New Sport Bowling program to start Aug. 1

[bowl1820]

The main thing it seems to be is a move to stop using "renegade" sport leagues for sandbagging.

The Sport Bowling Average Adjustment Scale also has been modified:
http://usbcongress.http.internapcdn.net/usbcongress/bowl/sportbowling/pdfs/AverageAdjustmentChart2015-2016.pdf

Frequently Asked Questions about the new Sport Bowling program.
http://usbcongress.http.internapcdn.net/usbcongress/bowl/sportbowling/pdfs/NewSportBowlingFAQ.pdf


New Sport Bowling program to start Aug. 1
Terry Bigham
USBC Communications
Published: June 1, 2015 | Bowl.com

ARLINGTON, Texas – To encourage more bowlers and leagues to take advantage of competing on challenging lane conditions and to improve certified tournament average integrity, the United States Bowling Congress will make several enhancements to the Sport Bowling program for the 2015-2016 season, which starts Aug. 1.

Leagues choosing to compete on Sport lane patterns now will have the opportunity to report as a Sport/Challenge league without submitting lane tapes or requiring bowlers to purchase membership upgrades. The USBC Sport membership, including the awards program, will be discontinued as bowlers no longer will need to purchase a membership upgrade to compete in Sport leagues.

“We are removing what historically has been noted as the two largest barriers to participation – the membership cost for the bowler and the additional work required by those running Sport leagues – so more leagues can take advantage of Sport patterns,” USBC Executive Director Chad Murphy said. “Removing the barriers will improve the average integrity for all certified tournaments, which is the key reason for the adjustment to the program.”

The Sport Bowling page of BOWL.com will re-launch July 1 with complete information and reference materials for bowlers, league secretaries and proprietors. The page will have Sport Bowling patterns, video tips on how to play certain Sport patterns, ideas for league formats and more information to help start and run a Sport Bowling league.

“USBC will lose some revenue as part of the switch, but average integrity is important to the future growth of the sport,” Murphy said. “We also want to encourage bowlers and leagues to take advantage of any Sport Bowling options they choose. Whether it is PBA Experience, Kegel Challenge, World Bowling or others, we should see more competition-level patterns in use because the process will be as simple as certifying the league with the new designation with no paperwork or tapes required.”

Starting with the 2015-2016 season, leagues that want to compete on Sport Bowling conditions will designate as a Sport/Challenge league on the league application form; bowlers competing in the league will have a corresponding icon next to their average for that league.

Because Sport Bowling conditions are more challenging than typical league conditions, bowler averages on Sport conditions usually are lower. Designating these leagues moving forward will assist league and tournament operators in automatically adjusting averages for a bowler.

The Sport Bowling Average Adjustment Scale also has been modified, based on data of more than 20,000 averages, as part of the Sport Bowling makeover. The new chart can be found here. The scale, of course, does not supersede a tournament director’s ability to adjust any bowler’s average upward for a tournament.

The Sport Bowling program started with the 2000-2001 season in response to technology changes in the sport. Sport Bowling emphasizes the bowler’s ability to make consistently accurate shots and to know when to make necessary adjustments. Most major USBC events, the PBA Tour, PWBA Tour and World Bowling events are conducted on Sport Bowling patterns.

[vdubtx]

Good to see some changes coming. But, the main obstacle to Sport Leagues in one of my centers, is they are either hesitant to lay a sport pattern out, or simply don't know how. Have tried, unsuccessfully, for the last 2 years to get them to put out the USBC Open Championships patterns and they won't do it. Truly feel they just don't know how to do it.

[LyalC52]

Yeaaaaaa.
This summer there is only one Sport League in my area and its a singles league

[foreverincamo]

Wonder if USBC is doing away with the Sport Shot 300 ring? Used tobe separate from THS 300.

[Amyers]

I don't know this for sure but since there is no longer a separate fee I would bet so

[mc_runner]

Sure sounds like it. If that's the case, it didn't last long:

What types of awards are given to honor scores bowled in Sport Bowling leagues and tournaments?

Because verification of Sport lane conditions no longer will be a requirement, honor scores or achievements on Sport patterns will not be recognized as a separate category. USBC will provide special awards to those who bowl an honor score in most major USBC competitions, such as the USBC Masters and USBC Queens, since those competitions are bowled on verified Sport conditions and are the highest levels of certified competition.

[Amyers]

Sure sounds like it. If that's the case, it didn't last long:

What types of awards are given to honor scores bowled in Sport Bowling leagues and tournaments?

Because verification of Sport lane conditions no longer will be a requirement, honor scores or achievements on Sport patterns will not be recognized as a separate category. USBC will provide special awards to those who bowl an honor score in most major USBC competitions, such as the USBC Masters and USBC Queens, since those competitions are bowled on verified Sport conditions and are the highest levels of certified competition.

Yep what I figured. Why is this sounding worse and worse the more I see and think about it?

[Mike White]

USBC shot itself in the foot when it made honor awards a once in a lifetime deal.

Well now USBC just shot the other foot canceling the sport shot honor awards.

Maybe they have come to the conclusion that there is no way to insure integrity without having a human inspect the oil pattern when an honor score is shot.

If you wait to inspect after the honor score is shot, the oil pattern is drastically different due to the amount oil the modern ball removes from the lane.

So, if you want integrity, first thing to do is disallow the modern bowling ball.

But I might be a bit biased towards that solution, my first ball out of the bag is the Storm Mix.

