No Matter What Hand You Use…Just Throw The Ball, by James Goulding III

No Matter What Hand You Use…Just Throw The Ball

by James Goulding III

Hello again fellow bowlers, and sorry for the delay in posting.  It was a crazy end to summer and beginning of the new bowling season, so bear with me as I try and get back on track with posting.  This month’s installment was inspired, in part, by some recent comments and activity I have been following on a local level, but its roots are as old as the sport of bowling itself.  I am talking about the age old debate over which hand is easier to use when it comes to bowling, right handed or left handed, and the pitfalls bowlers fall into (mentally) by using this as an excuse for their own bad bowling.  If you ask any number of righties out there, a majority of them would probably say that most lefties have the advantage because they have less traffic, so the shot should stay more stable for a longer period of time.  But, if you ask a group of lefties, they would probably say righties have it easier due to the fact that a team of good right handed bowlers can “set up a lane” by all playing different parts of it with different types and surfaces of equipment so that the shot opens up, and the scores increase as the night goes on.  Which one would be right?  I don’t know, and I have been bowling now for over 20 years, but I will say there is a common theme that I wish all bowlers would follow, and that is to just shut up and throw the ball.

What I am saying is this, bowlers need to stop making excuses, and two of those instances are highlighted in the following:  a) When your opponent bowls well and beats your brains in, and b) When you bowl bad and can’t seem to find a good line, or carry, etc.  I will deal with scenario (a) first, as it is the one that drives me nuts when I hear other bowlers complain about it. 

No matter how much you may not like to lose, it is going to happen at some point, and probably more often than not, even if you are the best of players.  So, get used to it.  I don’t mean you should be praising up everyone who beats you and sound like some care free lunatic running around, but use some common sense and just give your opponent their due when they beat you, that’s all.  To me, there is nothing worse than a sore loser who constantly shows bad sportsmanship, and that can be a stigma that never leaves you no matter how much you try and change it down the road.  Some people will always look at you as a poor sport, so try and create good sportsmanship habits now before its too late.  This relates to the left handed / right handed debate because one of the first excuses that always comes out, if the person that beat you uses the opposite hand as yourself, is that they beat you because they were left handed (or right handed).  This is the ultimate slap in the face to your opponent, as they can not help which hand they use, they are just trying to make the best shots possible, and you are tearing them down just because you think they have it so much “easier” than you do on their side of the lane.  Unless you actually bowl on their side of the lane, you don’t have a clue as to whether that side is easier or harder, so just shut up about it.  It’s a dumb argument, and lame at best.  Why even go there and create drama?  Be a good sport, congratulate your opponent on a good match, and try and bowl better next time out.  The sport of bowling comes down to who can knock down the most pins in any given 10 frames, so you need to find out how to do that better than the person you are bowling against no matter what hand you use to do it, it’s just that simple.  Concentrating less on how they are doing, and why they are doing it, will make you a better bowler, as you have shifted your focus from your opponent back onto your game, and you can make corrections quicker and more accurately this way.  Sounds simple right?  Well it really is when you think about it, and removing yourself from the negative mindset of finding ways to tear down how your opponent beat you, by tearing down your opponent themselves, will allow you to fully reach your potential on and off the lanes as a bowler.

Now, with scenario (b) from above, bowlers will also fall into the trap of blaming carry on losing, whether that be their own bad carry, or complaining that their opponent caught “all the breaks” and carried everything.  This is just sour grapes to be honest, and makes you sound like a 4 year old who couldn’t have a cookie after supper.  Whining, putting, and stomping your feet are all unattractive qualities, but some that far too many bowlers possess, as I have seen over the years.  If you had poor carry, there is a reason for it, plain and simple.  Bowling is a game that can be explained by physics, and if you could not carry strikes on a given day, then there is a scientific reason why it happened, and not just because the bowling gods were not on your side that day.  You need to have the ability to clear your mind of distractions, and find a way to get the ball to carry strikes for you.  The great Pete Weber once told me “there is ALWAYS a line out there, you just have to find it”, and he is 100% right.  There is always a proper way to attack a lane, and it is up to you as a bowler to find the correct way to do it before your opponent does, period.  But, if they figure it out before you, and happen to get dialed in and beat you, that doesn’t mean you should go around telling everyone that he (or she) “got lucky” or that you “couldn’t catch a break”.  No, they figured it out better and faster than you did, so tip your hat to them, and vow to do the same to them the next time you face each other.  This shows good sportsmanship and also shows your opponent that you will be ready the next time you face them since you didn’t make any dumb excuses this time around.  I know as a bowler I never fear the person who whines when I beat them, but I do keep an eye out for the ones who just shake my hand and say great match.  I know those bowlers mean business, and I may have just caught them on an off day, so I better be on my guard next time out.  You see how much more respected you become when you show class and sportsmanship, not only for your opponent, but also for the sport of bowling in general?  Trust me, when your opponent respects you it helps you out because there is a fine line between respect and fear, and if you happen to jump out to a lead on someone and they know you aren’t the type to fold or make excuses, it makes it harder for them to come back and beat you as they know you are a rock out on the lanes.  So, it pays to grind out tough matches and give your opponent their due when they find a line and carry better than you on a given day, because the next time out, if you concentrate on your game and get the focus off of them, it can be you who wins the match with your superior mental game.

In closing, I would just like to say that my term in the beginning of “just shut up and throw the ball” may sound harsh, but I hope that you now understand exactly what I mean by that.  Don’t make excuses on the lanes for poor play, and don’t down grade your opponent based on what hand they throw the ball with, or how they do it.  Just show the same respect you would want them to show you, and you will find much more enjoyment out of the sport of bowling.  None of us can win all the time, and it’s just as important to be a good loser, as it is to be a gracious winner.  Once you master those two parts of the game, then you will truly be a good all around bowler and person on and off the lanes.  Thanks for reading, and remember the opinions expressed in this blog are my own and in no way reflect those of the MSUSBC or any of its members.  Please feel free to comment on anything you read, and I will try to respond as quickly as possible.  Good luck and good bowling everyone!!!

James Goulding III

M.I.S.T. Tournament Director

www.mist.bowlingchat.net

www.jgoulding.wordpress.com

USBC Annual Fees: A Raging Debate by James Goulding III

USBC Annual Fees: A Raging Debate

by James Goulding III

Welcome again everyone to another blog installment on bowler-2-bowler.  I have been thinking about this subject ever since reading (and blogging about) the USBC annual meeting back in May.  At the meeting, there was a proposal that the annual USBC dues that every sanctioned bowler pays should go from the $10 yearly that it currently is, to a fee of $15.  This is the national amount, not including whatever your local association charges on top of the USBC amount.  This proposal was voted down, so the national USBC dues will continue to be $10 for the 2010 – 2011 bowling season.  Many people have varied, and sometimes very passionate, feelings on the USBC and the amount they charge for yearly fees, some good and others not so good.  For this reason, I have decided to weigh in with my very own feelings on the subject, and also try to propose my own solutions that could appease the many differing opinions on the debate about what USBC should charge bowlers on a yearly basis.

First off, I think I need to classify bowlers into (4) different categories, so that anybody reading this can see why it is so difficult for the USBC to please every bowler with the decisions they make.  Here are the (4) categories I have come up describing bowlers as it pertains to USBC and their dues program:

1) These bowlers are the ones who bowl every season and rarely will ever challenge for an honor score in their lifetime.  But, as it pertains to USBC dues, while they might complain they pay too much, these bowlers actually have somewhat of a valid point because the only service the USBC offers them is sanctioned lane conditions.  It’s not like they are going to be soaking the USBC for the cost of a 300 ring every season, so going up on dues will not sit well with this crowd.  I think the USBC knows this represents a major faction of bowlers out there, and they do not want to risk losing a ton of members by going up on dues, so to appease this crowd, they cut back on the available awards and keep the costs the same.

