swingset
03-20-2013, 01:32 PM
My brother and I were talking the other day by phone. He travels and used to be a very good bowler. He was lamenting the sad state leagues were in where he lives, and wishing there was a better place for him to bowl and more time. It got us talking about things, and since the "Dying sport" thread, I think it inspired me and we dreamed up what we think would be a really cool league that addresses some of what's wrong with the modern game. I don't think one answer can fix everything, certainly not tournaments or the PBA, but I think a new take on the "fun" leagues might shake things up for houses and bring in bowlers who are on the fence or shut out of being able to join leagues.
Here's the main ideas behind this league.
10 week league, ran quarterly. Spring, summer, fall, winter. This allows people to pick and choose their time of the year without a long commitment. Also allows you to bowl 9 months out of the year, or 6, or 3...with several weeks in between the leagues.
2-man teams, mix of men or women. This allows ease of establishment. Much easier to find one partner than 3, and much easier to do if you're not tied to having 2 women, or 1, or whatever. This also favors bowlers who can't find any partners...super easy to build teams out of single bowler stragglers, only need one more person to make a team. If you have 4 buddies that bowl, this is not a detriment....you make 2 teams of your 4 friends, and even bowl against each other. Have 6 guys? Great, 3 teams.
Fast paced, 2 on 2 action. Some people like to socialize (which my league will address, in a way), but then others get bored and find the 4 and 5 man team leagues dull when you bowl, in actuality, very little. This will be quicker paced, you'll get more bowling in, and in a shorter amount of time. You'll get more bang for your buck, read on.
Competitive, but designed to downplay unfriendly competition. This is where I think this league might be revolutionary, or different from most in that it combines elements of scratch leagues, elements of tournaments, elements of fun and social leagues and even gambling leagues.
So, here's the format...bear with me, it's not that complicated.
The first three games of the league are USBC-sanctioned 2 on 2 scratch games. No handicap, so that elminates one sticking point of leagues. Oh, but that'll discourage new bowlers or the not-so-good right? Well, not necessarily....because there's essentially nothing on the line. The 10-week scratch doubles portion of the league offers nothing in prizes, no cash, no perks. Bragging rights only. You're bowling for a pat on the back and some self-respect, but remember it's built to downplay unfriendly competition. If you are a great team, congrats you win. If you're not so good, you're a mid-pack league and you have something to work for. If you're a lousy team, well it wasn't about winning money anyway.
So, you've bowled 3 games, but that didn't take long at all. What now? Well, how about we bowl two more but with a twist? Now is where the fun comes in...and the money.
Your lineage is paid weekly, and the remainder of the dues are paid each week into a pot. When you pay, you also draw out a number from a bowl. At the end of your 3 game sanctioned league games, you look at your number and it will correspond to a lane. You move to that lane (waiting for all lanes to clear, here's a good chance for socializing and BS about what's coming next). Someone else on the league has drawn the same lane as you, as well the two numbers from your opposing lanes. So, for the next two games you are paired with a random bowler, as is your competition.
You bowl these last two games in baker format - but by the ball not by the frame, with your new "teammate". You roll every other ball, in a game against two other bowlers doing the same. If your partner strikes, you roll the next frame's opening ball. If you leave a split, your partner shoots to pick it up or vice versa...until the game is completed. Then, you bowl a second game the same style. Essentially, in a league night, a single bowler will roll 4 games of bowling in a normal league night, but racking up 5 games of scores.
The idea behind this 2-game bonus is to mix things up, but it also has a real and positive social effect on a league of mixed bowlers. You will, every week, be forced to meet & get to know the rest of the league...either as a partner, or an opponent. Someone you were trying desperately to beat a game ago is now your ally...and it will be interesting and challenging to bowl their first ball, or clean up their frames. You'll work together with someone who you might not have even talked to in a traditional league, and I think it will make the league more fun, more social, and deter the bickering and discord of competition (while still competing just the same). Yes, I can imagine some bowlers initial apprehension at being paired with strangers, but I think these are nerves that would be calmed and the fun might even come in your team comparing how you're doing with your "new" partners, or winks or nods across the lanes checking out who your wife got saddled with, verses your team, whatever. In any case, I think it would add a whole new layer to your typical league...and would seldom be dull.
