Although it was originally designed for competitors aged 50 and over, two slightly younger veteran players emerged as champions of the first Legends Bowling Classic.

The week-long competition concluded Sunday night at Mario's Bowling and Family Entertainment Palace with David Slatter and Angela Smith winning the men's and women's titles respectively.

It was the first major bowling tournament held in New Providence in more than a decade, due to the fact that the Village Bowling Lanes was sold out to a furniture store and Mario's Bowling just recently opened its doors to the world-class 50-lane facility.

Slatter, a 46-year-old former champion in the Bahamas Federation of Amateur Bowlers' prestigious Rothmans National Championships that was a hallmark at the Village Bowling Lanes, had a scratch total of 236 to finish 13 pinfalls ahead of his nearest rival, Mario Brown, with 223.

Rounding out the top five were Dave Moxey with 191, Sonith Lockhart with 161 and Johann Pyfrom with 181. Slatter completely dominated the competition in the men's division as he went on to post the highest set of 1,479 and the highest game of 289. At the end of the qualifying round, Slatter led the field of 33 competitors with a total scratch of 4,069 from 18 games bowled for an average of 226. Moxey, 42, trailed with 3,915 and a 218 average, while Pyfrom sat in third with 3,812 and a 212 average. Lockhart was fourth with 3,799 and a 211 average and Pyfrom ended up fifth with 3,799 and a 210 average.

Gregory Wilkinson, the assistant director of marketing and special events at Mario's, said despite the fact that the numbers were not as significant as they originally planned, the tournament was still a success.

"We anticipate a greater participation in the future when we hold an International Open Tournament," Wilkinson said. "But we were very pleased to get this one off. Hopefully, the interest will slowly get back to where it used to be." Click here to read more in The Nassau Guardian