Ice Strike: Ice Bowling Classic continues today

SHEBOYGAN - Thousands of bowlers will try to stay on their feet this weekend. The 23rd annual Ice Bowling Classic kicked off Friday at the Blue Line Ice Center.

Organizers expect more than 2,500 people to hit the ice, and an additional 30,000 to watch the spectacle.

The tournament continues today with bowling and live bands from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m.

The event is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Blue Line Association, which provides Blue Line Hockey for kids of all ages.

Money raised helps 10 youth hockey groups to buy equipment, ice time and uniforms.

Dan Bogenschuetz, 52, the tournament director, declined to say how much money the tournament raises for the youth groups.

More than 600 teams paid a $30 entry fee for their half-hour time slots this year.

The tournament draws people from across the Midwest to the ice rink, half of which is transformed into a mock bowling alley.

Wooden rails replace the gutters, and volunteer teens act like old-fashioned ball returns.

In front of the lanes, bowlers carefully selected their balls. They swung their arms and practiced their swing.

Hitting that turkey - three strikes in a row - is even harder than a regular bowling game, though.

There's a strategy to ice bowling, Bogenschuetz said.

"The only thing you have to remember is you're standing on ice and the ball is rolling on ice," he said.

Vicki Vugrinovich, 50, of Sheboygan Falls, solicited advice before hitting the iced lanes for the first time Friday night. "I asked someone what the secret was. They said the secret is there is no secret," she said. "I think staying on your feet is the secret."

Paula Kuhn, 49, of Sheboygan, traded in her bowling ball to volunteer this year as an official scorer.

She suggested bowlers brace themselves with one foot against the wooden rail.

"My goal was always just to stay on my feet. I've seen people fall on their face," she said. "You kind of get to know how the ice works for you."

Brian Diener, 25, of Sheboygan, prepped for his first ice bowling experience by sliding repeatedly across the ice to test its slickness: "You've got to get warmed up before you do anything. You don't want to pull anything."

He narrowly missed a turkey, which would have been a rare feat at the Ice Bowling Classic.

Sam Jensen, 21, of Sheboygan, had a less sanitary strategy: Lift up each foot before walking on the ice and brush off the bottom of his shoe.

As the beer flowed from plastic pitchers, more laughter erupted as bowlers took spectacular spills.

At least one man, though, was unimpressed by the slipping. Jan Vojta, 62, of Sheboygan, ignored the ice and used his training as an engineer to plan.

"Fortunately, you don't have gutters, so if you have a gutter ball, you can come back and get a strike," he said.

Bowlers who ace their ice strategy and score a strike or a high score could land a pair of airline tickets, a five-day pass to Country USA or gift certificates.

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