Bowling.com was proud to help sponsor the 2013 Teenmasters Finals in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Teenmasters is a fantastic tournament that allows kids the opportunity to bowl for college scholarship money in a very unique tournament. Teenmasters moved to a new setup this year that really emphasizes the skill and technique of the bowlers. Every bowler received the same 2 bowling balls, so there is no other factors that determine the outcomes other than skill and technique.

You would think the kids would not welcome this new rule, as they had used their own equipment to get them through qualifiers and to the finals. Well, that thought did not play out, as the kids really enjoyed the setup. Now, I don't think the kids would ask for this setup in every tournament, but it really helped most of them find the weaknesses in their games.

I was able to watch the kids really take responsibility for their shots, as the 2 urethane bowling balls and oil patterns did not allow for much error. I heard several parents state that they were able to see changes in their kids from the beginning of the tournament to the finals. They saw their kids in a situation that made them take responsibility and accountability for their play. In this day and age you can almost disregard the bowler, and look to what bowling ball they were using. That is a sad thought, as bowling balls have become such a reliance that bowlers techniques no longer have to be as skilled. Now don't hear me wrong, I am not saying that skill is lacking in today's professional bowlers, but more so in your average bowler. Bowlers today can hit averages with the technology in bowling balls today, that they would not have been able to if it relied totally on skill and technique. There is good and bad in that. The good is that better scores are more accessible to bowlers who are less skilled, and so that should encourage more people to get involved in bowling. The bad thing is that, to take a line from "The Incredibles" - "If everyone is SUPER, than no one is." Getting back to my original point, the parents were able to see their kids challenged, and respond to that challenge. Essentially that is maturity. Today's world seems to do it's best to prevent challenges, in the thought that is better for human development. Well, I would have to disagree, and I think you see it played out through history, and I was able to see it first hand at Teenmaster - How you respond to challenges, will mature you and eventually get the best out of you, if you face it head on.

All of that to say, Bowling.com was proud to sponsor and award scholarship money to the winners of the Teenmasters Finals. We are also proud of Gary Beck and his efforts to create a level playing field for these kids who put their hearts and souls into trying to win some scholarship money for college. Congratulations to the 8 finalists who will be bowling in Vegas this October 31 - November 3rd!

The picture at the top is me (Ben Dodson) with the 14 and under winners - Roscoe and Jenna. To see more about Teenmasters go to - https://www.teenmastersbowling.com/default.asp. Also here is a quick video from Teenmasters, so you can hear what the actual kids think about the tournament: