A New Record for Male Sip-and-Puff Wheelchair Bowlers!

At Quad Squad Bowling this past Saturday, I bowled a 221, which beat my previous high game (206) by 15 pins! :-)

I must say, I had quite a bit of good luck. I opened with a spare, then four consecutive strikes, followed by two open frames, then three consecutive strikes (the third strike was the first ball of my 10th frame). I followed with split-7 and only got one of the remaining pins for a 221. If that's a bit confusing, see my scoresheet (link below).

It requires some luck (or heavenly help) to get that many strikes, and to get a consecutive group of four and another group of three (if strikes are not consecutive, the score doesn't compound nearly as fast). I scored that high -- yet missed two very makeable spares. The two open frames were single-pin attempts (7 and 10, respectively) and when I'm bowling really well, I typically pickup those single-pin spares. And if I had, my score would have been... drum roll please... 243 -- which would have tied Jon Musgrave for the overall world record.

But I'm NOT complaining! I'm slightly kicking myself that I didn't pickup those two single-pin spares, but I'm amazed that I scored 221 after missing those spares. That shows the power of compound strikes. I've actually bowled at least three games without having an open frame (I just checked some of my old scoresheets) and three of those totaled 202, 203, and 206. I had to work harder in those games because I had fewer strikes (so I had more spares to convert).

Not to make excuses, but the 221 came in my first game, and that's usually my warmup game where I try to get a feel for my strike ball and also my straight ball for spare attempts. I had one easy spare in the first frame (I think it was the 2-4, which is two pins offset but close enough to get by striking either side of the 2-pin) then four strikes, followed by the two corner single-pin spare attempts. I actually took some time to "compose myself" before those attempts, knowing I had only used my straight ball once. But I missed both.

I just knew missing those spares was going to hurt when I looked back at the game (at what my score could have been) but, at the same time, I recognize how uncommon it is to get that many consecutive strikes in a game (with our moderate ball speed, we don't generate a lot of pin action) and I'm grateful to now be able to say I bowled a 221. That's a new record for male wheelchair users who drive by sip-and-puff.

I lost some focus in my second game and had a 136, meaning I needed a 143 in my third game for a 500 series (that's actually my goal when I bowl). I bowled 171 in my third game for a 528 series.

Ok, my record scoresheet is HERE.

If you're curious, my previous best 206 (story & scoresheet) is HERE.

AND -- I get a new signature! See below...

Bill Miller :-)
C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 221 High Bowling Game
Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT
My blog: http://powerwheelchairusers.blogspot.com
Business website: http://www.ikanbowler.com
Personal website: http://www.lookmomnohands.net