Influence of Athletes to People

Picture this scene: The best athletes in your community are gathered for the annual high school varsity letter awards banquet. Halfback Henry and Jumpshot Jenny already have received accolades from the Master of Ceremonies for their accomplishments, but the attention is now focused on Susan Strike, Central High's varsity bowling superstar. Bowling is Central High's newest varsity letter sport,† he proclaims, â€Å"and we're extremely proud to announce Susan Strike has not only earned All-Conference honors for leading the Little Nine with a 206 average, but she led Central High to ts first state bowling championship. A standing ovation follows. You beam because Susan is a product of your youth league program. She is the first of a new generation of Varsity Bowling letter winners and she'll serve as an inspiration for hundreds of young bowlers in your This scene may sound like a dream to you, but it's a reality in some areas of the United States where a handful of dedicated proprietors have laid the groundwork to launch the nation-wide Varsity Bowling program during the 1998-99 bowling Varsity Bowling is going to be a two-pronged attack: 1. From the Top Down – Five states have been selected to participate in a targeted Varsity Bowling program during the 1998-99 with a focused effort to secure state high school athletic association approval for the sport. 2. From the Bottom Up – Every local/regional proprietor group in any area of the United States is invited to â€Å"test† the Varsity Bowling waters on their own. A comprehensive organizational kit, including detailed manual, videotape and support materials, is available today from the Young American Bowling Alliance and the Bowling Proprietors Association of America to help your proprietor group and local association volunteers get a eadstart in organizing a â€Å"high school club conference† to demonstrate the program's feasibility. Varsity Bowling is a program that cannot succeed without the commitment and dedication of the proprietors. You own the arenas, you have the expertise and it's your youth bowlers who will benefit the most. Varsity Bowling is one of the most comprehensive step-by-step organizational programs ever developed in bowling (or any sport). It is based upon 10 years of experience and research in Northern Illinois and Michigan's Upper Peninsula, culminating in resounding success. Be Part of Bowling's Biggest Success Story in Decades Varsity Bowling will become our sport's most significant success story in decades, with your help. Mark these figures down and watch them grow: In 1996-97, only 728 of America's more than 16,000 high schools offered any kind of bowling program. Out of 6. 1 million high school students who participated in athletics in 1996-97, only 15,600 were able to bowl for their schools. Only seven of America's 50 states had as many as 30 high schools offering bowling as an extracurricular activity. Bowling has nearly 500,000 young people participating in Young American Bowling Alliance leagues and tournaments. They know and love bowling, and most of them are denied the opportunity to experience the thrill and excitement of bowling for a letter for their high school teams. American Sports Data states interest in bowling is at an all-time high among young people, with a 15% increase in interest among pre-teens and 17% growth in interest among high schoolers. As a proprietor, you will never experience any program as rewarding as you'll discover by becoming a part of the Varsity Bowling team. Send for your comprehensive Varsity Bowling organizational kit, including detailed manual, videotape and support materials, today! order your kit now Send for your comprehensive Varsity Bowling organizational kit, including detailed manual, videotape and support materials, today! To order your Varsity Bowling kit, please send an email to Jennifer Williamson or call her at the Young American Bowling Alliance (414 423-3398. The Scholarship Management and Accounting Reports for Tenpins (SMART) program will help locate and secure existing bowling scholarships for YABA's membership. SMART will also help any organization start and manage a new bowling scholarship program while relieving new and existing bowling scholarship providers from the burden of administering their scholarship funds. YABA has developed two service levels to accomplish this mission: Level one is SMART's information and assistance level. This SMART level can be contacted in one of three ways – telephone, mail or email. SMART Level One will provide the following services: Information on how to start a bowling scholarship league, tournament or written Information on how to manage the scholarship dollars collected. Advise, assist and support organizations regarding any problem encountered in conducting or administering their scholarship programs. A booklet containing location of scholarship leagues, tournaments, and written cholarships offered worldwide; universities and colleges that offer bowling scholarships and those offering bowling as a scholastic or club sport; and national scholarship applications. In Level Two, the organization forwards their scholarship dollars to SMART, and SMART will manage their scholarship dollar on a daily basis. SMART charges no fee to use the program. SMART operates off the interest made on the scholarship funds. At the end of each bowling season (July 31st) SMART will deduct the operating expenses from the total interest earned. The remaining interest will be credited to each organization. The amount each organization receives will be determined on a percentage basis by the total amount of scholarship funds in their account. The organization then may use the interest as new scholarships at their discretion. For more SMART information, write to SMART 5301 S. 76th St. , Greendale, WI 53129, call 414/423-3343, fax 414/421-3014 or e-mail Ed Gocha at [email  protected] com. 999 Youth and Collegiate Bowlers Scholarships SMART's 1998 Youth and Collegiate Bowling Educational Guide is provided here for Junior Olympics Program To help young bowlers progress from their first visit to a center o becoming a Junior Olympic Gold member, YABA has created a pipeline (to be released in July 1999), to guide them through the different stages of development and prepare them for active roles as participants in the adult membership With this road map, youth bowlers will be guided through five different levels of bowling; Introduction to Bowling, First Organized Program, League Participation and Introduction to Tournament Competition, Purely Competitive and Elite Competition (TEAM USA). Who are Gold members? The Gold Program is the highest level of the USA Junior Olympic Bowling Program. To become a Junior Olympic Gold member, athletes must carry a minimum 165 average for girls and 175 for boys based on at least 21 games and be YABA members in good standing. Only Gold members are eligible to participate in the Junior Olympic Program's pinnacle event, the Junior Olympic Gold National Championships. More than 500 athletes competed in the National Championships held in July in Orlando, Fla. Complete Coverage of the 1999 Junior Olympic Gold National Championships. Gold members (YABA members with minimum average of 165 for girls and 175 for boys) may qualify to compete for a spot on the Junior Olympic Bowling TEAM USA hrough the Junior Olympic Gold National Championships. The program's goals are to emphasize advanced training, coaching and team bowling. In addition, the program will help develop more elite bowlers to feed into collegiate or professional bowling and become future members of American Bowling Congress or Women's International Bowling Congress. How does the Junior Olympic Gold National Championships work? Athletes qualify for the National Championships by winning or finishing high enough in a Gold Event. (Entries paid by the Event sponsor. ) The five-day competition is conducted on multiple lane conditions and consists of ouble elimination match play. The top 16 boys and top 16 girls advance to round-robin finals to compete to win the six boys and six girls spots available on the Junior Olympic TEAM USA. The Junior Olympic Bowling Program was created from YABA's partnership with USA Bowling, and in conjunction with the United States Olympic Committee. The Junior Olympic program focuses on athletes' skill levels rather than age and gender and offers several player development levels. Gold members have the opportunity to become members of Junior Olympic TEAM USA, chosen annually at the Junior Olympic Gold National Championships. Being a Junior Olympic TEAM USA member offers several benefits, including representing the United States in national and international competition, access to scholarships, training at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. , all-expense paid travel and competition fees, uniforms, recognition from other skilled bowlers and being part of a feeder system for future TEAM USA members. Canadian members are eligible to be Junior Olympic Gold members, compete in the National Championships and earn scholarships. They are unable to be Junior Olympic TEAM USA members.