2)  These bowlers are the ones who constantly complain that dues are too high, even though they have the ability to grab multiple honor scores every  year.  The cost of (1) plaque that the USBC gives the bowler in this group costs them more than double the dues for a season, but these type of bowlers still complain that they should get more awards and at a cheaper rate.  Easy house shots have inflated their egos to the point that they lose all rational thought process when it comes to the amount of money it takes for the USBC to produce the awards for which they seek.  This is a relatively small percentage of bowlers, but a significant enough amount that the USBC had to scale back the awards program because they were going to go bankrupt if they kept giving away awards basically for free.  There is no way the USBC can ever truly please these bowlers, no matter what they charge or the awards that they offer on a yearly basis.  You never want to be lumped into this category if you are a bowler, and if you are in this category, please feel free to change your ways and exit at any time.

3)  These bowlers are happy with the current awards system, and will contend for USBC awards on a regular basis.  These bowlers may think that the USBC dues are a little high, but they don’t put up a stink about it.  These bowlers put their faith in the USBC that they make the best decisions for the sport of bowling, and even if the dues go up, they will pay to play.  There are a small number in this category, so the USBC doesn’t cater to them or their needs (per se), and will make decisions not based on the wants or needs of this group specifically, but will cover this group most of the time when they make decisions about the sport of bowling.

4)  This is the smallest group, but one that I fashion myself to be in.  This group will bowl and pay the USBC dues no matter what the cost.  This group feels that the recognition of an achievement is more significant than the ring or plaque that describes it.  The USBC could charge $40 a year for dues, and this group would pay, because they love the sport of bowling, and will do whatever it takes to make sure they continue doing it.  The USBC could eliminate the awards program altogether, but as long as they still recognize personal accomplishments on a national level (and database), then this group will not complain about it.  Unfortunately, this group is small in number, so it is hard for them to get their voices heard over the roar of the other groups who are in the USBC’s earshot.

Those are the (4) groups I think cover most bowlers out there as they pertain to USBC dues.  I personally have no problem with the USBC scaling back the awards program (like they have done now) and keep costs in line at $10 a year.  They are a business, after all, and if they do not generate sufficient funds to stay afloat, then there will be NO MORE awards for bowlers, because the USBC won’t be around to give them anymore. 

I get frustrated when I hear bowlers whine and complain that they are giving the USBC their money and getting nothing back in return.  That is the biggest load off poo I have ever heard.  For starters, IT’S ONLY $10 A YEAR!!!!!  Many bowlers complain like they have to pay $1,000 a year to bowl in a sanctioned league.  Of course these same bowlers will go out and spend over $500 for a couple of new bowling balls to try to achieve the awards that they complain are too expensive at a $10 fee once a year, so there is quite a bit of irony in there I think.  I guess some people think that the USBC has a stash of plaques, patches, and rings, and they are all FREE to produce for the USBC.  Well, let me tell you, it costs money for them to give out these awards, and paying a measly $10 is peanuts compared to what bowlers probably SHOULD pay to compete in USBC sanctioned leagues.

I would also be fine with the USBC telling bowlers they have to go up on dues from say $10 to $15.  But, and let me stress this, the USBC should do some research before a rate hike, and sell it to the bowlers.  I think they should do a cost analysis and see what they would need to charge to bring back some of the awards they eliminated, and still keep the quality of awards they have now, and give that final total to bowlers and let them know exactly what is going on and why.  Remember, the biggest group of bowlers are the ones who win the least amount of awards, so a rate hike would need to fly with this crowd for the USBC to stay viable.  So, by explaining to everyone that the cost increase for dues is to solely expand the awards program for ALL bowlers, the USBC might get away with a rate hike and not lose too many bowlers in the process (I still think it would be crazy to quit bowling just because you don’t want to pay a one time $10 or $15 fee once a year, but hey, that’s just my opinion).

I just feel like many bowlers don’t realize that their $10 they give the USBC each year isn’t just for awards.  They offer bowlers the opportunity to bowl on sanctioned lane conditions, ensuring that any and all scores you throw are legitimate.  Also, they require each bowling center to pass an annual inspection covering all aspects of the game, from lanes to pins, and approaches to pin decks.  This way, bowlers can compete against one another on a level playing field night in and night out.  The USBC also provides coaching classes, so that bowlers have certified coaches available in their area to help improve their bowling game(s).  Also, the USBC has a state of the art research and development facility to stay on the cutting edge of bowling technology, and to ensure that the playing rules accurately reflect the changing landscape of the sport of bowling.  The USBC rulebook gives leagues and tournaments guidelines to follow so that all competition is conducted in as fair of a manner as possible.  If you felt your $10 was too much at the beginning of this blog post, do you still feel that way after reading all the different services that the USBC provides?

I am not saying the USBC is perfect, but I think that for what they charge, they get the most out of our money on an annual basis.  I would be fine with paying double or triple the amount we currently pay, but I also realize that the USBC would lose many members if they did that, so I just try to let people know that their $10 can only go so far as it pertains to the awards program the USBC provides.  I do have a few possible solutions that the USBC could implement, or at least bring up for discussion at the next annual meeting, as it pertains to the amount they should charge bowlers to sanction.  Here are a few of my ideas:

1)  Set a base price for all new bowlers who have never received a USBC award before.  Say that price is $10 for example.  Well, if you achieve say (2) awards during the season, the following year you would pay an additional fee depending on the amount of awards you won.  Maybe that fee could go up by $3 for each award you get.  So, if you won (2) awards the year before, your sanction dues for the following season would be $16, instead of $10.  This type of sliding scale doesn’t penalize those who do not achieve honor scores, and passes the extra cost onto those who want the awards from USBC, and the bowlers who also achieve those awards from USBC.

2)  Give bowlers three different cost options when they sanction with the USBC.  The first, and cheapest, option is to pay for basic USBC services minus the awards program.  You would only pay something in the range of $10 like it is now, you would get recognition of your achievement in the USBC’s database, but not receive any actual award from the USBC for what you accomplish.  The second option would be an upgraded $15 annual fee, and that entitles you to the current awards system that is in place.  You get (1) of each type of award per season, all the benefits of USBC sanctioning, a subscription to US Bowler magazine, and basically keep things the way they are in the current system.  The last option would be an upgraded $20 sanctioning, and that gets you (2) of any award, a subscription to US Bowler magazine, first choice of bowling dates and times for the USBC National Tournament over the $10 or $15 crowd, and all the other benefits that USBC sanctioning has to offer.  I am just guessing at the costs of all of these options, but I think that some sort of tiered system would be a viable way for the USBC to make all types of bowlers happy, from the ones who could care less about awards, all the way to the ones who live to collect plaques and patches.

