Bowling towel etiquette

[Jessiewoodard57]

In a USBC sanctioned league, your towel falling on the foul line wouldn't have been a foul.

Rule 5 – Fouls

NOTE: The foul line is of infinite length including walls, floors, posts and ball returns. A foul is not
committed when foreign objects such as pens, jewelry, coins, cigarettes, etc., drop from a
bowler’s pocket or fall from a person’s body or clothing. (Footwear and clothing are considered
part of the body.) A player should request permission to cross the foul line to retrieve any items
that have fallen beyond the foul line.

Thank you I did not know that guess I have better get and read the rule book.

[Jessiewoodard57]

I work in a print shop think I'll just download the rule book and print it

[Aslan]

I've bowled with a person, not gonna who she was, but she didn't like when people left dirty towels around...like on the scoring machine or whatever. I don't think it's a big deal...but yeah, some of em are pretty nasty and could use a wash.

I know in one league they got pissy about powder... a lot of people 'plant' rather than slide...and if you get powder on the approach...it causes them to slip. So the one guy just happened to be the league president and the next year we had the rule that the powder and rosin wasn't allowed in the approach area...had to keep it back at the tables.

My only issue...and it's a teammate of mine that is the most guilty culprit...is when people leave their rosin bags on the fan. I try to go up and put my hand over the fan...and I gotta keep moving his damn rosin bag off of it.

As I'm sure RobM would agree...the list of things bowlers get annoyed with...it's endless. And the older they are...the more things annoy them. One of my past teammates...elderly lady...her elderly husband went OFF one night before bowling because he got a table and the other team moved his stuff because they wanted the table. I've seen more fights about tables than anything else I can think of. Some lanes had two tables...some only had one. So...like children and their toys...2 kids and 1 toy equals drama.

[Blomer]

Leave mine on the scoring minor as well. Grab it when my turn is over. Most do it in my league. I've seen other have it hanging from back pocket. Bugs me..oh well.

[billf]

I leave mine on the crossbar between the two scoring monitors.

However, if somebody happended to put mine on the floor, hide it, etc. for no apparent explainable reason would no longer be having fun. Screwing with other people's stuff isn't having fun, it's plain disrespectful. So a lesson in respecting other people's property would be sure to follow.

[TonyInPortland]

One of my towels is black, and I forgot it on the ball return. Someone else had a black towel, and they ended up with mine and I ended up with theirs. It has happened a couple times, but I figured it out before the night was over.

[Tony]

The little tables have been working well during league, not sure where all the towels, rosin bags, and other stuff was before but the little tables have collected it all together .

One buddy of mine a big towel used religiously washed his towel at the end of every season ....

[mc_runner]

I know in one league they got pissy about powder... a lot of people 'plant' rather than slide...and if you get powder on the approach...it causes them to slip. So the one guy just happened to be the league president and the next year we had the rule that the powder and rosin wasn't allowed in the approach area...had to keep it back at the tables.

This is a legitimate safety concern. You get someone using slide-right or baby powder or whatever on their shoe, the next person who comes up will faceplant into the lane or tear an ACL (esp. if they plant normally)

[Tony]

This is a legitimate safety concern. You get someone using slide-right or baby powder or whatever on their shoe, the next person who comes up will faceplant into the lane or tear an ACL (esp. if they plant normally)

I had not bowled with many people that planted but having subbed in a morning league where some of the guys are senior bowlers, I have seen quite a few more guys using that delivery.
The one day we had heavy rain and high temps the humidity didn't bother them but I nearly killed myself ... got a sliding pad to keep in my bag in case that happens again.

[Aslan]

This is a legitimate safety concern. You get someone using slide-right or baby powder or whatever on their shoe, the next person who comes up will faceplant into the lane or tear an ACL (esp. if they plant normally)

The one day we had heavy rain and high temps the humidity didn't bother them but I nearly killed myself ... got a sliding pad to keep in my bag in case that happens again.

It's certainly a safety concern (and technically against the rules) to use the easy-slide on your shoes. I primarily (99.88% of the time) use it if my thumb starts to get a little tight; but not tight enough where it would make sense to switch inserts.

However, I have seen MANY league bowlers (and I have on a few occasions) use it on their shoe. When I've done it...it's usually an issue where the approaches are sticky, have not been maintained properly, or as was mentioned above...the humidity was making the lanes overly sticky. I use a very tiny amount and brush it off before actually going on the lanes...but yes, it can make the approach more slippery for the players behind me in theory.

But when I used to a "planter"...that was just something you had to deal with. Some lanes were more slippery...some lanes maybe had a little powder on them. If it ever got too slippery I'd just have the center send a guy over to clean them/wipe them off.

Now that I'm transitioning to a "slider"...it's a new set of problems...and actually a more tragic result should the approaches be sticky. I mean, absolutely, a planter can slip...especially if it's sideways and they are off balance....but for the MOST part if they slide it'll just mess up their shot or worst case maybe they slide past the foul line. Thats what would happen to me (when I planted and the approaches were slippery).

But...as everyone saw in the footage from the last AAVZBHMSCI...Mike took a TERRIBLE spill in like the 2nd frame of Game 2 or 3. Mike is a guy that slides as much if not more than any bowler I've ever seen. A very explosive approach with a lot of sliding at the end. When you rely on your slide THAT much...when you STICK...it's like throwing a stick in front of a rollerblader. Because, you're not just dealing with your footing supporting your weight (planting)...you're also dealing with the momentum of the person TOWARDS the lane/pins. Most of the time you can catch yourself...but if you don't...you're going down. Learning to slide...it's like learning to ice skate all over again. Except I'm 'skating' while also trying to throw a 15b object with precision.

What I don't understand about planting...even as someone that used to do it....is what is the purpose of the approach if you're going to stop your body's momentum before delivering the ball? Seems like you could do a 1-step approach as a planter and get the same results?? I dunno. I think when I planted...there still was a tiny 'slide' in there somewhere.

I struggled with this in Vegas. The Orleans had great approaches and the Gold Coast were sticky. Not sticky like something was spilled on them...just sticky from the unseasonably high humidity at the time. I actually bought one of those sliding socks from the pro shop there...but it was SO slippery that I ended up not using it.