USBC Open bowler to appear on NBC's American Ninja Warrior
May 26, 2015
EL PASO, Texas - Dan Delano of Bloomington, Minnesota, was not stealthy enough to sneak in and out of the 2015 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships unnoticed, and hopefully, his upcoming appearance on NBC's "American Ninja Warrior" garners just as much attention for Delano and the sport of bowling.
The 28-year-old left-hander will appear as a contestant on an upcoming episode of the hit show, and he says his selection from a field of thousands of applicants was due in part to the uniqueness of his submission video and background in bowling.
The premise of the show is athletes from various backgrounds, such as gymnastics, dance, free running, rock climbing, CrossFit and more, using their respective skills to complete a challenging obstacle course that tests speed, strength, balance, agility and endurance.
Delano's episode of "American Ninja Warrior" will air on NBC on Monday, June 1 at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Competitive bowlers would agree that premier events like the USBC Open Championships also require intense training, balance, conditioning and endurance, along with a strong mental focus.
In bowling, though, the greatest obstacles are invisible and ever-changing.
At this year's Open Championships at the El Paso Convention Center, that comes in the form of two Sport Bowling-certified lane conditions - a 38-foot oil pattern for team competition and a 39-foot pattern for doubles and singles.
"I will definitely say that bowling is more mentally challenging because you have to think through a lot of things, and what happens during an event, even shot to shot, dictates what moves you have to make," Delano said. "With Ninja Warrior, you're on an obstacle, and you have to make split-second decisions and stay composed physically."
As a longtime bowler and former collegiate player at Arizona State, Delano has spent countless hours honing his game, and the intensity of competition over the years has helped him in his preparation for "American Ninja Warrior."
He also notes that in both activities, becoming familiar with the moves and getting different techniques down makes it easier. Then, it's a lot about repetition.
Preparing for his time on the official obstacle course in Kansas City, Missouri, led him to a facility in nearby Buffalo, Minnesota, called Ninjas United, where he could work out alongside other Ninja hopefuls on a variety of American Ninja Warrior-inspired obstacles.
"It's a lot like bowling in the sense that if you compete with the top competitors, it pushes you and helps you learn what to do and what adjustments to make," Delano said. "Watching past episodes also helps because you can see what people did and get ideas to help you have the most diverse training you can."
Getting ready for his sixth consecutive Open Championships appearance had Delano side-by-side with some of his teammates as they laid out the tournament oil pattern at a local bowling center to get in some practice.
Teammates in other areas did the same, and they shared information to help them determine their best equipment options and strategy before finalizing their plans during a team practice session on the Showcase Lanes at the El Paso Convention Center. They also competed in the Bowlers Journal Championships presented by USBC to get a look at the doubles and singles lane condition.
While "American Ninja Warrior" requires more upper-body strength, many bowling coaches teach how important lower-body strength is to success on the lanes. Combining the two has benefitted Delano in both areas.
"In both areas, arm strength and coordination are important, but knee and hip and lower-body strength are really important, too," said Delano, who worked out intensely three or four days a week leading up to the taping of the show. "I definitely feel better on the lanes because of it. I've seen more revs and versatility in changing speeds, and I haven't seen as much fatigue when bowling a lot of games."
When competing on the biggest stage in bowling, participants can see the tournament leaderboard and know what scores they need to beat in team, doubles, singles and all-events.
There's no qualifying and no finals at the Open Championships, though. Simply, on the last day of the 128-day 2015 tournament, the highest score in each category will be declared the winner, and all bowlers who fit within the respective cash ratio will take home a share of the multi-million-dollar prize fund.
In "American Ninja Warrior," those who successfully complete the finals course in their designated region move on to the national finals in Las Vegas, where they face a four-stage course modeled after the famed Mount Midoriyama course in Japan.
There is a grand prize of $1 million up for grabs at the national finals, although reports show that no one in the show's history has been successful.
"Doing the show was pretty much what I expected, and the atmosphere was great," Delano said. "You're not competing against each other, you're competing against the course and just trying to achieve a personal-best, so everyone is cheering for one another. The whole staff and all the competitors were great."
The American version of the show is based on Japan's "Sasuke" from Tokyo Broadcasting System Television. The original series is in its 31st season in Japan. To date, only three contestants have completed the Japanese course.
This year in El Paso, Delano navigated his way through nine games of competition, shooting 543 in singles, 523 in team and 509 in doubles for a 1,575 all-events total. His career average at the Open Championships is 190.1.
