News

ANDOVER, MA, September 1, 2010 – Dexter Bowling, the leading manufacturer of bowling footwear in the world, announced that it will co-sponsor Bowling’s U.S. Women’s Open next summer together in partnership with Ebonite International.

Each year this prestigious event, produced by the BPAA, is open to all female youth and adult bowlers in the United States and their international counterparts. The event, which will be televised live on ESPN on June 30^th from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, is expected to draw one of the largest viewing audiences in women’s bowling history. “The BPAA and Ebonite have created an exciting, world-class event at a world-class facility,” said Bud Clapsaddle, V.P. of Dexter Bowling. “We are excited to present our premier product line alongside the finest female bowlers in the world.”

This new partnership comes at a perfect time, as lack of industry sponsorship had previously threatened the future of the Women’s Open – until Ebonite and Dexter stepped in.

“We are proud to have Dexter aligned with the 2011 Bowling’s U.S. Women’s Open and all marketing associated with this new, revitalized event,” said Steve Johnson, executive director of the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America. “As a true category leader, Dexter recognizes the surging popularity of bowling among women and the significant value behind the national and grassroots promotion plans.”

A long-time proponent of women’s bowling, Dexter awards scholarships to five female high-school students each year as part of the co-ed Dexter/USBC All-American Team Awards and is the professional sponsor of world-class female bowling champion, Shannon O’Keefe.

Andover MA: Dexter Shoe Company announced today that their longstanding licensing relationship with the Brunswick Corporation will terminate at the end of this year. Dexter has been the licensee for the Brunswick bowling shoe brand for the past 14 years.

“We have enjoyed our partnership with Brunswick over these many years, and we wish them well going forward,” said Dexter Shoe Company Vice President Bud Clapsaddle. “This will allow us to narrow our focus and concentrate our efforts on further strengthening the Dexter brand and our relationships with our many valued customers.”

Dexter will continue to support the Brunswick brand throughout the remainder of this 2010/11 season by offering world class product and exemplary customer service to those who have supported us throughout the years.

Friday marked the end of an eventful week for nearly 2,000 youth bowlers across the country, culminating in the USBC Junior Gold Banquet in Indianapolis. At the end of the evening, over $150,000 in scholarships were awarded, 12 bowlers were selected to represent their country in international competition as members of Junior Team USA, and awards were presented to the 10 members of the 2009-2010 Dexter/USBC All-American Team.

Following the five-day, 1,600-contestant competition at the United States Bowling Congress Junior Gold Tournament, Brittni Hamilton of Webster, NY and Marshall Kent of Yakima, Washington took top honors. Both of them win a spot on Junior Team USA along with second to fourth place finishers, Matthew Gasn of Laurel, Maryland, Addileen Pointer of Highland, Michigan, Chris Via of Springfield, Ohio, Jacob Kent of Newark, NY, Kristie Petravich of West Palm Beach, Florida, and Kaitlin Quinn of Livonia, NY. In addition, Andrew Koff of Miami, Florida, Kyle King of Glendale, Arizona, Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, NY, and Liz Seibel of Hellertown, Pennsylvania were also named to the team by the National Selection Committee. Andrew Koff, who finished fifth in the boy’s Junior Gold competition, was also on Junior Team USA in 2009, and is a three-time member of the Dexter/USBC All-American Team.

Dexter Bowling Vice President Bud Clapsaddle presented Morgan Brown, Megan Buja, Kevin Donovan, Rivers Jones, Ana Koff, Andrew Koff, Nicole Parkhurst, William Paul, Rachel Sather, and Christian Weber with $1,000 scholarships and a special Dexter/USBC All-American Team Award at Friday’s festivities, in recognition of their stellar performance on the lanes, in the classroom and in the community.

Congratulations to all of these accomplished young bowlers!
Once we receive pictures from the event, we will post them on the Dexter Bowling website and facebook page.

Bowling fans and roller coaster enthusiasts alike were in for a special treat when grounds at Six Flags Great Adventure were transformed into a two-lane bowling alley for an all-star competition on June 11 and 12.

Six Team Dexter stars: Chris Barnes, Jason Belmonte, Jason Couch, Tommy Jones, Wes Malott and player of the year Walter Ray Williams, Jr. were among the PBA bowlers who competed in the GEICO PBA Team Shootout event at the Jackson, New Jersey theme park.

For the cost of park admission, guests of the park got an up-close look at the open-air competition, which was held in the Baker team format and designed especially for TV.

The event will be televised as a 15-segment series. Watch for it on ESPN on June 27 and July 3, 4, and 11.

Even pros need to warm up – Chris Barnes, Jason Belmonte, and Walter Ray Williams, Jr. (top to bottom) take some shots at the pre-event practice day on June 10. Photos courtesy of PBA.

Tedy Bruschi Bowls 300;

Patriots Rally for Charity at 1st Annual Mayo Bowl

On the morning of June 2, all the major sports networks were buzzing with the news that ESPN sports analyst and former NFL linebacker Tedy Bruschi did the next-to-impossible, bowling an incredible 300 game.

