been happily married and had the chance to celebrate and reminisce being back in the place that started it all.
“We have been really soaking it in and remembering all the small moments we had here when we first met,” Sharon said. “This whole timeline of events has really made bowling the Open Championships a special place in our lives. We even went to the same Outback Steakhouse where we technically had our first date, and we didn’t even know it yet!”
The Open Championships is celebrating its third trip to Baton Rouge in 2025 and scheduled to feature more than 58,000 bowlers and 11,600 five-player teams competing across 150 consecutive days at the River Center.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.
The couple met through a mutual connection while competing at the 2012 event in Baton Rouge – the tournament’s last appearance in Red Stick. They have been inseparable ever since and got married in June of 2013.
“I was living in Salt Lake City, where I actually bowled a local league at the time with Sharon’s brother,” Paul said. “He never mentioned he even had a sister. One night at league, he asked me if I would be interested in bowling the national tournament with their group, since they were looking for a few bowlers to fill roster spots. At first I declined, but then I agreed to go after he asked me a second time.”
Baton Rouge was a city he had never visited. He didn’t know the trip would become the backdrop for something much bigger than just a tournament.
Their first interaction with each other caught Paul a bit off guard, too.
“Sharon approached me with these words, ‘I’m Sharon, I need your Social Security number, your name and your address,’” Paul said.
Despite the rather awkward encounter, it would end up developing into a lasting partnership.
Both bowlers, with their worlds unknowingly intertwined through Sharon’s brother, soon found themselves on the same team.
“We bowled team event, and everything went great, but I knew I wanted to talk to her more,” Paul said.
After bowling was complete, Paul and Sharon decided to walk to the Belle of Baton Rouge, located across the street from the River Center.
“We got to talking about life and our situations at the time, and I felt the need to want to talk to this man more after that moment, so we exchanged numbers,” Sharon said.
After the tournament, both Paul and Sharon went their separate ways but kept in touch.
Fast forward 13 years later, and they have been happily married and had the chance to celebrate and reminisce being back in the place that started it all.
“We have been really soaking it in and remembering all the small moments we had here when we first met,” Sharon said. “This whole timeline of events has really made bowling the Open Championships a special place in our lives. We even went to the same Outback Steakhouse where we technically had our first date, and we didn’t even know it yet!”
The Open Championships is celebrating its third trip to Baton Rouge in 2025 and scheduled to feature more than 58,000 bowlers and 11,600 five-player teams competing across 150 consecutive days at the River Center.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.