Bowling: What happens in Vegas – USBC announced new league designations

New league designations were announced at the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Convention held recently in Las Vegas.

The USBC has been studying the effect lane conditions have on league averages in an attempt to make sure a bowler’s average is a true reflection of a bowler’s ability. Currently a league can either be a Sport league or a Standard league. Sport leagues use more difficult oil patterns and adhere to strict rules regarding lane oiling. Averages are generally lower in a Sport league so a conversion table is used to adjust the average upwards to compete fairly in non-sport or Standard tournament or league. Standard leagues use a ‘house’ oil pattern which vary at every bowling center but tend to be an easier shot. Standard league averages are substantially higher than “sport” averages, hence the reason sport averages are adjusted upwards.

In research done by USBC, some leagues don’t use an official Sport shot, but use a variety of patterns instead of a Standard shot.

Averages in these type of leagues are somewhat lower giving the bowler an unfair advantage in leagues or tournaments. Because of this, a new designation has been establish to cover the gap between Sport and Standard.

The new designation is called Challenge and it will have its own conversion table to compete in Standard events. In the 2017-2018 league season, a league will have to declare one of the three designations: Standard, Challenge or Sport. For this past season, USBC will look at league averages and if there is a discrepancy in averages between leagues, some leagues will be assigned a Challenge designation and averages will be adjusted using the Challenge conversion table.

Other highlights from the convention include the annual presentation by Bowler to Veterans Link (BVL) and the Susan G. Komen “Bowl for a Cure” program. BVL raised over $925,000 last season bringing its total since its inception in 1942 to over $50 million. California was the top state with a contribution of $108,500 and Stockton was recognized as the Best Small Local Association with an average contribution of $9.28 per member. “Bowl for the Cure” fundraising efforts allowed USBC to present a check for over $550,000 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

The Yosemite Ladies No-Tap Trio Tournament is this coming Friday beginning at 9:30 a.m. Check in and potluck start at 9 a.m.

The summer league program is gearing up to start next week and will run through the end of August. Local bowling centers are offering a complete line-up of beginner to advanced, handicap and scratch leagues. Spots are open for singles, couples, or teams in youth, adult, and senior leagues. For Yosemite Lanes, contact Wayne at (209) 524-9161 or at www.yosemitelanes.com. For McHenry Bowl, contact Theresa or Raymond at (209) 571-2695 or at www.mchenrybowl.com.

The end-of-league tournaments are making their annual showing this week. The Pot of Gold Tournament will be rolling at Yosemite, and is open to all leagues participating in the Pot of Gold program. At McHenry, the ‘38th Annual Tournament of Champions’ for winning teams and the ‘24th Annual Cellar Dwellers Tournament’ made up from the last place teams both run at McHenry.

Next Sunday the final round of the PBA Elias Cup Finals for the LL Bean PBA League will be telecast on ESPN at 10am. The two remaining team out of the field of eight will vie for the championship. The Dallas Strikers- Captain Tommy Jones and the Portland Lumberjacks – Captain Wes Malott will face-off in Singles, Doubles and a Baker Trio worth one point each and a five person Baker team finale worth three points. In case of a tie, a one-ball sudden death roll-off will decide the winner. In addition to the Elias Cup finals, the PBA will announce the Mark Roth Most Valuable Player for the PBA League.

This story was originally published May 10, 2017 at 8:47 AM with the headline "Bowling: What happens in Vegas – USBC announced new league designations."