By By Mike Carson / bowling columnist
Sept. 2, 2003
The first full week of the 2003-04 Fall &Winter season has now completed and it looks like we are in for another exciting 36 weeks. Scores have been good, expectations are high and excitement is in the air. Organizational meetings for the junior programs on both Saturday and Wednesday were also heald within the past week. The Wednesday Fun Time Juniors begin competition tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. The Saturday Morning juniors will get underway Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. Even if your child could not make the startup meetings, they are still welcome to participate in either or both leagues. All they have to do is be present and we will be happy to let them get in on the fun.
Openings are still available for individuals and teams on several of our adult leagues. Both the Hucklebuck league on Monday night and the Queen City league on Thursday have slots available for full 5-man teams. There are also a few teams still looking for individuals to fill out rosters in these and other leagues including the Wednesday Night Mixed league, the Dixie Belle league and the Ball &Chain league. Bowlers, you can help us out by inviting friends or family members to participate and help fill in the gaps.
If you want to see some good bowlers in action, this weekend is your chance as the Senior All-Star Bowling Association (S.A.S.B.A.) makes it annual tour stop at Dixie Bowl Lanes this Saturday and Sunday. Many of the top bowlers from across the southeast will be present for this annual event. Included in that group are many of our own local bowlers. Be sure to stop and catch up on the action. Who knows, you might even pick up a few tips to improve your own game!
Also on tap in September is the 42nd Annual 600 Bowling Club tournament for all ladies who have ever bowled a 600 Series. The event is slated for Sept. 27-28 at Park Ten Lanes in Diamondhead. Entries close Sept. 19. You may also invite a 500 Club bowlers as a guest participant. Average verification is required for all bowlers. As always in this tournament, there will be two divisions in both the 500 and 600 bowlers. Complete entry forms and rules are available at Dixie Bowl. So, ladies, pick up your entry forms and get them sent in.
While scores for the first ten days of action didn't quite equal the fiery start we had last year, several bowlers helped get the ball rolling with some fine performances. Already we have had five 700 Series. Last week, we highlighted Wayne Griffin's season-opening 705 in the Hucklebuck league and Mike Cothern's 719 in the Wednesday Night Mixed league. Joining in the action this week were Bill Fike who recorded a 714 in the Queen City league and M.A. Copeland who led all scorers with a nice 721 set. Tim Van Doren captured the high game for the week with a 269 while James Dillard and Wayne Griffin each chalked up games of 268. Several other bowlers recorded games of 250 or better including Eric Embrey, Jim Broderick Jr., C.O. Gray, Andrew Clayton, Burnie Berrey, Mo Richards, Jason Pierce and Marty McMullen.
Denise Rutledge continued to show that she is more than just a good hairdresser as she pummeled the pins with games of 242 and 232 while on here way to a nice 637 while Pat James fired a 226 on her way to a 617. Matar McClinton shined in two leagues by recording a 234 in the Dixie Belles league and followed that up with a nice 248 game/608 series in the Monday Nighters league. Judy Bounds shot a tall 227 and Sharon Wade got into the high scoring act by acing a nice 220 game in the Wednesday Night Mixed league.
Let me just remind you that for purposes of this column the "bowling week" is Thursday through Wednesday. Because of the large amount of information we submit, this column must be turned in by Friday morning for publication on Tuesday. I would like to take this opportunity to thank The Meridian Star for making this space available to us each week and most notably to Ryan Satcher who takes this pile of papers and transforms them into the column you see each week.
That's all for this week. Get out, get the ball rolling and until next week. . . Good luck and good bowling.