In between styles but a tournament is coming up Friday

[RoccoRock]

There is a tournament coming up at my local lanes this friday. My problem is I'm in between styles right now. I'm working on a conventional game with my thumb in but the scores are in there just yet. I really want to do this tournament its at my home lanes. Should I shelve my project right now and practice without my thumb in the ball this week to get ready for this tournament, or just take my chances that I will get crushed with my thumb in. If I practice a few games this week without my thumb I think I can compete. What do I do? The best answer is probably skip the tournament but I really want to do it.

[Josch]

Is it a scratch or handicap tournament? I'm fairly sure that you have to have 2 separate averages for 1 handed bowling and 2 according to the USBC.

[bowl1820]

Is it a scratch or handicap tournament? I'm fairly sure that you have to have 2 separate averages for 1 handed bowling and 2 according to the USBC.

That's rule is for when you switch between right handed and left handed.


He's talking about bowling with his thumb in or out.

in a Adult league:
118b/3 A bowler is using the two-handed approach. The bowler’s dominate hand is the right
hand. Can the bowler use the right hand for spares?
Yes, since both deliveries are with the same dominate hand, the bowler did not change
delivery and, therefore, is not in violation of any USBC rules.
118b/4 A player started league bowling right-handed, but later decided to use a two-handed
approach. Is this a change of delivery and in violation of Rule 118b?
No, as long as all deliveries are made with the right hand, this would not be a
violation of Rule 118b.
118b/5 What are the requirements of a delivery for a two-handed approach?
A two-handed bowler is required to use the same dominant hand during their delivery on
both their first and second shots (this refers to the hand in which the bowling ball rests). They
also have the option of utilizing a thumb hole or not—both are acceptable. However, only one
set of gripping holes is allowed.


In a Youth leagues: A bowler using a two-handed delivery will establish an average with two hands.
When the bowler changes to a one-handed delivery, they must establish a new average using
that hand.

[RoccoRock]

It is handicap but I have no baseline for my average with my thumb in.

[Josch]

That's rule is for when you switch between right handed and left handed.


He's talking about bowling with his thumb in or out.

There is a rule about switching from 2 handed to 1 handed for youth bowlers.

Youth leagues:
4 A bowler using a two-handed delivery will establish an average with two hands When the bowler
changes to a one-handed delivery, they must establish a new average using that hand

But I just realized that he wasn't bowling 2 handed, just without using his thumb.

[bowl1820]

There is a rule about switching from 2 handed to 1 handed for youth bowlers.

You beat me before I could add that.

Also since roccorock is 35 I didn't think it applied

But I just realized that he wasn't bowling 2 handed, just without using his thumb.

[Josch]

You beat me before I could add that.

Also since roccorock is 35 I didn't think it applied

I didn't know it was a youth only rule until I found the rule in the rule book. I just remembered about it because it actually does apply to me, not that I bowl two handed though (I've tried it with a house ball and my speed is so low it goes from gutter to gutter without hitting a thing).

[RoccoRock]

Okay forget about the reestablishing let's go buy pure numbers. My league average is 178, that would be the average I take into the tournament. According to the stats I keep on my phone my average with my thumb in right now is 153. The last 10 weeks of the week I had a ball drilled properly for a note from release, my average over those last 10 weeks was 197.

[Josch]

I think the best option for you is to not bowl in the tournament but if you really want to I would say bowl without your thumb if you want to have a chance at doing well. If you don't mind not doing great bowl with your thumb. You have no chance if you can't even bowl your average.

[RoccoRock]

In case my crappy phone and the inability to edit posts while on the mobile site made things strange, and unclear, I will clear them up now. Over the last 10 weeks of my league I bowled without my thumb, and averaged in the mid 190's. I honestly didn't think it was that high over that span. All I remember is a few bad weeks, including the last week off the season when I almost cost my team third place. I think I'm going to go practice today, no thumb and see what happens. I honestly think if I bowl this tournament without my thumb, I can do well, maybe even win it. I've spent a lot of time, and money trying to covert to thumb in, and I want to stick with it, but if I do this tourney no thumb and do well, it may end that experiment much sooner than I planned.