The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

He has been credited with being the first Bahamian to roll a 300 average game as a bowler. But Glenroy “Flo” Saunders said there’s an even greater accomplishment for him to reflect on as he welcomes the return of competitive bowling with the Bahamas National Bowling Championships being held by the Bahamas Bowling Federation.

While on hand to watch the opening night of competition Monday at Mario’s Bowling and Entertainment Palace, Saunders said he only wished his knees were strong enough to allow him to put on his shoes to compete again. With that not being a realistic goal, Saunders said he’s just delighted to be able to bask in his past success.

“I bowled 300 in a tournament we had in Freeport, but that was not my greatest feat,” Saunders said. “When you go up against the rest of the world and you can perform the way I did, then you know you are saying something.”

The southpaw was referring to the World Cup in 1981 in Madison Square Gardens in New York where he bowled against the best amateur bowler from each of the other 41 participating countries.

“There were 42 countries entered. The format was that we played three blocks of eight games,” Saunders recalled. “At the end of the 24 games, they made a cut. They took the top 16 bowlers, who played a round robin among themselves to determine who will be in the top eight to move on. After that, the eight played among themselves to determine who got into the top four.”

This is where Saunders got his claim to fame. “If you can take a bowler from one set of bowling lanes at the Village Lanes where we only had about 20 lanes and I got into the top four out of a field of 41 other countries around the world like Canada, the United States, Mexico, Korea and China and you add up the population in those countries and the amount of bowling alleys that they have and end up with one, you see the percentage of being a top qualifier and how great a feat that was,” he said.

“To me, that was better than bowling a 300 because I beat up the best amateurs from around the world. They only pick the best male and female amateurs from those 42 countries. The United States, Canada and Mexico were probably the three biggest countries for bowling at the time. But I ended up being number three in the world at that tournament.”

Saunders had a chance to turn pro, but he wanted to prove to himself and the rest of the world that his performance was no fluke. So he returned for a second appearance at the World Cup in 1982 in Mexico, only to find out that the Bahamas wasn’t registered and so he was denied the opportunity to compete.

“I was the only bowler in the country at the time. Everybody else used to compete for second place,” Saunders said. “I left here early because I had to pay my own way and I wanted to go there to get set up and everything. I brought two more bowls in Miami so I would be prepared for any condition that I met there.

“When I got there, they told me that they never got a letter for my entry so they will wait and see if anybody drops out. But 3 o’clock on the morning of the final registration, the final guy showed up from Ethiopia and I was not allowed to bowl. They finally got my letter, but it was too late.”

Irate by his failure to get in and without an apology from the organisers, Saunders said he packed his bags, left Mexico and never bowled after that. “I just about won the World Cup and I wanted another chance to make sure that the world knew this wasn’t no luck and never got that chance,” Saunders said. “So I just quit. I had to pay all my way. The organisers paid for the hotel and food and everything when you are there if you were bowling. I had to pay my own way and so it was hard or me. I was so prepared. I guess it happened for a reason.”

Saunders returned home and continued playing golf and pool. He also played softball. But he said he was just too bitter with the whole ordeal at the World Cup that he just wasn’t prepared to play any more competitive bowling, although he still ventured into it as a pastime.

Today, as he looks back, Sunders said he would like to see the sport be rekindled with more of the young vibrant competitors getting involved. He said he will be willing to assist in whatever way he can to help improve the standard.

But he will always cherishes the memories he had when he was the top bowler in the country and one of the best amateurs in the world.