Missy Makes TV Show in Japan!

This week I competed in the DHC International Championships at Hakata Star Lanes in Fukuoka, Japan. The all-wood bowling center spans across three different floors with a total of 85 lanes. The entire tournament field was comprised of the top 84 men and top 84 women bowlers from all over the world, representing 12 different countries.

We bowled 9 games of qualifying, in three 3-game blocks. I shot 668, 710 and 673 for +251 overall and was leading the tournament going into the semifinals. The field was then cut to the top 24 men and top 24 women. We then bowled 6 more games of semifinals.

During the semifinals, I struggled a bit and grinded out a 607 and 603 series, shooting 230 my last game to secure a spot in the shoot-out match. The shootout match consisted of players in positions 4-9. We bowled a one-game match, with the highest score advancing to the TV stepladder finals. Players seeded in positions 1-3 automatically qualified for the TV show.

In the shootout match, I bowled against Carol Gianotti from Australia, Wendy Macpherson, Zandra Aziela from Malaysia, Mari Kimura from Japan and Maki Nakano from Japan. I started out strong, striking in the first 4 frames, but a couple of the other women were also striking, keeping the match very close. I ended up needing to strike and 9 spare in the 10th frame to advance and I struck out, shooting 267 to secure the final spot on the TV show.

On the men's side, Zulmazran Zulkifli shot 298 to secure the final spot in the shootout match, over Chris Barnes, Mike Fagan, Dan Maclelland, Kyung-sin Park from Korea and Shota Kawazoe from Japan.

For the TV show, four lanes were constructed in an amazing arena setting inside the bowling center building. The arena was packed and the setting couldn't have been more fun to compete in. The introductions to the finals were very cool as well with laser lights and sound and other light effects going on while each player was introduced and walked down a "red carpet"-esque catwalk down to the lanes.

On the TV show, I bowled against Eun-hee Jeon from Korea. The match was very tight throughtout. I couldn't carry very well, leaving many 10 pins and one 7 pin. However, it came down to the 10th frame and I could have doubled to lock her out. Sadly to report, I did not throw the ball well, missing the headpin and converting the spare to force her to get the first strike in the 10th frame. She went up and doubled to beat me 224 to 206, thus finishing 4th place overall in the tournament. Cherie Tan of Singapore went on to win the title over Malaysia's Dayang Khairuniza.

On the men's side, Tommy Jones defeated Mika Koivuniemi 290 to 204 to capture the title. Congratulations to both Tommy and Cherie!

For complete results of both the men and women's finals, click here.

Missy Headed Back to Japan

Missy Parkin will compete in the DHC International Championships this week in Fukuoka, Japan at Hakata Star Lanes. The event is part of the World Bowling Tour, in which Missy plans to bowl several of the events this year.

Check out how Missy is doing in the event all week. Click here!

Missy Makes History at the 2012 USBC Masters

Missy Parkin made history last week, when she finished tied for 9th place at the 2012 USBC Masters tournament bowled at Sunset Station in Henderson, NV. Missy's finish in the tournament is the highest finish by a woman competitor in the history of the event.

On road to her 9th place finish, Missy qualified 34th during the qualifying and semifinals of the event. The competitors were then placed into a double elimination style bracket with each match consisting of a three-game total pinfall format.

Missy defeated Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong, past PBA Player of the Year Wes Malott and PBA National titlist Jack Jurek in her first three matches.

For complete details of Missy's Masters tournament, Please click here.

Check out Missy's Interview on Above180.com

Check out Missy Parkin's interview with Tim Burg on Above180.com

Click here to listen to the interview.

Missy Comes in 2nd Place in Japan!

After conducting all of the clinics in Malaysia and Japan, I traveled to Fukuoka, Japan, the southern most part of the country, to compete in the DHC Ladies Bowling Organization of Japan Ladies Bowling Tour stop #5 tournament at Hakata Star Lanes from November 17-November 20th. Shannon Pluhowsky, Diandra Asbaty and myself were invited to compete in the tournament. Upon my arrival to Hakata Star Lanes, an 85 lane wood center, spanning three different floors, I had to weigh-in bowling balls and attend a brief meeting. We then had a two-hour break before the official practice session, so I was able to check-in to my hotel, which was only a 10 minute walk from the bowling center.

After practice, I was exhausted from the busy schedule of the weeks prior and just had a quick dinner and went to sleep around 9pm.

The next day, we bowled two 6-game blocks of qualifying and then the field was cut to the top 14 bowlers. The lanes were pretty tough and it was hard to carry. During the first 6 games, I started with my Bank Roll and shot 237, 231, 184, 226, 206 and 227 for +111 and was in 1st place. Then the next 6 games, I used my Bank of 900G and shot 188, 258, 222, 188, 256 and 243 for +266 overall. Shannon bowled amazing that block and pulled ahead of me, so I was in 2nd place.

