Minster set to host PBA tournament
MINSTER — For those looking for some midweek action, roll on over to Community Lanes.
The bowling center is set to host a Professional Bowlers Association regional tournament on Aug. 10-12, the first annual Ernst Apparel Classic.
The lanes are owned by Doug and Lori Davidson, who bought the facility in the spring of 2019. Over the past 2 1/2 years, they have made a number of renovations and improvements, including expansion of the kitchen and upgrades to the bar area.
Doug Davidson said that during the period when they were closed last year due to COVID-19 restrictions, they worked to renovate the seating area.
They have also done repairs on the all the automatic pinsetters.
Davidson said that this is the first PBA event to be held at the lanes. “The biggest decision was when to have it,” he said.
In looking at the PBA calendar, the schedule includes a stop at Coldwater, and they wanted to have it near that to make traveling easier for the participants.
The Minster tournament will be held between two weekend events, the first in Jonesborok, Arkansas and the other the Bowlerstore.com Classic (Aug. 13-15) at Pla-Mor Lanes in Coldwater.
“It helps with the travel. The plan worked out very well,” said Davidson.
The event will begin on Tuesday with pro-am events. Qualifying matches will be held on Wednesday, and the top 16 will advance to Thursday. The finals are set to begin around 4:30 p.m., allowing those who work during the day to come and see the action.
Davidson said that there will be a corporate tent for the sponsors involved. There will also be food and live entertainment in the evening.
He noted that bleachers will be brought in to allow area fans to sit and watch the action, with admission being free.
WIMA (1150 AM) will be providing coverage of the tournament action as well.
One of the participants will be the Davidson’s son, Michael. Others expected to compete are Tommy Jones, E.J. Tackett, Chris Barnes, Ronny Russell and several international players.
Jones is a member of the PBA Hall of Fame with 37 career 300 games and 12 PBA Regional Tour titles. Tackett, from Indiana, has been a Tour member since 2012, and was the Player of the Year in 2016, and runner-up in 2017 and 2018.
Barnes, a native of Kansas, was the Rookie of the Year in 1998, and Player of the Year in
2008. He is one of only seven players to win the U.S. Open, PBA World Championship and PBA Tournament of Champions. He became a Hall of Famer in 2018.