Denny's Teams Up With Professional Bowlers to Teach Kids Fundamentals of the Game

Local Boys & Girls Clubs Youth Get Tips From the Pros

INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, March 03, 2005) - While there were some gutter balls, a few spares and even a strike or two, the main goal was fun at last night's "Bowling Clinic for Kids," sponsored by Denny's and the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Indianapolis. In celebration of its sponsorship of the upcoming 2005 PBA Denny's World Championship, the nation's largest family dining chain hosted the clinic at a north-side bowling center to introduce kids to bowling.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050303/DCTH058 )

Twenty Indianapolis middle-schoolers from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Indianapolis - Emma Donnan Unit got the chance to meet and share a lane with professional bowlers, Jason Hurd, Brian LeClair and Rick Lawrence, yesterday evening at Woodland Bowl on 96th Street. The three bowlers, members of the official Denny's PBA Team, are in town to compete in this week's 2005 PBA Baby Ruth(R) Real Deal Classic tour event in Indianapolis. While the competition may be grueling, the pros said leading the bowling clinics was a great new experience for them.

"We had a blast with that clinic. It's always great fun for us to introduce our sport to youth, especially those who've never really had much chance to play before," said PBA bowler Jason Hurd. "We loved being able to talk to the kids, coach them and show them the many opportunities that bowling offers, from individual competition to league play to family fun."

The clinic began with each pro bowler telling a bit about his background and how he got started in professional sports. The pros spent about an hour bowling with groups of kids on each lane and closed out the event with a "bowl-off" competition to raise money for the Emma Donnan Unit. Each professional got the chance to play three frames, with a young partner from the Boys & Girls Club. For each strike or spare thrown, Denny's donated $50 to the organization. The result was a $500 donation for the Emma Donnan Unit.

"We're delighted that Denny's chose the Boys and Girls Clubs for this event," said Rob Thomson, director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Indianapolis - Emma Donnan Unit. "It was perfect timing for us too since we're right in the middle of setting up a brand new bowling league. The clinic was a great opportunity for the kids to learn from the best and we're thrilled that through Denny's generosity, our organization benefited also."

Denny's Franchise Operations Manager Ron Ison said the PBA partnership gave Denny's an opportunity to do something more than just the usual sponsorship activities.

"Denny's believes it's important to give back to the communities where our restaurants operate. That's why we decided to host a bowling clinic for kids," said Ison. "We wanted to give local kids an opportunity to experience bowling in a fun and unique way, and our relationship with the PBA and the professional bowlers on the Denny's team gave us the ability to do just that."

The 2005 PBA Denny's World Championship begins on March 26 in Taylor, Michigan, where Denny's will host another children's bowling clinic. Bowling fans across the country will be watching the final two days of competition at Eastern Michigan University's Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, Michigan broadcast live on ESPN at 1 p.m. (EDT) Sunday, April 3.

Denny's restaurants offer a comfortable dining atmosphere and moderately priced meals. Denny's consistently creates new menu items at affordable prices to reflect its vision of Great Food and Great Service by Great People -- Every Time.

About Denny's:

Denny's is America's largest full-service family restaurant chain, consisting of 553 company-owned units and 1,050 franchised and licensed units, with operations in the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Guam, Mexico, New Zealand and Puerto Rico. The company's stock is traded under the ticker "DNYY," and additional information is available on Denny's Web site at http://www.dennys.com.

About the PBA:

The Professional Bowlers Association features the best bowlers in the world competing in National, Regional and Senior Tour events for a total prize fund of over $9 million. The PBA has continued its remarkable growth that includes a record membership base of over 4,100 bowlers, and a 20% increase in tournament entries from the 2002-03 season to the 2003-04 campaign. For more information on the PBA, log on to http://www.pba.com.

For More Infromation Please contact:
Debbie Atkins
Denny's
Phone: (864) 597-8361
Email: datkins@dennys.com

View all Denny's Press Releases

This article has been read 289 times.

Printer Friendly