The next day, we bowled 14 games of round robin matchplay with 30 bonus points awarded to the winner and 15 points awarded for a tie. I struggled a bit that day during the afternoon block, as the lanes were very tight. My matchplay record was 8-5-1 and I shot games of 258, 206, 231, 171, 216, 221, 219, 171, 192, 234, 232, 194, 225 and 249. I was in 2nd place, 300 pins behind Shannon in 1st place and only 70 pins ahead of Yuka Tsuchiya in 3rd place. The field was then cut to the top 10 bowlers. It was a big bummer because Diandra finished 11th and was alternate by 27 pins.

The next day, we bowled 10 more games of round robin matchplay and the field was then cut to the top 6 bowlers for the TV finals. I started the day on fire, winning my first 8 matches. At that point, I had even caught up to Shannon and was only behind 1st place by 1 pin. But then I lost my next two matches and was 2nd seed for the TV show. So my matchplay record was 8-2 for the day and I shot games of 206, 234, 210, 224, 216, 252, 235, 213, 171 and 194.

DHC, the main sponsor, had girls come in to do our hair and makeup for the TV show. They put my hair in a cool braid and curled it and just touched up my makeup.

During the TV show, I bowled Yuka Tsuchiya my first match. She had just shot 275 the match before. In the 7th frame, I was 2 pins ahead of her and then I left a pocket 4-9 in the 8th frame and missed it. She doubled in the 8th and 9th frame, but then left a pocket 4-5 in the 10th frame and missed it. I had struck in the 9th frame and needed to throw the first strike in the 10th frame and get good count to advance to the championship match. I was up on my bad lane and threw the ball really well and struck. I advanced, shooting 204-201.

The championship match, I faced Shannon Pluhowsky. We both struggled that game and it came down to the 9th and 10th frames. I left a 10 pin in the 9th frame, which meant Shannon could go up and strike out to lock me out and win. She threw a strike in the 9th frame and a strike on the first ball in the 10th frame, but then left a 7 pin and spared. That meant I had to go up, again on my bad lane, and throw the first two strikes to win. I made a great shot and left the fast 8 (4,7 spare) to loose. I was pretty bummed. I bowled really well all day and that’s all you can do. So next time!

The LBO threw a party for us after the TV show and it was fun to hang out with all of the girls. The next day I spent sightseeing around Fukuoka. I went to Shofukuji Temple and saw Japan’s second largest Buddha. I then went to Kawabata market and picked up a few souvenirs. Then I headed to Ohori Park to see the beautiful scenery and check out the old castle ruins of Fukuoka Castle. Finally, I headed to the Fukuoka Yahoo! Dome, home of the Softbank Hawks baseball team and also stopped in Hard Rock Café Fukuoka before heading back to my hotel to pack and go to sleep.

I had an amazing trip overseas and am very fortunate every day that I get the opportunity to travel, coach and bowl for a living…Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!! Til next time….

900 Global Clinics in Japan

After our 900 Global clinics in Malaysia, Dave Smart and I traveled to Japan to conduct more clinics. We arrived into Tokyo in the morning and had the entire day free. Since we couldn’t check into our hotel until 2pm, Dave and I decided to go sightseeing around Tokyo.

Our first stop was Harajuku, a place I’ve always wanted to visit but had yet to see. My main desire to see this area of Tokyo came from the Gwen Stefani song “Harajuku Girls,” and how she talks about this fashionable area of Japan. It was everything I thought it would be – all boutique stores with the latest fashion and girls dressed up so cute and all decked out! I REALLY loved one of the stores! They had the cutest winter coats (not that I really need that living in California), but they were pink, with bows and frillies. I didn’t buy one because they were quite expensive - $300, but looking back on it now, I wish I had!

Our next stop was Akihabara, the electronic city. This is where I bought my camera last year. I was looking for a case for my kindle, but kindles aren’t popular yet in Japan so I was out of luck. From there, we visited Zojoji Temple and saw the Tokyo Tower, which looks like a white and red Eiffel tower. Then we headed back to our hotel to check in and rest. We had shabu shabu for dinner. I LOVE shabu shabu! You cook all of your meat and vegetables in boiling hot water. It’s really yummy! That night we went to Roppongi and found the Hard Rock Café, as I like to collect their t-shirts.

The next day, we drove 2 hours northwest to Takasaka in the Gunma prefecture of Japan. We went to Parklane Takasaki for a clinic, seminar, demo and pro-am event. Dave and I had a group clinic full of 25 women, which was fun! The pro-am event was a hit and I bowled very well in the 3 games.

