6
- JULY 2015
SERVING THE BOWLING INDUSTRY SINCE 1967
USBC Partners With Habit For
Humanity - El Paso
By Matt Cannizzaro
EL PASO, Texas -
As the 2015 United States Bowling Congress Open
Championships winds down at the El Paso Convention Center, Habitat for
Humanity - El Paso already has plans for how it will be able to use some of
the materials from the venue after the tournament ends.
The construction of the one-of-a-kind 62-lane bowling arena took 64 days,
and the facility was put together with thoughts on maximizing salvageable
materials at the end of the event. It will take about 10 days and help from
dozens of local volunteers for the two organizations to tear down the
venue, which has enough lumber and materials to construct approximately
four three-bedroom homes.
Habitat for Humanity - El Paso estimates it will be able to build six resi-
dences locally on a parcel of land designated as The Pope Francis Village.
"We received an anonymous donation requesting that we build a home in
honor of Pope Francis. The Catholic Diocese of El Paso has endorsed the
project, and we presently are working with the city to acquire the land,
hopefully large enough to build three duplexes," said Habitat for Humanity -
El Paso Development Manager Patsy Terrazas-Hermosillo. "Some of the
materials will go to a local VFW post that needs to do some remodeling to
its hall, and they've agreed to help with the deconstruction in return for the
materials."
HFHEP will provide buckets of necessary tools to help the process, in-
cluding hammers, drills and extension cords.
"It means a lot to us to know that some of our materials will benefit the
local community, and the legacy of the tournament will live on long after we
are gone," said Greg Moore, USBC Senior Director of Tournament Pro-
gramming. "El Paso has been a gracious host to our event, staff and bowl-
ers, and we are very grateful for more than seven months of hospitality.
This is a great way to end the tournament."
Along with providing much-needed materials for local projects, the part-
nership also will serve as a way to bring the El Paso community together.
"In honoring the Pope, we are hoping to bring people of all religions and
cultures together to partake in this very heart-warming project," Terrazas-
Hermosillo said. "Any materials not used will be sold at our monthly ware-
house sale to raise funds to open our ReStore in the near future."
The Open Championships will conclude on July 11 after 127 consecutive
days of competition. During that time, nearly 40,000 bowlers, plus their
families, friends and guests will have made their way to The Sun City.
The 2015 tournament was the 112th edition of the world's largest annual
participatory sporting event but marked its first visit to El Paso. In 2010, El
Paso played host to the USBC Women's Championships, which attracted
more than 5,800 five-player teams to the first convention-center build in
Women's Championships history.
"We, at Habitat for Humanity, want to sincerely thank Greg Moore and all
the USBC staff for their consideration, time and support in making us a
partner in the conclusion and deconstruction of the 2015 USBC Open
Championship venue," Terrazas-Hermosillo said. "The championship was
extremely beneficial to the city of El Paso, and now the entire community
stands to benefit from their continued support of Habitat for Humanity. We
will be sure to share with the residents that will benefit from the construc-
tion of The Pope Francis Village that their home was partially constructed
from the material given from the thoughtful and caring people of USBC."
Starting at the 2002 USBC Open Championships in Billings, Montana,
USBC and the local Habitat for Humanity chapters have worked together
whenever possible to ensure that the community benefits from the materi-
als.
by
Two-time defending PBA Player of the Year
Jason Belmonte won the Best Bowler ESPY
Award for the second time Wednesday eve-
ning during the 2015 ESPY Awards cere-
mony at the Microsoft Theater in Los Ange-
les.
Belmonte, who won his first ESPY Award in
2011, was among winners in a variety of
sports and special moment categories that
were determined by fan voting on espn.com
with the winners announced during the ESPY
Awards ceremony telecast on ABC.
In 2015, Belmonte won the United States
Bowling Congress Masters for an unprece-
dented third consecutive year and success-
fully defended his Barbasol PBA Tournament
of Champions title for his fifth career major
and boosting his career win total to 12.
He also has five other top-five finishes this
year including runner up finishes in the Okla-
homa Open and Maine Xtra Frame Shootout.
Also nominated for the ESPY were PBA Hall
of Famer Parker Bohn III and Mike Fagan.
Bohn won the PBA Players Championship for
his 34th career PBA Tour title. He had two
other top-10 finishes including an eighth-
place finish in the Barbasol Tournament of
Champions and 10th in the Mark Roth/
Marshall Holman Doubles Championship with
partner Ryan Ciminelli.
Fagan won the PBA World Championship
for his fifth career title and second major. He
also had three other top-10 finishes including
second in the Japan Invitational and sixth in
the Bahrain International and Badger Opens.
"I'm absolutely delighted to have won my
second ESPY,” said Belmonte. “The ESPY is
all up to the fans. I am so thankful to all my
fans who voted for me. I truly believe I have
such an amazing fan base and they make
what I do so much more fun.
“Congratulations to Mike and Parker on their
nominations and thank you to the PBA for
giving us a stage which we love to perform
on. Once again, I have to thank all the fans
for voting me this year‟s „Best Bowler‟."
HISTORY OF BEST BOWLER ESPY
AWARD WINNERS
2015 – Jason Belmonte
2014 – Pete Weber
2013 – Pete Weber
2012 – Sean Rash
2011 – Jason Belmonte
2010 – Walter Ray Williams Jr.
2009 – Norm Duke
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