League Etiquet

[barcar]

Do you or don't you say something when the other team is crowding around the ball return and even running ahead of you as you prepare to throw your shot?
Had a team last week that was doing this, heck they even grabbed their balls, even though we were just about ready to throw and they didn't even have pins set yet.
The crazy thing is one of the guys helps with the youth group at our lanes.
I would have thought he would have known better.
I never said anything, but by the end of the night I was getting pretty bothered by this.

[dnhoffman]

I'd say something, it's better to be friendly and straightforward rather than passive aggressive.

Just be friendly about it, it's your night too and you should be able to enjoy it, and that means you deserve polite people to play against. No problem with educating others, you might even make a friend.

[J Anderson]

Do you or don't you say something when the other team is crowding around the ball return and even running ahead of you as you prepare to throw your shot?
Had a team last week that was doing this, heck they even grabbed their balls, even though we were just about ready to throw and they didn't even have pins set yet.
The crazy thing is one of the guys helps with the youth group at our lanes.
I would have thought he would have known better.
I never said anything, but by the end of the night I was getting pretty bothered by this.

You should remind them that for their own safety that they should be observing proper etiquette. If they keep doing it after being warned, you need to tell the league officers.

[billf]

Tell them. Whether you're nice about it is up to you :D

[GoodGravy]

It can be a little unsettling to approach folks when you think it will be a negative confrontation. So just think of it this way: They may not know what is proper or not and you are just trying to help them out. I like the "I want you to be safe" approach...It would be hard for somebody to take it the wrong way if you approached them with the attitude that you don't want them to get injured.

Or you can just tell 'em to back off, their crowding your space.

[billf]

Talk to a league officer about it and see if they will talk to this team about it. That is part of their job.

[barcar]

yeah in hind sight I should have and normally would have.
Can't believe two guys that bowl in tournaments, wouldn't know better, but I suppose anything is possible.
Thanks for the responses.

[Gunz1911]

Is it considered bad etiguet if I grab my ball and whipe it off when I am waiting for my turn? I never do it while someone right next to me is on the approuch or if my ball is too far forward on the rack. We bowl with a 2 lane curtosy so while I wait for the bowlers near me to go I will just grab my ball and give it a cleaning. Its more of a pre-shot routine and figure its better I do it when I am on deck than when people are waiting for me to bowl.

[J Anderson]

Is it considered bad etiguet if I grab my ball and whipe it off when I am waiting for my turn? I never do it while someone right next to me is on the approuch or if my ball is too far forward on the rack. We bowl with a 2 lane curtosy so while I wait for the bowlers near me to go I will just grab my ball and give it a cleaning. Its more of a pre-shot routine and figure its better I do it when I am on deck than when people are waiting for me to bowl.

As long as you don't step fully onto the approach while some one is about to go on an adjoining lane. I tend to do this too and I usually make a point of stepping back from the approach while I wipe so it will be obvious that I'm not about to jump up on the approach and bowl.

[vdubtx]

I have bowled in my one league long enough that I know pretty much everyone and don't feel any issue in telling them to back off the approach while another bowler is up on lane. We have had folks stay up on approach right next to ball return just before their first shot and waiting for ball to come back for their spare attempt. If I am up about to go and they step up on approach, I stop and step back and ask that they not stand up on approach while another bowler is getting set to take a shot. Never had a confrontation as long as I am not aggressive in letting them know.

[Gunz1911]

Had a funny one last night. I bowl with the son of a married couple, and we played them last night. They were trash talking all night and the mom got a strike and turned around and yelled "Yeah" at her son. What she didn't realize was her son was already on his backswing. Needless to say it was pretty funny to watch them bicker over it. She did atleast apologize. haha

[J Anderson]

Had a funny one last night. I bowl with the son of a married couple, and we played them last night. They were trash talking all night and the mom got a strike and turned around and yelled "Yeah" at her son. What she didn't realize was her son was already on his backswing. Needless to say it was pretty funny to watch them bicker over it. She did atleast apologize. haha

Technically, your partner shouldn't have started his approach until his mom was well on her way back from the foul line.

[classygranny]

Technically, your partner shouldn't have started his approach until his mom was well on her way back from the foul line.

This is where some new bowlers need the specifics of lane etiquette...it is actually a safety issue. I bowl in a league with some older folks and they tend to lose their balance at the foul line and even walking back to the ball rack. I never bowl when someone will be beside me or walking back towards me as I have seen too many near disasters occur.

[aussiedave]

Sometimes it is best to wait until the other bowler has started walking back to the approach dots - especially if he/she is one of those bowlers who jumps around a lot when riding a good ball into the pocket. Some of them will run down the foul line a whole lane or more.
I even wait back if someone is on nine in a row until they finish altogether. Let them have their moment of glory even if they miss the 300, they still had a good game!
ad.

[vdubtx]

Sometimes it is best to wait until the other bowler has started walking back to the approach dots - especially if he/she is one of those bowlers who jumps around a lot when riding a good ball into the pocket. Some of them will run down the foul line a whole lane or more.
I even wait back if someone is on nine in a row until they finish altogether. Let them have their moment of glory even if they miss the 300, they still had a good game!
ad.

Absolutely agree. We have some bowlers that will run up the line 2 lanes which I find annoying. They are typically the guys that have good games once in a while and let you know it when they are on a hot streak. Other times they walk back and just pound the ball return or curse out loud. SMH. :rolleyes:

[billf]

I start teaching league etiquette right away. I'm talking it's stressed in the bumper league and youth leagues. What's funny is the kids listen better than most of the adults!

[J Anderson]

I start teaching league etiquette right away. I'm talking it's stressed in the bumper league and youth leagues. What's funny is the kids listen better than most of the adults!

Just think about it. Babies are observing and learning every waking moment. Older kids are still geared toward learning, just not necessarily in school, most of the time. Us adults on the other hand, tend to think that we know everything already so we don't listen as well as we should.