In closing, I would like to say that the debate over what the USBC charges for sanctioning is far from over.  I have just tried to shed some light on the subject, and make bowlers think about where that $10 goes that they give to the USBC every season.  $10 is a small amount to pay for the peace of mind that there is a governing body trying to make the playing field as level and competitive as possible, while still giving awards back to the bowlers who achieve great things on the lanes that they sanction.  I would give my $10 a year to the USBC just for that, even if they eliminated the awards program altogether.  As long as they keep a national database so that I can look up what I have achieved over the years, then the rest is just gravy.  Actually achieving a 300 or 800 (for example), and having that out there for the world to see, means more than some ring or plaque that will sit in my house will ever mean.  Knowing that what I achieve is legitimate and on a fair playing surface is reason enough for me to sanction with USBC every season, in every league and tournament, no matter what the cost may be.  As always, the opinion expressed in this blog are my own, and in no way reflect those of the Maine State USBC, or any of its members.  Thank you for reading, and please feel free to comment on anything you read, and I will try and respond ASAP.  Good luck, and good bowling everyone!

www.jgoulding.wordpress.com

www.lausbca.org

www.msusbc-maine.org

Highlights and Rules Changes from 2010 USBC Annual Meeting by James Goulding III

Highlights and Rules Changes from 2010 USBC Annual Meeting

by James Goulding III

Hello fellow bowlers!  Here I am again blogging just after midnight EST in Maine, and I have many topics running through my head.  One of which was the annual USBC meeting which was just held on May 1, 2010 in Reno, NV.  There are numerous changes that come up for review as it applies to league, tournament, and format rules every season, and most of the time bowlers are only informed of those changes when a violation of a newly adapted rule takes place.  Well, to try to avoid such a situation for the upcoming 2010 – 2011 bowling season, I am going to list the approved rules changes as well as some of the other highlights of the annual meeting, and give a synopsis of my personal view on how some of (if any) of the rules changes may actually affect bowlers out there.

Program Changes

•  USBC will offer a new credit card partnership with Nationwide that gives card users free USBC national membership and other bowling-related benefits.
• USBC will put the U.S. Women’s Open on hiatus for 2011.
• U.S. Bowler magazine will be an electronic-only publication, while U.S. Youth Bowler will continue to be mailed to homes.
• The 2011 USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships will be broadcast exclusively on BOWL.com.

James’ opinion on the program changes:

Two of the changes I am fine with, which is the new credit card partnership and the USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships being broadcast on bowl.com.  But, I do not agree with suspending the U.S. Women’s Open or eliminating the mailing of U.S. Bowler magazine.  I think that there are some great female bowlers out there who have shown that they deserve every benefit the men receive as far as tournament availability goes.  The fact that women like Kelly Kulick can compete with (and beat) the men proves that point.  The USBC will say that women are allowed to bowl in the regular U.S. Open, but, I believe that women having their own U.S. Open was something special, and I do not agree with suspending it at all.  Also, I enjoy the U.S. Bowler magazine.  There are some really good articles, coaching tips, and bowling ball advertisements in the magazine.  I may still check it out online, but I am much more inclined to pick it up and read it if it comes in my mail rather than having to hunt it down on bowl.com, which is not exactly the user-friendliest site out there (in case you haven’t noticed).

League Rules Changes

• Amendment No. LR2 (Approved)
  Rule 102c. Duties of the President, Item 3
  Requires bank statements to be sent to the president.
• Amendment No. LR3 (Approved)
  Rule 102f. Duties of the Treasurer, Item 7
  Changes the time frame for retaining treasurer records from 120 days to one year from completion of the season.
• Amendment No. LR5 (Approved)
  Rule 106a. Series – How Bowled
  Allows for each game or frame to be bowled on a different pair of lanes.
• Amendment No. LR6 (Approved)
  Rule 111c.
  Gives leagues more flexibility for requesting pre/post bowling.

James opinion on league rules changes:

I am actually fine with all four rules changes for leagues next season.  I think that the LR5 Amendment which allows for each game or frame to be bowled on a different pair of lanes is an interesting change.  This could allow for some really neat alternate format leagues that may swap pairs of lanes each game, making it more like some tournament bowling that I have done, like the USBC Masters, for instance.  It is also good to have treasurer records kept for up to one year, just in case a discrepancy arises and those figures need to be retrieved.  I will be curious to see the exact wording of the pre/post bowling rules change in the new rule book, as it is pretty vague right now.  I am not sure what they mean by “more flexibility” for requesting pre/post bowling.

Tournament Rules Changes

• Amendment No. TR2 (Approved)
  Rule 319a. Conditions that Apply
  Treats all averages, including summer averages the same.
• Amendment No. TR6 (Approved)
  Rule 320a. Two Lanes Required
  Allows for each tournament game or frame to be bowled on a different pair of lanes.
• Amendment No. TR7 (Approved)
  Rule 329. Protests and Appeals
  Changes the time frame for protesting rule infractions to 72 hours and the time frame for appealing tournament management’s decision to 10 days.

James’ opinion on the tournament rules changes:

Now that I am a tournament manager, I have a problem with the wording of Amendment No. TR7, which “changes the time frame for protesting rule infractions to 72 hours and the time frame for appealing tournament management’s decision to 10 days”.  Now, the old rule stated that you had to appeal before tournament prizes are paid out, which is normally 30 days, and now will be 10 days, which I think is fine.  But, for example, the tournament I run is the Maine Invitational Scratch Tournament, and it is a one day tournament where prizes are paid out the same day.  So, that 10 day appeal rule for tournament manager’s decisions doesn’t make sense since we pay out the same day.  The old rule said protests have to be filed by the completion of such a tournament, but there is no mention of that language in the rule amendment.  I am going to reserve final judgement of this until the amendments have been applied fully to the new rule book, but, just try to be aware of this possible change it you either a) have a tournament appeal to make, or b) are a tournament manager taking the appeal from a bowler.

USBC National Bylaws Changes

• Amendment No. B1 (Approved)
  Article VI, Meetings
  Section A. Annual Meeting, Item 2
  Provides for electronic balloting as the final system used for voting, unless the president determines the circumstances require a different method.

James’ opinion on the national bylaws rules change:

I really don’t have much of an opinion on this one, except that electronic balloting may take some human error out of the equation for voting, which is probably a good thing overall.

Here are a few other interesting tidbits from the annual meeting:

• Darlene Baker, Mahomet, Ill., was named USBC president at the Annual Meeting. She is the first female president in the history of the organization. Baker will begin her term Aug. 1. The remaining board officers will be announced following the June board meeting.
• USBC once again generated significant financial support for charity. USBC Bowl For The Cure led to a more than $1.1 million donation to Susan G. Komen For The Cure at the 2010 meeting. Contributions to Bowlers to Veterans Link from USBC were nearly $826,000, an increase of more than $100,000 from the previous year.
• Creation of a new independent corporation to oversee and manage SMART (Scholarship Management and Accounting Reports for Tenpins) funds. The corporation will have its own board of directors comprised of bowling industry leaders with financial backgrounds.

 

Summary

I have been highlighting approved rules changes, as well giving my personal opinion on each type of change, but there are many more rules changes that were rejected that I did not touch upon.  If you would like to check those out, as well as the official summary from the USBC about the annual meeting, please follow the link below:

http://www.bowl.com/news/xmlburner.jsp?xa=./webapps/ROOT/news/main/data/050110AnnualMeetingFinal.xml

The only rejected rule change I will talk about is the one that rejected going up on national and state dues for the USBC.  There was a proposal to go from $10 to $15 on a national level, as well as go from $1 to $2 at the state level, and both were rejected.  This is a change that I agree with, to an extent.  Since the USBC has significantly cut down on the type and number of awards given out, I do feel that freezing dues is in order at this time.  I think bowlers would have a hard time stomaching a dues increase when they are getting less recognition of accomplishments from the USBC.  But, I think it would be better if, overall,  the USBC researched how much of a dues increase it would take to get back some of the awards they have cut back on in recent years, and then went ahead with that proposal, instead of just freezing dues and cutting back on awards.  If that means going from $10 to $15 or so, I think most bowlers would be o.k. with that providing that they get the proper recognition again from the USBC in the form of national awards being expanded once again.  That is my take on it anyway.  I know many bowlers who are upset that such awards as the Big 4 and 7-10 split have been removed, as well as the 299 and 298 rings.  Those are just a few examples, but if the USBC actually listened to the bowlers on this subject, I think they would come to a different conclusion than just freezing dues for another calendar year.

