Bowlway Lanes goes for three-peat in Elgin Cross-Town Classic
Bowlway Lanes will be going for a three-peat when the Elgin Cross-Town Classic continues this year. The annual tournament features top bowlers from Bowlway and Elgin Lanes competing in challenge matches. The event is free and open to the public.
The first three matches will be Saturday, March 7, at Bowlway Lanes, 810 Villa St., starting at noon. The following week, on Saturday, March 14, at Elgin Lanes, 401 Shepard Drive, will host the next three matches starting at noon. The team that wins the most match game points will be this year's Match-Game Champion.
Event coordinator Sean Hargadon expects some high scoring action this year.
"The last couple years have been challenging at times with high scores being a premium," he said. "But I think this year we'll see some fast-paced action and higher scores."
In last year's match, Elgin Lanes jumped out quickly during the first weekend of competition, but as the matches continued, Bowlway grinded out a 37-21 victory in match points and more than 250 pins. Since the beginning of the Elgin Cross-Town Classic, Bowlway Lanes has won 10 out of 12 matches and never lost a match at home.
According to Elgin Lanes General Manager Lex Perly, who was optimistic after last year's defeat, this year will be different.
"We have something special here between the two bowling centers," he said. "A lot of hard work is done to make this event a success, and this year we'll be back with a new lineup."
The Elgin Cross-Town Classic features five players per team, selected from each bowling center. A throwback to the past, it features challenge matches, a format popular in the 1930s through 1950s when bowling centers would form teams of top bowlers to compete against each other.
Bowlway and Elgin Lanes will match their best bowlers against each other for three matches (games) at each bowling center. Whatever team has the most match points after two weekends is declared the winner.
Bowlers can win one point by beating his opponent each game along with a point for series. Each team will be able to win two points for each game won, plus three points for series. There will be a possible 29 points that can be won each week.
The team that wins the most match game points during the two-week competition will win the Mayor's Cup, personally presented by Elgin Mayor Dave Kaptain. If there is a tie, total pin count for all the matches will determine the winner.
To learn more, visit the Facebook page for Elgin Cross-Town Bowling Classic III.