An Unfortunate Situation

[Ryster]

It seems that you all missed my point. I don't care about losing the points. I don't care that he broke the rules. I don't care about the absentee percentage. My question is this: Do you think that a bowler should quit because conditions are difficult or uncomfortable, or do you think that finding a way to overcome adversity that affects all the bowlers on the pair the same is a true test of a bowlers zeal for the game?

Everyone has a different threshold for "adversity". Most of us on this site would push through and finish out the session. Others, like the bowler you faced, don't want to deal with it and quit. That is his right. There may be past experiences or extenuating circumstances that prompted his decision. What may seem like silly behavior to us could have some sort of relevance to him.

There are times where I wish other bowlers would just leave when they are having a bad night, instead of staying and making life miserable for the bowling center employees and other bowlers around them. Having to hear people complain about various things over and over for 2.5 hours can be brutal.

[boatman37]

So big question...how was he bowling before he quit? Was the dry approach an excuse to get away from a rough night? If so that is even worse then quitting because you aren't comfortable and don't like it. If he was bowling decent and still quit then maybe he was concerned about injury? Not defending his actions cause I would never quit unless I physically couldn't bowl anymore...but I'm not a quitter

[Aslan]

It seems that you all missed my point. I don't care about losing the points. I don't care that he broke the rules. I don't care about the absentee percentage. My question is this: Do you think that a bowler should quit because conditions are difficult or uncomfortable, or do you think that finding a way to overcome adversity that affects all the bowlers on the pair the same is a true test of a bowlers zeal for the game?

I think it depends on the "adversity".

If the humidity is a little high or a person is having a bad night or the scoring system goes down and people have to keep score by hand...or maybe the machine put down a USBC pattern instead of a house pattern...I mean, in that case...yeah...bowl through it...everybody is bowling on the same thing; same scenario, same advantage/disadvantage (essentially).

HOWEVER...

1. If there's a safety issue...I mean, if the place is on fire or the lights go out or there's carbon monoxide alarms going off. Or even if the approaches are SO sticky that people are risking their knees to bowl...then I think that is different. I've seen bowlers quit and go home when a center couldn't clean approaches due to a spill or something...and older bowlers simply wouldn't risk their knees to bowl.

2. A league should have minimum expectations regarding lane conditions. If the lanes haven't been oiled...at all...and your equipment is hooking into the gutter midway down the lane...thats a problem. I mean, I suppose those bowlers with spare balls could throw their spare balls at the pocket and hope for the best...but thats not acceptable conditions for league night. Changing a pattern is one thing...but simply going out there with a machine that squirts random puddles of oil or fails to clean parts of the lane or creates strange inconsistent situations...thats going to make the night a toss-up. There aren't "adjustments" that can be made...it's just a matter of who has a spare ball and who doesn't.

I've bowled at centers where both of the above situations, in one form or another, have occurred. I've fallen on the lanes due to sticky approaches and watched an older bowler get carried out of a center once after he blew out his knee. You can't bowl on unsafe conditions. And, I've bowled at a center that was having "oil machine issues" and their machine oiled inconsistently and broke down midway through oiling. In practice, everyone throwing a reactive ball watched their ball hook into the gutter about 30-40 ft. The center ended up putting us on a far pair that had been oiled that wasn't being used or else both teams were going to leave.

I'm not a proponent of "easy conditions". If it were up to me, we'd do away with the THS altogether for anything but beginner leagues. I've bowled on sport conditions and in challenge leagues. It's not about "easy" and trying to make the game easy for me to score. I actually prefer centers where I score less...I hate having an inflated average if I enter a handicap tournament and I think it's "false confidence". But there's a difference between "easy" and "consistent". Lanes have to be level, they have to be a certain length, a certain width...pins have to be a certain weight and height...and yes, an oil pattern needs to be applied. Thats just how the game has developed.

[RobLV1]

So big question...how was he bowling before he quit? Was the dry approach an excuse to get away from a rough night? If so that is even worse then quitting because you aren't comfortable and don't like it. If he was bowling decent and still quit then maybe he was concerned about injury? Not defending his actions cause I would never quit unless I physically couldn't bowl anymore...but I'm not a quitter

His score was in the 70's in the sixth frame (he is a 190+ average bowler). He blamed his score on his inability to slide. What really caused his poor score was the fact that he let the approaches get in his head. He justified quitting by saying he didn't want to hurt himself.

[boatman37]

His score was in the 70's in the sixth frame (he is a 190+ average bowler). He blamed his score on his inability to slide. What really caused his poor score was the fact that he let the approaches get in his head. He justified quitting by saying he didn't want to hurt himself.

Could be the chicken/egg thing but can't help but wonder if he was just having a bad night and needed someone/something to blame and that was his out. Like others have said, I have bad nights too when I feel the lanes are off but we are all bowling in those same conditions so as long as it is fair across the board then suck it up and do your best. Understanding there are exceptions for safety or previous injury type stuff but seems more like a 'cop out' to me

[mc_runner]

Yeah, it's a tough call if it's legitimate concern over injury vs. sour grapes. Like Aslan, I've witnessed some pretty bad injuries come up as a result of approaches being bad. However, with that said I tend to think that you need to adjust your game to fit whatever conditions you're in, generally. The approaches are kind of a grey area... if it's lane conditions tough luck. Bowl on them because we're all in the same boat.

In this case I'd probably give the guy the benefit of the doubt, especially considering you likely don't know his health history closely - but I'd also kind of keep tabs on it and see if it comes up again and if it does, bring it up (especially if it's not a similar situation).

[GrumpyCatFace]

I definitely get not risking your knees for a bad condition. That’s a good enough reason to stop, IMO.

[classygranny]

Quitting is not in my book. Unfortunately, some people can. While I consider the issue is more of my commitment to my team as well as to myself, I could/would never quit over an approach or lane condition. In fact, when my elbow was at its worst, my team had to make me quit in the middle of a league session, as they could tell how much pain I was in. To say the least, I was a bit relieved they made me, but I'm not sure if I would have on my own.

This week we bowled a senior tournament in Las Vegas. Humidity was high and we were on the high end so the approaches were very sticky. We all made it through. I've noticed that when the approaches are a bit unpredictable, most of us just slow our feet a bit and deal with a little less ball speed. Isn't that just part of adjusting?

[boomer]

Quitting is not in my book. Unfortunately, some people can. While I consider the issue is more of my commitment to my team as well as to myself, I could/would never quit over an approach or lane condition. In fact, when my elbow was at its worst, my team had to make me quit in the middle of a league session, as they could tell how much pain I was in. To say the least, I was a bit relieved they made me, but I'm not sure if I would have on my own.

This week we bowled a senior tournament in Las Vegas. Humidity was high and we were on the high end so the approaches were very sticky. We all made it through. I've noticed that when the approaches are a bit unpredictable, most of us just slow our feet a bit and deal with a little less ball speed. Isn't that just part of adjusting?

I think so.

[Phonetek]

Did anyone bring these approach conditions to the counter? If there was concern for injury then they could have possibly tried cleaning the approaches before bowling resumed. Possibly postponed that bowling night. I assume they are synthetic approaches not real wood?

Ours are real wood so it's a bit easier to deal with. We can simply take a damp mop and clean them which we do monthly. I actually did it yesterday. It doesn't take long to do and they take about 10-15 minutes to dry completely if done properly.
When I say damp mop I mean damp, if it's dropping it's too much. I don't this would work on synthetic but I'm sure they have some method.

By all means if the conditions were hazardous then the center should have took some action. If it's one guy complaining it's one thing but an entire league that's a different thing all together.