For over fifty years, the Professional Bowlers Association has provided riveting entertainment for bowling fans worldwide. The PBA tour allows the best bowlers in the world to compete at the highest levels and yet, despite a tradition steeped in history, professional bowling remains an underground sport struggling for attention and respect. 

Perhaps better known for its somewhat unfortunate portrayal in the media through movies like The Big Lebowski, Kingpin, and even Bowling for Columbine, bowling allows a comfortable existence for only its very best competitors.   The life of a professional bowler can be a difficult one. Life on the road can take a toll on both the body and the social life of these tireless competitors. And yet they persevere through the tough times in order to compete at the highest level in the sport.

The Pain Channel wanted to find out more about the life of a professional bowler – how the sport affects their health, how they deal with injuries and stay in the right shape to compete, and how they prepare mentally and physically for their craft- and so we went to Las Vegas to document the 2011 PBA Tournament of Championships. With an unprecedented one million dollars in prizes, the event offered the most lucrative payouts in PBA history. 

The Tournament of Champions was rich in storylines as well. Kelly Kulick, the defending champion, looked to prove that a woman rising to the top of the sport is no fluke. Chris Barnes, tournament darling and winner of the previous week’s  PBAWorld Championship, looked to avenge his loss to Kulick in last year’s event. And Tom Smallwood, who joined the tour after being laid off from General Motors in December 2008, made it all the way to the finals, where he was defeated by “Major Mika” Koivuniemi.

But beneath the obvious narrative, there lies another compelling story: a tour full of athletes fighting through injuries to continue playing the sport they love . Our dedicated crew went to Vegas to film a bowling tournament and discovered the triumph of the human spirit instead.