Team USA Experience Leagues

[Motiv Girl]

I don't know how many people are familiar with the magazine Bowling This Month,but
on their web site the are posting old articles from BTM in their blog.Here is a new one on
Team USA Experience leagues.

USBC’s new Team USA Experience leagues will use international patterns

by Aaron Smith

As the sport of bowling continues its global expansion, the United States Bowling Congress will bring an international touch to bowling centers this fall with the introduction of Team USA Experience leagues.

The members of Team USA have traveled the world and been put to the test by lane conditions that emphasize the utmost in shot and decision making, equipment selection, and spare shooting. Team USA Experience leagues will offer bowlers the chance to challenge their game against the same conditions Team USA faces in international competition.

As the popularity of bowling has risen on the international stage and bowlers such as Australia’s Jason Belmonte, England’s Dominic Barrett, and Shalin Zulkifli of Malaysia have shown continued success around the globe, there has been a growing interest within the bowling community in not only their success, but the conditions on which they are challenged.

“With professionals now a part of Team USA, there is more fan interest in international competition,” said USBC Director of Membership Development and Sport Bowling, Steve Wunderlich. “We want to give those fans a chance to see what it’s like to be part of this excitement. That is the idea behind USBC’s Team USA Experience leagues.”

The new leagues will offer a greater variety of patterns as 12 conditions will highlight the playing field. These conditions are used in World Tenpin Bowling Association events. The 12 patterns are named after Olympic-host cities and are broken down into three categories based on pattern length. The patterns offer conditions that vary more in length than most Sport bowlers have experienced.

The shortest of the four short patterns, Sydney, is 33 feet in length. The short patterns can extend to 36 feet (Los Angeles). The four medium patterns range from 38 to 41 feet. The long patterns offer the greatest range, starting with Tokyo at 43 feet and ending with Paris at 47 feet.

The 2009 WTBA Women’s World Championships, which were held in Las Vegas and featured the top female competitors from 47 countries, used both short (Stockholm) and medium (Athens) conditions. Team USA’s Stefanie Nation claimed the gold medal in singles on the Stockholm pattern with a victory over Mexico’s Sandra Gongora.

“It’s best to try and keep things simple and see what the condition is giving you instead of trying to make things happen,” Nation said. “The transition on these patterns is a little tricky since they are playable from different angles. Because the transition isn’t as clear, they tend to be more challenging.” Nation said the key to playing the international patterns is to keep an open mind and try different ways to attack the patterns.

“A lot of bowlers find themselves stuck in the thought that you have to play the longer patterns in and the shorter patterns out,” Nation said. “Paris is the longest pattern at 47 feet, but the volume of oil is relatively low. I’m able to play different angles including the outside part of the lane.”
Much like previous Sport league conditions, these patterns tend to show particular characteristics based on the bowling environment. Factors such as the type and wear of the playing surface, the brand of oil, and even the weather can cause the same condition to play considerably different from center to center.

“Wood lanes tend to hook more and absorb the oil quicker, depending on the wear,” Nation said. “Synthetic lanes generally create less friction. This is important to know prior to competing because it can dictate your selection in equipment.” With a greater variety of conditions, competitors will be able to improve their game while appreciating the intricacies needed to be successful on the same level as Team USA.

Although certain patterns might only vary by a foot in length and rely on a similar breakpoint to create the proper entry angle, the volume of oil used can drastically affect how the bowler gets to that breakpoint through the front of the lane. Details such as this will allow bowlers to fine tune their game and constantly keep them thinking ahead for their next move.

Bowlers looking forward this challenge can expect a fall rollout of Team USA Experience leagues for the 2010-11 season. More information on the patterns, including tips from Team USA coaches and players, will be on the Sport Bowling page at BOWL.com, the website for USBC.

DIRTY DOZEN
A quick look at the distances of the 12 oil patterns that will be available for Team USA Experience leagues:

Short
Sydney, 33 feet
Stockholm, 34 feet
Beijing, 35 feet
Los Angeles, 36 feet

Medium
Atlanta, 38 feet
Seoul, 39 feet
Athens, 40 feet
Montreal, 41 feet

Long
Tokyo, 43 feet
London, 44 feet
Mexico City, 45 feet
Paris, 47 feet

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 15th, 2010 at 2:02 pm

[Drano]

I've bowled on most of these patterns before... in my opinion, they're harder than the pba shots

[threeripmin]

what part of CA are you in, drano? im in the bay area.