How do you come back to a league?

[Mike White]

That happened to me last season, first league ever and first week I averaged 218. Needless to say, my team didn't do well the next 2 weeks. Thankfully, you only carry the average for the first 3 weeks, then they calculate your true average weekly.

A league I bowled in caught me in both directions.

It has been a "use your book average" type league for years, then they switched to establish first week... I shoot 690.

The next year they went back to "use your book" and the first week I barely broke 500.

[fordman1]

Establishing an average the 1st night is basically bowling scratch. Totally unfair to lower avg. bowlers. Use that leagues average from last year if you had 21 games or over. If you didn't bowl in that league use highest book from the last 3 years of over 21 games. New bowlers who have never bowled in a league or haven't for over 3 years you could use that rule even though it is open to abuses.

[Mike White]

Establishing an average the 1st night is basically bowling scratch. Totally unfair to lower avg. bowlers. Use that leagues average from last year if you had 21 games or over. If you didn't bowl in that league use highest book from the last 3 years of over 21 games. New bowlers who have never bowled in a league or haven't for over 3 years you could use that rule even though it is open to abuses.

How is establishing the 1st night basically bowling scratch?

If you bowl games of 180, 210, 210, you average 200.
If I bowl games of 140, 185, 185, I average 170.

If we were bowling scratch, you would win all 3 games.

at 90% handicap, you're giving me 27 pins.

That makes my handicap scores 167, 212, 212, and I win 2 out of 3.

[fordman1]

I know how to play with numbers too. You bowl 3 170 games and I bowl 3 200 games I win all 3 games. By 3 pins each. Play nice now.

[billf]

Don't worry about your average. Unless it's a scratch league most teams that are competitive by nature will care more about you trying than doing every time.

[fordman1]

For every scratch league there are probably 100 H\C leagues. They will always be set up so the high average teams have the overwhelming advantage.
My leagues don't use individual h\c it is all team h\c. 90% from 1100. We don't get more than 2 bowlers a year that don't have any average to use. They are required to use 195 for the 1st 9 games. We check any 21 game avg. over the last 3 yrs. We had a sandbagger last year that sneaked through the cracks and was then rerated and ended up quitting. He would bowl in a bunch of leagues and always quit before getting 21 games. Never going to let that happen again.

My point is almost all leagues are H\C and if you are entrusted with the job try to do a fair one.