Won my 1st tournament!

[Just_Steve]

Congratulations! Great job.

[boatman37]

Where at in Southwest PA? I'm in the Beaver Valley Association (bowl in Beaver Falls)

[boatman37]

No-tap tomorrow. 4 man teams. 70% of 220 so lower averages are gonna have a hard time. Last time I entered this one I bowled 564. Yep..564 in a no tap...lol.

[boatman37]

Well thought I did decent but apparently not. 268, 222, 221. 711 scratch (no tap). thought that was decent but turns out our whole team had to average 800 with handicap to get near first. Winner had 3242 (4 man teams). So 811 each with handicap to win it. I had 759 with handicap (handicap was 16). For individuals they paid out to 10th I believe. Either way, the last paying spot was about 780 so I was still out of that.
I got in 4 brackets and only made it into the finals on 1 of them which means I got beat on 3 with a 711 then lost the 4th so won $10 back of my 25 I paid.
They have another April 21st. I signed up but only cause one guy on the team wants to do it, otherwise I'm just throwing money away. I was high man on our team and was still not good enough.

[Ryster]

Used to have a blast with no tap tournaments. I bowled in one back in November, and decided it would be my last one. The top 10 were well over 800, and the winner was an 880 after handicap. There were several bowlers that reentered 2x and 3x that didn't end up cashing. Must have been exceedingly frustrating for them.

There was another no tap a few weeks ago, and the minimum to cash was an 815 after handicap. Again, more than 10 bowlers had 800+ after handicap was added in.

Like you said, it's just throwing money away. One non strike in each game and you are out. Way too much pressure for something that is intended to be fun. I'm all for a challenge, but not when it isn't also fun.

[boatman37]

Agreed. One open per game and you have no chance. Watched scores next to us and 3 of the 4 struck into the 7th. Not sure where they finished but they didn't cash cause I know the one guy on that team. Pretty discouraging. I thought I'd have a better chance at no-tap but like you said, 2 non strikes per game eliminates you

[Ryster]

Years ago i bowled in a no tap where three bowlers ended up with a 900. There was then a roll off to determine the final seeding for the stepladder finals. Crazy!

[boatman37]

Well the tournament that started this thread is back again. Won this one last year. It's our USBC association end of season tournament. Last year it was at my local center where I bowl league. This year it's at a center that I bowled the association Sr's tournament 2 years ago. I qualified 2nd but got knocked out in the first round.
It's also the center Steve Kosela bowled his 900 2 years ago. His Helios is in a display case on the counter there. He will probably be in this tournament. Last time I talked to him he wasn't bowling league this year, only subbing, due to health reasons but he has done a few tournaments this year.

[boatman37]

Good day today. 2nd time at this center and bowled good both times. 65 unique entries across 2 squads. 32 in the first and 54 in the 2nd. Scores were low in the first squad. Last time I was there I started out up 10 but struggled. Used the Zen Soul and 2nd game moved out to the 5 board. Everyone struggled that day too and I finished with two 240s and after 1st squad I was 1st. Sat out 2nd squad and got bumped to 2nd but got beat first round.
Today I started with the Eternity Pi (similar to the ZS) and up 5 right from the start. Did try moving in a little but no hook there. Ended up throwing the Pi every frame for 8 games. 1st squad I wasn't great but better than most others. Threw 613 scratch with 702 handicap (handicap was 90% of 230). I was 2nd after 1st squad but I won the 50/50 and the mystery doubles and made it into the money on 1 bracket so was up $127. Entry with brackets was $60/squad so figured 2nd squad was a freebie so signed up. Threw 673 scratch and 762 handicap to qualify 3rd overall out of 62. 1st round threw 213 for 242 handicap. Cutoff was 224 so made it by. 2nd round left 3 10 pins in a row but missed the 3rd one. Also missed a 3-5-6 for 2 opens and a 190 with 219 handicap. Cutoff was 225 so I was out. Won $45 on brackets for 2nd squad too then cashed for $100 so came home about $150 richer than I went there with...lol.
Spare shooting wasn't great again. Missed 2 6 pins. Left the 3-9 once and 3-9-10 once. I hit the 3 the same angle I normally would but both times my Pi deflected off the 3 and left the 9 (9-10 on the other one). So that was weird. Made 4/5 7 pins so that was good. Left a few splits too.
Oh yeah...dumped 1 in the gutter too. I kept coming in light so moved left but I was already targeting the 4-5 board and got it out just a little too far.

[Aslan]

Ya won the hard way. Consistent above-average performances...with a nice 255 thrown in. Nice work!