In closing, I would like to say that I have tried to highlight some changes for bowlers to look at, and get familiar with, before the start of the 2010 – 2011 bowling season.  It is always nice to be up to date on the USBC rules manual, because you just never know when an obscure rule you never heard of before ends up changing the course of a night of bowling for you.  As always, the opinions expressed in this blog post are my own, and do not represent those of the MSUSBC or any of its members.  Thank you for reading, and feel free to comment on anything you read in the blog.  I will respond to your questions or comments ASAP, and enjoy the interaction with all of you bowlers out there who care enough to read and post on the blog.  Good luck and good bowling!

James Goulding III

Maine Invitational Scratch Tournament Manager

www.msusbc-maine.org

www.mist.bowlingchat.net

www.lausbca.org

Bowling: An Olympic “Sport”? by James Goulding III

Bowling:  An Olympic “Sport”?

by James Goulding III

 Hello everyone, and a Happy Valentine’s Day to all.  Watching the opening ceremonies of the winter Olympics the other night got me thinking again about two of the more heated debates that surround bowling.  The first one is, is bowling a game or a sport?  This has been debated many times, but I am going to try to go “by the book” so to speak for my definition of bowling later in this blog entry.  The second heated discussion about bowling centers around the Olympics, and whether or not bowling should be an Olympic event.  I think we first have to come to  solid footing on the first question about bowling being a sport or not, before we can even think about the Olympics as it applies to bowling.  So, I am going to break this down and hopefully come up with some ideas for people to think about when it comes to bowling, it’s standing in the sports community, and the Olympics, all tied up into a blog post.

 

SPORT VS. GAME

To delve into this debate, I  enlisted the services of Merriam Webster online at www.merriam-webster.com.  Here is the definition of game: “activity engaged in for diversion or amusement”.  I would say that the argument could certainly be made that bowling most certainly qualifies as a game, at the VERY least.  This holds true for open bowling, and league bowling, but how about the serious tournament bowler who is out to win?  Let me now give you the definition of a sport: ” physical activity engaged in for pleasure”.  The only difference between a sport and a game is that a sport requires “physical” activity, instead of just “activity”.  Now, it does not mention what degree of physical activity is required to call something a sport, only that some form of physical activity is required for a game to be called a sport.  For example, Monopoly is a game, because it requires no physical activity to play, but water polo is a sport because of the physical activity required to play it.  To me, this means that bowling should be called a sport and not a game.  D0es bowling require as much physical activity as, say, playing basketball?  No, of course not, but it DOES require some form of physical activity to throw a bowling ball, and by definition it should be classified as a sport. 

So, now I can get into the Olympic debate.  It would make no sense to even try to classify bowling as a possible Olympic event if you couldn’t even classify it as a sport.  But, if you go by the strict definition of the term “sport”, bowling does qualify, and now I can make the case for it to be included as an Olympic event.

 

BOWLING IN THE OLYMPICS

This has been a long debated subject, but to me, up until now bowling should NOT have ever been considered for the Olympics.  I know what you’re going to say, I just made the point that bowling is a sport and not a game, so why am I against it being an Olympic event?  To be honest, bowling isn’t organized enough to become an Olympic event.  Bowling needs three things, in my opinion, to be considered for the Olympics:  A unified governing body for bowling, a standardized set of rules covering the sport, and strict guidelines for lane conditions and bowling ball specifications.  Let me get into each of those three points separately, as each is vital to getting bowling into the Olympics.

The unified governing body for the sport is key to Olympic consideration.  If bowling wants to be taken seriously, then there should be one entity that makes up all the rules, regulations, and awards programs for bowling, so that no matter what continent you bowl on, you can rest assured that you are on a level playing field with someone who may be bowling halfway across the world from you.  This governing body, which I would like to see called the International Bowling Federation, or IBF, can pool together all the different ways the sport of bowling is played in different countries, and come up with guidelines that everyone has to follow.  Now, I would also like to see continental control through smaller sibling organizations to the parent organization, which is the IBF.  There could be the following groups that make sure rules are followed on a more localized level, and report back to the IBF:

North American Bowling Congress (NABC)

Central American Bowling Congress (CABC)

South American Bowling Congress (SABC)

African Nations Bowling Congress (ANBC )

European Bowling Congress (EBC)

Asian  Bowling Congress (ABC)

Australian Regional Bowling Congress (ARBC)

Middle Eastern Bowling Congress (MEBC)

These subsidiaries of the parent IBF would be able to more easily distribute awards, and make sure rules are followed in each region.  You will still have your local associations like you have now, but there would be more strict international guidelines to follow so that if a bowler moves to the United States from Iraq, that person knows they are still bowling under the same rules and regulations they bowled in back in Iraq.  This would be a BIG step forward for bowling as an Olympic sport, as it shows unity and consistency for the sport worldwide, which is key for ALL Olympic sports.

Now that I have covered the governing body, and the need for standardized rules for the sport of bowling, I will show where lane and bowling equipment specifications are the final key to the Olympic puzzle for bowling.  One problem facing bowling throughout the years is that you can bowl in one bowling center, and then move to the next bowling center, and the lane conditions are COMPLETELY different.  Sometimes it is like night and day.  Opponents of Olympic bowling sight this as THE reason bowling will never be an Olympic sport.  It is just too hard to regulate lane conditions.  Maybe so, but there has never been an international body like the IBF that I suggested to oversee the sport of bowling and make sure the local center comply with international guidelines to keep their sanctioned status.  The IBF could expand upon the red, white, and blue oil condition program that the current USBC is trying to implement.  Basically this program has three oil pattern going from easier to more difficult.  The first oil pattern would be used for your recreational bowling, and the second oil pattern would cover all sanctioned league bowling.  The third oil pattern would be for tournament bowling, and would be used everywhere there is sanctioned tournament bowling.  This would show the Olympic community that no matter where you bowl, depending upon what type of bowling you are doing (recreational, league, or tournament), you would always be bowling on the exact same lane conditions as a person doing the same thing on the other side of the planet.  The local and continental associations would be responsible for compliance with the lane condition regulations, and report back to the IBF for final sanctioning of bowling centers, leagues, and tournaments.  If you want to learn more about the current red, white, and blue lane condition program by the USBC, go to www.bowl.com and type in “red, white, and blue” under search, it is very good info, and a good step forward for the sport of bowling.

Lastly, bowling ball specifications and lane inspections would have to fall under a “one size fits all” definition for bowling to be considered an Olympic event.  You can’t have one country allow different ending bowling ball statics, ball hardness, or lane length and width (for example) from another country.  The IBF would have to come up with a blueprint for EVERY country that sanctions with the IBF to follow, or else they lose their sanctioning status.  This is no different than what we do now in the United States with the USBC and their equipment specifications, it would just be amped up on a global scale to cover ALL countries and ALL bowlers who sanction.  If this can get done, there would be no other reason to exclude bowling as an Olympic sport.  Bowling would have a unified governing body, standardized rules for EVERYONE who sanctions, and strict equipment and lane specifications for every sanctioned bowling center to follow.  I have felt that, up to now, bowling should not have been considered for the Olympics.  But, if the sport wants that kind of status, I think the guidelines I have outlined could be done so that bowling is on par with other international sports.  Bowling is the #1 participation sport in the world, it is time we get it recognized for the great sport that it truly is, and get bowling in the Olympics!  Thank you for reading, as always the opinions expressed in this blog are my own, and in no way reflect the opinions of the MSUSBC or any of its members.   Please feel free to comment on anything you read in the blog, and I will make sure I get back to you ASAP, thank you.

