FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bill Vint | PBA Media Relations

Professional Bowlers Association | 55 E. Jackson Blvd., Suite 401 | Chicago, IL 60604

bill.vint@pba.com | cell: 414.339.0404

Regionals, Xtra Frame events, USBC Masters will continue to be open to non-PBA members

CHICAGO (Aug. 28, 2018) – The Professional Bowlers Association has announced its 2019 schedule of Go Bowling! PBA Tour events airing on FOX Sports will be open exclusively to PBA members.

The exception to the policy will be the United States Bowling Congress Masters, an event that traditionally has included USBC members who may or may not be PBA members.

Tournaments included in the members only policy include: the PBA Hall of Fame Classic in Arlington, Texas; Oklahoma Open and Mark Roth-Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship in Shawnee, Okla.; Lubbock Sports Open in Lubbock, Texas; PBA Tournament of Champions in Fairlawn, Ohio; PBA Players Championship in Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis Open in Indianapolis; Jonesboro Open in Jonesboro, Ark.; PBA World Series of Bowling X in Allen Park, Mich., the PBA League in Portland, Maine, and any Pre-Tournament Qualifier (PTQ) held in conjunction with these events.

The PBA will continue to welcome non-members in its Regional Tour, PBA Xtra Frame Tour on FloBowling and PBA50 Tour events. Non-members are allowed to bowl in these events until they cash twice in any given year, at which time they are required to join in order to continue participation in PBA events.

“The return to members-only status for PBA Tour competition is a return to the rules that applied to PBA competition for most of the organization’s 60-year history,” said PBA Deputy Commissioner Kirk von Krueger in announcing the policy. “It’s a privilege to be able to compete with and against the best bowlers in the world, not a right. Restoring the original policy is simply a matter of restoring one of the building blocks of the PBA.”

PBA membership includes a variety of benefits including reduced tournament entry fees, discounts on equipment from PBA Product Registered companies, reduced or no-cost lineage fees to practice at participating bowling centers, and other perks.

To join the PBA, visit pba.com and click on the “join” link (https://www.pba.com/join). Competitive membership in the PBA is open to any bowler who has maintained a 200 or higher average for a minimum of 36 games in any USBC-certified league or tournament club within the previous (190 for Sport leagues) 12 months, or who has cashed in PBA tournament of any kind within the last two years.

About PBA

Now in its 60th year, the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is an organization of more than 3,000 of the best bowlers from 27 countries who compete in Go Bowling! PBA Tour, PBA International Tour, PBA50 Tour, and PBA, PBA50 and PBA-PWBA Women’s Regional events. In 2018, the PBA celebrated its 59th consecutive year of nationally-televised competition, reaching bowling fans around the world who follow PBA activities through the PBA Network which includes Xtra Frame on FloBowling, the PBA’s exclusive online bowling channel, FOX Sports, FS1 and CBS Sports Network, and the PBA on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. PBA sponsors include Barbasol, Brunswick, Ebonite International, FloBowling.com, GoBowling.com, MOTIV, 900 Global, PBA Bowling Challenge Mobile Game, Storm Products and the United States Bowling Congress, among others. Learn more at www.pba.com.

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