A bit of an advertisement here: The 11th annual Gathering (of Internet Bowlers) is scheduled for July 26 through July 28 at Creekside Lanes in Winston Salem, North Carolina. It started as a gathering of bowlers from Ballreviews dot com, but has since expanded to include Bowlingchat dot net, BowlingBoards dot com, BowlingBallExchange dot com, and other sites that identify themselves as bowling focused. The Gathering was started by the efforts of our of the dearly departed and sorely missed alumni of BallReviews - ThongPrincess. She was a dynamo who scheduled part of her vacation time to fly from California to Winston to participate in the yearly festivities and mayhem, and for those who remember Colleen - she was one of the main instigators of mayhem. On Saturday, we have a sport condition sweeper tournament which started out as the 'Bragging Rights' Tournament, but two years ago was renamed the "ThongPrincess Memorial Bragging Rights Tournament", which I suppose could be tweaked to a better acronym, but I imagine having it sound vaguely like a Bronx cheer would make her guffaw mightily.
It's always great fun, and we have a core group of people who, like Colleen, plan their vacations around the event - and caravans/carpooling have been options in the past for those who are more than a couple of states away. Even spouses who don't bowl look forward to the events, because there's always mischief and the opportunity to socialize, and activities away from the bowling alley.
Personally, with the economy being what it is, and prices for gas, food, hotels being what they are, money's tight and that's understandable. But for those who can make it, it's going to be a blast again. I'm hosting the Friday dinner/cookout at my house, and Geoff is holding the beer tasting/poker tournament on Sat evening. Plus all games are at the league rate, which is far less than open bowling.
The Gathering takes place at Creekside Lanes, with Ron Clifton as our host. I can speak from experience that the staff and facilities there are second to none. It's an extremely bowler friendly venue, and Ron is an excellent coach. Usually for those who stay around on Sunday, he gives everyone who is interested (and isn't sagging to the ground tired) lessons - which by itself is worth the trip to Winston.
As I've said on my posts in the various forums: We may not all be great bowlers, but we are all great people who love to bowl and have a good time. So come one - come all. You'll be glad you did.
Full disclosure:
Creekside Lanes
1450 Trademart Blvd, Winston-Salem, NC
(336) 771-9800 · bowlcreekside.com
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