ARLINGTON, Texas – Professional Women’s Bowling Association members and aspiring female bowlers looking to try their hand at professional competition now know where and when they’ll have the opportunity to compete next season as the 2024 PWBA Regional schedule has been released.
The 10-event regional season will kick off with the Myrtle Beach Regional, which will be contested at Myrtle Beach Bowl in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Jan. 21, and it will wrap up with the 2024 PWBA Regional Showdown, which will take place at Aloma Bowl in Winter Park, Florida, from Dec. 5-7.
“The PWBA Regional program continues to provide aspiring female bowlers with a golden opportunity to test the waters in professional competition before making the leap to bowling full time on the PWBA National Tour,” PWBA Players Committee Chairperson Bryanna Coté said. “Many successful up-and-coming players cut their teeth by bowling regionals first. The 2024 PWBA Regional schedule will allow that pipeline to continue and ensure the bright future of the PWBA Tour for years to come.”
The PWBA Regional Tour will contest tournaments in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Ohio, Colorado and New York during the 2024 regional season, visiting a combination of past tournament sites and first-time hosts.
Returning host centers on the 2024 schedule include ABC Gates Bowl, Aloma Bowl, The Ashwaubenon Bowling Alley, East Providence Lanes, Highland Park Lanes and Yorktown Lanes, while Myrtle Beach Bowl, Sooner Bowling Center, Steel City Bowl & Brews and Victory Lanes will be welcoming PWBA action for the first time.
Operating events in so many states means that female bowlers from all across the country will have the opportunity to experience PWBA competition.
Those bowlers will be hoping to emerge from those events with titles in order to earn their way into the Regional Showdown, which will serve as the official end to the 2024 PWBA Tour season.
Each regional champion will automatically be seeded for match play at the Regional Showdown. The remaining spots in the 16-person field will be awarded based on the results of an eight-game qualifying round that will be open to all PWBA Regional-eligible bowlers.
The top 16 players will compete in round-robin match play before the field is cut to the final four bowlers for the stepladder finals.
Every player who qualifies for match play will cash at the Regional Showdown. If the number of entries is high enough, additional cash spots outside the top 16 will be paid at a ratio of 1:3 as is done for PWBA National Tour prize funds.
The winner of the 2024 Regional Showdown will not only receive a cash prize, but she will also have her entry fees covered for all 2025 PWBA National Tour singles events as well.
To be eligible to enter a PWBA Regional event, a female competitor must average at least 180. PWBA Tour national champions, regardless of membership status at the time of their win, will not be eligible to compete in any PWBA Regional event.
These one-day tournaments feature eight games of qualifying followed by a cut to the top four for the stepladder finals. This format and the reduced entry fees charged at regional events allow players to keep costs down by making it possible to compete without having to stay in the host city for multiple days and incur lodging expenses.
The cost to enter a PWBA Regional event is $100 for a member and $150 for a non-member.
2024 PWBA REGIONAL SCHEDULE
With dates, event, center, location and broadcast channel (subject to change):
• Jan. 21, PWBA Myrtle Beach Regional, Myrtle Beach Bowl, Myrtle Beach, S.C., BowlTV
• Feb. 4, PWBA Mooresville Regional, Victory Lanes, Mooresville, N.C., BowlTV
• March 9, PWBA Eastern Pennsylvania Regional, Steel City Bowl & Brews, Bethlehem, Pa., BowlTV
• April 20, PWBA Rhode Island Regional, East Providence Lanes, East Providence, R.I., BowlTV
• July 14, PWBA Oklahoma Regional, Sooner Bowling Center, Norman, Okla., BowlTV
• Aug. 24, PWBA Green Bay Regional, The Ashwaubenon Bowling Alley, Green Bay, Wis., BowlTV
• Sept. 15, PWBA Cleveland Regional, Yorktown Lanes, Parma Heights, Ohio, BowlTV
• Oct. 26, PWBA Northern Colorado Regional, Highland Park Lanes, Greeley, Colo., BowlTV
• Nov. 3, PWBA Rochester Regional, ABC Gates Bowl, Rochester, N.Y., BowlTV
• Dec. 5-7, PWBA Regional Showdown, Aloma Bowl, Winter Park, Fla., BowlTV
Athletes will be able to purchase their 2024 PWBA memberships starting January 2024.
