Flashback - Bowling tournaments in 2010

(1) 33rd Canon Malaysian International Open - March 2010

This tournament was one of the best and worst experiences I ever had in bowling so far. Here is just a short insight of what happened throughout the tournament. First, I chose to play for the Boys Graded division. After 5mq’s, I got 10th placing in the top 18 chosen with an average of 201 over 6 games and in the finals I managed to get 8th place and got a prize money of RM200.

(Highest game)

(Highest series )

Then I decided to try out for the Men’s graded division. I played a total of 3mq’s and managed to secure 12th placing among the chosen 33 bowlers with an average of 221. It was a real achievement for me as I played may highest 3-game series with a total pinfall of 707 pins which is equivalent to an average of 236. My scores were 215, 279 and 213. Up till now, 279 is my highest score. However, I did not play well in the finals. Overall, this entire tournament has been an enriching experience. All glory to God! =D

(2) Little Champs Invitation Event SIRI2 - August 2010

I started off with a lousy score of 149 and felt very disheartened as the chances were... I could not qualify for the step ladder with such a lousy score. On top of that, it was a 6-game format, meaning I had only 5 games to cover the pin gap. Anyway, I managed to pull my average up to 186. I wasn’t happy with my overall performance as I felt I could have at least a 195 average. Just when I was about to leave the alley, the final results came out and I managed to get into the 7th placing.
It was time for the step ladder tournament. I had to face two other opponents in a 1-game elimination match for the quarter finals. I bowled a score of 258, securing a place in the semi-finals and also a trophy. However, I played a low game of 179 in the semi-finals and ended up with 4th placing. All in all, I was quite happy with the overall result. It was really a blessing for me not only to qualify into the top 8 but also to be able to gain back the confidence I needed as well. Praise God~

34th Malaysian National Bowling Championships

The above tournament was held from 9^th January to 16^th January 2010 at Pyramid Bowl. I qualified into the Boys Graded Masters after my third MQ with an average of 205; landed up in the 7^th place amongst the top 18 bowlers qualified to enter the Boys Graded Master Finals. During the Master Finals, I did not have a good start. Things weren’t looking up till the last three games where I struck 205, 210 and 226. Although the games weren’t as high as I hoped for, it was enough to bring me up all the way to 4^th place. I was kind of disappointed then as the top three winners had trophies and I missed the 3^rd place by only three pins. Nevertheless, I am still happy and thankful that I managed to secure a place within the top 6 positions which had prizes. I won a total of RM300 and a hamper alongside it. Praise God =)

Wrap-up of my last 3 bowling
tournaments in 2009 (3 in 1)

(1) Junior Eliminator Tournament
Date: 30 December 2009

Competed in the above tournament held at KL Mega Lanes, Endah Parade but due to lack of participants, the tournament became a straight four-game roll off. I started off with a low score of 150 but I didn't give up. My second and third game went up to 233 and 247 respectively. Ended with a score of 191 and secured an average of 205 scratch. Won 3rd position and became richer by RM200 (Prize winning - RM150 + reward from my mom - RM50). I lost to the 2nd position by 19 pins. Hope to have more upcoming victories this year (2010). Take care and God bless...


(2) Grand Final - Secondary School Bowling Competition
Date: 13 November 2009

*Sigh* I was hoping to get first place in the GP final held at Sunway Pyramid Bowl but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to but I still praise God that I retained my last year position of second place. We had a roll off of 6 games and my scores were 204, 191, 204, 221, 181 and 162, securing an average score of 193. I can proudly say that I did well overall except for the last game. I know that champions don’t get to where they are by being easily contented so I will continue to train harder and hope to achieve better… =)


(3) Secondary School Bowling Competition for October
Date: 23 October 2009

I managed to win first again with an average of 198 - my 3rd time ranking champion in this tournament...!!! My scores were 226, 196, 146 and 224. So far I'm really glad that all my victories had averages of at least 19* and one of them above 20*. All glory to God... =)

Secondary School Tournament (July 2009)

Yep, it was the Sunway monthly bowling tournament. I've improved greatly when compared to last month and was very happy to get a high and satisfying average of 205 thus securing first place for the second time this year. Besides winning the trophy and other prizes, my mum rewarded me with a total of RM130 for my performance (RM100 for getting first position and RM30 for three games above the score of 200) ~ Praise God ~

(Tyron.. Me.. Sean)

(Results)

MSSS Bowling

(Prize presentation)

