PWBA Regional Showdown Set to Conclude 2023 PWBA Season in Florida
WINTER PARK, Fla. – The Professional Women’s Bowling Association Regional Showdown promises to be an exciting end to the 2023 PWBA Regional season, as Aloma Bowl in Winter Park, Florida, is set to host the final event of the year.
Bowlers from across the country will be competing for more than just the title and $4,000 top prize in this event, as the winner of the Regional Showdown also will have their 2024 PWBA National Tour entry fees entirely covered, giving this week’s champion the opportunity to compete at the national level with reduced expenses.
The 2023 event kicks off Thursday with the official practice session, and competition gets underway Friday at 9 a.m. Eastern with an eight-game qualifying block to complete the 16-player field for round-robin match play.
This year’s regional winners are automatically placed in the match-play portion of the tournament, with eight spots available for the rest of the field through qualifying.
Eight-game match-play rounds will take place Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern and Saturday at 9 a.m. Eastern. Each bowler will face each other once before a position round to conclude match play.
The top four athletes, based on total pinfall and bonus pins for each win in match play, will move on to the stepladder finals Saturday at 3 p.m. Eastern.
The tournament will be streamed live from start to finish on BowlTV.
Those with the automatic bids into match play are:
Ashley Rucker of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, winner of the Greater Dallas Regional
Andrea Behr of Kettering, Ohio, winner of the Greater Detroit Regional
Elise Bolton of Riverview, Florida, winner of the Cleveland Regional
Najah Owens of Raleigh, North Carolina, winner of the Pinehurst Regional
Kerry Smith of Lititz, Pennsylvania, winner of the Greater Pittsburgh Regional
Amber MacLeod of Conway, South Carolina, winner of the Rockford Regional
Brittany Smith of Van Meter, Iowa, winner of the Twin Cities Regional
Haley Swindle of Sharpsburg, Georgia, winner of the Northern Colorado Regional
Katelyn Simpson of Nampa, Idaho, won the Spokane Regional but is unable to attend the Regional Showdown, opening up an additional match-play spot for the field.
With entry fees covered, one competitor can expect to see their overall expenses cut down by a few thousand dollars, as the travel adds up over the course of the season. Kerry Smith knows firsthand how daunting the expenses can look.
“I save my money all year long and that’s what I use my vacation for at work because this is what I love to do. So, to be able to have a chance to win that event and have all my entry fees paid for next year, that’s a tremendous opportunity,” said Smith after her win this season in July.
Others who bowl regionals and a few national tour stops also share Smith’s feelings, where being out on tour full time isn’t quite in the cards due to the expenses required, but if their entry fees were paid for, it would put less stress on them to compete.
One thing is for certain – the winner of the Regional Showdown will have proven that they belong on the PWBA National Tour next season.
