Our local association is too busy with their "inside politics" and general inefficiencies to even have time to certify lanes. They can barely distribute tournament entry forms other than to post on Facebook to go to their website for forms. We have more dedicated bowlers who aren't even on the Board going around with printed entry forms (that they print themselves at home) trying to recruit teams for association tournaments. It's kind of sad.
Our league is only 8 teams, so we cross the same lanes frequently. Recently, with end of season and position rounds, we bowled on the same pair 2 weeks in a row. The lanes played totally different one week to the next [although the same exact pinsetter/lane breakdowns occurred on the lanes both weeks.] We have been told our center uses the least expensive oil they can find at the time they reorder, and many times it isn't always the same oil. There are also times where they are finishing oiling the lanes just a few minutes before we start bowling, so the lanes don't have a chance to settle before they are used...other times they are able to oil the lanes 30-60 minutes in advance.
Several of the bowlers on our league recently bought new equipment. Most purchased very aggressive, asymmetrical solids because of the increase in oil volume being put down. For the bowlers not in a position to be able to just go buy another ball it has really impacted their scores. They are doing their best to adjust with what they have but are still struggling.
Lane topography is certainly a consideration, but there is more than that going on at our center lately.
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