-James Goulding III

www.lausbca.org

www.msusbc-maine.org

Bowling Balls: The Story Of A Flooded Market by James Goulding III

Bowling Balls:  The Story Of A Flooded Market

by James Goulding III

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a safe and happy holiday season, I know I did.  This blog installment deals with the subject of bowling balls, and more specifically the amount of bowling balls produced by each bowling ball company.  We have all had that moment when we are looking forward to the purchase of a new bowling ball, and look into what might be the best fit for your game.  The problem is, this process can take on a life of its own due to the slew of bowling balls out there, with all different types of cover stocks, hook ratings, core combinations, etc.  It can be more of a hassle to find a new bowling ball, when it should be a fun and enjoyable process.  Why do bowling ball companies feel the need to push SO many bowling balls out in a short period of time?  I don’t know if I have a specific answer for that, as I am sure the ball companies have people with a better marketing background than I have (o.k. so I have NO marketing background, you get my point).  They must have a handle on what people want, or what they THINK they want, but it really seems like a lot of overkill on the market to me.  Without further a due, I am going to go into detail about EXACTLY what has been put out on the market.  My criteria for the following list is to list bowling balls that were put on the USBC approved bowling ball list for the period of one calendar year, which in this case is January 2009 – January 2010.  The list can be found here:  http://usbcongress.http.internapcdn.net/usbcongress/bowl/equipandspecs/pdfs/approved_balllist.pdf

So, here is the list, in descending order of the bowling ball company and the number of bowling balls they released in ( ) next to their name, from the time period of one year from January 2009 – January 2010:

 Profi Shop   (39)

AMF   (25)

Brunswick   (20)

Storm   (19)

Ebonite   (18)

US Act   (13)

Hammer   (13)

Roto-Grip   (12)

900 Global   (12)

Columbia   (11)

ABS   (10)

Track   (9)

Caffeine Sports   (6)

Bowlers Paradise/Elite   (5)

Lane #1   (5)

MoRich   (5)

AZO   (4)

Dyno-Thane   (3)

ARK International   (3)

Hard Ball   (3)

Lanemasters   (3)

CAL Bowling   (2)

Lloyd Price Brand   (2)

Lord Field   (2)

Motiv   (2)

Revolution   (2)

Seismic   (2)

Vision X   (2)

Visionary   (2)

DQA   (1)

High Sports   (1)

Kinetic   (1)

VIA   (1)

————————-

Total = 258 bowling balls from 33 Manufacturers

There were 258 bowling balls produced in the last 12 months from 33 different companies.  That is an average of 21 – 22 bowling balls per month!!!!!!  That just seems crazy to me.  Is there really a need to make THAT many new bowling balls every year?  The list includes ALL types of approved bowling balls.  Reactive resin, particle, urethane, polyester, everything.  Also, this list contains many companies that are either not U.S. based, or don’t sell their bowling balls in the U.S. at all.  So, for the sake of argument, let me create a new list, one that has the bowling balls you are most likely to see in your local pro shop window, shopping on the internet, or in a catalog at the bowling alley.  This list will contain equipment approved by the USBC and the PBA Tour for the calendar year of January 2009 – January 2010.  Here is the approved ball list, in descending order, with the company names followed by the number of balls they had approved in ( ) next to their name:

AMF   (25)

Brunswick   (20)

Storm   (19)

Ebonite   (18)

Hammer   (13)

Roto-Grip   (12)

900 Global   (12)

Columbia   (11)

Track   (9)

MoRich   (5)

Motiv   (2)

————————-

Total = 146 bowling balls from 11 Manufacturers

There was a total of 146 bowling balls produced in the last 12 months by 11 different companies approved by the USBC and PBA for use in competition.  This equates to about 12 bowling balls per month, or on average about 1 new release per month per company.  This is, in my opinion, still a staggering amount bowling balls to be on the market in a short period of time.  It seems that no matter what the economy does, bowling balls keep pouring out of these companies by the dozens, with no conceivable end in sight.  How is the average league bowler supposed to make up their mind and decide on the (1) ball they might get per season with so many choices?  They can ask their local pro shop for help, but not even the best of shops can know the ball reaction and characteristics of 146 different bowling balls, and how each one would either work or not work for a specific bowler.  How are tournament bowlers supposed to limit their bowling bag to a solid 5 or 6 ball arsenal with so many choices?  These are just a few of the problems with having SO many bowling balls out there at once.

Another problem is how and when bowling ball companies decide to slash prices on what they call “older equipment” (even if it is only 2 – 3 months old) to make way for new stuff coming down the pipeline.  Pro shops buy a certain amount of balls from their distributor at a set price, and need to sell the balls at a price slightly above what they paid so that they can make money and stay in business.  What happens many times, though, is that the ball companies will cut the price of certain balls they are dis-continuing, but the pro shop is stuck since they bought the balls at the higher price point.  So, the shop either loses a smaller amount money on the ball and sells it cheaper, or lets it sit on the shelf, take up room, and they lose A LOT more money on the ball.  Bowlers can buy the dis-continued ball from an internet retailer for the cut price, and pro shop basically gets screwed on the whole deal.  That is another issue I have with all these releases by bowling ball companies, they don’t think about how their need to release the next “big thing” on the market affects those who actually buy and sell their product.

I would like to see a system where the USBC limits the number of bowling balls they will approve from companies to 5 or 6 a year per company.  The companies can make more bowling balls, but the USBC would only approve 5 or 6 of those for competition.  If you did that, you could cut down on the amount of bowling balls out there by a significant amount.  For example, if you take the 11 companies above that are both USBC and PBA approved, and limit them to 6 balls a year maximum, then it would mean you would have 66 new releases every year instead of the 146 you had this past year.  That cuts down on number of balls by 80, or 55%!!!  That is a huge improvement, in my opinion, compared to the current “ball of the week club” mentality the bowling ball companies stuff down our throats now.  There would be less overlap (reaction-wise) between bowling balls, consumers would have an easier time making the proper choice of equipment for their game, and pro shops wouldn’t have to worry as much about bowling balls being dis-continued and losing money to online retailers who buy up the remainder of supplies from distributors.  This is a win-win situation for everyone.  I think that the bowling ball companies would still sell plenty of product to turn over a profit even with a limited number of the type of bowling balls being produced.  They could save money on the cost of creating a whole new mold design for each ball, and by limiting that to 6 balls per year, that would be a huge savings in research and development costs.

In closing, I would like to say that I enjoy buying bowling balls just as much as the next bowler, but I think there should be a limit to what is being thrown out there to the public to choose from.  I know I would still buy the same 4 or 5 balls per year even if there were only 66 balls to choose from, instead of the 146 there are out there from the last calendar year.  The market is flooded with so many balls that seemingly overlap left and right, so by limiting the number of possible bowling ball combinations companies can make, you help ensure a higher quality of product, and help restore competitive balance to the market.  The smaller companies like Motiv and MoRich can keep up better with the big boys like Brunswick and Ebonite, and I think that is a good thing overall for the sport of bowling.  Also, pro shops will have a much better knowledge base as it pertains to each new bowling ball release since they will have a smaller sample size to review, and they can have a better idea of where prices should be set for the bowling balls they DO purchase from distributors.  As always, the opinions expressed in the blog are my own, and in no way reflect the opinions of the Maine State USBC or any of its members.  Thank you for reading, and feel free to leave a comment or question on anything you read in the blog.

www.lausbca.org

www.msusbc-maine.org

Sport Bowling Patterns: Sanction Your League; The Do’s and Don’ts of Tough Oil Patterns! by James Goulding III

Sport Bowling Patterns: Sancti0n Your League; The Do’s and Don’ts of Tough Oil Patterns!

