I’ve been traveling to the USBC Nationals tournaments for the last four years and this year will mark my fifth straight event. Over the last few years I’ve always enjoyed bowling the main tournament but I’ve also been interested in the side tournaments as well. Some of them I haven’t been able to bowl in, other’s I’ve not had the time to bowl in but if you are making a trip to the UCBC Open you should at least consider bowling in at least one of them.
A good friend of mine, Lloyd, has always told me that he likes to make special trips to Nationals (if it’s close to home) just to bowl all the sidepots and companion tournaments. Finding good travel deals to Reno isn’t all that hard if you are somewhat local. If you are a big tournament bowler it may make more sense to just fly to Nationals in Reno for a weekend just to hit up a side event as opposed to planning a really long trip full of bowling every day or multiple times a day. Also, since many of the side events allow you as a bowler to enter multiple times you can get a feel for the way a shot plays on your first attempt and then travel back to Reno for a second (or third) attempt later on with a reentry which is generally cheaper.
There are a number of side events, many of which are tied to other tournaments. The following are some of the most popular:
- The 2011 Bowler’s Journal Championships by Storm – this tournament is one of the premiere side tournaments to the USBC Nationals. This year it is being held at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino.
- 2011 BTM Scratch & 1-2-3 Bowling Tournaments – This is another popular side event. This year it too is being held at the Grand Sierra.
- …more to come
Related
If you haven’t yet checked it out, here is my main USBC Open Championships index for hotel deals in Reno.
Hit this page up for more 2011 tournament information including links to the nationals sub board, tournament news, and travel deals as I post them.