"I find both activities exhilarating, and I don't think I'll give up on either for a while," Delano said. "They're fun, the crowds and people are great and it's nice to compete on a national scale to test yourself against the best. Of course, a main goal is to improve every time."
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.
The 28-year-old left-hander will appear as a contestant on an upcoming episode of the hit show, and he says his selection from a field of thousands of applicants was due in part to the uniqueness of his submission video and background in bowling.
The premise of the show is athletes from various backgrounds, such as gymnastics, dance, free running, rock climbing, CrossFit and more, using their respective skills to complete a challenging obstacle course that tests speed, strength, balance, agility and endurance.
Delano's episode of "American Ninja Warrior" will air on NBC on Monday, June 1 at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Competitive bowlers would agree that premier events like the USBC Open Championships also require intense training, balance, conditioning and endurance, along with a strong mental focus.
In bowling, though, the greatest obstacles are invisible and ever-changing.
At this year's Open Championships at the El Paso Convention Center, that comes in the form of two Sport Bowling-certified lane conditions - a 38-foot oil pattern for team competition and a 39-foot pattern for doubles and singles.
"I will definitely say that bowling is more mentally challenging because you have to think through a lot of things, and what happens during an event, even shot to shot, dictates what moves you have to make," Delano said. "With Ninja Warrior, you're on an obstacle, and you have to make split-second decisions and stay composed physically."
As a longtime bowler and former collegiate player at Arizona State, Delano has spent countless hours honing his game, and the intensity of competition over the years has helped him in his preparation for "American Ninja Warrior."
He also notes that in both activities, becoming familiar with the moves and getting different techniques down makes it easier. Then, it's a lot about repetition.
Preparing for his time on the official obstacle course in Kansas City, Missouri, led him to a facility in nearby Buffalo, Minnesota, called Ninjas United, where he could work out alongside other Ninja hopefuls on a variety of American Ninja Warrior-inspired obstacles.
"It's a lot like bowling in the sense that if you compete with the top competitors, it pushes you and helps you learn what to do and what adjustments to make," Delano said. "Watching past episodes also helps because you can see what people did and get ideas to help you have the most diverse training you can."
Getting ready for his sixth consecutive Open Championships appearance had Delano side-by-side with some of his teammates as they laid out the tournament oil pattern at a local bowling center to get in some practice.
Teammates in other areas did the same, and they shared information to help them determine their best equipment options and strategy before finalizing their plans during a team practice session on the Showcase Lanes at the El Paso Convention Center. They also competed in the Bowlers Journal Championships presented by USBC to get a look at the doubles and singles lane condition.
While "American Ninja Warrior" requires more upper-body strength, many bowling coaches teach how important lower-body strength is to success on the lanes. Combining the two has benefitted Delano in both areas.
"In both areas, arm strength and coordination are important, but knee and hip and lower-body strength are really important, too," said Delano, who worked out intensely three or four days a week leading up to the taping of the show. "I definitely feel better on the lanes because of it. I've seen more revs and versatility in changing speeds, and I haven't seen as much fatigue when bowling a lot of games."
When competing on the biggest stage in bowling, participants can see the tournament leaderboard and know what scores they need to beat in team, doubles, singles and all-events.
There's no qualifying and no finals at the Open Championships, though. Simply, on the last day of the 128-day 2015 tournament, the highest score in each category will be declared the winner, and all bowlers who fit within the respective cash ratio will take home a share of the multi-million-dollar prize fund.
In "American Ninja Warrior," those who successfully complete the finals course in their designated region move on to the national finals in Las Vegas, where they face a four-stage course modeled after the famed Mount Midoriyama course in Japan.
There is a grand prize of $1 million up for grabs at the national finals, although reports show that no one in the show's history has been successful.
"Doing the show was pretty much what I expected, and the atmosphere was great," Delano said. "You're not competing against each other, you're competing against the course and just trying to achieve a personal-best, so everyone is cheering for one another. The whole staff and all the competitors were great."
The American version of the show is based on Japan's "Sasuke" from Tokyo Broadcasting System Television. The original series is in its 31st season in Japan. To date, only three contestants have completed the Japanese course.
This year in El Paso, Delano navigated his way through nine games of competition, shooting 543 in singles, 523 in team and 509 in doubles for a 1,575 all-events total. His career average at the Open Championships is 190.1.
"I find both activities exhilarating, and I don't think I'll give up on either for a while," Delano said. "They're fun, the crowds and people are great and it's nice to compete on a national scale to test yourself against the best. Of course, a main goal is to improve every time."
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.