Bowling championships kick off Saturday at River Center

The 2012 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships will begin its 151-day run Saturday at the newly transformed, state-of-the-art, 48-lane bowling facility inside the Baton Rouge River Center, where the first of more than 60,000 bowlers will take to the lanes. All bowling congress events are free and open to the public. An opening ceremony will begin at 12:30 p.m., with the festivities to include LSU cheerleaders, Krewe of Artemis and live entertainment, as well as local and bowling-industry dignitaries. The first of more than 12,000 five-player teams will begin bowling for score at approximately 2 p.m. at the conclusion of the opening ceremony. A number of additional events are scheduled in the coming weeks, including a youth event on Feb. 12, the Special Olympics National Unified Tournament on Feb. 15 and 16, a celebrity bowling challenge on Feb. 24, and a high school tournament on Feb. 25. Complete details of these events are not yet available. Click here for more information on the USBC Open Championships.