by James Goulding III

Hello again!  I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday, and now that we gear up for more holiday tradition this month, I have a subject I would like to touch on, and that is sport bowling patterns, and how houses can use those to sharpen up league competition when done correctly.  We have all bowled on a regular “house shot”, where there is a heavy concentration of oil in the center of the lane, and it tapers down to a lighter concentration on the outside boards, usually between 39 – 42 ft. in length.  This allows a bowler to have “miss room” inside as the ball will hold pocket due to the heavy oil, and the ball will recover from the outside boards if the bowler misses there, since there is a lighter concentration of oil on those boards.  This leads to a higher scoring pace, more honor scores, and in my opinion, has been one of the factors that has led bowling down the road to fewer members (but I will save that argument for another day).  A sport pattern, in contrast, uses ratios such as 3:1 or 4:1, so that the maximum amount of difference in oil concentration from board to board can not be more than 3:1 or 4:1, or whatever ratio is being used.  Obviously, the lower the ratio (2:1) the tougher the oil pattern, since the oil will be laid across the lane pretty much “flat” so that there is about the same amount of oil inside on the 4th arrow as there is on the 1st arrow.  The higher the ratio (4:1) the more forgiving the pattern, since you can have a larger variance in the amount of oil applied to the lane from board to board, but you can still not exceed that (4:1) ratio at any time for the pattern to be “sport compliant”.  These patterns lower the scoring pace, force bowlers to become more accurate to score, and bring back spare shooting as a viable part of scoring in the game of bowling.  I feel these are the way to go for competitive leagues, and the only fair way to do it is to get the league sanctioned as sport compliant with the USBC.  No doing so, and making up oil patterns that have not been researched thoroughly and sanctioned as sport compliant by the USBC, is not the way to properly bring down the scoring pace, and I will get into that in my next section.

There are, however, examples out there of how houses try and bring down the scoring pace, but do it in a way that (I feel) does not help bowling but rather hinders it, and alienates bowlers in the process.  I bowl in a house that has said they were going to put out something very hard, which I was excited to get the chance to bowl on week in and week out.  I was looking at the lane graph thinking we would be bowling on one of the tough Kegel patterns, or maybe a PBA experience pattern, or even a sport shot, like a 4:1 or 3:1 ratio pattern.  What I saw, though, was some kind of made up oil blend “unique” to something the house had come up with to lower the scoring pace.  I still didn’t mind, because if the pattern played even from side to side, I didn’t see a problem with it.  This is where they got the first thing wrong, in my opinion.  You can not put out a pattern that is very short (37-38ft. in length), take away the outside boards, and lighten up the oil in the center of the lane, without doing the proper research on how to “build the pattern” to play consistently for righties AND lefties.  The pattern plays to somewhere near a 2:1 – 3:1 ratio.  Since the righties out number left-handed bowlers about 9:1, on a given night where you have (2) five person teams bowling against each other, you are going to have roughly 9 righties and 1 lefty.  On this particular pattern, the oil is distributed fairly even from side to side (actually there is a slightly higher concntration on the left side outside the ten board), which makes for a lopsided scoring pace as the night goes on.  All the traffic playing on the right side of the lane is able to pull some of that outside oil off, and allow the righties to create area by making dry boards for the balls to hook off of down lane.  On the left side, where there is only 1, maybe 2, on a given night, their side of the lane will NEVER open up due to the low amount of traffic moving the oil around.  What you can do to even out the scoring is to lighten up the oil on outside boards on the left side of the lane (which happens on the PBA tour, check out their patterns for reference) so that it compensates for the limited amount of bowlers who throw on that side of the lane during the night.  It seems common sense to me.  You can’t apply the same amount of oil to both sides of the lane where there are (9) people throwing on one side, and (1) throwing on the other side and expect them to score similarly, sorry that is never going to happen.

Lightening up the oil on the left side (a small amount, not making it “wide open”) should be done so that EVERY bowler, no matter what hand they throw with, has the same “look” on the lane, and you are not giving an unfair advantage to one side or the other.  You can tweak the shot until you get it right, but to this point in the season, the shot has not changed one bit, so the left side is pretty much shut out from shooting high numbers week in and week out, which is wrong  in my opinion.  I would say the same thing if it were the right side being shut out, it doesn’t matter, houses need to do their homework and make sure that if they are going to “make up” their own oil pattern, that they do it right or don’t do it at all.  There are plenty of sanctionable sport programs that can be downloaded into an oil machine that have been tested for years, so if those are out there, and a house is looking to lower the scoring pace, why not use a pattern that has been tested EXTENSIVELY and used by the USBC and PBA?  It makes no sense to me for a house to try and make up an oil pattern that you will probably never see outside of that house, ever.

Also, the fact that a house (like the one I mention) wants to put out a tough pattern is great, I love having to work hard and grind out a 200 game.  But, if you are going to do it, I say make sure you sanction the league as a sport league, and give the bowlers who throw on that tough pattern the benefits that a sport league gets.  One of those benefits is an average scale adjuster for tournaments.  This is a scale that adjusts up your average to what it would be if you were bowling on a typical house shot (THS) instead of a sport pattern.  If you do not sanction as a sport league, and put out a tough shot, *some* bowlers may see that a a chance to sandbag in my opinion.  A bowler can come in, bowl on that tough shot and average probably 20 – 30 pins lower than his (or her) normal average, but without the average slider, they can use that lower average for handicapping in tournaments and have a HUGE advantage per game over bowlers who are going in with a THS average.  You can not say they are sandbagging intentionally, but by knowing the league does not sanction sport, a person who WANTS to sandbag their average can legally do so on that type of league, which SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN!!! 

Bowling centers should not be in the business of  failing to make a league sanction as a sport league and make up their own version of a “tough shot”, which plays harder than a sport pattern.  Like I said earlier, do it right, or don’t so it at all.  Also, there are awards that are given out for sport bowling ONLY, so by sanctioning as a sport league it give bowlers something else to shoot for week in and week out.  The extra cost for a sport sanction is minimal (I believe in the $9 per year range), but by doing so you are telling your bowlers that you want to put out a tough shot, you care about their needs and wants as competitors to make the league a sport sanctioned league, and  that you are also promoting the growth of the sport through proper sanctioning.

In closing, I would like to say that any houses that are putting out so-called “tough shots” and are not sanctioning as a sport league, you are doing a dis-service not only to your bowlers, but to the entire game of bowling as a whole.  I am all for bowling on the toughest patterns out there, and have on many occasions like the Masters or U.S. Open, but a bowling center needs to get their leagues sport sanctioned, and put out patterns that play fair to everyone, not just righties OR lefties, but even for both.  Everyone should have an equal chance to score well, and be able to compete and beat someone with their skill alone.  A bowler should not be beaten by the fact that they have no chance on a certain lane condition, because the other side of the lane plays easier.   That is wrong, and should never happen in this technological age of bowling.  There are so many ways to make things fair and even, I see no excuse not to, to be honest.  The opinions expressed in this blog are my own, and in no way reflect those of the MSUSBC, or its members.  Thank you for reading, and feel free to comment on anything I have written, open communication and dialog are the keys to success!!  Good luck and good bowling on a sport pattern in your area!

Keys to Effective Practice – by David Charron

I have been bowling for some 30+ years now. When I was a Younger Bowler in my early and late Teens I use to practice much the same way as many of the youth and adults for that matter, I see practicing today. Throw as many games as possible just as quickly as you possibly can. I quickly learned through my early 20’s that this type of Fast Paced non-thinking approach to practice was doing more harm than good. I changed my method of practice, while my number of practice games did not decrease (Roughly 50-80/Week in my 20’s), my time on the lanes certainly increased. I started to key on certain things through my practice session and started to see vast improvement on the lanes. The results of my new practice regiment only wanted to make me spend more time and effort on my game. I don’t practice as much these days, occasionally when my timing is bad, or I am having a particular difficultly, or most often when I get new Equipment to simply figure out reaction compared to my current equipment. So in this article I am going to share with you my 7 Keys to Effective General Practice.