The former New England Patriots three-time Super Bowl champ and best-selling author was wearing the Dexter SST Entry when he bowled a perfect game at the North Bowl, his local bowling alley in North Attleboro, Massachusetts the night before.

Bruschi received the shoes from Dexter, who co-sponsored the 1^st Annual Mayo Bowl in March at Kings, a bowling center in the Boston suburb of Dedham. The celebrity bowling tournament, hosted by Patriots linebacker and defensive captain, Jerod Mayo, was held to benefit Pitching in for Kids, a non-profit organization that raises funds through sports-related activities.  All of the athletes, including Mayo’s Patriots teammates Eric Alexander, Tully Banta-Cain, Leigh Bodden, Darius Butler, Pat Chung, Gary Guyton, Matt Light, Brandon McGowan, Tyrone McKenzie, Brandon Meriweather, Randy Moss, Isaiah Stanback, Pierre Woods and Mike Wright, bowled in shoes donated by Dexter for the event.

To see video of Tedy’s perfect game on June 2, see the story on ESPN.com. For more information about Pitching in for Kids, go to www.pitchinginforkids.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Ten Students Named to the 2009-2010 Dexter/USBC High School All-American Team

Dexter Bowling, the world’s best-selling bowling shoe, and the United States Bowling Congress, the national governing body of the sport, proudly announce their selections to the 2009-2010 Dexter/USBC High School All-American Team.

Each year, 10 students throughout the country are selected to the team based on their bowling accomplishments, academic achievement, activities and community involvement, and essays as well as letters of recommendation from coaches, teachers, and other mentors.

The five male and five female students selected for this year’s team are:

Morgan Brown – As a junior at East Brunswick High School in East Brunswick, N.J., Brown was selected first team all-state by the Star-Ledger and was the top qualifier at the NJSIAA state tournament and placed second in the individual championship.

Megan Buja - A graduating senior at Jefferson High School of Rockford, Ill., Buja bowled the fourth 300 game in IHSA history, and led her team to a runner-up finish at the 2010 Illinois State Championships. One of four young women ever to be named to the All-American team for two consecutive years, she coaches middle school bowlers in her free time.

Kevin Donovan - A graduating senior at Corning-Painted Post West High School in Painted Post, N.Y. Donovan, who helped found his school’s bowling program, led the team to two Southern Tier Athletic Conference titles, and set a single-season conference record for average (227.1).

Rivers Jones  – A graduating senior at the Redemptorist High School in Clinton, La., Jones has the unique distinction of being elected as team captain by his peers for all four years of his high school bowling career.

Ana Koff – As a junior at the Gulliver Prep School in Miami,  Koff was the 2009 Florida state singles champion, and spent this past season bowling with brother and teammate Andrew, with whom she founded the organization Bowl for All.

Andrew Koff – A graduating senior at Miami’s Gulliver Prepatory School, Koff holds the distinct honor of being the only person to be named to the Dexter/USBC All-American Team for three consecutive seasons. This founding member of Bowl for All is a two-time Junior Team USA member and finished eighth in the Florida High School Athletic Association state tournament.

Nicole Parkhurst – A graduating senior from Proctor High School in Utica, N.Y, Parkhurst was the second place finisher at the New York State High School Tournament. She led her team to the Section III team title and also won the singles title. She was a member of the Dexter/USBC All-American Team for two consecutive years.

William Paul – A graduating senior from Wichita High School South in Kansas, Paul performed on his school’s varsity team during all four years of his high school career. He was also the winner of the Kansas Class 6A State Singles.

Rachel Sather – A graduating senior from Cypress Creek High School in Orlando, Fla., Sather captained her school’s team from 2006-2009, most recently leading them to a district title. A USBC Bronze coach, she has volunteered with Special Olympics and Junior Achievement bowling events.

Christian Weber – A graduating senior from Cincinnati, Ohio’s St. Xavier High School, Weber was a four-year starter for the team, leading the team to two state appearances. He was selected bowler of the year by the Cincinnati Enquirer in 2010.

For this honor, each student will receive a $1,000 scholarship and an award which will be presented at the 2010 USBC Junior Gold Championships, to be held in Indianapolis this July, and will be profiled in the 2011-2012 edition of the Dexter Bowling catalog.

“The student-athletes on this year’s Dexter All-American team are not only outstanding bowlers, but they are successful in the classroom and active in their communities,” said Bud Clapsaddle, Dexter Bowling’s Vice President.  “Each has worked diligently to achieve success on and off the lanes and we are proud to recognize their efforts.”

The Dexter/USBC High School All-American Team was established in 2005. For more information, visit the high school bowling section on www.Bowl.com, the official web site of the United States Bowling Congress.

It’s no surprise that the #1 bowling shoe in the world was the top choice of players for the 2009-2010 season of the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour, including PBA Player of the Year Walter Ray Williams, Jr., who bowled to victory in Dexter’s SST 8.

