MOTIV Bowling

Last updated

MOTIV Bowling is an American company involved in the manufacture and sale of bowling balls. The company headquarters are in Spring Lake, Michigan, with the main manufacturing facility in nearby Muskegon Heights. [1] [2]

Contents

History

MOTIV had its beginnings in the 1990s as Wilbur Products, a company that engineered cores for other high-performance bowling ball brands. [2] When its largest customer (Brunswick) chose to move its manufacturing from Michigan to Mexico, Wilbur Products embarked on a project to start its own bowling ball production, [3] launching the MOTIV brand in 2009. [2]

Patents

MOTIV patented a process called NeoMark[TM], which integrates logos and other graphics into the cover stock of the ball. (Other bowling ball manufacturers use etching or engraving for logos and graphics.) [3] [4]

Current company

MOTIV continues to operate out of the Muskegon, MI area, and employs approximately 65 people. [5] It has become a notable high-performance brand among league, tournament and professional players, [6] and is now one of three parent companies (with Storm and Brunswick) producing balls authorized for use on the PBA and PWBA Tours. [7]

MOTIV-sponsored professional bowlers

MOTIV has produced many bowling balls used in the sport by competitive players, and has several sponsorship agreements on both the PBA and PWBA Tours. [8]

List of notable MOTIV-sponsored players as of January, 2023:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ten-pin bowling</span> Type of bowling

Ten-pin bowling is a type of bowling in which a bowler rolls a bowling ball down a wood or synthetic lane toward ten pins positioned evenly in four rows in an equilateral triangle. The objective is to knock down all ten pins on the first roll of the ball, or failing that, on the second roll. People approach modern ten-pin bowling as either a demanding precision sport or as a simple recreational pastime.

Brunswick Corporation, formerly known as the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, is an American corporation that has been developing, manufacturing and marketing a wide variety of products since 1845. Brunswick has more than 13,000 employees operating in 24 countries. Brunswick owns major boating brands, including Sea Ray, Boston Whaler, Bayliner, Mercury Marine, Attwood, Lund, Crestliner, Mastervolt, MotorGuide, Harris Pontoons, Freedom Boat Club, Princecraft, Heyday, Lowe, Uttern, Quicksilver and CZone, among many others. In 2021, Brunswick reported sales of US$5.8 billion. Brunswick's global headquarters is in the northern Chicago suburb of Mettawa, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perfect game (bowling)</span> Highest score possible in a bowling game

A perfect game is the highest score possible in a game of bowling, achieved by scoring a strike with every throw. In bowling games that use 10 pins, such as ten-pin bowling, candlepin bowling, and duckpin bowling, the highest possible score is 300, achieved by bowling 12 strikes in a row in a traditional single game: one strike in each of the first nine frames, and three more in the tenth frame.

Diandra Hyman Asbaty is an American bowler who represented Team USA for fifteen years and was United States Amateur Champion in 1999 and 2006. She is also an official youth bowling spokesperson for the United States Bowling Congress (USBC). She competed in the PBA Women's Series from 2007 to 2010, winning two titles in that span. She also won the 2012 USBC Queens major tournament and continues to compete in PWBA tournaments. Asbaty has been elected to the USBC Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Professional Women's Bowling Association</span>

The Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) organizes and oversees a series of annual tournaments for the top competitive women ten-pin bowlers. The series is often referred to as the "women's tour" of bowling.

Carolyn Dorin-Ballard is one of the top female ten-pin bowlers in the world. She is a member of the Professional Women's Bowling Association and has bowled in PBA Tournaments as well. She was an exempt competitor in the 2008–09 and 2009-10 PBA Women's Series seasons, which were sponsored by the United States Bowling Congress (USBC). Between the PWBA and the PBA Women's Series, she has won 22 professional titles. Carolyn was a 2008 inductee into the USBC Hall of Fame, and a 2020 inductee into the PWBA Hall of Fame.

Ebonite International was a parent company that oversaw the manufacture of bowling balls and bowling equipment. Their headquarters and primary manufacturing facility was located in Hopkinsville, Kentucky before closing on November 15, 2019.

Hammer Bowling is a company involved in the manufacture and sale of bowling balls and bowling-related accessories.

Columbia Industries is a company involved in the manufacture and sale of bowling balls and ten-pin bowling-related accessories. Their most notable brand name is Columbia 300, which has produced some of the most well-known balls in the sport. Beginning in 1960 in Ephrata, Washington, Columbia Industries was the first manufacturer to successfully use polyester resin ("plastic") in bowling balls. Prior to this, nearly all bowling balls were made of a hard rubber material. The company later moved to San Antonio, Texas.