[Aslan]

What looked like a push to get more centers to put out sport patterns seems to be nothing more than a cancellation of the sport bowling program. So now a center can just say, "Yeah, we put out the PBA Wolf...sort of...at least that's what the pattern looks most like...so we'll call it a sport pattern and adjust everyone's averages accordingly." So we went from verification and integrity...to only verification and integrity on sport conditions...to no verification nor integrity at all?? How long before you don't have to actually strike in order to call it a strike? I mean, if ya knock over 9...especially if that last one kinda moves a little....can't we just count that as a strike? That'll be less work for the centers and make bowling more popular if people can just score the games how they "feel" they bowled.

I'm gonna send an email to the USBC asking how this improves the "integrity" of the game.

[Aslan]

The USBC can't solve every problem...like whether modern bowling balls are good vs. bad...but the lack of sport bowling is primarily because centers see no value in providing sport shot leagues and members see no value in joining them.

So, why?

1) Centers can make more $$$ by having THS leagues with high averages and weekend open bowling.

2) Bowlers have trouble finding sport shot leagues and when they do the choices are very limited (in terms of scratch/handicap, team caps, location, times, days, etc...)

So how do you address THOSE issues?
Well, #2 is easy...more sport leagues being offered...more variety, etc... and bowlers will slowly become more interested.

#1 is harder because the USBC isn't strong enough to either supplement center income to essentially make sport leagues worth their while...and they also aren't strong enough to "bully" centers into providing a sport league ("or else").

The optimal plan is simple...but would be highly risky and likely lead to at least an initial decrease in bowling popularity (although I contend it would see an increase over the longer term):
1) League Participation based on average:
0-157: No Tap
121-190: Handicap THS Leagues
185-259: Scratch Leagues w/one or multiple approved sport pattern(s).
220-259- Eligible for PBA events
260 and above: PBA events only

2) Centers MUST provide that mix and enforce those Tiers or they lose USBC accredidation.

3) USBC must establish an audit protocol to randomly inspect a certain # of centers each year and verify in person all 900 series and a certain % of 800 series. THS patterns will be expected to be somewhat consistent from accredited house to accredited house.

4) Award system needs to be changed to encourage bowlers to get better and eventually bowl scratch leagues. For example, no awards for no-tap leagues. Only minimal awards and ONE award for 300 lifetime for handicap leagues. But much nicer and more valuable awards at the sport level, including a once per year 300 award and it will be different and more valuable than the handicap 300 ring/award. And then the professional level where real money can be made.

The goal is to get people to look at bowling more as a sport, rather than a bar activity. Most sports have divisions so that everyone can get involved at one level or another. And with most sports...there is a payoff as you climb levels. AND...most sports you can't just play at a really low level despite being obviously better. It's at "best" frowned upon. And the ranges would allow people to still be on teams with friends much of the time by having them overlap....but it would end 191+ average bowlers from being in handicap leagues with < 120 average bowlers.

Will it happen? never But... is bowling closer to dying or closer to regaining it's past glory? It may not be dying tomorrow or even this decade...but it's a heck of a lot closer to dead than to 1960s/1970s popularity. So, what they're doing NOW...it isn't working. Might be time to think outside of the box.

Will it lead to less participation? Initially. It's going to be different and bowlers hate different. But once they start to see how much more fun and fair bowling can be if everyone is around the same skill level...and once people start to see the value in "climbing the ladder"...they'll likely make peace with not being able to be on the same team with their neighbor one season because his average was too low and the other guy's was too high.

That's my thoughts on it. Some of you may have read them before in various formats...but I still contend that it's going to take a real outside the box type of change to alter the course of this ship. Simple little changes from an organization with no power and no money...not likely to have much of an effect.

[Amyers]

A few more thoughts on this.

The elimination of the Sport Honor awards is a joke! I was never in the running for one and most likely never would be but that stinks.

The mess with the tapes and all that crap should have been eliminated anyway. There is not currently nor has there ever been a certified sport shot league in this area simply because of this fact. There have been quite a few sport leagues but none of them have ever been certified.

If someone is really desperate enough to try and sandbag by only playing on unreported sports shots then they are going to find a way to game the system somehow or another anyway. Welcome to the USBC showing they have no interest in governing the sport they are supposed to be overseeing again.

[foreverincamo]

I was going to join a sport league this summer before I got hurt atwork just because I could have a shot at getting a second ring . Now it looks like I have to buy any future rings. Bummer

[Ryster]

If you want people to treat bowling as a sport, you need to start governing it like a sport. The USBC needs to first start by enforcing the rules they have before changing them or creating even more.

I would propose to them they should require all centers who host sanctioned leagues and tournaments to have referees/officials present for ALL USBC sanctioned events. The required number of referees/officials would be based on a ratio based on the number of bowlers scheduled to be present. For example, one per 30 bowlers. This person would handle all aspects of officiating (rules questions, lineup changes, score changes, etc.) The referees/officials would be required to check the lanes prior to the start of competition to ensure foul lights are working, ball returns are functioning, pin setters are working, etc. They would also be trained to inspect the lane machine to make sure it is functioning, and the houses would be required to keep a detailed log of all lane treatments and what settings were used on the machine. This log would be required to be made available for review by the referees/officials at any time without notice. If the log has any discrepancies, the house is required to treat the lanes being used for competition before it begins.

I can't tell you the number of times I bowl where the foul lights are turned off, bowlers change the surface of their equipment while bowling (or the surface they have has clearly been altered such that only the track area has been scuffed.) People will change delivery a few times during the night (right to left, left to right). If there was an official presence during competition, and people were conscious of the presence, it would be treated accordingly by the participants. For the most part bowling is an honor system, self-officiated sport which gives it a very "loosey-goosey" reputation.

[Old lefty]

After 30 years of bowling .I finally joined a sport league,must admit ~IT'S TOUGH,but it's been a lot of fun relearning this game,I hate what I'm hearing about people sandbagging their avg's in these leagues......thought they suppose to make you better ?