Las Vegas bowling tournament raises over $10,000 to the Budokan of Los Angeles project!

The South Bay 76ers and the South Bay Shooting Starz, two local basketball teams, hosted the First Annual Sansei Legacy charity bowling tournament to raise awareness and funds for the upcoming recreation center in Little Tokyo.

On Saturday, August 15th, over 250 people took part in the First Annual “BoLA-Thon”, a bowling tournament and fundraiser for the upcoming Budokan of Los Angeles (formerly known as the Little Tokyo Recreation Center).  The tournament, held at Sunset Station’s Strike Zone Bowling Center in Henderson, Nevada, took place during the Hollywood Dodgers basketball tournament.  The event raised more than $10,000 and introduced many families to the BoLA project.

The BoLA-Thon was sponsored by the Sansei Legacy Group of Southern California, a group dedicated to assisting the JA community by providing grants to worthy projects, events and groups. By sponsoring the cost of the bowling, the participants were allowed to donate directly to BoLA.

The bowling tournament, divided into two sessions, included three separate raffle drawings with prizes ranging from autographed LeBron and Kobe basketballs to Laker/Clipper tickets and Britney Spears concert tickets.  “Both the bowling tournament and the raffles were a huge success and the feedback from the participants was great,” said Silvia Yoshimizu, a member of the BoLA staff, “The Budokan of Los Angeles is extremely fortunate to have the support of groups like Sansei Legacy”.

The BoLA, a 40,000-square foot sports and activities center, will be located on the west side of Los Angeles Street between 2nd and 3rd Streets.  The sports and activities center will host major basketball, volleyball and martial arts tournaments, and will serve as a local community center for ongoing activities.

The BoLA-Thon consisted of 28 teams from the greater Los Angeles area, representing local basketball organizations like FOR, Tigers, Pasadena, OCO, VFW, Venice, Norwalk, and GEO.  Participants ranged in age from 5 to 50+.

Originally a team gathering, the BoLA-Thon has now expanded to a full-fledged charity fundraising event.  "Last year, we wanted to do something different that would be fun for the kids and we ended up with 80 participants. This year, we decided to expand and do it for charity. The amount of interest and size just kept growing. Next year, we hope to get to 300!", said Mark Doi of Sansei Legacy.

The Budokan of Los Angeles is a project of LTSC Community Development Corporation, a non-profit community-based organization, which has been providing services for over 29 years to the greater Los Angeles community. Programs include but are not limited to: assistance for victims of domestic violence, support groups, child abuse and neglect outreach, emergency food and shelter assistance, affordable housing, and community redevelopment.

OFFICIAL RESULTS (Session 1)

Team
First Place:  Pasadena Bruins Thunder
Second Place:  FOR Wildcats

Boys
First Place:  Noah House (South Bay Lightning)
Second Place:  Paul Matsumoto (Pasadena Bruins Thunder)

Girls:
First Place:  Kylie Okamoto (FOR Wildcats)
Second Place:  Kamryn Yaris (FOR Wildcats)

OFFICIAL RESULTS (Session 2)

Team
First Place:  FOR Wizards
Second Place:  South Bay 76ers

Boys
First Place:  Chad Ashimine (FOR Knights)
Second Place:  Brian Tadakoro (FOR Nets)

Girls:
First Place:  Riki Murakami (Tomodachis)
Second Place: Alyssa Ogata (Sparkler Tigerettes)

winner #1 - Kobe Bryant signed basketball

winner #2 - LeBron James signed basketball