By Ashley M. Casey

Staff Writer

The country’s heaviest hitters in bowling are coming to town. The United States Bowling Congress Open Championships will rattle the lanes at the Oncenter from late March to early July.

But that’s just the main event. To cater to the influx of more than 30,000 bowlers into the Syracuse area during the championships, Flamingo Bowl in Liverpool will host the Bowling This Month Tournaments from March 22 to July 9.

This series of mini-tournaments is open to all bowlers, not just those participating in the USBC Open Championships. This year marks the 16th series of tournaments hosted by BTM, a digital magazine that provides serious bowlers with the latest technical tips.

The event includes three tournaments: the signature BTM Tournament, which consists of three games across six lanes; a nine-pin no-tap tournament in which a bowler only needs to knock down nine pins to count as a strike; and the Junior BTM Tournament, which will award scholarships to bowlers 20 and younger.

Bowlers do not have to register in advance for the BTM Tournaments. Scores are tallied across the three-plus months of play, and bowlers can track their scores throughout the tournament.

“The Syracuse area has a lot of great bowlers, and bowling has continued to thrive where it has not in other markets,” said Rick Ramsey, BTM Tournaments manager. “It’s such a great game year-round — particularly in the wintertime when the weather is like this.”

Bowlers who attend the 110-day USBC Open Championships spend an average of three days in the host city, Ramsey said. BTM Tournaments’ slogan is “stay and play one more day,” encouraging championships attendees to stick around to play in side events and take in what the Syracuse area has to offer.

Ramsey estimated the USBC Open will draw 30,000 bowlers, about 3,000 of whom are expected to participate in the BTM Tournaments.

“If we can get 3,000 people to stay in the Syracuse market one more day than they planned, it’ll have an economic impact,” Ramsey said.

BTM and Flamingo Bowl are looking to partner with local businesses to promote the event, offering businesses the opportunity to display banner ads and promotional materials at Flamingo Bowl, run ads on BTM’s website and flyers and offer $2 discounts with coupons called “Bowler Bucks.”

“It’s like a phony $2 bill with the merchants’ names on it,” Ramsey explained.

Even if the pro bowlers don’t spend an extra day in Syracuse, Ramsey said, the promotions will reach locals who stop by Flamingo Bowl for a few frames.

Ramsey said BTM has already reached out to some Central New York league bowlers to the BTM Tournaments, but anyone can participate. The tourneys encompass several divisions for a variety of ages and abilities.

“Because the bowling community is aging, we started a ‘Super Duper Senior’ division for bowlers 75 and older,” said Ramsey. “It was exciting to see those gentlemen — and a couple ladies — compete at their age level. That particular division will increase significantly.”

While BTM has made more room for its oldest players, this year’s tournament will celebrate the youngest bowlers for the first time.

“The future of bowling is the youth, and we thought we’d start a youth tournament. They’ll earn scholarship money to help them with higher education or technical school,” Ramsey said of the junior division. “New York has a strong high school bowling program and a junior program throughout the state.”

Ramsey said BTM expects to pay out $25,000 to $35,000 in scholarships and as much as $130,000 in prize money.

Even those whose bowling skill level is closer to the gutter than the top tier can participate. The nine-pin no-tap tournament puts players on equal footing, Ramsey said.

“It’s more of a fun event for the teams to get together and enjoy the camaraderie,” he said, “and not worry about the score.”