One of the feature events on the local bowling calendar, the American Airlines Spectacular, gets underway this evening at Warwick Lanes (7 p.m.) with particular interest this year.

The tournament celebrates its 25th anniversary and a host of the Island's top bowlers will line up for the nine-week event which this year sees sponsors American Airlines offering a host of travel prizes for winners and runners-up.

Also up for grabs will be the usual $15,000 in cash.

The tournament has received an enormous boost with the announcement that it will be sanctioned by the American Bowling Congress and the Women's International Bowling Congress for the first time - a clear indication that it has come a long way since starting as a fun event back in 1978.

The idea was that of Lionel Dowling, a well-known bowler since 1962, who was concerned that the same players always represented the Island and felt that an opportunity should be given to everybody.

"I said to myself, `why not have a special tournament that would benefit the lower average bowlers and give them a chance for glory," he recalled this week.

The rest is history for the man who had already planned a number of other tournaments such as the Canada Dry Special that sent the winner to participate in a Canada Dry-sponsored NBA tournament in Ohio, the Non-Bowlers Tournament designed especially for fun bowlers who had never bowled in an official league and the Bowl-A-Fun tournament for the Bermuda Government.

An approach to the general manager of American Airlines brought a positive response and now the Spectacular is one of the feature events on the local calendar with more than 100 bowlers participating.

Over the years the format has changed in that all bowlers now receive a handicap allowance while a scratch division is optional.

Participants, featuring local regulars and some visitors from America who have participated in the event on previous occasions, will be busy over the next nine weeks competing for top honours to help celebrate the milestone.

Prizes include two round-trip tickets to London for the winners in the handicap and scratch divisions, two tickets to anywhere within the continental USA, Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean for the second place finishers, a ticket to New York or Boston for a raffle for the perfect attendees and a similar ticket to be drawn as a door prize at the prize-giving.

A bowler is required to bowl in a minimum of six of the nine weekly tournaments and place in the top 15 in any one week to qualify for the finals.