UBA Orlando Tournament.

[Docvan46]

I bowled in the Orlando "UBA" Tournament this past weekend. There was a great turn out, and it was run on time.

They used a 'modified' Chameleon pattern with more oil near the channels. It was enough to make a hard man humble! Needless to say, I didn't come close to finding the shot and donated to the prize fund, but I added it to my 'learning' experience file.

It actually looked like bowlers with a 'straight in' ball did better.

I'll probably give these guys another try. Any wisdom on this shot out there?

Docvan

[Stormed1]

File your experience in your memory banks for future use. Make mental notes of what you think you should have done so in a future siruation you willhave knowledge of what to do. Did you have the right equipment with you? Did you need something with more surface? or less surface? These are all things that will come into play if you encounter this again

[mrbill]

I came across that kind of shot for the first time and did very badly. The shot was almost the same as you discribed, A river from the 10 boards out.
My fav way to roll is right up the 2nd arrow so a little to the left and splits ville, a little to the right and I'm lost in the river of no return lol.
So that experience made me start to practice all lines of attack that a stroker was able to do.
On this kind of shot I found it's best to give away the head pin, that means for me going to the 3rd arrow and knowing my break point throw it just to the right of the head pin, then make ajustments as needed. (stay away from the river)

[Docvan46]

Thanks Mr. Bill, and others who responded! My best bowling friends acuse me of not 'adjusting' quickly enough. I often stick to things a bit too long.

This pattern really had me confused. This probably is the difference between me and a true 200 average on 'sport' patterns.

Small board changes at first, than ball changes, then maybe give in and throw the plastic spare ball at the pocket.....

Much more to work on in practice.

Docvan

[JAnderson]

It's cool that you shared your experiences with us even if you didn't make cut, match play, cut, etc. Too often we only want to share success when there's more to learn from an outing that didn't go as planned.

Was the event pretty well organized?

If you haven't competed on a pattern, it is difficult to offer advice for it. Generally speaking, for tougher patterns (or when you get in trouble) it is generally best to keep things as simple as possible and keep it as straight as possible. Every board crossed is another chance for trouble.

How'd you do with spare conversions? That's usually the Achilles' heel for bowlers on tougher and sport patterns.

[Docvan46]

JAnderson

Spares, not counting the washouts, were actually pretty good. The 7 and the 10 were at risk of sliding off with the extra oil, but using a plastic ball and my usual 'triangle' approach worked well.

This pattern produced a lot of 'pocket' splits; and when the ball did turn and hit the 3 pin straight in, there were some amazing, unusual washouts. People sitting in the back said they saw washouts they had never seen before.

The "UBA" is the Unlimited Bowling Association here in Orlando. They were organized and ran on time. Lots of side pots, brackets etc., were available for the gambling types. They drew people from the gulf coast all the way to the Carolina's for this 'once a month' tournament. I may not be remebering accurately, but I think they allow everone except PBA 'exempt' people from participating.

Docvan

[JAnderson]

Thanks for the information. Hopefully I'll get to bowl one of their events sooner than later, living in Atlanta currently. There's nothing more enjoyable than scratch tournament bowling on a challenging condition. What kind of turnout do you get? I imagine it would be pretty good there in Orlando.

We have what sounds like a similar organization here - Real Bowlers Tour - with scratch events that move around from city to city and house to house on a monthly basis. Sport patterns are the norm. Points are assigned basic on each events position, accumulate through the season, and there are year-end points race winners with cash awards. The organization could be better organized, but they work hard at it and usually host good events. I don't believe there is a restriction on PBA exempt players. We do see a fair number of the top regional players at each event. Entries are $100/120 with top prize anywhere from $1500 to $3000.

[Docvan46]

JAnderson:

UBA is both handicap and scratch. They base their handicaps on 90% of 230. Most higher average bowlers enter the scratch tourny, or both handicap and scratch. I can't give you a total number of participants, but lots of guys entered two or three squads; some just to play brackets, others to keep trying to make the semis.

The prize fund for scratch was around $2K tops, with handicap at $3k. Entry fees were much lower ($65.00) than the tourny you mentioned, but everyone in the semis cashed. Most got back their entry fee.

They are on the WEB as Unlimited Bowling Association, Olando.

They go once a month. Almost every one I've seen has been at the 'Semoran Lanes". Its an AMF house a few miles to the north of the Orlando airport.

Docvan