I need my pin pal views

[Judy clemons]

I need to find out about match point leagues.
Are they good or bad for a 144 average?
Team averages 699?
Is this a scratch league or a handicap?
How does it normally pay off in one of these leagues?
Any info would be deeply appreciated.

[J Anderson]

I don't have any personal experience with match point leagues. I would assume that each league may have it's own rules for pay outs.

These leagues could be either scratch or handicap.

How many people are on a team?

If it is a 95% to 100% handicap league it will be okay for a 144 average. A lot depends on how the captains set the line-ups. A lot of thought and calculating can go into how to arrange your line-up to have the best chance of winning.

If the league is scratch there would need to be an average cap or some other mechanism to even out the talent.

[bowl1820]

I need to find out about match point leagues.

In the Match Point system each player bowls against the player opposite them in the opponent’s lineup. The points are awarded on an individual and team basis.

Typically in this system a teams lineup is sorted by average, starting from the lowest average player to highest average player. Then the players bowl against each other respectively for each point in a game.

(Note: Lineup doesn't have too be sorted by average. If the league or tournament rules permit you to set the lineup another way. Also one of USBC's rules regarding Match point is "The team scheduled on the odd lane enters its lineup first." This wouldn't really apply if your sorting by average.)

Example: A 21 point match point system with 4 players per team.

In this example 21 points is the maximum number of points possible each week a team could win.

Individual players get 1 point for each game won and 1 point for series win, for a total of 4 points possible.
Teams get 1 point for each game won and 2 points for series win, for a total of 5 points.

Now this system is good for a scratch league, your basically matching bowlers of similar average against each other and it's a more competitive situation.

For other Point systems read this thread:
http://www.bowlingboards.com/threads/9188-Point-Systems-in-Bowling?

Are they good or bad for a 144 average?

It can be good, it depends on how competitive the bowler is.

Team averages 699?

That sounds like the league has a "Cap" that's a limit on the teams entering average. So a 144 average isn't bad if a team needs a lower average to meet the cap.

That looks like a 4 man team average, that's around 174 average each. That's pretty low if there's a lot of high average teams around there, they'll need a lot of low averages to meet that cap.

Is this a scratch league or a handicap?

Match point leagues are typically scratch, though there are handicap ones too. Most times it should tell in the league description if it's a handicap or scratch league. You'd have to ask there.

How does it normally pay off in one of these leagues?

Prize funds and payoffs are decided by the league, they can be done many ways.

Most leagues payout for Team Place (1st,2nd,3rd etc.) and for team & individual highs (games, series averages etc).

Any info would be deeply appreciated.

[Judy clemons]

THANK YOU! I am extremely grateful you are on the boards, your knowledge is legendary and there is no hesitation in your responding quickly to all questions no matter what is asked. I not only trust your input, but I value your opinions HIGHLY!
I hope the BOARDS recognize that you are a valuable asset to their sight, because they definitely have a winner in you!

[Tampabaybob]

Judy, I bowl in and have for many years match point leagues. As Bowl1820 stated you bowl against the person opposite you in the lineup. Our league is a 5 man team league and there is a total of 28 possible points per night. It's 1 point per individual game won and 1 for series, then 2 for each game and 2 for team total. (I think thats 28 ! Anyway, it's a great format to bowl in, because it pits you directly against your opponent. Our league is a handicap league, although it should be scratch, given the averages.

I'd say if you can get on a league of this type and it's a handicap league, go for it. You'll probably find you'll enjoy it much more than just bowling in a regular team environment.

[Judy clemons]

I believe we will switch our monday night mix league to wed night match point league for the summer to see how it works out
for us I do appreciate your input very much it has been a big help in the deciding factor of making the change.

[ArtVandelay]

I believe we will switch our monday night mix league to wed night match point league for the summer to see how it works out
for us I do appreciate your input very much it has been a big help in the deciding factor of making the change.

That's the league I bowled in when I bowled at AMF Showplace. If Cheryl is still running it, I'm sure it will be the same format.

They will have a meeting the first week to adapt rules and elect officers, stuff like that. Most of the rules have to do with pre- and post- bowling, how many players constitute a team, the lineage, and prices, 50/50 pots, and whatnot. I don't think we ever had a year when we discussed the scoring format or anything like that, and I was probably in that league at least 5 years.

There was no team cap, or anything like that. The only rule was you had to have at least one female per team.

At the time I bowled, handicap was calculated by taking 220, subtracting your average, and then multiplying by 0.90. But you would do it by the series, so at the end of the series, it was 660 minus your series, divided by 3, and multiplied by 0.90.

Every week you can change your lineup, so it becomes interesting. There were times we would go up against a scratch bowler, and have our female (she was about a 135 average) go against him ESPECIALLY if she was on any kind of a roll and playing well. We figured it was a mind game, and exhausting for the guy to know that he was 75 pins down every game, before he rolled his first ball.

The team on the right hand lane always gets the last lineup change. So if you're on the left, you can change your lineup, but the team on the right gets the final adjust. Some teams don't know they can adjust the lineup, others do but choose not to. It's kind of a fun aspect.

Every night in that league was worth 48 points. Each individual game was worth 2 points, and team totals were worth 4.

It was a really fun league, because my team was really relaxed. We were always there just to have fun. There are some guys there who take it really serious (some red head kid was a ridiculous bowler. He was really good, scratch average, had one of the sharpest hooks I've ever seen, and a ridiculous ball speed. But BOY WAS HE EVER A HEAD CASE!!! hahahahaha. Then there was my favorite, a guy named Phil who would always smoke his cigar. He was from Massachusetts and had a THICK accent, and he was a good Sox fan. Nice guy, but big head case. I will never forget that guy. Lots of good people in that league, but even some of the good people are head cases. If you're relaxed, you'll do well!).

If you give that league a chance, you will like it. My only complaint was the "wanderers." It will be hard for you at first, because everyone in that league seems to know eachother very well. I think we would sometimes have 40+ or so teams in that league, so there are times someone is on the far left of the lane, but their friends are on the far right... It wasn't uncommon to be looking for someone to bowl their turn for 2 or more minutes, but it wasn't an every frame occurrence, for the most part.

For every team that is too serious, there are two teams that are just there for the fun. It's just a large league, so you will see a lot of personalities. Enjoy it!

[Judy clemons]

I do appreciate your going to the trouble of writing everything out for me the way you did in regard to the
match point league. Yes, Cheryl is still running it. With every thing you have informed me of about it I am
excited about getting to try it now.

I am going to the bowling clinic tomorrow and I am very enthusiastic about that too. Anxious to see what
there going to have me doing and trying and high hopes that it is going to help alot. I will let you know.

Again, Thank You....For all you do.