Recent News
Dan Bayerl: Bronze Medal Bowling Champion
January 1, 2014 — Congratulations to Dan Bayerl for being awarded a bronze medal in the State Bowling Tournament for the Minnesota Special Olympics!
Dan has been working at Functional Industries since November 2012 and has participated in Special Olympics on and off for over 20 years, competing in bowling, track and field, and swimming. Dan has really shown an interest in competing and participating in Special Olympics has given him that opportunity; he describes his involvement with Special Olympics as “a way to be competitive in a friendly atmosphere.”
Competing in Regions and State is not a new experience for Dan; in 1985 he competed in Aquatics (100 meter freestyle and 4x50 freestyle relay) and made it to Regions and State, however did not place at the state tournament in those events. Dan also competed in Track and Field (100 yard dash, 4x100 relay, shot put, and softball throws) and went to State three years in a row for Track and Field in 1983, 1984, and 1985. In those years Dan earned a total of eleven medals, ten gold medals and one silver medal.
In the fall of 2013 Dan began competing in Singles Bowling, which is an individual competition where no ramps are used. Bowling season is September through November with practice once a week on Monday nights. Dan’s high bowling scores during weekly practices qualified him to participate in the Regional competition that took place on October 5th in Monticello, MN.
Dan knew that to qualify for the State Bowling Tournament he had to place 1st or 2nd at Regions; he loves to be competitive and set his sights on making it to State, with the ultimate goal of earning a medal at the State competition. Dan’s Region bowling scores were 125 and 126, which successfully secured him a seat in the State Bowling Tournament!
The Minnesota Special Olympics State Bowling Tournament was hosted by the Brunswick Zone bowling alley in Brooklyn Park, MN on November 16, 2013. Dan believed if he achieved a score of over 100 in both games he would be a medal contender. In preparation for State he continued attending his regular bowling practices on Monday nights and additional practices on other week nights or during the weekend whenever possible.
Dan described the State Bowling Tournament event as having “a lot of competition”, there were several bowlers per lane and each lane in the facility was occupied. Dan bowled two games (scoring 90 and 95) and was awarded the bronze medal!
Competing in the Minnesota Special Olympics keeps Dan driven and working hard; bowling has given him a competitive outlet, a place to engage with friends, meet new people and demonstrate his ability to work hard and achieve his goals. Dan plans on participating in bowling again next year and personally identified his goals as placing 1st at Regions, as well as bringing home the gold medal by placing 1st at the State Bowling Tournament.
Dan described winning as, “feeling really good that I accomplished something… proud!” Yet he knows not every game is going to have a high score and lead to winning medals; Dan said, “you win some, you lose some!” He is planning on participating in Special Olympics Basketball this winter. Functional Industries’ team wishes Dan success in his future endeavors!
MEDIA CONTACT:
Jaime Baker
jbaker@functionalindustries.org
763-233-5162