 1)      PICK A GOOD TIME TO PRACTICE – Pick a time when you can devote at least 2 hours to a practice session. Not 20 Minutes before league to throw 3 games of one ball after another.

2)      PREPARE TO PRACTICE – Always start with stretching, Arms, Legs, Back, Neck, Hands, Etc then start slowly by rolling anywhere from 10-12 Balls down the lane with no particular attention to where, start with a very slow ball speed, and gradually pick this speed up to normal this with further stretch the muscles … Also prepare yourself mentally as well (see PLAN PRATICE) Make sure your body and mind is ready to practice.

3)      PLAN PRACTICE – Remember when you went to your high school or other team practice for Basketball, Football, Soccer, Baseball, or other sport. Your practice was planned with certain activities in segments. This is no different. Plan your practice and the things you will work on. Try to plan your Practice when Lane Conditions will be Similar to Leagues or Tournaments, or just the opposite if Adjusting to Different Conditions is the main focus of your practice. (i.e. Corner Pins, Single Pin Spare, Multi Pin Spares, Hand Positions, Approach, Ball Speed, Baby Splits, Angles of Entry, Timing Issues, New Equipment, etc)  Each practice segment (3) should be 20-30 Minutes in length approx. the time to bowl a Full Game.

4)      DON’T HAVE PRACTICE OVERLOAD – Do not try to work on too many things in one practice session. This will diminish the quality of your practice. Also be mindful of practicing too quickly, think about each shot in practice as if you were bowling in a league or tournament. Try to maintain the same type of pace to your practice.

5)      SIMULATE COMPETITION – Remember when you were in the yard, playing whatever sport when you were younger, say Basketball for instance, “It’s Jordan for 3 at the buzzer, and it’s good” How many times do you hear that play in your head as a kid. Regardless of what you are practicing on when you get to the Tenth Frame of each practice game, pretend you need to throw the First Strike to win the game. Put the pressure in your mind practice with this pressure, when you get to real life situations you will be better prepared.

6)      COMPLETE PRACTICE – Complete your practice session, by bowling regular games at a tournament or league pace. Remembering to simulate competition, but now on every shot. Make this session of your practice about bowling for score applying the ideas and techniques you learned, modified, or practiced during other portions of your session.

7)      MENTAL GAME – Keep POSITIVE mental focus on every shot regardless of how poorly or how well you might be doing or what portion of your practice session you might be in. Remember once you get to certain skill level the Mental Game is probably the most important part of your overall game.

Now that we have covered General Practice Tips I want to also cover “Breaking in the NEW Ball”. Most of the time I see Bowlers practicing because they just got a new ball and want to “see how what it does”. I do this as well, but again I see bowlers doing this in the same fast paced non-thinking environment as they utilize for their General Practice. Here are my 4 Additional Tips for New Equipment. .

 1)      PICK A GOOD TIME TO PRACTICE

2)      PREPARE TO PRACTICE

3)      PLAN PRACTICE – If you are going to test or try new equipment you can put this into your General Practice Plan, but put it at the end. However, my Suggestion is that you devote an entire practice session to NEW Equipment.Make sure your new equipment is prepared to bowl. Whether that is inserts, beveling of holes, sanding, tape, etc.

4)      CURRENT EQUIPMENT FIRST – Bowl a couple games with your current equipment to give yourself a baseline on how the lanes are reacting and such with the equipment you are currently use to using. Fight the urge to put that NEW Ball in your hands immediately.

5)      SAME LINE – Now play the NEW Equipment on the same line, hand position, speed, etc. Simply try to throw the ball the same way as the Current Equipment to give yourself an idea of how it will react in comparison to your current equipment.

6)      ADJUSTMENTS – Make adjustments to ball speed, hand position, line, etc to find the desired ball reaction. Test these adjustments in a variety of circumstances, throw the ball at full racks, corner pins, single & multi-pin spares.

7)      SIMULATE COMPETITION

8)      COMPLETE PRACTICE

9)      MENTAL GAME

Following these guidelines to General Practice and New Equipment will make the most of your Practicing TIME & DOLLARS. This also should lessen the adjustment time to your new ball and hopefully save the frustration of struggling with new stuff, because you didn’t take the time to make sure you were ready to use it.

Opinions expressed in this post are solely mine and may not reflect the opinions held by MSUSBC. As always your comments and opinions are welcome and encouraged. Please post your responses and thank you for reading the Bowler 2 Bowler Blog. Good Luck and hopefully I will see all of you on the lanes.

League Prize Funds – By David Charron

I have bowled in Leagues for the last 30 Years in many different Associations in Numerous States. I have also prepared Prize Fund Proposals for a majority of the leagues I have bowled on. So I pose the question, what makes a good Prize Fund?

First, the rules pertaining to League Prize Funds. Prize Funds should be presented to the league as soon as possible USBC Rules mandate by week 5. Remember a Prize Fund must have the MAJORITY vote in order to be accepted. What this means is that if you have 16 Teams and you distribute 3 Prize Lists, in order to be accepted one must receive at least 9 Votes. Otherwise, you must drop the list(s) with the least votes and re-vote on the 2 Lists which received the most votes.

Now, you’re preparing a list, what should you include. Most leagues in Maine bowl a split season. Halves, Quarters, or even Thirds. For the sake of this discussion we are going to assume your league has 16 teams and bowls a split season in 2 halves. Your prize fund should pay every team based on standings each half. And then pay the top 2 or 4 teams in a roll-off at the end of the year. Additionally you should pay Team Awards for High Series Scratch, High Series Handicap, High Game Scratch, and High Game Handicap. The awards should be of equal value, and you should pay 2 place in each so that half of the teams in this league will get some Team Award Money. Also, you will pay Individual Awards for the same, High Series Scratch, High Series Handicap, High Game Scratch, and High Game Handicap. Again these awards should be of equal Value, except I would pay 3 Places in each, so that 12 different bowlers will get individual Award Money. There will also be awards for High Average 3 Places, and Most Improved 2-3 Places. Finally, let’s talk Point Money. For those of you who don’t know what Point Money is – it is an amount of money that each team will receive for each point it wins during the regular bowling season – not including Roll-Offs. The reason to include Point Money in your prize fund is for 2 very important reasons. First Point Money will give some of the bottom teams a little extra money which is more evenly distributed than your overall league prizes, because there will just not be as much disparity between first and last place monetarily where point money is concerned. For instance is point money is worth $1 per point, then the first place team may get $160 in point money and the last place team is going to get around $75 in point money as opposed to the $600 For first and $100 for last they are also going to get. The second reason is Point Money is easily adjusted to account for variation in Actual Prize Fund Dollars at the end of the year. As you know most leagues have 50/50, which provides a unknown amount to the prize fund, and therefore you could have a “budget Shortfall or Windfall” at the end of the year, which without point money leaves you with a problem of what to do. With Point Money you have a way to easily adjust the point money to the Actual Amount in the Prize Fund at the end of the year.

