EARLY next year Bermuda will name the men’s and women’s bowling team which will compete in the 2007 Pan American Games in Brazil.And from then on the two men and two women will go into a “concentrated programme” to get ready for the Games which will be held in July in Rio de Janeiro. They will also be joined by a reserve bowlers for each team.

Part of that programme will involve going to a high-tech training facility in Miami where their game will be dissected by machines and cameras.

National bowling coach Oliver Franks said: “We hope to select the team in late January or early February so they can go into the concentrated training programme.”

The team will be selected from the six men and six women who competed at the Pan Am qualifying tournament in 2005. “The qualifying status came from our regional championships and we are in the American zone which covers the Caribbean and the US. The tournament takes place very four years and that it is the qualifying platform for the Pan Am Games,” said Franks adding that the tournament was staged in Costa Rica.

“We had six men and six women in the qualifiers — bowlers like Antoine Jones, Dean Lightbourne Dianne Ingham, June Dill and we also had some youngsters. We qualify as a country not as individuals so what we have to do now is make a selection of three players each that will go into an extensive training programme to prepare for the Games. Two men and two women will compete in singles, doubles and perhaps a mixed team. We will not know anything definite (about the divisions) until March or April. But we will pick a reserve for each each team.”

Later in the year the Pan Am team will attend the Kegel Training Center which is a custom-built, 12-lane bowling facility for serious bowlers.

The first of its kind, the Kegel Training Center boasts several original concepts including Computer Aided Tracking System (CATS) on every lane along with adjustable topography lanes. CATS offers bowlers an easy way to test, track, and improve their game.

CATS was developed in the early 1990’s to accurately and instantly measure speed and accuracy of a bowler’s game.

It uses five ultrasonic sensors mounted at optimum points on the lane and can track virtually any information about a bowler’s game.

It records the launch angle, ball speed, breakpoint, entry angle and score. Then a bowler can see their progress during or after your game.

Franks said a number of factors will be used in choosing who will fly the flag for Bermuda in Rio.

“We will look at players up close and take into account their previous experience at the Pan Am Games or other high level competitions. We also look at their mental and physical status — there are a lot of factors to look at and also how well they can discipline themselves.”

After the selection the bowlers will be monitored during the concentrated training programme and then in early May they will go to the Kegel facility.

One aspect that the Bermuda bowlers will have to get used to in training will be the bowling “patterns” that will be used in the Pan Am Games.Franks explained: “Right now we are not sure how they are doing the Pan Am Games patterns but we should know in April.

“The lane surfaces are treated with a pattern. A machine lays down the dressing and leaves a pattern on the lane. There are X number of units of oil which is minute on the various board and there are 40 boards to a lane.

“What we have been working with in the past is a short oil pattern and a long oil pattern. The difference allows the ball hook earlier (short patterns) and later (long patterns).

“We will have the opportunity at Kegel in Florida to train on the patterns that will be used for the Games.”

The modern lanes today are synthetic, said Franks.

“In Bermuda we do not have synthetic lanes but wood ones and with wood the oil dressing will absorb quicker than the synthetic lanes.

“The only chance we will have to train on the synthetic surface will in Florida. What the synthetic surface allows you to do is that it holds the pattern longer than a wood surface which breaks down faster. It also allows the player to be a bit more consistent if his accuracy is on. But his skill level has to be fine tuned. If he misses, he misses big. A player now has to be more disciplined and more accurate. The new material doesn’t make it easier.”

The bowlers also have their own custom-built balls — balls that have been drilled for their hands. “Calvin Basden does the work for us here — he drills the balls which are laid out for each individual hand,” said Franks.

The coach said that the sport over the years has become more and more technical. “Especially the ball,” he said. “The ball today creates more traction and use less rotation.”

Franks has seen the sport become more developed over the years and a lot more competitive. “Years ago it was more or less a recreational sport but it has now developed to be a very competitive sport and now we compete quite a lot outside the island.”

And he is seeing more and more young people coming in. “We are developing. We have some seasoned veterans along with some young players. Our youth are doing well — we have bowlers like David Maycock, Lavince Samuels and Damion Matthews. These are bowlers in their early 20s and they are bowing well. Another is Ricikai Binns who bowls in college as well as Adorina Hayward who also competes in college.

“The collegiate programmes are very active and are large. A lot of them earn credits from doing it.”

Although bowling is becoming more and more professional these days Franks said that it can be difficult starting out.

“Professional bowling is a difficult area for a youngster to get involved. If you are going on the pro circuit you need sponsors. It is costly because you are travelling all over to compete and there is no guarantee of winning money.”

Bowling in Bermuda reached a high in 1998 when Conrad Lister and Antoine Jones won the silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia in team competition. The next year they became the first dual Male Athletes of the Year.

The sport at the Pan Am games next summer will be played at the Barra Shoping centre in Rio. It is currently the largest shopping and leisure mall in Latin America. There are 664 stores and 9,400 parking spaces. Inaugurated in 1981, the mall offers a diversified mix of services and includes a medical centre with 30 specialities, a corporate centre with 11 office buildings, 18 cinemas, an indoor park and of course a bowling alley — the Barra Bowling, that has the 20 of the most modern tracks in Latin America.

At the Pan Am Games in 2003 Bermuda was represented by Antoine Jones, Steven Riley, June Dill and Dianne Ingham.