Paralyzed Veterans of America Great Plains Chapter and Tournament Director Dave Nelson were pleased to welcome 35 bowlers from 16 states to its 4th Annual Great Plains PVA/AWBA Invitational. This past year presented many challenges due to COVID-19 and we were grateful to have so many returning bowlers and new bowlers join us as we got back to the lanes! 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, July 29th with 14 teams competing in the Doubles Division. After an exciting rolloff, the final standings were: 1st Eddy Hutchens & Mike DeLoach, 2nd Gary Standley & Rick Mahaney, 3rd Jason Nelson & Brooks Martin, and 4th Carl LaGrotteria & Walt Roy.

There were 14 bowlers in the Handicap B Division and after roll-offs, the final standings were: 1st Gary Standley, 2nd Michael Tucker, 3rd William Burns, 4th Randy Squier and 5th Glenn Davis.

There were 13 bowlers in the Handicap A Division and after roll-offs, the final standings were: 1st Rick Mahaney, 2nd Johnnie Baylark, Jr. 3rd Henry Walters, 4th Will Leavitt, and 5th Carl LaGrotteria. High Handicap Series was awarded to
Rick Mahaney and High Handicap Game went to Mike DeLoach.

After an exciting Scratch Division roll-off, Shawn Beam took 1st place with Brooks Martin finishing 2nd, Jason Nelson in 3rd, Eddy Hutchens in 4th and Walt Roy placing 5th. High Scratch Series was awarded to Shawn Beam and High Scratch Game went to Walt Roy.

This year’s bowlers received goody bags filled with Storm products donated by Nelson Brothers Painting and cooling towels and pens courtesy of Great Plains PVA. Ladies traveling with our bowlers received their own goody bag of gifts and treats. Special lane treats greeted the bowlers each morning and bowlers received complimentary lunches on Friday and Saturday.

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 incredible 50/50 raffle and supported the “Christmas in July” silent auction and raffle. We really appreciate your support and generosity! Congratulations to our winning Up/Down teams: 1st the Frank Goebel team, 2nd the Eddy Hutchens team 1, 3rd the Eddy Hutchens team 2, 4th the
Mike DeLoach team, and 5th the Rick Mahaney team.

Bowlers were invited again this year to a Saturday night pizza social held in the party room at Thunderbowl. Bowlers and their guests, enjoyed pizza, salad, soda and cookies before participating in trivia. Two attendees were the winners of Storm single ball bowling bags.

For the 3rd year in a row, the tournament included six free bowling ball drawings! Bowling balls were donated by Nelson Brothers Painting and 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: Mark Linquist, Jimmy May, Mike DeLoach, Jennifer Hooten, Gary Standley and Robert Arciola.

This year’s tournament was honored to once again present the Mike Moore Spirit of the Games Award. We consider this to be the most prestigious award given at our tournament. 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. Congratulations to Brooks Martin, winner of the 2021 Mike Moore Spirit of the Games 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. We also want to express our appreciation to Storm Bowling, IAMBOWL, USBC, BPAA and Sportaid for their support of wheelchair bowling at all AWBA events around the country. This year marks Great Plains PVA’s 50th Anniversary and we are so pleased to have been able to include this tournament in our year of celebration. Thanks for making it a great weekend and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible next year!