Saint Vincent College Bowling has scheduled a plastic ball tournament July 12 at Lincoln Lanes in Latrobe.

The tournament is open to anyone.

The format will feature individual competitors, and each will bowl four games in the qualifying rounds. The lowest score will be dropped, so everyone will have a three-game total.

After qualifying, the top 16 bowlers will advance to a single-elimination playoff to declare the champion.

If a youth bowler earns prize money, it will go directly into his or her US Bowling Congress SMART account. SMART manages bowling scholarship funds and provides USBC youth members a resource for inquiries about bowling scholarships.

Plastic bowling balls normally are used only to shoot corner spares because they don’t hook. The challenge comes from how accurate a bowler can be, and scores tend to be lower than a regular tournament, said Jeff Zidek, coach of the bowling teams at Saint Vincent.

Zidek said he and other tournament organizers are working closely with Lincoln Lanes to have the necessary covid-19 measures in place to have a safe environment for all participants.

Those measures include determining how many entries will be accepted, and Zidek said he’s encouraged by interest shown on the event’s Facebook page.

Zidek plans to run a similar event in the winter.

Cost per bowler is $40. For more information on the tournament, which benefits the Bearcats men’s bowling program, email jz915@yahoo.com.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)