The DHC Girls Championship in Tokyo, Japan came and went too fast. Once Friday hit, it was a whirlwind of bowling until I left Monday morning.
Friday, we had a bowlers'/manager's meeting and press conference. Then immediately following we had the official practice session, where several media photographers and video crew were also on hand. Official practice was a little different than what we are used to in the U.S.A We had an assigned group of 6 lanes we could bowl on and then we moved 6 lanes every 20 minutes for a 2-hour long practice session.
After practice, we had a welcome reception where all of the competitors were announced and speeches were made by Japanese dignitaries. Then we had a really good buffet style dinner with traditional Japanese food and Western food.
Saturday was all day bowling day! We had 5 on a pair, and we weren't allowed to move to our next pair and begin the next game until everyone was finished with the previous game. So another words, it made for a REALLY long day. We bowled 6 games in the morning, and I shot +134 and was in 21st. Scores were high and the lanes were pretty easy.
However, the next 6 game block proved to be tougher as they did not re-oil the lanes. The lanes became really wet/dry and over-walled, meaning the dry outside part of the lane was too dry and the oily inside part of the lane was really wet. I bowled really well on the shot and ended the day at +297 overall and in 7th place.
After Saturday's 12 games, the field of 90 bowlers was cut to the top 32. Then we bowled 6 more games of semis to determine the top 8 for the TV show. I bowled just o.k. during the first three games and had moved down to 10th place. Then I started throwing the ball better and carried more and shot 216 and 238 and had moved up to 8th place going into the final game. Scores were extremely close and a lot of people still had a shot at the TV show. Being in 8th position, I knew I needed a big game and came threw striking out in the 10th frame for a 245, moving me into 5th place and on the TV show.
The TV finals 1st match featured 5th-8th bowling a 1-game shootout match with the highest score advancing to the top 5 stepladder finals. In the shootout match, I bowled against Sharon Koh from Malaysia, Mayumi Yoshida from JPBA and Jeon Eun-Hee from Korea. I bowled really well the entire game, but a stubborn 7 pin in the 9th frame ended up costing me the win. I lost to Jeon Eun-Hee of Korea 232-237 and ended up in 6th place. Jeon Eun-Hee ended up climbing the ladder to capture the championship.
For the full story, see link below.
2 comments:
Nice bowling, Missy. I enjoy the recaps and your travel stories. I was hoping that Boeing would have sent me to Japan on business by now, but it may be a while now given the current budget climate that seems to exist everywhere.
Good luck at the next tournament!
Joe
Thank you!!! =)
I loved Japan and hope to go back again next year!
Post a Comment