Summer in the Midwest is filled with lots of sunshine, family fun, BBQs, and lots of corn on the cob! Sometimes the temperature climbs so high that families find themselves looking for an excuse to stay indoors. Last weekend, youth bowlers and their families took the opportunity to stay cool inside at Sun Valley Lanes testing their skills at the Storm Youth Championships!
A sold-out field filled with SYC veterans as well as several new smiling faces eager to join the SYC Family traveled to spend the weekend competing in three rounds on three challenging lane conditions designed by KEGEL. Each round consisted of four games and the tournament is composed of six different divisions determined by gender and age (U20 Boys, U20 Girls, U15 Boys, U15 Girls, U12 Boys, U12 Girls).
“The SYC is designed to bring a boutique national event to communities around the country,” Gary Hulsenberg, VP of Business Development said. “It’s exciting to give families the opportunity to experience these events and help to connect more members to our bowling family.”
The top three bowlers in each round were presented a gold, silver, or bronze medal. After both rounds were complete, the tournament champions in each division based on their total pinfall were awarded the SYC Shield Trophy, a banner, and a gold medal. In addition, the SYC awarded $13,950 in scholarships to the youth bowlers.
Consistency is key to earning an SYC title. The SYC bowlers work hard, respect their fellow competitors and come together at the end of the weekend to celebrate those who earn the coveted SYC trophies in our awards ceremony.
In the U12 division, two bowlers were awarded with their first SYC titles. In the girl’s division, Faith Sprout of Illinois, medaled in each round and captured her first SYC title leading the U12 girl’s field by 74 pins. In the boy’s division, Noah Sicard of Oregon, competing in his second event claimed his first title. In the U15 girl’s division, Rachel Moore of Iowa, also earned her first SYC title while Joshua Collins of Georgia, earned his second consecutive SYC title leading the U15 boys division by 95 pins. In the U20 girl’s division, Addy Schiffelbein of Kansas, picked up her first title while two past champions battled for the U20 boys title. In the end Spencer Robarge of Missouri, edged out past-champion, Brandon Bonta to earn his fifth SYC title.
The friendly staff at Sun Valley Lanes helped us welcome all of the SYC families who traveled to Nebraksa. Tournaments run effortlessly when John Losito and his incredible staff are part of the event. Prior to the Storm Youth Championships, Sun Valley Lanes has hosted the World Youth Championships, PWBA events, and will be home to the 2020 US Open. Their generosity and efforts truly helped to make the SYC a success.
The youth bowlers at Storm Youth Championships spend the weekend listening, learning, and bowling as much as they can. Often bowlers arrive early and host “unofficial” practice sessions with fellow competitors they’ve made in other events or new friends that they’ve just met. In Nebraska, the SYC bowlers were able to continue to build their bowling toolkit through our seminars. Team Storm Players, Leanne Hulsenberg and Julia Bond joined Gary Hulsenberg to learn about lane play and surface adjustment as well as an informational seminar filled with tips about being ready for their upcoming tournaments and events.
Every bowler who entered the tournament received a Storm Fever Pitch and had the option to have their new ball drilled by Dwyane DaMoude inside the pro shop at Sun Valley Lanes. Many bowlers took advantage of this option to add this ball to their bags in time for the practice session where all three KEGEL patterns were made available. After the practice session, all the bowlers traveled to the host hotel, The Marriott Cornhusker where families enjoyed an indoor BBQ with music, games and an exciting cornhole tournament. Bowlers, family members, parents and even our Team Storm Pros, Diandra Asbaty and Leanne Hulsenberg teamed up to battle the bracket.
Friends and family can come to cheer on their favorite youth athlete in person or virtually through the Storm Facebook Channel. Every game of the event was livestreamed on Facebook. Storm Team Members share insights about the event and youth bowlers through commentary. Some of our hosts in our livestream booth included Diandra Asbaty, Julia Bond, Jamie Rangel, Sean Rangel, Brian Shannon, Leanne Hulsenberg and Gary Hulsenberg.
We choose to align our SYC tournament with a charity close to the Storm family. The SYC event supported BVBC also known as Ballard vs. the Big “C.” BVBC raises funds for continued research in cancer treatment, specifically in head, neck, and throat cancer through the sport of bowling. SYC families contributed to the cause through raffles and a silent auction in addition to the $10 donation that is contributed directly to BVBC from every entry.
This tournament would not be possible without the generous donation from all of our sponsors, Storm, Roto Grip, Logo Infusion, Kegel, 3G Shoes, Bowlers Journal International.
The SYC will travel to Northrock Lanes in Wichita, Kansas over Labor Day Weekend for the next event! This event is sold-out with a waiting list. Entries open for the SYC – Coastal Classic event on August 5.
For final results of all rounds of competition visit this page.
For more information on the SYC visit the Storm SYC page at www.stormbowling.com/SYC.