John Petraglia Sr. is an American professional bowler. He is a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), where he won 14 PBA Tour titles. He has also won eight PBA Senior Tour titles. He is a member of both the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liz Johnson (bowler)</span> American ten-pin bowler

Elizabeth Ann Johnson is an American professional bowler. She first became known as an 11-time winner on the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour, which included the first of her six U.S. Women's Open titles in 1996, before that organization suspended operations in 2003.

Brunswick Bowling & Billiards was the business segment of Brunswick Corporation that historically encompassed the following three divisions:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowling</span> Class of sports in which a player rolls a ball towards a target

Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins or another target. The term bowling usually refers to pin bowling, though in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries, bowling could also refer to target bowling, such as lawn bowls.

Thomas Smallwood is a professional ten-pin bowler competing on the PBA Tour. In 2009, the right-hander won his first PBA Tour title and first major in the PBA World Championship, defeating 2008–09 PBA Player of the Year Wes Malott in the final match. Smallwood has won three PBA Tour titles, two of which are majors. He has finished runner-up in two other PBA major championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Ciminelli</span>

Ryan Ciminelli is a left-handed ten-pin bowler originally from Cheektowaga, New York. Since 2007, he has competed on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. Ciminelli has won eight PBA Tour titles, including one major championship, in addition to 13 PBA Regional Tour titles. He has earned over $700,000 on Tour through the 2020 season, and has rolled 15 perfect 300 games in PBA competition. Ciminelli was runner-up for PBA Player of the Year in the 2015 season. He was given the nickname "The Ryan Express" in the 2012 Tournament of Champions TV introductions, while his DV8 bio listed the nickname "Hit Man".

Danielle McEwan is an American professional ten-pin bowler from Stony Point, New York. She currently competes on the PWBA Tour and in some events on the PBA Tour. She has been a member of Junior Team USA, and is a multi-year and current member of Team USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Simonsen</span> American ten-pin bowler

Anthony Walter Simonsen is an American professional ten-pin bowler. He has been a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) since 2014. Simonsen became known in bowling fan circles early in the 2016 season, when he earned the distinction as the youngest player in history to win a PBA major championship. He is now the youngest player in history to own five major PBA Tour titles. He uses the two-handed shovel-style delivery with a dominant right hand. At age 25, Simonsen eclipsed $1 million in career PBA earnings during the 2022 season. Simonsen has also bowled internationally as a multi-year member of Team USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. J. Tackett</span> Professional ten-pin bowler

Eddie Dean Tackett Jr. is an American professional ten-pin bowler. A member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) since 2012, Tackett has won 23 PBA Tour titles, including five major championships, and is one of nine professional bowlers that have completed the PBA Triple Crown. He was named PBA Player of the Year for the 2016 and 2023 seasons, and was runner-up for the award in 2017 and 2018. Tackett is right-handed and uses a cranker-style delivery. He has been called a "unicorn" in the sport, because of his ability to use a one-handed, thumb-in delivery to achieve RPM rates comparable to most two-handed bowlers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshall Kent (bowler)</span> American ten-pin bowler

Marshall Kent is an American ten-pin bowler from Yakima, Washington now residing in Clarkston, Michigan. He currently competes on the PBA Tour and World Bowling Tour. He has been a member of Junior Team USA, and is a six-time member of Team USA. He has won six PBA Tour titles and five PBA Regional titles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Storm Products</span>


Storm Products Inc. is an American company involved in the manufacture and sale of bowling balls and bowling-related accessories. The company headquarters and main manufacturing facility are in Brigham City, Utah, with two smaller facilities in California and Texas. Storm has produced many bowling balls used in the sport by competitive players, and has numerous sponsorship agreements on both the PBA and PWBA Tours. Storm currently employs about 165 people. The company manufactures about 500,000 balls a year, and ships to 70 countries.

References

  1. "Motiv Bowling home page". motivbowling.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Alexander, Dave (April 4, 2019). "Things are rolling for Motiv bowling ball manufacturer Wilbur Products". MLive.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "MOTIV Bowling – About Us". motivbowling.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  4. "MOTIV review at BowlerX.com". bowlerx.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  5. "MOTIV Bowling at Owler". owler.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  6. "What are the best bowling ball brands on the market?". beginnerbowlingtips.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  7. "PBA Registered Products". PBA.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  8. "MOTIV Team". motivbowling.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.