Four youth bowlers from U.S. bases in South Korea took their lumps on the lanes this month during the United States Bowling Congress’ Junior Gold and Pepsi National Championship tournaments in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

In the Junior Gold tournament held July 8-14, Chris Baker, a Seoul American graduate and five-time Far East youth scratch champion, finished 942nd in a field of 991 boys, knocking down 2,818 pins in 18 games, 620 shy of qualifying for the semifinals. Only the top 155 competitors qualified for the semifinals.

Seoul American sophomore Jennifer Simmons placed 280th out of 435 girls with a total pinfall of 2,996, 342 short of qualifying for the semifinals. The top 66 qualified.

In the Pepsi Nationals held July 17-19, 13-year-old Jonathan Johnson of Camp Humphreys placed 27th in the 57-bowler field, scoring 1,537 pins in six games but failing to qualify for the 16-bowler match-play field. He then finished 10th in the Boys Division I three-game, eight-pin no-tap tournament with 713 pins, 66 short of the winning total.

Stephanie Badurski, 13, of Yongsan Garrison, took the 26th spot out of a field of 37 with a pinfall of 1,552. She finished 13th in the Girls Division II no-tap tournament with 499 pins, 182 short of the winning total.

Baker and Simmons qualified for the Junior Gold tournament by taking their respective scratch division titles, while Johnson and Badurski won their handicap division crowns in the Far East championships in March at Yongsan Garrison, featuring 62 bowlers from Korea and Okinawa.

The Pepsi and Junior Gold tournaments are run by the USBC, which oversees the Young American Bowling Alliance, a service-oriented membership organization for bowlers ranging from pre-school to college. It provides more than $3 million in scholarships to its members annually.

Organizers: Typhoon Classic will stick with 7-inning formatOrganizers of the 20th Typhoon Classic softball tournament have abandoned the thought of using a quick-play system of three-inning, 30-minute games to seed teams into the event’s double-elimination playoffs.

Instead, the tournament will remain within traditional Amateur Softball Association rules, seven-inning games governed by a 1-hour time limit, “unless we get into a time crunch and have to speed things up,” tournament director Jim Perry said. He’s the sports, fitness and aquatics director at Okinawa’s Torii Station, where the event is held.

“We have received enough feedback on this event to keep the original format,” said Perry, who announced last week he intends to use the quick-play format but reversed course after coaches expressed concern about the system’s equitability.

Though scheduled for Aug. 31-Sept. 5, games “in all likelihood” will be played Sept. 1-4, with Aug. 31 and Sept. 5 being held in reserve in case of bad weather — which plagued last year’s tournament — or if “we get a large turnout.”

Perry said he’s hoping to field 15 teams in the Typhoon Classic, the oldest Pacificwide open tournament.

Entry fee is $200; entry deadline is Aug. 25. Phone DSN 644-4144 or 4169 or e-mail Perry at adrosor.perry@us.army.milfor more information.

Volunteers needed for youth triathlon training campVolunteers are being sought, primarily as safety cyclists for bicycle training sessions, for the Okinawa Dolphins Swim Team’s youth triathlon training camp.

The camp is being held daily from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. daily through Aug. 3 at the Camp Foster 50-meter swimming pool, team officials said.

Each training session includes swim, cycling, running and transition practice. Participants must supply their own safety bicycle, helmet, running shoes, swimsuit, goggles and other workout attire.

The training sessions are being conducted to prepare youngsters for ODST’s Ironkids Triathlon, scheduled to begin at 6 a.m. Aug. 5 at the Foster pool.

The triathlon is open to competitors 17 and younger; they’ll be divided into two age groups: 11-17 and 10 and younger. Older competitors will swim 200 meters, ride a bicycle 7.6 kilometers and run 2.2 kilometers; the younger ones will swim 25 meters, ride a bike 400 meters and run 200 meters.

Registration is ongoing at any Marine Corps Community Services pool until Aug. 1, after which applications will be taken only at the Foster pool. All competitors must bring their own helmet, safety bicycle and running shoes. A free pre-race clinic is slated for 8 a.m. Saturday to explain the course, safety and race procedures.

For information, including about what qualifies as a safety bicycle, e-mail ODST coach Mat Luebbers at luebbersm@okinawa.usmc-mccs.org or odst@hotmail.com.

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