Inaugural Alaska Denali Cup Match - Anchorage vs. Fairbanks

November 1, 2010

The screws are tightening on the inaugural Alaska Denali Cup.  An effort by Anchorage and Fairbanks bowlers to unite the two biggest bowling communities in a friendly, yet meaningful bowling battle is coming to reality.

Neal Johnson of Fairbanks and Andy Morton of Anchorage developed the idea on a whim while competing in tournaments over the course of the last two seasons.  “Through various conversations, we just thought it would be fun to have an event where we could bowl against each other, not for money, but for pride of our bowling community.  The rivalry is there and we’re just trying to have some fun with it,” said Andy Morton, captain of the 2010 Anchorage team.

Neal Johnson, captain of the Fairbanks team, concurred with that sentiment.  “There is an inherent rivalry between Anchorage and Fairbanks bowlers.  We don’t like to lose to them and they don’t like to lose to us.  This adds a new dimension to that rivalry and we look forward to building on it and looking toward the future,” says Johnson.

Much like the prominent Ryder Cup of golf which pits European golfers against American golfers and the Weber Cup of bowling which does the same, but with bowlers, the Denali cup is a competition between the city of Anchorage and the Fairbanks Borough.  The teams will compete in various team and singles bowling competitions including 5-man baker, 2-man scotch doubles, and individual head-to-head matches.

The competition is scheduled for November 12th, around 9:30 PM at Arctic Bowl in Fairbanks beginning with the 5-man baker matches.  Those matches will be followed by the scotch doubles matches and the event will conclude with the singles matches.  The team that wins the most points, wins the Denali Cup.

Location of the event will alternate each year between Fairbanks and Anchorage and future events could include more players per team versus the 6-player teams selected for this inaugural event.  Much of that is still being negotiated between the towns.  “We went with smaller teams this year because we have a limited amount of time and a long, grinding tournament to compete in the next two days (Fairbanks Open).  The goal is to expand this into a stand-alone event that coincides with the conclusion of the winter bowling season.  This will be a sprint in comparison to next year’s event,” explained Morton.

The inaugural Anchorage team consists of captain Andy Morton, Steve Brown, Chris Clapper, Doug Morton, James Krafft, and Joe Krison.  “I’m pretty happy with my team.  We’re all good friends, we know each other’s game and though we know it won’t be easy, we plan on bringing the Cup back to Anchorage.  Anything less will be a failure,” Morton commented.

The Fairbanks team consists of captain Neal Johnson, Alex Holan, Jose Pluma, Dan Peck, Justin Unger and Todd Richardson.  “Anchorage has a lot of individual talent, but we’re on our home floor and we intend to win and send Andy and his crew back to Anchorage with their tails between their legs and without the Cup,” said Johnson.

The trophy cup is named after Mt. Denali, which many know today as Mt. McKinley (renamed after former United States President William McKinley).  The mountain is roughly halfway between Anchorage and Fairbanks on the highway that connects the two communities.