Just a quick and short post on the results of MSSS Bowling held last month at Pyramid Bowl. I had a vast improvement with an average of 185 (14th position) as compared to last year. It was quite an achievement as top 10 were selected for the finals and my position wasn't too far off. This was for the all events under-18 boys. As for team event, we (Petaling Utama A) managed to grasp 3rd position with a difference of 6 pins from the 2nd place. We were kind of disappointed as two out of the four of us had splits in the last frame, causing approximately a total pinfall of 20 pins...! All in all, we were still glad as we were able to bring something (medals and certificates) home =D

(Team: Petaling Utama A - 3rd position)

Bowling Updates

MSSD Bowling

Date: 21/22 April 2009

On the first day, I was leading with an average of 192. The top 8 bowlers contested again the next day and I’m happy to say that I managed to secure first place in the competition again. Praise God for I did my school proud. It was the first time my school (SMK Bandar Utama) hosted the event and my headmistress gave out the medals to the winners. Will try my utmost best for MSSS held from 4th to 7th May 2009.

(With Puan Hasni)

(1st - Ronald Tan.. 2nd - Azry.. 3rd - Louis.. 4th - Shaun)

Secondary School Competition

Date: 3 April 2009

Last month I entered the above competition held monthly at Sunway Mega Lanes and emerged as the champion for the month of April 2009. As you can view from the result sheet posted below, I played well except for the third game. Overall, I managed to get first by just a few pins ahead as everyone played well.

(Posing with my trophy)

(Result sheet)

GP Monthly Circuit

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Hi guys... Yes, it's bowling again =) Alright, let me start off by saying that I won a new ball for securing the 3rd place...! Haha, I'm really happy as I wanted this ball since my coach displayed it in his shop. There are only a limited number of them as it is not a common brand. The ball is called Fire Hawk and it's a spare ball. On it is printed the word "Special" with the code under it. As you can view in the picture, it's blackish grey with a yellow stripe right across the middle. Isn't it awesome?

It's hard to explain how the ball is drilled. Let's just say that when I throw the ball, it looks really cool =) I'm not going to elaborate on my scores this time; just going to walk you through it briefly. You see, the top 4 bowlers enter the final step ladder. I was trailing in the 5th position throughout the whole tournament till the 6th game. I was about 20 pins behind the 4th position. I pulled it up, scored well in the 7th game and maintained my lead in the 8th game, qualifying as 3rd =)

In the semi finals, I just played my best and ended up 3rd place, hence winning my new spare ball =) Overall, I'm really happy as I did well for all the GPs. My next post will be on my holiday trip to Taiwan...! Take care~

Grand Prix Star Search

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Sunday, 23rd November 2008 marked the Grand Prix (GP) Star Search. After winning 2nd position in the GP Sec School Bowling Competition, I was confident for this event held at U-Bowl. I started well with the first two games of 18* each which consisted of solid spares. After that I had to switch lanes. That was the rule - to switch lanes after every two games. I couldn’t adjust to the lanes and my games were lousy. Goodness I was so frustrated...!

Anyway, I tried my best to relax when I moved on to the next lane and had an encouraging score of 166 - a sign of picking up. After 4 games, I was in the 9th position but only the top 8 bowlers get to enter the quarter finals so I had to pick up. My confidence level soared after managing a 190 for the next game. Then it was due for switching lanes again. I got a 20* followed by 199, leveling me up to the 5th position. I was delighted…!

Soon the knock-out round began. Dang man… I had 4~5 splits in the first game, giving my opponent a 36-pin lead. Although I picked up in my second game, it wasn’t good enough as I only won by 10 pins. The frustrating part about my game was that all my solid pockets did not strike. I ended up 7th place - still very happy as I did well overall. One more last GP for this year - GP Monthly Circuit…! Praise and thank God for blessing me throughout all my tournaments. Ciaoz~ God bless~ =)

GP Secondary School Bowling Competition

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This was one of the main events that I have been awaiting this whole year. It was held on 21st November 2008 at Mega Lanes Pyramid. I wanted to win something just to reassure myself that I have reached to a certain level. Haha... =) Glad to say that I did very well, got 2nd position with an average of 188.5 and mighty pleased with my overall performance.

I had a high score of 234. The coolest part is that I won the 2nd runner-up by only 1 pin...!!! It happened on my last game where I had a spare on the 9th frame with 120 pin falls on the 8th frame, which mean I had to strike home to get 170 on the dot in order to win the 2nd runner-up. Can you imagine how tense I was? Well, bowling the 10th frame then seemed like the longest time ever. The first ball rolled... I knew it would strike as it was a beautiful shot. The second ball rolled off too early, hooked over and hit the 1-2 pocket. Praise God for I still got a strike. Now it was the last throw... the moment of truth... =) I threw perfectly, saw it skidded, hooked and rolled right into the pocket. BOOM...!!! I DID IT...!!!