It's also a good mini-clinic for bowlers. Think about it. If you're good, you're on a new pair with an unknown bowler or someone whose style doesn't match your own. That's a challenge, on many levels. It's also a great way to help new players, and for the new or intermediate guys it's a great chance to play weekly with someone whose skill is better than yours, to play up to their game, to learn from them, and all under the shelter of a goof-off game instead of cutt-throat competition. I think it would inspire bowlers to be better, and for better bowlers to welcome other bowlers to a more serious game.
So where does the cash come in? Well, here again is a change to the traditional long, wait-all-winter-for-not-much payout. This will pay bowlers each week, in interesting and fun ways. If the center is able, colored pins could be mixed in to the baker games to allow cash prizes for strikes with colored pins. Or, a "bingo" style board could be revealed after the games are completed for payouts...let's say a board with 140, 183 and 245 on them gets revealed. Any team that hit these numbers as their final game score would win cash prizes. Or, teams with the most spare conversions would win a cash prize, or highest game with fewest strikes, or maybe a "surprise" cash payout for standing. One week it pays $200 to the winning team. The next week $200 to the 7th ranked team, maybe the next week $200 to the last place team. You never know. I haven't flushed out all the potential awards here, but the idea is to make these last games fun, light-hearted and more like a casino than a tournament. Maybe even dividing the weekly pot into two sums, payouts (for small cash prizes like I listed) and a large 50/50 that's drawn each week.
I think this also compliments the ADD generation a bit more than the long standing, somewhat stale league format that doesn't seem to appeal to many bowlers. A short league, fast paced play, cash payouts, and more flexibility with team and skill would certainly be something I'd sign up for in a heartbeat. I have to think I'm not alone, so you tell me - would you bowl in a league like this? I am thinking very hard about putting something like this together, if I can get some help locally from the more established bowlers. What do you think?
Vote in the poll if you like.
Here's the main ideas behind this league.
10 week league, ran quarterly. Spring, summer, fall, winter. This allows people to pick and choose their time of the year without a long commitment. Also allows you to bowl 9 months out of the year, or 6, or 3...with several weeks in between the leagues.
2-man teams, mix of men or women. This allows ease of establishment. Much easier to find one partner than 3, and much easier to do if you're not tied to having 2 women, or 1, or whatever. This also favors bowlers who can't find any partners...super easy to build teams out of single bowler stragglers, only need one more person to make a team. If you have 4 buddies that bowl, this is not a detriment....you make 2 teams of your 4 friends, and even bowl against each other. Have 6 guys? Great, 3 teams.
Fast paced, 2 on 2 action. Some people like to socialize (which my league will address, in a way), but then others get bored and find the 4 and 5 man team leagues dull when you bowl, in actuality, very little. This will be quicker paced, you'll get more bowling in, and in a shorter amount of time. You'll get more bang for your buck, read on.
Competitive, but designed to downplay unfriendly competition. This is where I think this league might be revolutionary, or different from most in that it combines elements of scratch leagues, elements of tournaments, elements of fun and social leagues and even gambling leagues.
So, here's the format...bear with me, it's not that complicated.
The first three games of the league are USBC-sanctioned 2 on 2 scratch games. No handicap, so that elminates one sticking point of leagues. Oh, but that'll discourage new bowlers or the not-so-good right? Well, not necessarily....because there's essentially nothing on the line. The 10-week scratch doubles portion of the league offers nothing in prizes, no cash, no perks. Bragging rights only. You're bowling for a pat on the back and some self-respect, but remember it's built to downplay unfriendly competition. If you are a great team, congrats you win. If you're not so good, you're a mid-pack league and you have something to work for. If you're a lousy team, well it wasn't about winning money anyway.
