Paralyzed Veterans of America Great Plains Chapter and Tournament Director Dave Nelson were pleased to welcome 32 bowlers from 16 states to its 3rd Annual Great Plains PVA/AWBA Invitational. The mix of 10 new bowlers and 22 returning bowlers made for an exciting tournament! Thank you to AWBA for its support with pre-tournament preparations and to National PVA for its generous funding and for including the event in its PVA Bowling Tournament Series.
The tournament began Thursday, August 1st with 14 teams competing in the Doubles Division. After 1 set, the top 4 qualifying teams were: 1st Brooks Martin & Dave McGinnes, 2nd James Tipton & Frank Goebel, 3rd John Budd & Kevin Schaefer, and 4th Dave Nelson Jr. & John Scott. After an exciting roll-off, the final standings were: 1st James Tipton & Frank Goebel, 2nd Brooks Martin & Dave McGinnes, 3rd Dave Nelson, Jr. & John Scott, and 4th John Budd & Kevin Schaefer.
There were 12 bowlers in the Handicap B Division and after roll-offs, the final standings were: 1st Dave McGinnes, 2nd Stacey Deane, 3rd John Scott, 4th Frank Goebel, and 5th James Beversdorf.
There were 13 bowlers in the Handicap A Division and after roll-offs, the final standings were: 1st James Tipton, 2nd Kevin Schaefer, 3rd Rick Mahaney, 4th Johnnie Baylark and 5th Chris Parnell. High Handicap Series was awarded to Dave McGinnes and High Handicap Game went to John Budd.
There were 7 bowlers in the Scratch Division and after roll-offs, George Holscher defeated the 2017 & 2018 Scratch Division winner Eddy Hutchens to take first place. Eddy Hutchens placed 2nd, 3rd place went Dave Nelson, Jr., 4th place went to Greg Suing, and 5th place to Jason Nelson. High Scratch Series was awarded to George Holscher and High Scratch Game went to Dave Nelson, Jr.
This year’s bowlers were treated to goody bags worth over $100 courtesy of Tournament Director Dave Nelson. Each bowler received a Storm single ball flip tote bag, Storm scented grip bag, Storm shammy, Storm ball cup, keychain, & pen and a Great Plains PVA LED flashlight and screwdriver tool.
Thanks to all the bowlers who participated in Friday night’s Up/Down Tournament. We had 32 teams of 5 participate and it was a full house! Thank you also to the bowlers who contributed to the record-breaking 50/50 raffle and supported the “Rock & Roll” silent auction and raffle. We really appreciate your support and generosity! Congratulations to our winning Up/Down teams: 1st the Eddy Hutchens team, 2nd the James Tipton team, 3rd the Dave Nelson, Jr. team, and 4th the Robert Arciola team. There was a tie for 5th place so the teams of Jason Nelson and Dave McGinnes shared the honor.
New this year was a Saturday night pizza social held in the beautiful new party room at Thunderbowl. Bowlers and their guests, enjoyed pizza, salad, soda and homemade cupcakes before competing in two challenging rounds of bowling trivia!
At fun perk started last year is our free bowling ball drawing. Great Plains PVA supporter and bowling enthusiast Jimmy Chavez held a bowling tournament in the spring and used proceeds to purchase and donate 6 bowling balls for this year’s tournament. All of the bowler’s names were entered into the drawing. Before the Doubles set, and at the beginning of each Singles set, one name was drawn. Congratulations to our 6 winners: Dan Spotts, Kenneth Hill, Michael Galloway, John Scott, Mark Linquist, and Jason Nelson.
This year’s tournament was honored to once again present the Mike Moore Spirit
Award. Mike was a member of Great Plains PVA for over 18 years. He loved the spirit of competition and was passionate about sharing his love of sports with fellow veterans. He inspired them and encouraged them to find that same spirit within themselves and to become the best athlete they could be. The award was named in his memory. Participants were asked to vote for the bowler that most captured the spirit of competition, demonstrated good sportsmanship and was an inspiration to his fellow bowlers during the tournament. This year we had a tie. Congratulations to Tournament Director Dave Nelson and Great Plains PVA President Randy Squier for sharing the honor of the 2019 Mike Moore Spirit Award.
Everyone at Great Plains PVA had a great time being part of this tournament! We appreciate all the help from our volunteers and all the support from the bowlers. Thanks for making it a great weekend and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible next year!