The prize for 2nd place is a tall trophy, 8 free games with McDonald's vouchers and RM100 cash. I also got a total of RM90 from my mum as an incentive for a clean game, score above 200 and all games above 170 pin falls... =) Well, the next tournament is GP Star Search and I'm ready for it...!

MTBC National Junior Circuit 2008

The final circuit which I participated was held in Malacca. First of all, I just have to say… IT WAS FREAKING HOT IN THERE…! I was sweating as if I had just finished playing football. And secondly, the screen which displays the score was so low that tall bowlers had to bend very low just to walk through the approach - totally HORRIBLE…!

I recalled having an average of 16* after 7 games and the final qualifier was 169 so I had to get a high game of at least 210 to make it to the quarter finals. I was seriously pressured and stressed and kept praying. Then the strikes came in and I converted my spares consistently and got a high game of 223, securing 36^th position with an average of 172.5. Praise the Lord…! To sum up of the whole story, I managed to climb up to 32^nd position the next day.

Now with the circuits over, I feel kind of sad because I don’t get to travel around Malaysia till next year… =( Overall I’m very pleased with my performance as I managed to qualify to the quarter finals for most of the circuits. It is a vast improvement when compared to last year when all I could do then was to hope in vain. Well, next year will be time for me to GO FOR GOLD…!!! Something I’ve always wanted to say... Lol... =)

Secondary School Competition (Aug 2008)

On 8th August 2008, I participated in the Secondary School Competition held in Sunway Pyramid. Oh yeah, just to let you all know, I've 6 tournaments this month - Malaysian Junior Circuit (KL and Malacca leg), Star Search (Leg 2 and 3), Secondary School Competition and Internal Circuit (both are monthly events). So far for this Secondary School Competition, I have never left without any trophies except for the month of June. Top 10 gets a trophy but the top 5 trophies are bigger. So it began with my first game...

At the 9th frame I only had 150 points and I thought to myself, "I'M SCREWED!" It was time for the 10th frame. The maximum points you can get for the 10th frame is 30, which is 3 strikes in a row and I needed that to get an average of 180. I felt the pressure rising and tried to calm myself down by playing with my *puff ball* and prayed that God will help me to focus. Then the game continued... Boom - first strike...! Boom - another strike followed by the third delivery - BOOOM...! TURKEY...!!! I got 180 points for my first game... =) Praise God...! Throughout the tournament I realized that the right lanes have pins with more reaction, giving me all my strikes but the left lane had no pin reaction at all which resulted alternate strikes in my third game. It went like this - strike on the right lane then spare on the left. The same pattern carried on till the 5th frame... =(

Anyway, I got 187 for the second game and 189 for the third. I could have scored more than 180 for my last game if not for a SPLIT at the 10th frame. Although I couldn't achieve my expectation of being the top three, I was pleased with my consistent performance and proud of it too. My average was 183 and got FOURTH again for the third time. Oh, I also earned RM60 from my mother - RM20 for a clean game and RM10 per game for not having any scores below 170 points (RM10 x 4 = RM40) SEEYA...!

Star Search

(Go into rontjx.multiply.com for more pictures)

So far I have not done well in any tournaments held in U-Bowl (besides internal circuits) so I decided to do my best in the Star Search tournament (Leg 1) held on 20 July 2008. I arrived a little earlier than the registration time, scheduled at 9.30am and after adhering to all the formalities, the excitement began…

I started my first game badly, only a 14* and I thought, “Haih, Just like all the other tournaments held here…” But I didn’t give up. I pressed on and kept going. My games picked up and got higher and higher. Soon all the 6 games ended and I had an average of 170. I thought, “Well, that’s kind of low…” Then I realized that everyone had seriously low score due to the INSANE, yes INSANE oiling and lane conditions…!!! (I managed to adjust to it, phew…). I was feeling anxious and nervous while the administrators were doing the ranking list. I waited and waited... visited the washroom, came back and waited again. Finally, the results were out and I GOT 6th…!!!

Then it was time for the knock-out round as required by the top 8 bowlers to determine the prize winners. For the first match, I fought against my own league member, Azroy. I played a good game of 198 and he lost to me around 50 pins. My coach then advised me to relax in my next game as I had a huge lead. The second game started and POOF… he had 3 strikes in a row while I had two open frames. Dang… the pressure got to me so I relaxed and calmed myself by saying, “I look good… I look good… Haha… just kidding.” I focused in converting my spares and then some strikes came in. Azroy was leading by 18 pins. I continued sparing, giving him a great need for connection strikes. Soon, I got a split…! “Gosh, of all the times, why now?” Well, I managed to stay calm, relaxed and focused… and SPARED IT… WOOT…!!! After that came another split. This one was easier but it was still a split. (For bowlers out there, I’m not referring to 6/10 or 4/7. It was a 4/9 if you know what I mean). Anyway, the game soon ended and my score was 189 - lost by a dozen pins. But my first game with a 50-pin lead took me to the next round, securing the top 4 positions… :)

