That's a Strike: Bowling tournament brings action, laughs and memories
Tue. February 21, 2017 8:15 AM by Ross Forman
scotch, 2016
photo credit // jason kallen
Chicago, IL -
The 4th annual SCOTCH Bowling Tournament, representing the 29th annual International Gay Bowling Organization (IGBO) tournament in Chicago, is set for March 4-5 at Waveland Bowl (3700 N. Western Ave.).
About 140 bowlers are expected, including about 100 from the Chicago area. Other participants travel here from around the Midwest and across the U.S., as last year's event drew bowlers from 17 different States.
"Each year we have been expanding the tournament participant footprint to more States," said Jason Kallen, 45, who lives in Oak Park and is the event's co-director. He also has been bowling in Chicago's gay leagues for 15 years and has a 300-game on his resume.
"We've gotten very positive feedback on the past couple (of) tournaments, so we believe we have a successful formula. We are not planning on any major differences from last year's tournament."
In addition to bowling, the tournament features a Saturday night host bar party at Crew Bar + Grill (4804 N. Broadway) from 5-8 p.m.
Some of the top bowlers in last year's tournament were Randy Bosak, Nenad Markovich, Robert Van Houghton Jr., and Colleen Cervencik. Some of the best bowlers from Chicago include Bill Brown, Michael Thiry, Robert Raymond, Jim Fritz, Michael Cunningham, Ryan Hinman, and Dao Khemthongsengsay, to name a few.
"The tournament consists of three separate events: Singles, Doubles, and Team (4 bowlers)," said Kallen, who is the president and founder of Latitude 42 Media. "Players can cash in these individual events, and/or across all three events. There are also separate prizes for individual achievements, (such as) high game and high series."
Kallen added, "We offer eight different side-pots, from Brackets to Best 3 of 6, to Best Scratch Score. For some of them, like Mystery Pot, you don't even need to bowl well; you just need to be lucky. Darkhorse Doubles is a particularly popular side-pot, where entrants are randomly matched with one another to create a doubles pairing, and the top combined scores win money."
The tournament also features an awards banquet, which is held at the Center on Halsted (3656 N. Halsted), starting at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 5. "Not only do we hand out all the winnings and trophies there, but we also raffle off all kinds of prizes and cash too," Kallen said. "It's a great way to wrap up the weekend with good food, drink, and the potential for (every) bowler to walk away with some money/prizes."
About 140 bowlers are expected, including about 100 from the Chicago area. Other participants travel here from around the Midwest and across the U.S., as last year's event drew bowlers from 17 different States.
"Each year we have been expanding the tournament participant footprint to more States," said Jason Kallen, 45, who lives in Oak Park and is the event's co-director. He also has been bowling in Chicago's gay leagues for 15 years and has a 300-game on his resume.
"We've gotten very positive feedback on the past couple (of) tournaments, so we believe we have a successful formula. We are not planning on any major differences from last year's tournament."
In addition to bowling, the tournament features a Saturday night host bar party at Crew Bar + Grill (4804 N. Broadway) from 5-8 p.m.
Some of the top bowlers in last year's tournament were Randy Bosak, Nenad Markovich, Robert Van Houghton Jr., and Colleen Cervencik. Some of the best bowlers from Chicago include Bill Brown, Michael Thiry, Robert Raymond, Jim Fritz, Michael Cunningham, Ryan Hinman, and Dao Khemthongsengsay, to name a few.
"The tournament consists of three separate events: Singles, Doubles, and Team (4 bowlers)," said Kallen, who is the president and founder of Latitude 42 Media. "Players can cash in these individual events, and/or across all three events. There are also separate prizes for individual achievements, (such as) high game and high series."
Kallen added, "We offer eight different side-pots, from Brackets to Best 3 of 6, to Best Scratch Score. For some of them, like Mystery Pot, you don't even need to bowl well; you just need to be lucky. Darkhorse Doubles is a particularly popular side-pot, where entrants are randomly matched with one another to create a doubles pairing, and the top combined scores win money."
The tournament also features an awards banquet, which is held at the Center on Halsted (3656 N. Halsted), starting at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 5. "Not only do we hand out all the winnings and trophies there, but we also raffle off all kinds of prizes and cash too," Kallen said. "It's a great way to wrap up the weekend with good food, drink, and the potential for (every) bowler to walk away with some money/prizes."