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Wearing masks will be mandatory and enforced during 2021 Henry Hitter 3-man tourney, Mark Henry says

JEFF RICHGELS | Posted: Monday, December 6, 2021 5:00 am
Wearing masks will be mandatory and enforced during 2021 Henry Hitter 3-man tourney, Mark Henry says
2019 Henry Hitter Champions Nick Wetzel, far left, Gail Myers Jr., second from right, and Jermey Wolfe, far right, with Darold Meisel Sportsmanship Award winner Leonard Wilson, second from left. Photo by Cherise Henry.

The popular Henry Hitter 3-Man Tournament originally was scheduled to have its 32nd edition on Dec. 12, 2020 at Bowl-A-Vard Lanes, but did not happen during the 2020-21 season like so many other things amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Henry Hitter founder and tournament director Mark Henry said the long-running tournament has survived “freezing cold temperatures, bad snowstorms, and even a year that we kept score by hand. Nothing seems to have stopped us.”

Until the pandemic.

The 32nd Henry Hitter now will be Saturday, Dec. 11 at 11 a.m. at Bowl-A-Vard Lanes, Henry announced in November.

And with the pandemic and Dane County’s public health rules, all players will have to wear masks during the tournament, Henry announced in a statement sent to 11thFrame.com on Sunday and attached to the bottom of this story as a PDF.

In the statement, Henry says:

I’ve been getting a lot of phone calls and e-mails about whether the tournament will require facemasks. Nobody likes to wear a mask while bowling. Several of the bowlers have informed me that they will not be able to bowl if everyone doesn’t ‘mask up’ due to health concerns or conditions.
After making a few phone calls (USBC, MBA and the state health department) about mask requirements. All of them told me the same thing. See what your local mandate says about being able to NOT wear masks in a large group event.
The Dane county mask mandate says that if EVERYONE in your group is vaccinated you are NOT required to wear masks.
The problem is that there are bowlers in the tournament that are NOT vaccinated.
This voids the prior requirement to go “maskless”
I’m going to play Good Cop/Bad Cop but the Good Cop just left the building.
32nd Henry Hitter 3-man Classic mask rule:
Due to local mandates and health concerns all bowlers are required to wear facemark during tournament competition.
Masks will be available on every lane table.
If any bowler has a problem with this tournament rule, I suggest you do three things.
1. QUIT YOUR WHINING
2. PUT ON YOUR BIG BOY PANTS
3. GROW A PAIR
Otherwise please contact your team captain and tell him to get a different bowler that is willing to compete with a mask on!!!
I KNOW IT SUCKS TO BOWL WITH A MASK. BUT IT SUCKS FOR EVERYBODY!!!!!
C’MON GUYS. THIS IS THE HITTER!!!
We’re just gonna have to “mask up” this year

The popular tournament attracts many of the top bowlers from Wisconsin and some from Illinois for great competition and camaraderie. The latter is truly the key to the event as there isn’t huge prize money or demanding lane conditions — it’s more a grand holiday bowler gathering.

How popular can be seen in the demand by bowlers to get in, which has resulted in Henry having a waiting list for years.

The 40 teams compete in four games of qualifying, with the top 16 advancing to bracket match play.

The entry fee is $225 per team. First is $1,800 and second $900.

Here is my story on the 2019 Henry Hitter won by 11thFrame.com Leftovers.