Page 12 - BPAA2019Annual Report_splitted

Varsity high school bowling continues to grow with more than 60,000 athletes in 2018- A triumphant return to the Crescent City for BPAA. BPAA’s 2019 Mid-Winter Bowling Summit was at the Marriott in New Orleans,
2019. In a season where overall participation for high school sports was down, high Louisiana. The education for attendees was once again impactful with it being lead by a pair of incredible thoughts leaders, Mary
school bowling saw a 2.09% growth over the previous season. We focus on pushing Matalin and James Carville. They provided the audience with an enlightening and entertaining look at important political issues as
well as a behind-the-scenes look at Washington politics. A tour, reception, and dinner at the world renown, National World War II
more states toward varsity status and continue to support the club states. There are Museum, provided a special finale to the event. Attendees were able to tour the entire museum campus before a private screening
27 Club and 22 Varsity states, plus D.C. We continue to be a resource to all states of the “Beyond All Boundaries” short film. At the reception and dinner, attendees sat amongst tanks and trucks while WWII airplanes
and welcome anyone who is looking to go from Club to Varsity, as we provide were suspended overhead. A 1940’s band provided memorable music that many attendees enjoyed dancing the night away to.
knowledge and support to help accomplish the goals of the state program.
International Bowl Expo 2019 was once again held at the Paris Hotel & Casino and the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Focus on
Success was the theme for Bowl Expo. Full-day educational “boot camps” on relevant topics such as recruiting, training & retaining staff, food & beverage,
The USA Bowling Regional tournament series held 16 events across the country for the fourth consec- digital marketing, and league development kicked off the week on Sunday.
utive year, with a total of 219 teams that consisted of 1,072 bowlers taking part in the event. We contin-
ued with digital coverage of the events, delivering more than 250,000 digital impressions. The largest The Welcome Reception on Monday night was an excellent opportunity for attendees to catch up with lifelong friends as well as make new ones. On Tuesday,
the Annual Industry Awards Luncheon recognized the newest Bowling Industry Service Award Winners. Also on Tuesday, attendees were able to “Focus on
events of the season were in Florida and New York, which had 25 teams, while four locations had Success” at various educational seminars. If attendees needed help with leagues, food and beverage, staffing, guest experience, group events, facility
more than 20 teams. security, digital marketing, or attractions, the Bowl Expo seminars delivered.

Green Bay Packers’ quarterback and Super Bowl MVP, Aaron Rodgers, gave great insight on his success on and off the football field in a rare up-close and
personal interview with BPAA president, Randy Thompson, at the general session. A few fortunate attendees also got to ask him questions.
A record 4,033 bowlers traveled to Detroit, to compete for part of the $390,000 in total scholarships at
the Junior Gold Championships. The tournament’s registration and trade show took place at the Sub- With over 69,000 square feet of exhibit space and 250+ exhibiting companies, the trade show was one of the highlights of the week. Exhibitors showcased the
urban Collections Showplace, a 126k square-foot facility, and more than 10k people attended. The latest products and services in the bowling industry.
Opening Ceremony, held at the Eastern Michigan University Convocations Center, was attended by The Grammy nominated, Barenaked Ladies, performed their hit singles at Club Xpo. This event was the perfect ending to a successful week. The band had
more than 6,800 people and included an athlete walk, award presentations, contests and a perfor- the crowd singing and dancing to their hit singles and a few memorable covers.
mance by RePercusion. The Youth Open Champi-
onships hosted nearly 1,000 bowlers vying for more Bowl Expo 2019 was a huge hit with attendees and exhibitors and continues to be the premier event in the bowling industry.
than $80,000 in scholarship. The Pepsi Youth
Championships continue to have success at the local level and is the long-
est running grassroots youth bowling tournament. The fourth USA Bowling
National Championships was held in July, with two teams earning national
titles. CBS Sports Network aired each of the Junior Gold’s four finals, and
the two title matches of the USA Bowling National Championships.

USBC Collegiate set a record with 226-member schools and 4,046 members. During the season, we saw 139 tournaments
and 164,552 games bowled. The Intercollegiate Team Championships and Inter-
collegiate Singles Championships were held in Dayton, Ohio with livestreaming
for qualifying and match play provided by BowlTV. The ITC and ISC finals aired
on CBS Sports Network.

IBC Youth Development continued its social footprint with @Youth_Bowling on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.
In 2019, Facebook had 5,452 page likes, Instagram garnered 7,847 followers, Twitter and Snapchat have 985 and 1,503
followers, respectively. Throughout the year, followers can expect tournament coverage, contests and all things youth bowl-
ing.