Bowling tournament eyes to grow game, put on a show

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Some of the top bowlers in the country will make their way to Sioux Falls next month for the Midwest Open Championships.

Eastway Bowl will be filled during the weekend of Aug. 16-18 as JMAR Entertainment hosts the event that features multiple bowling pros. On top of the action on the lanes, the weekend also features an array of activities from a beer garden to inflatables and other games.

“What we’re trying to do with this is introduce people to the game through entertainment,” JMAR co-owner Jay Fettig said.

It’s the first time JMAR is making its way to South Dakota after hosting two events in North Dakota last year. Immediately after those events, the conversations began to bring the action to Sioux Falls.

“I jumped at it as soon as he asked me,” Eastway Bowl general manager Duncan Devries said. “It’s something that me as a bowler would love to just bring to this area and then to be able to help put it together is just something that I’ve never had an experience like this.”

The event features three days of bowling, including a pro-am on Friday, followed by qualifying round on Saturday, and then match play and a televised final on Sunday – all designed to see pro bowlers up close compete at the highest level.

“You get to watch them on TV, but now this is an opportunity you get to bowl on these challenging conditions with them and actually see how good they really are,” Devries said. “That’s something that I think every bowler should get to experience once in their life.”

“We’re trying to take people who have never bowled to get to witness and mingle with the best in the world and everybody in between,” Fettig said.

After nearly a full year of planning, the event is set to take shape, all with the goal of fostering the next generation of bowlers right here in Sioux Falls.

“This is just trying to bring people together to have fun together, compete at a level and just experience this level of entertainment for everybody,” Devries said.

The event organizers say they hope to have a field of 120 bowlers at the event.

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