ABOUT ME

Hello Everyone!

It’s awesome to Meet You

Being a professional bowler is the BEST job in the World! I get to do what I love for a living, travel the world, meet tons of amazing people and inspire and teach prospective new bowlers to fall in love with the Sport like I have! It’s been an amazing journey, one I’ve dreamt of since I was a little girl, and I can’t wait to see what’s Next!

EARLY YEARS

I started bowling at the young age of 2 ½ years old. My father, Frank Bellinder was a professional bowler and owned a bowling pro shop, so I literally grew up in and around a bowling center.

I spent every day after school and every day in the summer coming to work with my Dad. I got to help out inside his pro shop, play in the arcade, but most of all, I got to BOWL!

From a very young age, I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up – a professional bowler. That was my answer in Kindergarten and remained the answer throughout my entire life!

My Dad was my coach growing up. He travelled all across the Country with me, taking me to tournaments.

COMING INTO MY OWN

At 14 years old, that’s when it really sunk in that I could do this! It was my destiny!

As an eighth grader just after my 14th birthday, I shot my very first perfect 300 game at a junior scratch tournament. One week later, I shot my 2nd perfect 300 game in our scratch travel League and just 3 months later, I added a 3rd perfect 300 game in another junior scratch tournament, all 3 bowled in different bowling centers.

This feat, along with starting to win major California tournaments competing against 21/22 year olds and then later that summer, earning a spot for the elite Team USA Trials as the youngest ever to qualify to compete for the event, catapulted me to another level.

I went on to win several junior tournaments throughout my teenage years, the biggest of which was becoming the First Ever Junior Gold National Champion in 1998 in Reno, Nev.  I qualified for Junior Team USA the first 3 years of its existence, finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively. I was also later named the 2001 Alberta E. Crowe Star of Tomorrow, which is basically the Hall of Fame for Junior Bowlers.

COLLEGIATE BOWLING

I did bowl collegiately, although that wasn’t my initial plan. After not being accepted to my first choice school – UCLA, I decided to stay close to home and go to California State University, Fullerton. That was probably one of the best decisions I could have made. Collegiate bowling taught me teamwork, made lifelong friends and ended up having a few pivotal moments that were history-making performances in my career.

I bowled for two years on the Women’s Team and two years on the Men’s Team. In my junior year, we didn’t have enough women to field a team, so myself and Roberta Vann bowled with the Men.

We went on to make the National Championships, and I had the honor of anchoring our Men’s team to a 4th place finish, which is the highest finish ever by a Mixed Team in the Men’s Division. Also in that event, I was named Most Valuable Player and to the All-Tournament team in the MEN’S Division. In that same year, I was also Named Collegiate Bowler of the Year and Most Valuable Player for the entire collegiate season.

PROFESSIONAL BOWLING CAREER

The semester before I graduated from CSU, Fullerton, my lifelong dreams were shattered…the Professional Women’s Bowling Association folded. Luckily the Professional Bowler’s Association (PBA) opened it’s membership to women, and I became the first woman to EVER join the PBA.

For over a decade, I competed against the men, travelled all over Europe and Asia and bowled anything and everything I could.

In 2015, the PWBA Tour re-launched and has been my home away from home until now.

MY OTHER PASSIONS

Bowling has given me so much, and I love giving back to the Sport through my business ventures.

My husband and I own Parkin’s Bowling Supply – a chain of 10 bowling pro shops throughout Southern California. Stop by any of our locations for all of your bowling needs!

In 2021, we also saved and re-opened Mira Mesa Lanes, a 44-lane bowling center in San Diego, CA.  If you’re in the area, be sure to stop on in and bowl a game or five.