Happy New Year All!

[BowlingBoards.com]

Hello and very happy new year to all of the bowlingboards.com members!

As we roll into 2022, we want to know from you: What would you like to see from the world of bowling this year?

A certain new ball release?

A change in USBC rules?

More involvement in leagues?

Let's get this conversation rollin'!

Cheers to the New Year!

[Ryster]

It would be nice to see the USBC streamline the rules. Do we really need a 100 page rule book for bowling?

If the USBC is going to insist on such a huge book of rules, they need to make it easier to enforce them. Local associations don't want to, the bowlers themselves don't want to, so what is the point?

[Phonetek]

I'd like to see more bowling centers focused on competitive play similar to the way my center is.

When I go to meets with my son I can't help but notice the employees get there right before the meets start, bed head and all. They unlock the doors, turn on the lanes. No way they oiled or did any prep. It shows a complete lack of caring from the center. If the centers don't care then how can they expect to get a new breed of caring bowlers?

When I go to these places I take it a little personally because I know that's not how run a center. The bowlers deserve better, especially the youth. That's what I'd like to see in 2022.

[Ryster]

I'd like to see more bowling centers focused on competitive play similar to the way my center is.

When I go to meets with my son I can't help but notice the employees get there right before the meets start, bed head and all. They unlock the doors, turn on the lanes. No way they oiled or did any prep. It shows a complete lack of caring from the center. If the centers don't care then how can they expect to get a new breed of caring bowlers?

When I go to these places I take it a little personally because I know that's not how run a center. The bowlers deserve better, especially the youth. That's what I'd like to see in 2022.

Our bowling center is just happy to have employees period. Even at $15+/hr they can't get people to apply for the numerous positions they have available.

[RobLV1]

Happy New Year to You! What I look forward to seeing is what the USBC plans on doing about lane certification. Where I bowl, right now, it's ridiculous! There's not a decent rack in the house, and the topography is so out of control that, I can honestly say, I have not bowled on one pair of matching lanes since 2020. The local association inspections were not the best, buy they were waaay better than no inspections at all!

[BowlingBoards.com]

Thank you all for your input. Hearing from different bowlers all over is pretty insightful. It seems no matter the location, many of us are experiencing the same things and have hopes for improvement of the sport.

We'd definitely love to see more people get involved in bowling! League should have a "Bring a Friend" night so those who may be a little skeptical can see what it's like without the "big commitment" right away; a way to ease new bowlers into the sport

Keep the ideas coming!

[Phonetek]

The lane certification as Rob mentioned is take a huge step in the wrong direction for the sport. The USBC wants the bowlers to follow more rules but the centers to follow less. It's a two way street!

They need to enforce consistency and standards throughout all the bowling centers. Ya know, oil the lanes before competitive play, not have pins that are 5+ years old and be held responsible for damage to balls from their machines.

I'm tired of hearing about owners who buy these places from caring owners then run them into the ground, disband leagues and put up monitors on the masking units for music videos and football. By the USBC becoming laxed on the rules for the proprietors they are just encouraging the trend for bowling to become a novelty not a sport. It doesn't have to be this way.

[Aslan]

For the first time, I don't really have an opinion.

I think the sport is all but dead and there's not much can be done to save it.

The USBC can't get youth more involved with all the other distractions kids have. The USBC doesn't have the funding to really make changes. Any needed changes to the PBA are impossible because there just isn't the money in bowling that there used to be. Without a strong PBA, there is no pressure on the bowling ball manufacturers to make changes that would help the sport. The USBC has relatively no power over bowling centers. If the USBC increases authority over the centers, the centers will either close or run non-sanctioned leagues.

The scoring is so out of whack, that the USBC can't really give out the same awards it used to...which only angers members that see the USBC as an organization that provides little to no services to the average bowler. The bulk of bowling's devoted membership is aging. As the USBC tries to make the sport more popular to the youth with things like 2-handed bowling...it loses a segment of the devoted, aging segment.

If I had a gun to my head and had to pick something I'd like to see changed...that I actually thought the USBC could accomplish? Maybe a better BVL tournament. Some states (California) do a really nice job with the BVL. Other states (Iowa) do a sort of "virtual tournament". I think if the USBC made the BVL more like what California does...across all of it's associations...that would be a good thing.

And, I think they NEED to fix their coaching program. The Bronze, Silver, Gold wasn't perfect...but it least it was SOMETHING. Now they seem to have NOTHING...and that isn't helping the sport AT ALL.