After that, I moved on to the second session of the knock-out round, aka semi finals. My opponent is one of the top players who happened to be my good friend (Aqeem), undergoing the same training program. We both bowled like crap when compared to our earlier games of 19* during our first session. When we fought, we only had 16*. Lol… Aqeem won me by only 6 pins. It was far from over. The second game started with me having a strike while he had an open frame. Just as I thought things were looking up, DANG… I had an impossible split to spare and soon after, Aqeem had 4 strikes in a row. I continued facing another split and although I targeted it perfectly, the remaining pin shook but did not fall. I knew then it was history so I tried my best to end nicely and BOM… my last frame was ANOTHER SPLIT…!!! I got 16*… it was over for me.

Although I lost to my opponent during the semi finals, my total pin-falls was higher than one of the other semi-finalists, therefore I GOT 3rd…!!! I was overjoyed. I won a MEDAL and RM100/= plus a cool t-shirt worth RM29/= So WOOT…!!!

Internal Bowling Circuit (May 2008)

(Go into rontjx.multiply.com for more pictures and videos)

I had an Internal Bowling Circuit in my training on Sunday. This is a monthly tournament whereby points are accumulated for the final GP tournament at the end of the year. For the past 2 rounds since it started, I got 8^th and 5^th position respectively for March and April but this month I got 1^st!!! Haha… Praise the Lord!!! I received RM30 from the tournament and a hamper of Milo goodies. 30 bucks is not a lot but it’s like working for money by bowling =) Anyway I also received another RM30 from my mother as she pays me RM10 for above 200 score per game and RM20 for each clean game (no open frames meaning all either spares or strikes).

I got RM20 for my 193 game with no open frames and another RM10 from my 206 game which I almost got additional of RM20 for a clean game but my last frame was a SPLIT!!! Haha… I think you all know what a split is so I settled with just RM10 =) My average was 182 as compared to the second placing of 174 =) Lol… Well, it was really something for me but I can’t let that get to my head =P Haha… By the way, if you go to U-Bowl, you can see my pictures posted up at the Sukan Teras notice board, displayed near the pro-shop. Hopefully the pictures for this event will be up by next week. Oh yea, and to all those who actually read this… I UPDATED!!!!! =P

Updates on my bowling

One of my favourite sports in my life so far is bowling. It is a sport which I take much pride in and I’m happy to say that once more I was chosen for “Selangor Sukan Teras” although the result is not officially out yet. I got the good news from my coach. I’ve been bowling for around 2 years now and it has been going on well. So far in all my tournaments, my average ranges from 160 to 185 - still not that consistent but I’m getting it.

However, my expectations could not be met lately. My *winning* streak ended after the Selangor Circuit when I got an average of 184. After that, my performance started to decline and everything seemed to go wrong. This put me in a deep stage of disappointment but lately, things have been improving a lot! I realized this when I bowled in my league last week. I got back my momentum and bowled 6 strikes in a row! I got a total score of 225 in that game. Lol… It was one of the best bowling days ever, not comparing to my high score of 247 =p... It’s like after so long I finally got back my groove~ my mojo~ my thing!!!

Well let me give you a brief introduction about this league. Our “Sukan Teras” has participated in this Wednesday night bowling league, held weekly at 9pm. We are called “S Trust Bowlers”. The team name was chosen by our coach and it was meant to sound like “Sukan Teras” Lol… Well, I’m the captain and my responsibilities are scheduling bowlers based on the strength of the opponent team and managing the collection of fines besides encouraging my team and giving them my full support. We are currently ranking 7^th but we are expecting to go up because we won lots of points last week and I may get the weekly award for the highest game. I’m still waiting in anticipation for the notice board to be updated.

I would like to conclude by inviting you to come and give us your support. Please note that I’m not bowling every week as there are 8 bowlers in a team and only 3 bowlers are required each time. Hmm… Guess that’s about all for the time being and by the way, sorry for not updating my blog. Reason being I can only use the computer during weekends and holidays. Lol… Ciaoz…

Darshakar Youth Bowling Competition

Pictures taken during the Darshakar Youth Bowling Competition held at U-Bowl on 21 April 2007. I was hoping to be within the top 8 as there were prizes and trophies but instead got 9th placing. My average was only 155 with a high game of 193. In the 1st picture, you can spot Nicholas on the left while Edmund (my cousin) is next to me. The next picture was taken with Nicholas and the last picture with Sean.