Professional women’s bowling tour gets going again with Wichita stop

After a 12-year absence, the women’s professional bowling tour was revived this year, and its Wichita stop begins Friday at Northrock Lanes.

“It’s a great community and fan base,” Professional Women’s Bowling Association tour member Kelly Kulick said of Wichita. “It’s a great college town and a great bowling town.”

Already, the Wichita entry list has surpassed 100 bowlers, Kulick said.

Kulick said the success of both previous tournaments and the Wichita State bowling program were factors in its getting a PWBA tournament.

The PWBA Wichita Open began Thursday with practice sessions. After two six-game qualifying rounds and a pro-am Friday, the top 16 will enter two eight-game round-robin match play sessions Saturday, and the top four will compete in the stepladder finals that night.

The tour regained its footing thanks to a partnership between the U.S. Bowling Congress and the Bowling Proprietors Association of America, which has given a three-year funding commitment, Kulick said. The PWBA already has more than 80 members, she said.

The tournaments also have experienced a high degree of bowler participation, she said.

“Nearly every week (on the tour) has sold out (the field reaches capacity),” Kulick said. “Only Detroit, which has more lanes, and possibly the (U.S. Women’s) Open, because it’s an open tournament (might not be filled).”

Even though some female bowlers participated in the male-dominated Professional Bowlers Association in the interim – Kulick is the only woman to win a PBA major tournament, defeating former WSU bowler Chris Barnes in the 2010 Tournament of Champions – Kulick said it’s time for the women to again regain their share of the spotlight.

“We want to make our presence known,” she said. “We want to show the athleticism of the ladies, and the professionalism of being a bowler.”

The tour began in May with the USBC Queens tournament in Green Bay, Wis., and will culminate with the U.S. Women’s Open in North Brunswick, N.J., from Aug. 31-Sept. 6. The PWBA Tour Championship will be held the following week in Arlington, Texas.

Already, Wichita State alumnae have made their presence known in the tour’s first year back. Elysia Current won the Sacramento Open two weeks ago, and Jazreel Tan captured the Lubbock Open last week.

Another former Shocker, Holly Harris, is in her first year on the tour and still calls Wichita home, working for Shocker bowling as its marketing, development and operations coordinator. Her duties include administrative work for the team along with some mentoring and recruiting.

She might have a slight advantage because of living in Wichita and having bowled at Northrock before graduating in 2014.

“A little bit,” Harris said. “I know things like the topography and some of the tricks, but there’s not a whole lot of advantage really.”

The biggest advantage, she said, might be that she will be able to sleep in her own bed.

“I can sleep at home, cook for myself, I’m familiar with the area,” Harris said. “There’s no stress that comes with wondering if the hotel’s close enough or if the hotel (is subpar). You can get a good night’s rest.”

Harris, a math major in college, was 11 when the tour folded in 2003.

“I had dreams of being a professional bowler, but it was never a reality,” she said. “Through high school and college, I knew I wanted to get better, but there was nothing to aspire for.

“I’m excited (about the tour) for the bowlers in college, high school and elementary school and excited to be able to bowl and compete and do what I was doing through college.”

With tournament slots filling up quickly, Harris said she had to act fast to choose the tournament and then get her entry in.

“I signed up (for Wichita) about a month and a half ago,” she said. “Women’s bowling is back in full force, and people want to do it. So maybe that means it’ll be around for a while.”

This story was originally published July 23, 2015 at 12:31 PM with the headline "Professional women’s bowling tour gets going again with Wichita stop."