ARLINGTON, Texas – International Bowl Expo, the bowling industry’s largest annual gathering, will host a special made-for-TV event featuring the biggest names on the sport’s professional tours.
Members of the Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) and Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) will team for a mixed doubles event at 2020 International Bowl Expo, which will be held at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center in Denver in July.
The PWBA/PBA Mixed Doubles will be televised live on Sunday, July 5, at 8 p.m. (Eastern) on FS1.
The two-hour show will have four mixed doubles teams representing the biggest brands in the sport – Brunswick, Hammer, Motiv, Storm – and Brunswick will build two lanes, featuring their new SparkTM technology, for the event.
“Bowl Expo is the biggest annual event for the bowling industry and what a great way to showcase the highest levels of competition in our sport,” said Randy Thompson, president of the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America (BPAA), the host organization of Bowl Expo. “To have the best bowlers in the world on a nationally televised TV show, on a Sunday, allows the bowling community to celebrate the passion and commitment we all have for the sport.”
The PWBA/PBA Mixed Doubles teams for the event are:
O’Keefe won her second consecutive PWBA Player of the Year title while Belmonte was the PBA Player of the Year for the fifth time in 2019. Each of the eight participants has won a major title in their career, with Belmonte having a record 11 career major titles.
“This will be a fantastic event for Bowl Expo attendees, the national TV audience and for our sport,” said Colie Edison, CEO of the PBA. “The PBA Tour has seen tremendous viewership growth through our partnership with FOX Sports and this special event is a tremendous addition to the schedule. We appreciate the opportunity to partner with BPAA and the PWBA Tour on this.”
FOX Sports and its family of channels are the television partner for the 2020 Go Bowling! PBA Tour.
The PWBA/PBA Mixed Doubles will have two semifinal matches, with matchups determined by blind draw. The semifinals will be one-game matches using the Baker format, in which the bowlers will alternate each frame. The first competitor on the team bowls frames 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and the second team member bowls frames 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, with the winning teams to bowl for the title.
College bowling and the scholarships offered in the sport also will be featured at Bowl Expo during the television show. A special roll-off featuring the 2020 Intercollegiate Singles Championships (ISC) winners will be held between the semifinals and title match of the PWBA/PBA Mixed Doubles.
The ISC boys champion and ISC girls champion each will get one roll on the TV lanes. If the player rolls strike on their one attempt, they will be awarded a $10,000 scholarship.
International Bowl Expo will take place July 2-6 with the TV show to be held immediately following the first day of the event’s trade show on July 5. All Bowl Expo attendees will be able to attend the event as part of their Bowl Expo registration.
The PWBA Tour is a collaborate effort of BPAA and the United States Bowling Congress (USBC). Visit PWBA.com to learn more.
The PBA Tour has more than 3,000 members from 27 countries competing in its competitions each year. Visit PBA.com for more information.
Bowl Expo is the annual industry event hosted by BPAA, featuring educational seminars, trade show, national speakers, entertainment and more. Visit BPAA.com/BowlExpo to learn more.
