Montana and Northern New Jersey Teams Take Titles at 2007 QubicaAMF International Family Tournament

Each First Place Team Received $5,000 Scholarships

Wyandotte, Mich. - Daniel (11 years old) and Melinda Kagarise, Billings, Mont., along with Kyle (17 years old) and Jerome Bauer, Howell, N. J., prevailed in the final matches to claim the Parent/Youth and Parent/Teen division titles respectively at the 2007 QubicaAMF International Family Tournament held July 26-28 at Indian Lanes in Wyandotte, Mich., a suburb of Detroit. Both first-place teams each won $5,000 scholarships to go towards their college education. Overall, scholarships totaling $70,000 were distributed. Coupled with the $100,000 scholarship fund from the second-annual North Pointe Insurance $100,000 High School Open Singles Championship, this marks a record-breaking scholarship fund offered to youth bowlers. 32 teams from 27 states, as well as Canada, competed in each division at the IFT, which celebrated its 32nd year. Each division's top 8 teams after Friday's competition advanced to a 'Baker Game' match play final round on Saturday morning. At the conclusion of the 8 games of match play, the top three teams in each division then competed in the 'Baker Game' stepladder finals to decide the titles Saturday afternoon.

In the Parent/Youth division, the Kagarises entered as the #1 seed after the top 8 teams had all competed earlier in the day. They prevailed over the team from Oklahoma, Shelby and Kertis Vinson, (268-227; with handicaps). The #3 seed team from Oklahoma won the chance to compete for the title by defeating the #2 seed team from Alaska, Wendell and Kaye Larsen, (255-234; with handicaps) in the first stepladder Parent/Youth match.

In the Parent/Teen division, again, the #1 seed team heading into the final three stepladder finals, the Bauers survived a very competitive match by defeating Nebraska’s Taylor and Tracy Thompson, 218 - 195 (with handicaps) for the title. The Thompsons won the opportunity to compete for the title by defeating the #3 seed Kansas team of Dylan and Richard Burns in the first stepladder game 250 - 218 (with handicaps).

The Kagarises are no stranger to the IFT and even making the final 3 since they finished in third place at the 2006 IFT. However, Melinda Kagarise noted, "Knowing what to expect didn’t make it any easier" when the competition started. Bowling for the last few years and increasing his practice time is what Daniel Kagarise says helped him this year. Granted only 11 years old, Daniel is currently interested in either becoming a diesel mechanic or concrete engineer. As far as what the future holds for Kyle Bauer, a career in the pharmacy industry is what interests this young man who has been bowling for only two years with a high game of 243. Although both Bauers noted that the competition was "nerve-racking," they also were very appreciative of the opportunity as were the Kagarises. Both families commented how fun and professionally-run the IFT event had been.

Additional scholarships of $500 each for boys and girls in each division were also awarded to Youth Division bowlers Lauren Calvert (Illinois) - 961 and Rommell Piring (California) - 1,051 as well as Teen Division bowlers Samantha Kelly (Illinois) - 1,151 and Travis Smith (Colorado) - 1,274 for bowling the highest six-game scratch total during the qualifying round.

Contestants from across North America won their State competitions qualifying them for an all expense paid trip to the Detroit, Mich. area. where they competed for the scholarships. This is the only sporting event in the United States in which parents participate with children and youth for an International Championship and scholarship funds.

Along with the competition, contestants and their families attended a welcome reception at the Hyatt Regency Dearborn (host hotel), experienced an fun evening at the many attractions located at C. J. Barrymore’s amusement park in the Detroit area along with the Saturday night banquet at the Hyatt where awards were presented and attendees had the opportunity to ask Pro Bowlers Norm Duke, Cathy Dorin-Lizzi and Bob Learn questions about their careers and the sport. Earlier on Saturday, all three Pros entertained the contestants and spectators with a special exhibition of bowling trick shots.

The 2007 International Family Tournament was made possible by the generous contributions of title sponsor QubicaAMF Worldwide and presenting sponsors Pepsi-Cola, the official soft drink of bowling along with Frito Lay and Nestle. Full final standings will be available on www.bpaa.com.

BPAA, QubicaAMF and North Pointe Insurance would like to thank the staff at Indian Lanes for their hospitality and hard work in hosting the IFT and North Pointe High School Singles Championships. A special note of thanks also goes out to Matt Fiorito of the Detroit Free Press for his unprecedented newspaper coverage of both tournaments prior to and during the entire week of competition.

In the tournament's 33rd year, the 2008 QubicaAMF International Family Tournament is scheduled to be held at Don Carter Lanes in Baton Rouge, La. in late July 2008.

Headquartered in Arlington, Texas, the 75-year-old Bowling Proprietors' Association of America represents the business interests of bowling center owners worldwide.

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