Key Takeaways From the 2025 IBF World Seniors Championships

I recently had the opportunity to coach Team Canada at the IBF World Seniors Championships in Reno, Nevada. Like I did with the 2024 World Youth Championships and the more recent Pan American Youth Bowling Championships, I wanted to share some of my key takeaways from this event.

The World Seniors Championships included over 380 bowlers from all around the world, participating in the Senior (50 and up) and Grand Senior (65 and up) divisions. There was quite a variety of bowlers, including legends like Parker Bohn III, Chris Barnes, and Lynda Barnes, former world champions, and even bowlers competing for the first time in an international competition.

The pattern was challenging, and the National Bowling Stadium can be a bit tricky. That said, talent, passion, competitiveness, and sportsmanship were all on full display.

Age is just a number

It may sound like a cliché, but it is inspiring to be around senior bowlers who are still so passionate about the sport. Team USA was the class of the field, with PBA and PWBA Hall of Famers on the roster. Combined, they’ve won dozens of amateur, international, and professional titles. None of them has anything to prove, so you know they are there because of a passion for the sport and a desire to represent their country. They were the outliers in terms of talent level, but not in terms of competitiveness.

Even without that kind of track record, the bowlers at the World Seniors Championships were all driven by their passion for their sport. Past their primes but still competitive, there’s a special kind of energy in this field. It’s also impressive to see bowlers having adapted to the effects of Father Time.

Slower ball speeds

It’s a common refrain among older bowlers that ball speed will drop with age. This was true even at this level. In speaking with some of the bowlers and coaches, and by observing the lane play decisions, there are a few things that these bowlers have done to adjust their games ...