ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, October 2, 1996 TAG: 9610020024
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: community sports
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: ANGIE WATTS STAFF WRITER
Triangle Lanes Bowling Alley is host to 22 bowling leagues and hundreds of loyal bowlers. Among those is a group of 10 men, women and children who brought home state championships to the New River Valley Bowling Association in May and June.
May and June? Since this is a daily newspaper, the delayed announcement must be explained. After the competition, all the bowlers' averages had to be verified through various local associations. The lengthy process delayed announcement of winners.
The women's state competition was held at the Hilltop Lanes and Lee-Hi Lanes in Roanoke. The New River Valley's Rhonda Fleming and Karla Kitts teamed up for the doubles event and captured the championship in both the scratch and handicap scores. The duo combined for 1,086 points in the scratch and 1,423 in the handicap.
Triangle Lanes manager Terry Stike explained that the scratch score is the actual number of pins knocked down in three games. Handicap scores add a percentage to a score if the bowler's average is less than 200.
"The handicap makes everyone even," Stike said. "The base is 200, and if you're average is more than that, you get no handicap."
Fleming also captured the Division 4 singles championship with a scratch score of 562. She placed third in the handicap with a 756 total.
Kitts won the All Events title in Division 2 in both the scratch and handicap events. She scored a 1,832 in the scratch and a 2,261 in the handicap.
Debi Smith also racked up a championship in singles in Division 2 with a 763 handicap score. Penny Clark was close behind with a 761.
"A lot of those women bowl together in the Wednesday night league," Stike said. "Competing against each other inspires them. ... They practice real hard."
In the men's division, Kerry Hamblin won the All Events Championship in Danville.
At the junior and teen competition in Petersburg, the team of Dillion Cabbert, Eric Compton, Bartley Duncan and Samantha Williams won the state title in both the scratch and handicap in the Bantam Prep division, which includes ages 9-12. Stewart Brown and Treena Bradley also won first in teen doubles.
"The people of the New River Valley have no idea how big bowling is," Stike said. "Those tournaments pull tens of thousands of bowlers and their families to the area where they're being held."
The tournaments are open to any team or sanctioned bowler who pays the $30-$40 entry fee. As a result, the number of competitors is high. Unfortunately for the winners, Stike said, there is no advancement past the state tournament to any regional or national event.
"At a lot of places bowling has decreased, but if anything we've grown," Stike said. "The interest in bowling at the state tournaments has grown too. As a result we've have more state champions now than in years past."
If you have an idea for a story or note about recreational sports, call Angie Watts at 381-1672 in Montgomery County or Radford or 1-800-346-1234, extension 672 elsewhere or fax to 381-1656.
LENGTH: Medium: 63 linesby CNB