Fires are ravaging top-ranked bowler’s homeland. Here’s how he plans to help Australia.
Jason Belmonte didn’t have any time Tuesday morning for jet lag after the long flight a day earlier from Australia.
The three-month grind of the GoBowling! PBA Tour begins this week with the Hall of Fame Classic, and the world’s top-ranked bowler knows the schedule doesn’t afford much time to play catch-up.
While leaving his home and family behind is nothing new for the world’s top-ranked bowler, that doesn’t mean it’s become any easier.
This time was even more challenging.
“It’s hard enough at the best of times, let alone when your country is suffering,” Belmonte said.
His hometown of Orange, New South Wales, is only an hour away from one of the many bush fires raging in Australia. While his wife and three children are safe from the flames, everyday living has been altered dramatically.
Though thousands of miles away, Belmonte will try to do his part to assist those affected by the fires by donating money for each strike he throws this season during a television broadcast.
If Belmonte’s impressive 2019 is any indication — he reached 12 finals and won two majors among his four wins — he stands to raise a hefty total.
That’s the goal, of course, but he’s also thinking about the trials facing his family and fellow Aussies.
“My town is doing all it can to take precautions in case the fires currently lit start moving toward us or if a new fire starts,” Belmonte said.
“What we’re dealing with is the heavy polluted air. The smoke ... you can’t go outside. You cannot take steps to go get your mail. It’s dangerously unhealthy. I can only imagine the devastation to the towns and the people’s home and the people themselves when their actual homes are one fire.”
Any money he raises will go to three separate groups: the Red Cross, the Royal Fire Service and WIRES Wildlife Rescue.
He has established a text line that will provide a link to make a donation for those who text FIRES to 802-552-3566, and he is also in the process of creating a GoFundMe page and drumming up support from fellow bowlers.
Aussies is taking note of the compassion heading their way worldwide, Belmonte said. It’s not just celebrities and large corporations in the United States, but folks from all walks of life doing what they can.
“I’m trying to do whatever I can to help alleviate the pain,” Belmonte said. “Every penny helps.”
To reach a TV broadcast of a stepladder finals, Belmonte must finish in the top five among all qualifiers.
The Hall of Fame Classic field isn’t a large as a normal event, with only 56 bowlers at the Bowling International Training and Research Center near Six Flags. Qualifying starts Wednesday and continues Thursday until 14 bowlers remain. Nine more will be eliminated through head-to-head play.
Among those competing this week is baseball All-Star Mookie Betts, the Boston Red Sox right fielder and 2018 American League MVP. He’s an avid bowler competing on a commissioner’s exemption.
Belmonte, though, is at the best at his craft, and has been for many seasons running. He has won a record 11 major titles and is a five-time and reigning PBA Player of the Year.
This season he’ll be bowling for Australia.
“It was tough to leave home, but unfortunately live goes on,” he said. “You try to do what you can, which why I’m creating money and raising funds. But I’ve got a job to do still.”
This story was originally published January 15, 2020 at 12:22 PM.
