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EBONITE STAFFER HELPS KUWAIT TEAM TO GOLD, SILVER AT GCC
Oct 22, 2010
After more than a month in Kuwait, Ebonite staffer and pro shop operator Mike Calderon returned home to Phoenix, Ariz., late Oct. 18, 2010, on a 14 hour flight, and three days later drove to Las Vegas for a two-week stint at the Professional Bowlers Association’s World Series of Bowling.
“The traveling gets to be a little rough, but it’s a great job,” Calderon said. “I get to experience different cultures and get my own perspective on places like Kuwait. We only see what is on the news, and that’s not anything like the country at all.”
A member of the Ebonite staff, Calderon was in Kuwait for the Gulf Cooperation Council Championship, where he played the part of ball representative for the Kuwait National Team.
Coaches for the Kuwait National Team, Andrew Frawley and Paul Delaney, recruited Calderon while he was working for Ebonite International at the Men’s World Championships in Germany. According to Calderon the coaches and team were ready for some changes in equipment and so was the team.
“They were ready for some new equipment in fit, bowling balls and just feel,” he said. “The equipment they were using before was (a competitor’s) with a few EBI mixed in.”
The weekend of Oct. 7-8, 2010 in Bahrain, the Kuwait team participated in the 10th GCC Championship, where it finished with the most medals, including the top two spots, Calderon said.
“The fun part for me was the performance of the two guys I got to work with the most as far as layouts, equipment and ball roll,” he said. “These two guys finished first and second in the Masters event.”
Calderon fitted Rakan Al-Amiri and Fahad Al-Regheeb with several different Ebonite International products, including the Ebonite Mission and Vital Sign, and the Columbia 300 Pure Physics, he said.
For Al-Amiri, Calderon drilled two Missions — one which was pin down and finished with 2000 Abralon® and the second with the pin above the ring finger and “tour” finished with 500 Abralon®, and then polished.
“Basically, I’m sent over to help all bowlers with their equipment,” Calderon said. “I fit and measure to fit the bowlers’ hands and help match up ball layouts with their style of play. I also drill balls and if there is a pro shop, I make suggestions as to what would be the best product for their style of play.”
Calderon got his start as an Ebonite ball rep 6 years ago in the U.S. by working at Ebonite-sponsored Megabucks tournaments, where he’d hand out the newest Ebonite equipment and then map and drill it accordingly. Four years ago he began to work Ebonite showcases and at Bowl Expo.
For the fresher conditions, Calderon set Al-Regheeb up with the Columbia 300 Pure Physics, which he drilled with the pin under the ring finger and took the surface to 500 Abralon® with 4000 Abralon® done lightly by hand over that.
“This ball was the berries for the first three games of every event,” Calderon said. “Then, as the lanes broke down we went to a pin up Mission with 1000 Abralon® polished.”
Al-Miri and Al-Regheeb faced-off with their Missions in the final round of the Masters with the more experienced Al-Miri taking home the gold, and Al-Regheeb the silver. Al-Regheeb came back the next day in doubles and finished 120 over to earn a silver medal.
According to Ebonite International Vice President of International Sales Mike Quitter, Calderon has a gift when it comes to matching up equipment to players’ styles and the lane conditions.
“Mike can read the lane and the player’s style of play and know what Ebonite International product would work best and how to drill that to fit the player’s style as well as the lane condition,” Quitter said. “He is an asset we are lucky to have. He does a fantastic job.”
About Ebonite International
Ebonite International is a privately-owned company that services bowling centers, distributors and retail outlets domestically and internationally. The company’s consumer product brands include Ebonite,Hammer,Robby’s,Columbia 300,Track and Powerhouse™; its commercial product brand is Ebonite Bowling Center Direct.