So, you've bowled 3 games, but that didn't take long at all. What now? Well, how about we bowl two more but with a twist? Now is where the fun comes in...and the money.
Your lineage is paid weekly, and the remainder of the dues are paid each week into a pot. When you pay, you also draw out a number from a bowl. At the end of your 3 game sanctioned league games, you look at your number and it will correspond to a lane. You move to that lane (waiting for all lanes to clear, here's a good chance for socializing and BS about what's coming next). Someone else on the league has drawn the same lane as you, as well the two numbers from your opposing lanes. So, for the next two games you are paired with a random bowler, as is your competition.
You bowl these last two games in baker format - but by the ball not by the frame, with your new "teammate". You roll every other ball, in a game against two other bowlers doing the same. If your partner strikes, you roll the next frame's opening ball. If you leave a split, your partner shoots to pick it up or vice versa...until the game is completed. Then, you bowl a second game the same style. Essentially, in a league night, a single bowler will roll 4 games of bowling in a normal league night, but racking up 5 games of scores.
The idea behind this 2-game bonus is to mix things up, but it also has a real and positive social effect on a league of mixed bowlers. You will, every week, be forced to meet & get to know the rest of the league...either as a partner, or an opponent. Someone you were trying desperately to beat a game ago is now your ally...and it will be interesting and challenging to bowl their first ball, or clean up their frames. You'll work together with someone who you might not have even talked to in a traditional league, and I think it will make the league more fun, more social, and deter the bickering and discord of competition (while still competing just the same). Yes, I can imagine some bowlers initial apprehension at being paired with strangers, but I think these are nerves that would be calmed and the fun might even come in your team comparing how you're doing with your "new" partners, or winks or nods across the lanes checking out who your wife got saddled with, verses your team, whatever. In any case, I think it would add a whole new layer to your typical league...and would seldom be dull.
It's also a good mini-clinic for bowlers. Think about it. If you're good, you're on a new pair with an unknown bowler or someone whose style doesn't match your own. That's a challenge, on many levels. It's also a great way to help new players, and for the new or intermediate guys it's a great chance to play weekly with someone whose skill is better than yours, to play up to their game, to learn from them, and all under the shelter of a goof-off game instead of cutt-throat competition. I think it would inspire bowlers to be better, and for better bowlers to welcome other bowlers to a more serious game.
So where does the cash come in? Well, here again is a change to the traditional long, wait-all-winter-for-not-much payout. This will pay bowlers each week, in interesting and fun ways. If the center is able, colored pins could be mixed in to the baker games to allow cash prizes for strikes with colored pins. Or, a "bingo" style board could be revealed after the games are completed for payouts...let's say a board with 140, 183 and 245 on them gets revealed. Any team that hit these numbers as their final game score would win cash prizes. Or, teams with the most spare conversions would win a cash prize, or highest game with fewest strikes, or maybe a "surprise" cash payout for standing. One week it pays $200 to the winning team. The next week $200 to the 7th ranked team, maybe the next week $200 to the last place team. You never know. I haven't flushed out all the potential awards here, but the idea is to make these last games fun, light-hearted and more like a casino than a tournament. Maybe even dividing the weekly pot into two sums, payouts (for small cash prizes like I listed) and a large 50/50 that's drawn each week.
I think this also compliments the ADD generation a bit more than the long standing, somewhat stale league format that doesn't seem to appeal to many bowlers. A short league, fast paced play, cash payouts, and more flexibility with team and skill would certainly be something I'd sign up for in a heartbeat. I have to think I'm not alone, so you tell me - would you bowl in a league like this? I am thinking very hard about putting something like this together, if I can get some help locally from the more established bowlers. What do you think?
Vote in the poll if you like.