Bowling's Belmonte honoured at USA's ESPY awards

Australian tenpin bowling sensation, Jason Belmonte, has received the ESPY award for tenpin bowling.

Just a fortnight before his 28th birthday, Belmonte strode the red carpet at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles to attend the 2011 Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards (ESPYS).

The glittering Awards ceremony was televised live globally and the nomination of Belmonte and fellow Aussie sports stars - Stephanie Gilmore (surfing) and Lauren Jackson (basketball) - highlights the prominent achievements of Australian athletes on the world stage.

The annual 'big night out' gathers top celebrities from sports and entertainment to commemorate the past year in sport, and honour the best athletes and most memorable moments from the world of sport. It allows fans worldwide to join in an online vote for the winners in more than 30 categories, and this year's Awards ceremony was hosted by comedian and actor, Seth Meyers.

Described by commentators as the dark horse of the Bowling category when pitted against reigning Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Player of the Year, Mika Koivuniemi from Finland and American stars Chris Barnes and Billy O'Neill, Belmonte was given the longest odds by all pre-award prediction experts.

However, Belmonte has wide-ranging credentials on and off the lanes. In 2009 he was named the Bowling Foundation's first Goodwill Ambassador, appointed first Ambassador for the City of Orange, and voted 'Best Male Sports Star of the Decade' in the Central Western Daily poll in the same year.

His outstanding success - including dual World Bowler of the Year titles, 2007 Bowling World Cup champion, BJI's 2009 International Person of the Year award and 2009 Rookie of the Year on the PBA Tour - has made an indelible impact on the sport. He is the first Australian to win a PBA title and has been recruited as an international spokesperson for youth and the burgeoning two-handed approach delivery by the sport's international governing body, the World Tenpin Bowling Association.

To accommodate the new crop of bowlers who are emulating the success of the two-handed delivery, the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) coaching program - which trains and certifies bowling coaches - is researching and developing methods for teaching these athletes.

USBC Gold Coach, Rod Ross (head coach for the International Training and Research Centre) and for Team USA explains "the two-handed delivery is a hot trend in bowling today. This is a style to be reckoned with - it's here to stay."

Belmonte's unique delivery and charismatic personality, together with a string of titles at amateur and professional level, have propelled the popular young bowler to superstar status in the elite ranks of the sport he loves and excels in, but Belmonte maintains a typically down-to-earth Aussie attitude to his success.

Belmonte told Grandstand Active host, Simone Thurtell "I like to keep things in perspective and I'm very proud to know I have a very large support base of fans, as well as my family and friends, who recognise what I do for my sport, as well as my personal achievements.

"It's wonderful to win accolades like this, but for me it's not just about the financial gain or recognition of bowling on Tour, it's all the things in between ï¾ bowling has taken me to more than 35 countries around the world and I've met some pretty cool people and seen some amazing things in my travels. Bowling has given so much to me, so I want to always give back to bowling."

Belmonte admitted that while the US Tour was a lot more cut-throat and demanding time-wise than the Asian or European tours, one of the biggest advantages of the sport is the fact that bowlers can compete at elite level for loon ESPN Australia at at 8pm on Sunday 17th July.

For more information go to espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/6767665/2011-espy-awards-winners-revealed-los-angeles

20th June 2008 - BOWLING ON STRIKE