At Quad
Squad bowling this past Saturday, 16-year-old Alex McDonald set -- and
reset -- the record for dynamic wheelchair bowling by a male with Muscular
Dystrophy!
Since I'm going to post the verified scoresheet, I have to "explain"
Alex's first game... warm up! Typically speaking, the first few strike
attempts and spare attempts, it is a "feeling out" process to see how
our bowling ball will break with certain shots, given the lane
conditions, and also how our IKAN Bowlers are set up, and it's also all
relative to how our bodies are positioned in our chairs. So when you see
that Alex opened with a 91, that isn't his usual, but it is not uncommon
to see missed shots and multiple splits particularly in the first game
as we get acclimated (the circled number below indicates a split).
So after a warm up game, Alex started heating up. He improved his second
game by 30 points, then went "off" in his third game. I was bowling next
to him and we have a healthy (and friendly) competition.
Alex started bowling his third game before I started mine, so as he made
a good shot, I needed to answer. After opening with an open frame, Alex
quickly got on a roll. He actually finished with just two open frames
that game--he had either a strike or spare in the eight other
frames--and finished with a new MD record of 180!
I managed to keep the heat on Alex and finished with 176 that game. I
congratulated Alex on his new record, and we both wanted to bowl a
fourth game. Once again, Alex started with an open frame (a difficult
split) but then he finished with NO open frames and smashed his 180 with
an impressive 192!
Again I kept the heat on with another 176, but the bowling day clearly
belonged to Alex. And so does the record for dynamic wheelchair bowling by
a male with Muscular Dystrophy!
Congratulations Alex, and welcome to the 190-Club! I sincerely look
forward to you joining the 200-Club with me and two others (Jon
Musgrave, the overall record holder with a 243 high game; and a Veteran
named Anthony, who I believe had a 214 high game, but unfortunately he
passed away--which helps to underscore the importance of us wheelchair
users enjoying ourselves when we can, just like able-bodied people do,
and bowling is a good way we can).
May God bless all who read this and may you find some enjoyment every
day--bowling or otherwise!
Here's Alex's scoresheet:

GREAT JOB
ALEX! :-)
Bill Miller :-)
C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 206 High Bowling Game
Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT
My blog:
http://powerwheelchairusers.blogspot.com
Business website:
http://www.ikanbowler.com
Personal website:
http://www.lookmomnohands.net
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