UBA Classic - Report
{ 12-08-02 }

Satellite Beach Lanes, Satellite Beach, FL.

Today I bowled in the UBA Classic, at Billy Williams' Satellite Beach Lanes, in Satellite Beach, FL. I had an interesting day to say the least.

The UBA Tournament is not bowled under normal "house" conditions, and are in fact very tough. Usually scores just above even (about 610 or 620) are good enough to make the cut and make money. And throwing a good shot doesn't guarantee a strike as the carry isn't the best in the world, either.

From Boca Raton, FL, it takes approximately 2 1/2 hours to get to Satellite Beach, FL. So, I left Boca Raton at about 7 AM to bowl in the 9:30 squad. I got there at around 9 AM, as there was almost no traffic on the road at that time. Lucky me.

On the 9:30 squad, I started out using my AMF nighthawk, playing around 11 or 12 at the arrows, standing on 23 and 24. I shot a 159 game, as I missed a few easy spares. The second game I moved a bit more inside using the same ball, and bowled a little bit better, bowling 179. The third game, I began to lose reaction, and opened the first four frames. Knowing that I was planning on bowling the squad after this one, just in case, I brought out my Rebel ECX, and began "fishing" for a decent look in the third game. I probably shot a 150 or something that game.

So, as I didn't make the cut at 9:30, I decided to bowl at 11 AM as well. For this squad, I started to use my Rebel ECX, playing at 10 at the arrows, standing on 22. I started out with a 167 game. The second game I moved a bit more inside, and missed some more easy spares for another disappointing 160-something game. In the third game, I went strike, spare, five-bagger, and then opened, but managed to stay clean, and added in another strike at the end for a very nice 233 game. Too bad this score did not win any money, or help me make the cut. I was ready to go home, but forgot about the fact that if you bowl in 2 squads, you get to bowl the 3rd time for free. So I decided to use my free squad entry right there and then for the 1 PM squad.

At 1PM, I was, with the same ball, standing on 28, and playing a touch inside of the 3rd arrow. I bowled another 2 sub-par games, after starting out great in the first game. The third game started out pretty bad with a few quick splits, and a nasty 5-count after tugging the ball. So after this I just decided to pick up my spare ball and throw that straight just to finish out the game.

Overall, I did not bowl anywhere near expectations, except for the 6th game of the day where I shot 233. I really wish I could bowl again, as I missed countless easy spares throughout the entire day. It's quite frustrating to practice and work on your game as much as I do, and not seeing results in tournament competition. I guess I have to keep plugging away, eventually I'll win one sometime.

On a side note, Satellite Beach Lanes is the only place I know in the state of Florida that still has a Street Fighter 2 - Turbo Video Arcade machine. The SF2 video-game series is my all-time favorite video game, and I make it a point to play it every time I find it at an arcade or bowling alley. And it's good to see that I can go to the arcade and beat the game with just 1 quarter on the very first attempt, playing from the second-player side, no less. After bowling the way I did, I needed to find some sort of positive within this trip.

The Next UBA tournament is scheduled for the first week of February.

- Joe Tex

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