Let’s Assume your League has 16 Teams and a Prize Fund of $10,000. This is exactly what I would submit for a Prize Fund

Team Place Awards

First Half                          Second Half                         Roll-Offs

1st $ 500.00                  1st $ 500.00                      1st $ 500.00

2nd $ 300.00                2nd $ 300.00                    2nd $ 300.00

3rd $ 200.00                3rd $ 200.00                     3rd $ 200.00

4th $ 175.00                4th $ 175.00                       4th $ 100.00

5th $ 150.00                5th $ 150.00                      

6th $ 125.00                6th $ 125.00

7th $ 100.00               7th $ 100.00

8th $ 100.00               8th $ 100.00

9th $ 75.00                 9th $ 75.00

10th $ 75.00              10th $ 75.00

11th $ 50.00              11th $ 50.00

12th $ 50.00             12th $ 50.00

13th $ 50.00             13th $ 50.00

14th $ 50.00             14th $ 50.00

15th $ 50.00             15th $ 50.00

16th $ 50.00             16th $ 50.00

Team Awards

High Series Scratch – High Game Scratch – High Series Handicap – High Game Handicap

1st $ 150.00  2nd $ 100.00 

Individual Awards

High Series Scratch – High Game Scratch – High Series Handicap – High Game Handicap

1st $ 100.00  2nd $ 60.00  3rd $40.00

High Average

1st $ 125.00  2nd $ 75.00  3rd $50.00

Most Improved

1st $ 75.00  2nd $ 50.00  

Point Money Estimated Point Money $0.82 Approx Per Point $ 2,525.00

Actual Point Money Adjusted to Reflect Actual Total Prize Fund

Total Prize Fund $ 10,000.00  

I hope this post has been thought provoking, I am sure Some bowler would not vote for this prize fund and others would, but it is meant to be the start of topic conversation. Opinions expressed in this post are solely mine and may not reflect the opinions held by MSUSBC. As always your comments and opinions are welcome and encouraged. Please post your responses and thank you for reading the Bowler 2 Bowler Blog. Good luck and good bowling I hope everyone is having a great Start to the Fall League Season. I’m sure I will see you on the Lanes.

USBC Award Changes for 2009-2010 by Ed Cotter

USBC Award Changes for 2009-2010 by Ed Cotter

So much for writing twice a month during the summer. This blog as going to be about new opportunities for USBC members. Instead, I’d like to highlight the recently implemented award changes for the upcoming (2009-2010) season.

USBC embers, youth and dult, will notice that the traditional 80, 100, 120, 140, 160, and 180 game awards have been replaced with 125, 150, and 175 game awards. two others, 225 and 275 game awards have been added to the list. With these game award changes, there are new average limits to be considered for earning the awards.

The series awards have changed also. The 200 series, youth and adult, has been dropped. For the youth, series awards now include 50 pin increments. 350, 450, 550, 650, and 750 series awards have been added. For adults, the 300, 400, 500, 600, and 700 series awards remain. Both youth and adults have new average limits to consider for earning a series award. One example is an adult could earn a 700 series if their average was 210 or below. Now the average limit for the 700 series is 190 and below.

The ‘once in a lifetime’ has not been implemented yet and remains highly debated.

The honor score, (11 in a row, 300 game, and 800 series), awards for adults remain unchanged. Youth this season (2009-2010) will now be eligible for rings for their honor versus last season’s (2008-2009) medallion.

There are two new award programs, Bowlopolis (youth) and PBA Experience (adult). Bowlopolis is geared towards lower average youth bowlers. PBA Experience is being recognized as it’s own entity versus an option within the Sport Bowling framework.

Only time will tell if USBC has taken the right steps in their awards restructure. I encourage everyone to provide feedback (good and or bad) to this blog, to your association board, and to USBC. Any comments left on this blog will be forwarded to our state association board and USBC.

As always, good luck and good bowling!!!

Tournament Prize Funds – By David Charron

I have bowled in many Local and State Association Tournaments and also have seen the prize fund list of many of the Tournaments which I did not compete in and I must say the differences in Prize Fund Distribution from Tournament to Tournament is very troublesome to me. Now what I mean by this is not that I feel not enough of the Entry Fee is being paid out (We all know how much of our entry fee is going into the prize fund before we enter), or that not all of the Prize Fund is being paid out (USBC Rules Mandate that every single penny that is collected as Prize Fund must be paid out), I am simply talking about the way in which a prize list is determined and the actual prize fund dollars.

Prize Funds should not be overly top heavy and they should not be overly bottom heavy. What I mean by that is this, let’s say you have 100 Entries in a Tournament and you are going to pay 10 Places and your entry fee is $25.00 and you have $15.00 going into the prize fund for each entry. You have a total of $1,500 in your prize fund.  The 2 Prize Funds below represent both a prize fund which is top heavy (Left) and one which is Bottom Heavy (Right).

 1^st        $660.00           44.00%                        1^st        $190.00           12.67%

2^nd       $330.00           22.00%                        2^nd       $180.00           12.00%

3^rd        $165.00           11.00%                         3^rd        $170.00           11.33%

4^th        $  97.50             6.50%                         4^th        $160.00           10.67%

5^th        $  60.00             4.00%                        5^th        $150.00           10.00%

6^th        $  45.00             3.00%                        6^th        $140.00             9.33%

7^th        $  41.25             2.75%                         7^th        $135.00             9.00%

8^th        $  37.50             2.50%                         8^th        $130.00             8.67%

9^th        $  33.75             2.25%                          9^th        $125.00             8.33%

10^th     $  30.00             2.00%                        10^th      $120.00             8.00%

Now I will show a couple of examples proper prize fund for this fictional Tournament. Both would be considered acceptable when compared to the above Tournament Prize Funds.

 1^st        $375.00           25.00%                       1^st         $360.00           24.00%

2^nd       $285.00           19.00%                        2^nd       $265.00           17.67%

3^rd        $210.00           14.00%                       3^rd        $195.00           13.00%

4^th        $150.00           10.00%                       4^th        $140.00             9.33%

5^th        $105.00             7.00%                       5^th        $120.00             8.00%

6^th        $  90.00             6.00%                        6^th        $100.00            6.67%

7^th        $  82.50             5.50%                         7^th        $  90.00            6.00%

8^th        $  75.00             5.00%                        8^th        $  82.00             5.47%

9^th        $  67.50             4.50%                         9^th        $  76.00             5.07%

10^th      $  60.00             4.00%                       10^th      $  72.00             4.80%

There have been some recent Tournaments which come to mind which have less than desirable Prize Funds. For Instance in this most Recent Women’s State Tournament the Prize Fund for Singles was the following

1^st        $  52.00                                   12^th      $  28.00          

2^nd      $  50.00                                   13^th      $  25.50          

3^rd       $  45.00                                   13^th      $  25.50          

4^th       $  42.00                                   15^th      $  23.00          

5^th       $  41.00                                   16^th      $  21.00          

6^th       $  39.00                                   17^th      $  19.00          

7^th       $  37.00                                  18^th      $  16.50          

8^th       $  35.00                                   18^th      $  16.50          

9^th       $  33.00                                   20^th     $  14.00          

10^th     $  32.00                                  21^st       $    6.00          

11^th      $  30.00                                  21^st       $    6.00          

This is a prime example of a Prize Fund which is bottom heavy. The person who WON this event got $20 more than the Person who finished 10^th.  The same was true for the All-Events in this tournament the Person Who WON All-Events got $12 more than the person who Finished 10^th. There was a Men’s State Tournament in Lewiston Some time ago which had a similar Prize Fund, If I remember correclty the First Place Doubles Team paid like $175 and each place dropped $3 from there.

I would like to propose that the State Association take a lead role in preparing a Tournament Prize Fund guide that should be used by all Local and State Level Events so that we can have fairness and consistency in Prize Funds in the Tournaments we bowl in. Prize Funds in our Local and State Events should find a balance between Payouts for those who WIN Events and those who participate numerous times and “Cash” Frequently. This is what a fairly administrated Prize Fund is supposed to do.

This post is meant to be thought provoking, I am sure it will be unpopular with some bowlers. As always your comments and opinions are welcome and encouraged. Please post your responses and thank you for reading the Bowler 2 Bowler Blog. Good luck and good bowling I hope everyone is having a great Tournament Season. If your done bowling until September, Have a Great Summer.