The next day, I got to take my first bullet train ride on the Shinkansen. The bullet train ride was an hour-and-a-half to Nagoya station and then a 45 minute car ride to Tomei Bowl. We conducted a group seminar and clinic and later that night had a demo and pro-am event. This bowling center was a newly remodeled 48-lane center with a huge pro shop. Check out the picture above with the pro-am sign that was hanging in the pro shop. Also during the pro-am, I met the youngest 900 Global staffer – Ren Sameshima. He is 12 years old, has three 300 games to his credit and throws the ball absolutely amazing. Check out the video below.

The next day, we got to go sightseeing a little in the morning as we visited Nagoya Castle, which was originally built in 1610. It was absolutely gorgeous! Most of the castle was unfortunately destroyed during the air raids of WWII, but they rebuilt the castle in 1959. Much of the castle was a museum, but one floor was dedicated to showing how the inside of the castle may have appeared. Surrounding the castle was a moat and a lake. The moat was shrubbery and there were deer down in parts of it.

After sightseeing, we went on another bullet train to Odowara station, a one-hour ride and then drove an hour to Atsugi Tsumada Bowl, a 24-lane wood center in Kanagawa prefecture. We had a one-on-one clinic and then a pro-am event that night. Just before the pro-am event, I warmed up on the lanes using the new Bank of 900 G (international ball). I struck on my first shot and kept striking. The bowlers started counting my strikes and I threw 12 strikes in a row, alternating lanes! Everyone was really excited!

Early the next morning, we flew to Fukuoka, where I was dropped off at Hakata Star Lanes for my tournament.

I loved helping with the 900 Global clinics! I think we really helped a lot of people improve their games and understand some critical fundamentals of bowling.

Clinics in Malaysia

Over the last few weeks, I have been traveling overseas in Asia. During the first part of my trip, I flew to Malaysia to conduct clinics, seminars and pro-am events with Dave Smart and Robert Smith on behalf of 900 Global.

On the day of our arrival, I was able to meet up with my old roommate Shalin Zulkifli and have dinner with her and her husband. I also got to meet her cute little baby girl Aleya, who is 4 months old. It was so nice to be able to meet up with her and catch up, since it had been nearly 2 years since we had seen each other.

The next day we had our first event, which took place at Tropicana Golf and Country Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This bowling center was part of an exclusive membership club and had a 12-lane wood center inside the complex. We had around 50 people attend the classroom seminar and on-lane clinic. Later, we had a 2-game pro-am event and then had an additional game where I bowled against the highest female player and Robert bowled against the highest male player. Everyone seemed to have a great time!

The next day, we traveled 4 hours East by car from Kuala Lumpur to the city of Kuantan, Malaysia, where we conducted another classroom seminar, on-lane clinic and pro-am event at Premium Lanes Kuantan. We had about 25-30 people attend and everyone seemed to be really appreciative. We had a very nice dinner at a seafood restaurant and then went back for the pro-am. Robert and I didn’t get any practice shots and they wanted us to bowl for score right away without warm-up. So that was different, but then everyone waited for us to throw out the first ball. It wasn’t too pretty to start, as the lanes were really dry too. Robert and I both shot about 160 something that first game, but then it got better after that. I shot 210 and then 258.

The next day, the bowling center managers took all of us to sightsee around Kuantan, prior to our flight to Penang. On the way to our destination, we saw a big alpha male monkey walking around on the side of the road. That was pretty cool! Then we drove to Teluk Cempedak Beach. There was a trail along the gorgeous beach that would take you to a secluded little cove and on the way back from the cove, right by the trail, we saw about 10 little monkeys playing in the trees and also saw an endangered black squirrel up in the trees as well. That made my day!

After our sightseeing and a yummy lunch, complete with watermelon juice – my favorite! - we then took a small propeller plane for our one-hour flight to Penang island, Malaysia.

The following day, we had another seminar, clinic and pro-am event at Premium Lanes Penang. The attendance was a big majority of youth bowlers who were also a part of the Penang state team. We saw a lot of talented boys and girls and that’s always a pleasure to see! Robert and I also did a few individual lessons, prior to our formal clinic/seminar. I had a lot of fun in Penang and met a lot of really great up-and-coming bowlers!

The following day, we attended a youth tournament and gave out all of the prizes to the boys and girls. Then we headed back to Kuala Lumpur, a 5-hour trip by car. Dave and I flew out that night to Tokyo and Robert stayed the night and then flew back to Hong Kong, where he is currently working.

We had a lot of fun in Malaysia and the weather was nice too - Mid-upper 80's but about 90% humidity. :)