The Professional Bowling Association is desperate for attention, once one of the most popular sports on television, these days bowling is largely ignored by the mass populace because, you know, it’s boring. There was a time in the early 1980s when bowling was king; the PBA scored better television ratings than the Masters and the NBA finals weren’t even broadcast on TV.
Enter Jason Belmonte, a 25 year old Australian with an unorthodox style and 34 perfect games to his resume. Throwing two-handed, with just two fingers in the ball, Belmonte is able to generate significantly more rotations on the ball as it rolls down the lane, thus generating more energy to transfer to the pins. Most professional bowlers get about 400 rotations of the ball with each throw, Belmonte’s unique style enables him to get over 630 per toss.
The amateur World Bowler of the Year twice, (2004, 2007) Belmonte grew up in the bowling lanes his parents owned in Orange, Australia, about 130 miles west of Sydney. As an 18-month old his parents would give him a pair of shoes and a ball and let him have at the lanes for hours at a time, and since he wasn’t able to lift the 10-pound ball he started his two-handed motion. He won his first tournament at age 4, by 5 he was averaging 118 a round. Continue reading ‘Two Hands on the Ball’
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