DESERT OPEN

champs Araceli Hunt & Josh Williams; Cesar Padilla & Daryus Alo; Williams & Madison Holman

        Josh Williams and 9 year-old Araceli Hunt began the 26th season of Junior Bowlers Tour competition with exciting wins at the annual Desert Open Marathon, hosted by Glenfair Lanes.  Over $4,800 in scholarships were earned by all ages and skill levels.

        Bowlers competed on three difficult patterns to qualify for sixteen-bowler matchplay.   Keith Ylvisaker was the only bowler to manage a 200 average in qualifying, but match play did not go well for him, falling to #16 Noel Hernandez.  Noel was then stopped by quickly improving #9 Madison Holman, who then went on to double in the tenth to beat #5 Skyler McGowan and advance to the final.

        Amidst the usual chaos of matchplay, #10 Josh Williams rolled along on the other side of the bracket, eliminating #14 Mathew Adragna to set up the title match.  Both finalists played well, but in the end Williams remained so steady in a 215-193 win, fourth career JBT title, the coveted glass cactus, a $650 top prize, plus brackets and raffle tickets at every season 26 season that could translate into thousands more for the talented righty.

        Hunt led the field on pattern #2, then held off the contenders on a brutal third test (Wolf) to grab the top spot over Gabriel Ortega and Terrell Coates.  While other high seeds fell, she was able to outlast #16 Xaden Todacheenie, #9 Chase Simmons, and #12 Jadeyn Mabry to reach the final.  #6 Kamryn Wyman rolled through the other side of the bracket, beating Aiden Ruiz-Jimenez, Coates, and Dylan Donahue.  This set up a long-awaited title match- the first in JBT history where both players are kids of JBT alumni- Kamryn is the son of 1996-97 JBT Bowler of the Year Matt Jones,  and Araceli is the daughter of Tucson alum Matthew Hunt.  Wyman had one of the better strike lines of any bowler, but a ninth frame error proved unrecoverable, and the 197-184 final gave Araceli a very memorable first career JBT title! 

        Holman was consoled with the weekend's Girls Scratch title with a win over Aileen Linares, while Cesar Padilla beat Daryus Alo for the U17 subdivision win.  Ebonite balls from our title sponsor were won by CJ Todeschi and Harper Schmidt. 

        What a great start to what we hope is a great season.  You should be part of it too!  Check out our schedule and come on down!

The 2021 JBT Desert Open Marathon

And Lane Play Clinic

Practice and coaching:  Friday August 6

Tournament:  Saturday & Sunday August 7-8, 2021

at

Glenfair Lanes 6110 N. 59^th Ave, Glendale AZ, (623) 937-9225

All bowlers roll 12 games on 3 different lane patterns!

Top 16 advance to single elimination matchplay!**

Per block and overall prizes- plus, bonuses for the champs can translate into THOUSANDS:

***This event IS part of the 2021-22 JBT season and DOES count for DOUBLE Arizona and All-Conference JBT points!***

FORMAT:  (TWO divisions, scratch and handicap)

Friday August 6:

-           3 PM-9 PM:       Practice & Lane Play with USBC Silver Coach & 2011 Desert Open Champ Riley Dempsey

·          $20, all you can bowl from 3-9 on patterns 1 & 2, plus tips & tricks from Riley & Virtue staff!

Saturday August 7:

-          10 AM:              4 games, pattern 1

-          2 PM:               4 games, pattern 2  

Sunday August 8:

-          9 AM:               4 games, pattern 3

the top 16  fifteen-game totals advance to matchplay**

-          1 PM:               round of 16, best 3-of-5 matchplay,   highest scratch seed chooses pattern!

-          3:30 PM:           round of 8, best 2-of-3 matchplay    (starting times approx. following round completion)

-          5 PM:               rounds of 4 & 2, single game matches

**23+ entries cuts to 16; 16-22 entries cuts to 12; less than 16 entries cuts to 8

ENTRY FEE:  $100 .      

PRIZE FUNDS: (based 36 entries- 1:6 earn awards)                                 $600 first place guaranteed (plus below)!

Every 5-game block:                                         final standings:                                    CHAMP ALSO RECEIVES:

1^st-      $50                                                        1^st-          $600                                       - exemption in day 2 of 2022 TPC

                                                                        2^nd-         $300                                       - the famous glass cactus trophy!

                                                                        3^rd-4^th-    $150                                        - 5 brackets AND 25 raffle tix

- High overall female (if no other prize won): $100          5^th-8th     $100                                       at EVERY 21-22 JBT event!

DESERT OPEN- additional details

Date: Saturday & Sunday August 7-8 (This is ONE tournament that is two days long. Everyone bowls all three blocks until the first cut is made after Sunday morning's bowling.

Start Time: Saturday qualifying begins at 10 AM..

Practice / Clinic: Lanes on the first two patterns will be available from 3-9 pm on Friday.  Cost is $20 per bowler, and includes all you can bowl, and coaching/advice from Desert Open champ Riley Dempsey and other Virtue staff members. 

Re-entries?:  There are no re-entries at this event..

Reservations:  Please email director@bowljbt.com to reserve a spot.  You can prepay (not required) at the 'Prepaying' section of this website.  Reservations (paid or unpaid) must check in no later than 15 minutes before start time.  At that time, all bowlers will be taken on a first come, first serve basis until the field is full.

Divisions/ Averages:  Scratch or handicap.  It is the bowlers' choice of division.  Also, everyone age 16 or under as of 8/1/21 is automatically entered in the U-17 side event.   Also, every female is automatically entered in the Girls Scratch side event.   If this is your first JBT event this season, we will be asking for average info.  In most cases, your highest average from any current form of organized competition of at least 15 games is what we need.  If you bowl in multiple leagues / clubs, bring everything and we'll sort it out for you.  After your first JBT event, your average is re-rated before every JBT event according to JBT rules.  Please see JBT Rule 13 for complete details.

Points:  This event counts for Arizona Conference and All-Conference points.  Points qualify you for the big money season-ending Invitationals and Touring Players Championship, so get all you can.  Visit the 'statistics' section of the website to check on your points.  At the end of the season, the top 32 in Arizona points, plus anyone who had a top-4 finish in an Arizona JBT event this season, advance to the Invitational.

Covid details: JBT events follow- at least- all local Covid safety protocols, which you must be prepared for.   Please stay posted so you're not surprised about anything required of you. 

Invitational / TPC:  Bowlers must finish in the top 4 once this season to qualify for that conference's Invitational, which features $1,000 for first place.  Bowlers who finish in the top 20 in a conference's points race, or the top 100 in all-conference points, qualify for the Touring Players Championship, featuring $2,000 for first.

Dress code:  Anything goes EXCEPT tank tops, hats, gym shorts, clothing promoting alcohol, drugs, or firearms, or excessively ripped or short clothing, subject solely to the director's discretion.  However, bowlers wearing slacks or dress shorts/skirts, and a 'name shirt' or PBA-style 'dye-sub' shirt, or college or high school team shirt, earn an extra 10 points on their season-long points total.  If you're not sure about dress code, check with us.  If you're new to us, the vast majority of the bowlers do dress in the 'bonus' dress code, and those points become very important, so plan accordingly.

RESERVED BOWLERS: