The telephone lines to Milwaukee started humming Monday, Aug. 21, the first official day that team captains were allowed to make squad reservations for the 82nd Women's International Bowling Congress' Championship Tournament.
In the first 72 hours, Tournament Manager Ruth Williams reported that 5,356 captains had made early reservations for 26,780 bowlers to compete in the giant tournament that will be held for the first time in Broward County in Florida. By Friday, Aug. 25, 154 days before entries close on Jan. 26, the entry total had jumped to 6,021.
Williams figures they are right on target for the estimated entry of 9,500 teams, or 47,500 bowlers, who will compete in the WIBC Championship Tournament between April 17 and June 15.
To handle the deluge of phone calls, the WIBC hired 15 people to help take reservations from the early bird captains who wanted to make sure they got choice squad dates and times.
Cass Grimes, president of the Phoenix Women's Bowling Association, reported Aug. 23 that the Arizona contingent already had made reservations for 22 teams and "that's only the tip of the iceberg.
"After league season starts next month, we expect more than 80 additional teams to sign up and make reservations to fly to Fort Lauderdale in April," she said. "Our bowlers want to do a lot of things with their free time—drive to Key West, go over to Fort Myers, take a cruise, and even go up to Orlando and visit Disney World and Universal Studios.
"This is a big deal to us. Some of us will be down there more than two weeks. We're flying our husbands down after we finish bowling so that we will have a lot of free time."
Close to home, Liz Cocks of Daytona Beach also was one of the early birds calling Milwaukee.
"I called WIBC [Aug. 23] and made reservations for 11 teams and 27 sets of doubles," said Cocks. "I expect more bowlers will sign up for the trip once they get back into their leagues in September. Our buses will pick us up June 5, we will bowl our team event on June 6, our singles and doubles games on June 7, go on a cruise June 8, and our buses will bring us home June 9.
"I managed to get very good squad times, 2:30 p.m. for the team event at Don Carter's Tamarac Lanes and 12:30 p.m. the next day for our singles and doubles competition at Sawgrass Lanes. There were a few more openings at those times when I called, but the way they are getting filled, they might not last too long," said the lady who served 14 years as president of the Daytona association.
Because of the location of the tournament, Grimes and Cocks expected different results in signing up players in 2001.
"Last spring I took more than 100 women bowlers to the tournament in Reno," Cocks said. "But Reno is a special place to our bowlers."
Grimes said she expects South Florida to be a bigger attraction than Reno to bowlers from Arizona. "We're close to Las Vegas, so the gambling in Reno was not a big attraction. But the airboat rides and unique things like that South Florida has to offer will intrigue many of us."
While other areas of the country are busy making reservations, many teams from South Florida are adopting a wait-and-see attitude because the WIBC estimates it will need more than 5,000 substitutes.
Substitutes are always in demand for two reasons: (1) Sometimes teams show up with only four players instead of the necessary five because of illness; (2) In most cases, teams fly into town with only five members. That means one person will ask for a doubles teammate from the local substitute pool.
Donna Oberg, secretary of the Broward women's organization, has elected to sign up as a substitute.
"I am going to be extra busy early in the WIBC Tournament because I also will be running the National 500 Club Tournament at the AMF Pembroke Pines Lanes (which also will host the 600 and 700 Club events), Oberg said. "By signing up as a substitute I can pick the date and time I want to bowl."
In most cases, the substitute bowls free since the tournament spot already has been paid for by the team. However, most substitutes will not share in the $1.2 million prize fund.
Squad times for team competition at Tamarac Lanes will be at 10 a.m., 2:30 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. each day. Singles and doubles squads at Sawgrass Lanes are scheduled at 9 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., and 9 p.m.
Highlights of the tournament will be the delegates' convention April 20-25, the Queens Tournament May 7-11, and the Senior Queens tournament, which has not been assigned a date at this early point.
You do not have to be a WIBC member to bowl in the tournament. Former WIBC members are invited to participate, but they will have to purchase a WIBC membership card.
To make a team reservation, call 414/423-9006 or fax 414/421-9789. Entry fee for Division 1, 2 or 3 bowlers is $20 for singles, $40 for doubles, and $100 per team. Classic (or scratch) Division fees are $25, $50, and $125.
Dick Evans is a member of the ABC and PBA Halls of Fame.