Christmas Eve No Tap Tournament

Okay, almost. The tournament was actually on December 23, but what was I gonna say? Christmas Eve Eve No Tap Tournament? I didn’t think so…

Anyway, we held a no tap tournament at Fugate’s Bowl-a-rama. We didn’t get quite the same turn out as the Thanksgiving day Tournament, but it was a still a good turn out. I think we ended up with about 22 people. That’s more than enough to run a tournament. You can view my Thanksgiving day tournament post for more information about no tap.

So after spending the afternoon working on the lanes, making sure they were in good shape for the tournament, I decided to bowl a few games to get warmed up. Just like the Thanksgiving day tournament, I just couldn’t get any games together and again, the Thanksgiving day tournament, I kinda felt like I’d wasted my money on those games. So I just chatted with my wife when she arrived and a few friends as they rolled in from the cold.

Come 7.15pm, we finally got under way and drew numbers for partners and took to the lanes. Just like the last tournament, I lucked out the first game and drew Anthony Dixon. Anthony currently holds the third highest average in our Thursday night league at about 205 or something and is the holder of the solitary 300 game in the house this season. Needless to say, he’s good.

Game One

So we hit the lanes and all three teams on the lane got to striking. And striking. And striking. In fact, by the 8th frame there were three of us that had a clean sheet: Me (yay!), Anthony and Ron Dixon (Anthony’s dad). In the 8th Anthony missed taking an 8 spare. That would be the only time he would miss for the rest of the game and finished with a 278. Ron and I continued to knock em down, though I have to admit I had a couple of lucky breaks that still finished as real strikes. Come frame 10 both Ron and I were still clean setting us up for a couple of perfect games. I was up first in the tenth. First shot: STRIKE! A real one. Second shot: STRIKE! This no tap. Third shot: 8 pins. 8 PINS! NOOOOOOO! I finished with a 298, meaning Anthony and I finished with a team game of 576 from a possible 600. No too shabby. Up steps Ron. First shot: STRIKE! Second shot: 8 pins. 8 PINS! NOOOOOO! He picked up the spare, giving him a 288. We looked at the scores on the pair, and I think we had something like 1500 across six people, with three of us coming just one shot short of a perfect game. Thats an average of 250 for the six people on the pair. That’s quite impressive.

I have to admit, even though it was a no tap tournament I was super nervous on the last shot. I could feel my heart pounding through my chest. I could feel my hands starting to sweat and I could myself starting to tense up and it showed in my last shot. I pulled it to the left, leaving a couple pins staring back at me. I really wanted to get that last strike and I was a little disappointed to not get the 300, even a no tap 300, but I was happy to have thrown what still could have been a decent 250 – 260 game, assuming I picked up the 2 spares I would have left in that game.

Game Two

So we drew for partners again and this time I drew Ron Dixon. That’s right. The man who just shot a 288 on the same pair as I did. Sweet. We moved over one pair and got to work. Unfortunately, we couldn’t keep up the same momentum as the previous game. I missed in the second frame, quickly erasing all possibility at a 300 and I was really struggling on the right lane. It seemed that lane was a little tighter for me, meaning I couldn’t miss much left or right or I would go high. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t find the same rhythm I had in the first game and finished with a 224. Ron had similar fortunes, finishing with a 244. Jennifer, however, had a ball on this pair shooting a 267 and her partner shot 256 leaving an open in the tenth frame, giving them the high score for the second game, while Ron and I got 3rd highest.

Game Three

So, for the third and final time we drew for teams and this time I drew Kristi Woolum. We moved down just one more pair and got to work. Unfortunately, this game was a non event for me. I was struggling to keep the ball on target and I was struggling to keep my hand up the back of the ball which was giving me either a weak reaction on the backend or a crazy strong reaction making me shoot all around the pocket. I finished with a 184 and Kristi finished with about 150 I think, meaning we were no where near contention. As it turns out, Ron shot another 288. I can’t remember who took the honors for the final game. Sorry.

Summary

In the end, I finished the night with a 706, which I was happy with, but a little disappointed it was closer to 750, seeing as I shot close to a 300 the first game. Jennifer kicked my ass in the end shooting 239, 267 and 235 to finish with 741. Anthony I believe shot something like 780 and Ron shot a crazy 820. I think we finished the night making our entry fee back plus a little more, so we essentially bowled for free which is always nice.

I’ve heard rumors that we are putting on another tournament just before New Year’s, but that’s not been confirmed yet, so I’m unsure. If it does happen though, I guarantee you there will be a post to follow.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.


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