PBA Regional Players Offered Two Ways to Earn Exemptions

SEATTLE (March 14, 2008) — Bowlers looking to earn exemptions for the 2008-09 Denny’s Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour have two ways to go about obtaining such exemptions in the coming months.

A total of seven exemptions will be up for grabs in the 2008 Denny’s PBA Tour Trials, May 27-June 1 at Stardust Bowl II in Merrillville, Ind. This marks the second consecutive season and the fourth time in five seasons the event has been held in the Merrillville, Ind., bowling center.

As in years past, the Denny’s PBA Tour Trials features a five-day competition with one day taking place on each of the five standard PBA oil patterns. Competitors will bowl nine games each day with the top seven bowlers based on total pinfall after the 45 games earning exemptions through 2008-09.Exemptions will also still be eligible to players who bowl full-time in the PBA Regional Tour program. Although an exemption will no longer automatically go to the point leader in each of the seven PBA Regions, eight bowlers will now receive exemptions via the 2008 Regional Players Invitational (RPI), Dec. 9-11 at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev.The top 25 bowlers on the RPI points list in each of the seven PBA regions (through September 2008) will earn an invitation to the 2008 RPI. The top five from each region – plus the winner of the 2008 Regional Players Championship which takes place in late May – will receive airfare and accommodations for the event in December. The normal $150 entry fee will still be required for those players, but they will not have to pay an additional fee to be eligible for an exemption.The next 20 players in each region will pay their own way to the RPI and will also be required to pay an additional $750 to be eligible for the exemptions on top of their $500 entry fee. All bowlers competing in the event are guaranteed a minimum $400 cash spot.The 2008 RPI will feature a similar format to the Denny’s PBA Tour Trials in that competitors will bowl for five days on each of the PBA’s five oil patterns. The top eight bowlers who have paid the additional entry fee will earn exemptions for the 2008-09 season, provided they finish in the top 16 overall.