Tournament Action Frames a Striking Ceremony - Brief Article

WEDDING BELLS RANG amid the sound of falling pins at the National Bowling Stadium when a Washington couple wed on the center lanes on April 1.

Rhonda Poole and Steve Parsons, both of Kelso, Wash. exchanged vows in front of delighted competitors during the 81st Annual WIBC Tournament. Not surprisingly, WIBC officials believe it's the first time a couple has wed during tournament play.

"We're both really into bowling," says Poole, who got involved in the sport three years ago and now competes in two leagues. "I knew that if I wanted to see Steve I was going to have to bowl. The sport is our lives during the week."

WIBC members applauded when the two, wearing matching bowling shirts, kissed following a brief ceremony conducted by a Reno minister. The bride's son, eight-year-old Joey Keough, was the ring bearer; he carried the rings inside a bowling pin-shaped coin bank purchased just for the occasion. (During the post-ceremony festivities, Joey boasted, "I get to keep the bank.")

The decision to marry inside the NBS was mutual, says Parsons. The couple had visited Reno in 1998, when he bowled during the ABC Tournament. "The Stadium is such a beautiful place," he says.

It was a good week all around. Along with striking up a new life with her new husband, Poole reports that she bowled well during the tournament, too.

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