A Striking Contrast Between Success and Gain : Lack of Respect for Bowling Reflected in Champion’s Financial Struggle

Julie Gardner is a professional athlete.

She was a national champion for two years as an amateur, and in 1996--her first full year as a pro--she was ranked 24th among female competitors nationwide.

But the 29-year-old Huntington Beach resident made less money last year than the average schoolteacher. And she must sell shares of her future earnings to sponsors to compete in this year’s pro tour. Without their support, she could not afford the average $900-a-week cost of food, lodging and entry fees for the 23 weeks a year she spends away from home in tournament play.

Were she a professional golfer or tennis player, her life would be easier. But her sport is bowling, in which even top competitors are still struggling to earn respect from the public and support from sponsors.

That lack of backing has made this the first year in the sport’s history with no U.S. Open competition. The governing Bowling Proprietors’ Assn. of America has decided to shift the annual event from October to the first quarter of 1998, hoping to increase TV coverage by not competing with professional football for air time.

“To think that the highest, most prestigious tournament in bowling is not even going to happen this year--that’s incredible. It’s a sad thing to see for this sport,” Gardner said.

“If you were to go back 20 years and look at bowling’s image, compared to golf or tennis, I think that’s where the problems all started. And some people still look at bowling that way, they think of the ‘Happy Days’ television show or the movie ‘Kingpin,’ where bowlers are seen as these people who go to bowling alleys and smoke cigars and drink beer. So when sponsors are asked to support this sport that can’t even make it into the Olympics, they don’t want to put much money into it. Or they may not sponsor a particular tournament at all.”

Though her performance last year was “encouraging,” Gardner said, she has reached a crossroads. Unless she improves her standing, she might return to amateur competition.

“This is not something I want to do all my life,” she said. “It’s hard. It’s hard to travel all those weeks and go from hotel to hotel. I miss everybody at home, and the equipment is heavy. I carry about 20 bowling balls around with me at 16 pounds apiece--that’s a lot. And the money isn’t great. Sometimes I wonder whether it’s all really worth it.

“Men’s bowling is a lot more profitable than women’s bowling. For women, it’s about $9,000 or $10,000 if you win a tournament. And you’re not going to win every week, so sometimes you feel lucky just to make enough to pay for your expenses. Sometimes the men can make $20,000 or $30,000 for winning a major tournament. It’s considerably more than what we make, but it’s nothing compared to most other professional sports.”

The relatively modest earnings prospects, however, do not diminish the intensity of the competition, Gardner said.

“Some women who are out there will do little things just to try and shake your concentration. They’ll take extra time before they go up and bowl; they’ll get up on the lanes and then walk off the lanes; they’ll play with the tape in the thumb hole; or they’ll say something like, ‘Oh, are the lanes kind of slippery to you?’

“Then you might start thinking, ‘Are they kind of slick? Have I been slipping more? Or have I been sticking?’ And then you start concentrating on that so much, you’re not concentrating on what you’re doing.

“Some people do have that mentality. You do what you’ve got to do to win.”

And for those who win, much of their success can be attributed to the mastery of the intricacies of the equipment, Gardner said.

“Some people don’t think that there’s a strategy to bowling, but there really is. If you’ve got the right ball in your hand in a tournament, that can make all the difference in the world.

“Each bowling ball can be drilled differently, which will make it react in different ways on the lanes. You can have different surfaces on it, where you can put polish on or take polish off, and that will make the ball do different things. You’ve got to match everything up. If you make a mistake and use the wrong ball with the wrong surface at the wrong time, you get into trouble.”

Gardner said her sponsors and supporters keep her going, forming a kind of extended family centered at Fountain Bowl in Fountain Valley, where she has worked since age 16. They are her chief source of inspiration in a sport where fame and fortune are nearly nonexistent.

“Bowling is a sport, yes, but it can also be a very social kind of activity. Bowling people are a very unique kind of people. One of my most important goals is not to disappoint anyone.

“My goal was never to shoot 300 or to shoot an 800 series,” a three-game score of 800 or more, she said. “I never thought I would ever do either one of those. I just kind of fell into this sport. People have been nice to me and always looked out after me, and it’s helped me along the way.”

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Profile: Julie Gardner

Age: 29

Hometown: Huntington Beach

Residence: Huntington Beach

Family: Single

Education: Edison High School; Golden West College

Background: Competed in junior amateur bowling tournaments as a teenager; qualified for Team USA at age 20 and competed in international amateur bowling tournaments; ranked as national women’s amateur champion, 1990-1992; fourth in 1991 international World Cup bowling tournament; 11th in 1991 U.S. Open; one gold, two silver medals in 1991 U.S. Olympic Festival; team gold medal and silver medal in 1991 Pan American Games; turned professional in 1994 and ranked 24th in 1996 women’s pro tour; fifth in 1996 Columbia 300 Delaware Open; promotions director for Fountain Bowl

High scores: Has bowled six perfect games; two 800 three-game series; average score between 210 and 215

Bowling secret: “Bowling is 90% mental and 10% physical. If you’re doing well, it’s called being ‘in a zone,’ where nothing around you affects you whatsoever; you’re able to hit the same mark every time without having to think about it. You’re just letting yourself go.”

Source: Julie Gardner; Researched by RUSS LOAR / For The Times