Not only were Williams and fellow Team Dexter bowlers Jason Belmonte (SST 6LE), Chris Barnes (SST 8), Wes Malott (SST 8), Jason Couch (SST 5LX), Mika Koivuniemi  (SST 8),  and Tommy Jones (SST 8) making headlines throughout the season, but Dexter bowling shoes dominated in tournament appearances across the board. In fact, throughout the course of the season, Dexter’s shoes were seen on more players than any other shoe – over  3 times more than all other brands combined.

Not that he needed the luck, but the seventh time was
definitely the charm for Walter Ray, who holds the
new record for most Player of the Year titles.
Photo Courtesy of the PBA.

Veteran Team Dexter bowler Walter Ray Williams, Jr. was named the 2009-10 PBA Chris Schenkel Player of the Year at the close of the Lumber Liquidators Marathon Open in Baltimore on Sunday.  This is the seventh time he has won the honor in his 27 year full-time career with the PBA.

Williams was named Player of the Year in 1986, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998, and most recently in 2002-2003, at which point he was tied with the late Earl Anthony for six career titles, the most in PBA history. This newest title marks two new records for Williams – the PBA bowler with the  most Player of the Year titles, and the oldest player to win Player of the Year honors.

The end of the PBA season doesn’t indicate a slowdown for Williams, 50, who will be bowling at the Japan Cup beginning the 22^nd of this month, and is also slated for the Senior Tour.

The entire Dexter Bowling staff extends their warmest congratulations to Walter Ray for another incredible season!

It was back to basics for five days in late March at the AMF Babylon Lanes in West Babylon, NY, as 64 bowlers put away their high-performance resin balls in favor of identical, standard issue 70s-era polyester plastic balls at the PBA GEICO Mark Roth Plastic Ball Tournament.

Named for Hall of Famer and 34-time PBA champion Mark Roth, who won much of his glory in the 1970s using polyester plastic balls, this competition is a unique format that levels the playing field, eliminating advanced high-tech custom bowling balls from the equation and allowing players to rely on their innate ability to adjust to conditions.

It’s no surprise to fans that Team Dexter’s two-handed phenomenon Jason Belmonte and current PBA point leader Walter Ray Williams, Jr. proved their natural ability in this retro-style format, placing second and third in the final standings respectively. It was an especially dramatic tournament for Belmonte, who ultimately lost Sunday’s finals in a one-ball sudden death roll-off tie breaker shocker that ended a neck-and-neck 247 match.

Things are heating up on the PBA tournament circuit as the 2009-2010 season comes to a head, with both Williams (#1) and Belmonte (#3) as top contenders, with fellow Dexter teammates Chris Barnes, Wes Malott and Tommy Jones all rounding out the top 10. Next up is the Lumber Liquidators Marathon Open in Baltimore, followed by the Japan Cup, so look for more excitement from Team Dexter ahead.

It was an extremely close finish for Jason Belmonte, who placed 2nd in the tournament. Photo Courtesy of PBA.

Dexter Bowling is proud to continue its support of the brightest young talent in high school bowling – from the multi-talented student athletes on the All-American team, to co-sponsoring the annual Teen Masters tournament. Look for continued updates this spring and summer on the top bowlers that are making headlines throughout the country.

Calling All 2010 All-American Team Nominees!
Every spring, high school bowling coaches from across the country nominate their best and brightest players for a chance to be selected for the Dexter – USBC High School All American team. To be considered for selection, each student athlete nominee must complete the application form they receive from the United States Bowling Congress. This year’s applications must be mailed to the USBC and postmarked by Friday, April 23.

The 2010 All-American Team, which will consist of five female and five male high school bowlers, will be announced this summer at the USBC Junior Gold Championships. Students are appointed to the  team based on their bowling average, GPA, extra curricular and community activities and application essay, all of which are considered equally in the selection process. In addition to receiving a $1,000 college scholarship, this year’s All-American players will be featured in the Dexter Bowling worldwide catalog, and in the team photo posted in the Bowling Hall of Fame.

For more information about nomination criteria, visit http://www.bowl.com/scholarships/

The 2008-2009 All-American Team, from left to right: Greg Pizl II, Brian Small, Jr., Amanda Cortese, Natalie Cortese, Brittni Hamilton, Christopher Lane, Andrew Koff, Matt Krueger, Nicole Oehler, Samantha Santoro. The 2009-2010 team will be announced this July.

Teen Masters Championships On YouTube

2009 Teen Masters Girls Champion, Danielle McEwan. Photo Courtesy of TeenMastersBowling.com

Dexter Bowling is honored to be a proud partner of the Teen Masters, a championship high school bowling event which brings the top bowlers from all 50 states together each year. Now in its 14^th year, the Teen Masters is known as the premier event in high school bowling.  Highlights of the 2009 event, filmed inside The Fashion Mall in Las Vegas are being aired on the Versus network and are now available on YouTube. Visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke1Ud6-sjog to watch video of some of the country’s most promising young bowlers in action at the 2009 competition!

The 2010 Teen Masters will be held at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno on July 19-29.

For more information, visit http://www.teenmastersbowling.com, and stay tuned for 2010 Teen Masters news from Dexter!