Competitive Bowler’s Club

Letter to the Bowlers

by Brian Regan

This letter is for anybody who wants more good tournaments to bowl in, or more good leagues to bowl in.  This letter is for anybody who used to look forward to watching the PBA on television on the weekends to see their favorite bowlers compete.  Do you remember Dick Weber?  Earl Anthony?  Mark Roth?  Or maybe more recently it was Walter Ray, Tommy Jones, Jason Belmonte, Pete Weber, Norm Duke, Brian Voss, or Tom Smallwood?  This letter is for any bowler who generally wants more “action”…more pot games, more money, and more overall competition.  If you care about bowling as a competitive sport even just a little bit, then this letter is for you.

I’ve been organizing and promoting bowling tournaments, leagues, sweepers, and a little bit of everything for over 10 years now.  I’ve heard what bowlers say.  I’ve heard what proprietors say.  I’ve heard what the industry says (USBC, ball manufacturers, PBA people, tournament organizers, etc.).  There are a hundred different opinions from 100 different views, and generally, all of the opinions have truth and have validity.  There is frustration at all levels of bowling, and for the most part, people can point the finger, but they cannot offer a solution that everybody (or even a vast majority) can agree on.  There are some isolated efforts that have been put forth over the years, but a universal plan for everybody to work toward has never really happened.  I think it is time for you, for me, for competitive bowlers to get together and make something happen.

Because honestly, I remember a time when I looked forward to bowling…and I want that back. 

I want to be nervous about a big tournament tomorrow morning.  I want to be motivated to practice to get ready for the big tournament this weekend…and for the big tournament 2 weeks later, too.  I want to be proud that I can compete in a league with the area’s top bowlers.  I want a structured sport that pushes me to be the best I can be, rather than rewarding me for keeping my average down to get more handicap for tournaments.  I want the best bowlers to be on top, and I want to chase them and strive to be able to beat them and eventually be one of them.  Do some of you remember those days?  If you are a newer bowler and some of this sounds new to you, does this sound exciting to you?  Because I remember it!  And it excites me…and I want it back.

Now I’m asking for your dedication and commitment.

Yeah, those are scary words aren’t they?  Don’t let them scare you too much.  I’m not asking for as much as you may think, but I am asking bowlers to put forth at least a little effort.  I am a tournament organizer, a league organizer, but I am also a bowler.  It is why I got into the organizing and promotion in the first place, because I wanted a better sport for ME. 

I have come up with a project that will be the first step to rebuilding the competitive side of bowling.  I have run the idea by a dozen people or so, and they all say the same thing to me.  “It sounds like a good idea, but bowlers don’t want to commit to another bowling activity, and bowlers want to be able to win something the same day they bowl.”  I get that.  Believe me, I understand that.  So let me explain this project to you now, and then please give it a chance and help us all to make it happen.  This truly can be a great first step which can eventually open up the possibility for so much more!

The Michigan Scratch Singles Challenge

Here was my dilemma.  I’ve wanted to run a single day event and have lots of people show up.  I wanted to run maybe 4 or 5 or 6 of these per year, and I wanted to put out a challenging oil pattern.  I used to run these types of tournaments rather successfully, but they dwindled over the years.  Now I know if I can get a guaranteed top prize, then it could be successful again.  So this is what I came up with.

Format – Several different bowling centers will run weekly drop-in sweepers for up to 15 weeks starting in January and ending by mid-April.  There will be a final invitational event on April 17, 2011.  In order to compete in the final event (or rolloff), bowlers must earn enough points through the local sweepers.  Generally, if a bowler competes in 12 of the 15 weeks, then they will qualify for the rolloff.  It sounds simple enough right?

Money – It will only cost between $10 and $15 to compete in the local sweepers each week.  $3 will be taken out of each entry each week with $2 going toward the rolloff prize fund and $1 going toward expenses.  The other money obviously goes toward lineage, and that amount will depend on the bowling center, the time of bowling (prime time costs more), and other factors. 

Format – 4 games of bowling on challenging oil patterns.  The patterns will be the same at each center and will change after every 3 weeks.  Averages will be kept, although these events will not be sanctioned this time around.  In the future sport bowling sanctioning will be an option if bowlers decide they want to do so. 

Options – Each host center may also run jackpots and brackets to give the bowlers something to win on the day of bowling.  In some instances there may not be enough bowlers to warrant running side action, but again, the rolloff should make it worthwhile to those bowlers as well.

Payout – Ok here is the exciting part.  If we can get only 10 bowling centers with an average of 10 bowlers per center per week, that would give us $200 each week toward the prize fund.  After 15 weeks we would have $3000 to go into the prize fund for the rolloff.  This would allow us to guarantee $2000 for first prize and $1000 to guarantee for second prize.  The final event rolloff would cost a $60 entry fee, and we would be able to pay out the top 1/3 or even 1/2 of the field.  Now imagine if we get 20 bowling centers on board.  Then we have $6000 to add.  What about 30 centers…you get the idea.

2011/2012 Plan

With a successful first run from January to April of 2011, we can then do some really cool things for the following season.  We could run 5 different patterns for 5 weeks apiece and have a rolloff after each pattern.  By this time we should have even more centers involved and more bowlers competing!  Imagine 30 bowling centers with maybe 15 bowlers per week.  That would be $900 per week going toward the prize fund, or $4500 added to each rolloff!!!  $3000 top prize and $1500 for second place!  This would be for each of the 5 rolloffs.  Perhaps we add an additional $1 per week to go toward a season ending rolloff.  This could raise over $10,000 for the season ending championship event!!!  And as before, bowlers would only have to compete in 4 of the 5 weeks to qualify for each rolloff.

Summary

Let’s face it, these numbers that I project are not really that crazy:  10 centers with 10 bowlers per center per week; Next season 30 centers with 15 bowlers per center per week.  We can make this happen!!!  The weekly entry fees aren’t all that much either.  We are already running these weekly sweepers in Flint for $12 per week and trying to get interest started early.  Here is a list of things that I will be doing in the coming weeks to help make this successful.

Ø      Sending a letter to bowling center proprietors selling this idea to them

Ø      Contacting ball manufacturers to gain their support (and maybe some bowling balls to give as prizes at the rolloffs)

Ø      Contacting Michigan companies to seek sponsorships

Ø      Creating a website at www.scratchbowling.com to help promote this project

Ø      Giving this letter to bowlers

Now I am simply asking you to give this a shot.  If you have read this far along in the letter, then I know you would like to see competitive bowling flourish again.  But we can’t just sit back and wait for it to happen, and we can’t wait to see if there is going to be good turnouts.  We have to start somewhere, and we need your support to make it happen.  Help us to organize this.  Help us get centers on board with this.  Help us get more bowlers excited about this.  A little added hype can go a long ways, even if you cannot compete at this time.  But I am obviously hoping that you can indeed compete with us now and in the future.

Thank you for your time and thank you in advance for your support of the Competitive Bowler’s Club.