Don Carter, one of the most prominent and successful players in the sport of bowling, died at his home in Miami on Thursday night. Carter, who had recently been hospitalized with pneumonia complicated by emphysema, was 85. A USBC and PBA Hall of Fame member, Carter dominated major bowling tournaments during the 1950s and early 1960s. He won four BPAA All-Star (now U.S. Open) titles, five World Invitational titles, the inaugural PBA National Championship and the USBC Masters to become the first bowler to complete the sport's Grand Slam.
When the USBC Open Championships returns to the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev., in 2013, the storied tournament will have changes designed to improve the event and ease of registration. First, the tournament's daily schedule will be adjusted to allow for fresh oil for all squads. Second, an enhanced online registration system will allow captains to enter and change their team information at any time,as payments are made. Also beginning in 2013, each event will cost $55 per bowler.
The nation's top youth bowlers will have the opportunity to compete on PBA lane conditions and rub elbows with the greats in the game when Teen Masters Qualifiers will be conducted in conjunction with selected PBA Regional tournaments in 2012. PBA has entered into an agreement with Killer 'B' Promotions to conduct 18 Teen Masters qualifiers at PBA Regional events beginning in March through the end of May. The Teen Masters qualifiers will be conducted on lanes designated for Teen Masters competition.
With the top training tools and evaluation systems in the world, the International Training and Research Center has attracted national teams from across the globe. Now one of Europe's leading bowling programs has joined the growing list of nations using the ITRC as a temporary training home. Denmark is the reigning men's and women's European team champion and both teams decided to make the trip to Arlington, Texas. They are the first European team to train at the ITRC.
In the largest NCAA women's bowling tournament in the country, the
University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) rallied from a slow start to capture the crown and with it their first event win of the season. The Hawks used a masterful day three to beat No. 2 Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) twice to take the title. In just her second tournament as head coach, Kristina Frahm, pushed UMES from a slow day one start to finish second and set up a title run on the final day.
The United States Bowling Congress Board of Directors has elected three-time Team USA member Andrew Cain (pictured) of Phoenix as USBC President for the remainder of the current term, which ends July 31, 2012. Cain, 30, takes over for Jim Sturm, who stepped down earlier this month. Cain was a member of Team USA in 2002, 2003 and 2005. He has won nearly a dozen medals in international competition, and most
recently was a member of the Team All-Events champions at the 2011 USBC
Open Championships. 
The Wichita State men's and women's bowling teams have excelled both on the lanes and in the classroom this season. A record number 17 Academic All-Americans were named for the bowling program this season. This achievement is awarded by the National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association to student-athletes with a GPA of 3.50 or higher on all course work. The bowling program broke its previous record of 14, which was set last year.
Team USA's Shannon Pluhowsky (pictured) of Kettering, Ohio, capped off a record-setting year by capturing her third World Bowling Writers Female Bowler of the Year honor and a spot in the WBW Hall of Fame. She joins Australia's Cara Honeychurch (1998) and Colombian standout Clara Juliana Guerrero (2009) as the only bowlers to receive both awards in the same year. The 2011 WBW Male Bowler of the Year is PBA star Mika Koivuniemi of Finland, and Sweden's Raymond Jansson will join Pluhowsky in the WBW Hall of Fame.
There's no experience like competing on the lanes at the National Bowling Stadium, and more than 30,000 bowlers already are scheduled to be in Reno, Nev., for the 2012 USBC Women's Championships. Those who have not yet entered still have time to be part of the action as the entry deadline has been extended to April 1. There are even some weekend spots available for the event, which begins April 14 and will run for 86 consecutive days, concluding July 8.
Sharon Brummell (pictured), one of the most successful collegiate bowling coaches ever in the sport, is retiring from coaching and with it leaving her position as Associate Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Brummell has tenured her resignation to become the Associate Athletics Director for
Business and Finance and Senior Woman Administrator at Georgetown University in
Washington, D.C.
The New York State United States Bowling Congress Association has announced it will partner with the Youth Education Services (YES) Fund to provide grants to schools in New York. The grants, which will be in the form of in-school bowling grants and high school assistance grants, will be awarded by the YES Fund to schools in New York. The New York association has donated $37,000 toward the project.
USBC President Jim Sturm has stepped down as president of the organization and from the USBC Board of Directors to assume a new position as Executive Director of Bowling Operations for the Tri Properties Hotel and Casino group in Reno, Nev. "I am excited to have the opportunity to join a team dedicated to renovating the National Bowling Stadium in Reno for future generations," Sturm said. "I felt stepping aside was necessary to avoid any appearance of a potential conflict and for the protection of USBC."
Toby Sambueno of Henderson, Nev., and Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y., took the lead after the opening round Monday at the 2012 USBC Team USA Trials. Sambueno and Johnson led with seven-game total of 1,664 (237.71 average) and 1,543 (220.43), resp., and each earned one point for their first-place finishes in Round 1. The players in the field earn points based on their finishing position each round. After four rounds, the man and the woman with the least amount of points will be crowned champions.
Dave Husted, Amleto Monacelli, Tom Baker and Dede Davidson have been elected to the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame in the Superior Performance category. The four players join wheelchair bowler Al Uttecht (Pioneer), Lennie Boresch Jr. and Gary Daroszewski (Outstanding USBC Performance), and Joan Feinblum and the late Kerm Helmer (Meritorious Service), who were elected in November by the USBC Hall of Fame Committee.
A fire in the early hours of Dec. 24 destroyed Charlie's Country Fun bowling center in Biggsville, Ill. The 10-lane center, which opened in 1978, was the home to the West Central High School bowling team. The Bowling Foundation and the Youth Education Services (YES) Fund already have sent the team new bowling balls to help offset the loss.