Changes for fall leagues

[taxexpert2]

I love bowling and am very much missing it and my bowling friends. I was talking to a pro shop proprietor last week (of course he is not working). He said he was going to make a suggestion for the fall leagues in his area - no more than 3 people on a team to assist with people being able to better keep a physical distance between them.

I just hope we can bowl again in the fall or preferably before that.

Hope everyone is doing well and looking forward to when this is over.

[jaypeesmith]

Unfortunately, that doesn't sound like that would help much with social distancing. On one league, we had three person teams but, that would put each of us in close proximity to at least 5 other people, particularly during practice time.

[ALazySavage]

In my opinion, the issue we are going to see with starting leagues up again (completing this season or summer specifically) is if we are able to kick up a league if someone has to self-quarantine due to contact or someone tests positive in the league you will be stopping the league again - and potentially closing the center again. With the layout of a bowling center, 6 feet is a pretty hard distance to maintain and there are a lot of shared surfaces during league (consoles, bathrooms, pay envelopes) - not to mention the elephant in the room of some people who don't want to wash their hands because it messes with the feel of their shot (moisture) - and bowling for 26 years I will say this is more prevalent than people really want to admit (or acknowledge).

[boatman37]

We have 3 in our league of about 100 that i know of that tested positive. 1 recovered, 1 died, and haven't heard about the 3rd. there may be more but thats all i have heard of. I think when we do return if this isn't 100% cured we will have quite a few that won't come back out of fear they may still get it. We have 16 teams now and 40 lanes. The ladies league bowls the same night as us too and they have i think 6 teams so with 20 teams we could use 1/2 the center and then only have 10 people per 2 pairs. Wouldn't use those empty lanes but it would give room between the other teams/pairs. But that isn't my call

[Ryster]

When you stop and think of all of the aspects of league bowling, it becomes more and more apparent that it is not something that will lend itself to social distancing. At the end of the day, bowling is not hygienic.

Shared pay envelopes
Shared score sheets
Pencils for the score sheets
Scoring monitors/keyboards/house phones
Close proximity in the settee area
People put their hands all over their bowling ball, then that ball touches the other bowling balls on the return...then you pick up your ball.
The virus travels on shoes, people walk into the bowling center and you roll your bag in there and now it is possibly on your bag and your bowling shoes
Bowling center staff in tight space behind the counter
Might have to wear a mask while bowling...good luck trying to also drink water or something (you don't want to be touching/removing that mask constantly...not safe)
Trying to balance leagues, with walk-ins, and arcade business. How many people in a bowling center is too many?
Do you even continue a snack bar/in-center restaurant?

USBC has announced that Nationals has been pushed to September through November. They are only going to allow one team per pair. Could this be something that local leagues resort to in addition to smaller team sizes? This would restrict the number of league bowlers. Does the bowling center hold a "lottery" to decide who gets to bowl and who doesn't?

I would be very surprised at this point if there are any summer or fall leagues at all in the foreseeable future with all of the new social distancing and safety guidelines. I will gladly bowl with a mask on if that is what it comes down to, and couldn't care less about whether one team per pair is "fair" or not in a league setting. I am also on board with doubles only or trios leagues. I just want to get back to bowling.

[boatman37]

Our summer league is duo's. We had 40 2 man teams. You could have as many on your team as you wanted but only 2 per night and the 2 that bowled the first game had to bowl all 4 games. No swapping between games. It's a 4 game night since with only 2 bowlers per lane we would could bowl 4 games in 2 hours.

[Ryster]

Our summer league is 4-man teams. 28 teams in a 48 lane center. There are a couple of other leagues that bowl that night as well, so all of the lanes are in use. The center I bowl in is going to have to make some really hard decisions when Gov. Wolf decides to start reopening non-essential businesses. Following CDC social distancing guidelines/masks/avoiding large groups is going to be the order of the day for quite some time and that is what bowling centers will struggle with. PA just made face masks mandatory in public places effective 8PM this Sunday, so that is an indication of the direction things are going here.

I have corresponded with a couple of seasoned bowlers, and they made it clear that if they have to wear a mask while bowling they are out and would rather quit than deal with that.

[boatman37]

Good chance I will wear a mask for awhile even if it isn't required. Bowling is tight quarters with 10 to a pair but I doubt we finish this season. If we do I may pre-bowl on Monday afternoon to finish this season

[Ryster]

Unless bowling centers can creatively solve the social distancing and occupancy issues, there will be no league bowling as we know it for several months. Severely restricted open bowling might be possible, but 5 person team league bowling will be really tough.