USBC Unveils 2017 Open Championship Changes and Enhancements

ARLINGTON, Texas – When the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships heads to Las Vegas in 2017, the storied event will have several enhancements, highlighted by a new divisional structure. 

The new elements for the event come from recommendations of a task force comprised of tournament participants, volunteer leaders and staff. The task force used surveys of bowlers and historical data from the event to make recommendations to the USBC Board, which approved the new components.

The USBC Open Championships also will have adjustments made to policies concerning professional bowlers, scale-room procedures and announcement of lane conditions.

“We are proud of the process that led to creating the future of the USBC Open Championships,” USBC Executive Director Chad Murphy said. “Our customers have been asking for improvements to this event, so we assembled a diverse task force with significant bowler input and came together with a clear consensus on how to move forward.”

The 2017 tournament will feature a new division called the Standard Division for bowlers with entering averages of 181-209. The Regular Division now will be for bowlers with averages of 210 and above, while the Classified Division remains for bowlers who have averages of 180 and below.

All three divisions will have team, doubles, singles and optional all-events, with combined entering averages being used for team and doubles placement.

“Research and feedback showed the task force that our largest demographic at the Open Championships wanted a better experience,” Murphy said. “The 190- or 200-average league bowler wants to compete against others of similar skill. The current scoring gap between the top and bottom half of the Regular Division is not an ideal peer-to-peer competition.”

The task force also recommended a series of adjustments to improve the integrity and fairness of the Open Championships. Starting in 2017, USBC will not publish the lane patterns until after the event. USBC also will discontinue providing information about lane-play strategies, including BowlTV live streaming of complete games and fixed live webcams at the event. 

“The task force unanimously agreed that having access to the lane pattern provides an unquestionable advantage to bowlers with access to modern lane machines and centers closely matching the Open Championships lane surface,” Murphy said. “Success in USBC Championships should be based on the skill of the bowler, not whether you live near the right facility or have the resources to build arsenals to match a pattern. This change moves the keys to success back to shot-making and skill, rather than personal resources.” 

Part of the more than 110 years of history and tradition at the Open Championships is a focus on equipment integrity, which includes weighing and checking every bowling ball used on the tournament lanes. In 2017, all equipment will be weighed and checked prior to both team and doubles/singles competition. 

The task force also recommended making the Open Championships an event fully open to professional bowlers. In 2017, all professional bowlers will be able to compete, within parameters, and only in the Regular Division. The parameters include limits on the number of Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) and Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) national titleholders who may compete on the same team.

The new rules, policies and procedures do not impact the 2016 tournament at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada.

In light of the task force recommendations, USBC will implement some additional policy changes as well. 

Effective Jan. 1, 2016, USBC national headquarters employees and Championships tournament staff no longer will be eligible to receive prize money, bracket winnings or awards from USBC national events due to USBC’s conflict-of-interest policy. 

TRACK LEGION SOLID

TRACK introduces its newest ball, the Legion solid featuring the LT-2 core and MR-6 solid coverstock. 

The LT-2 Core features a medium RG creating strong revs throughout the entire lane. With just over 4” of flare potential, the Legion conserves most of its energy for the breakpoint, creating an explosive entry angle to the pocket. 

The popular MR-6 Solid cover provides a strong mid-lane roll with an outstanding move at the breakpoint. The Legion Solid is best suited for medium to oily lane conditions and will provide more overall hook compared to the original Legion.

USBC RAISES BAR FOR COMPETITION INTEGRITY WITH BOWLMOR AMF U.S. OPEN

ARLINGTON, Texas – Bowlmor AMF, the largest operator of bowling centers in the world, in collaboration with the United States Bowling Congress and the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America, will provide a new level of lane integrity for bowlers at the 2015 Bowlmor AMF U.S. Open.

Bowlmor AMF worked with USBC and Lane Analytics to complete a comprehensive topography evaluation of the lanes at host center AMF Garland Lanes, ahead of the event that will take place Nov. 2-8 in Garland, Texas.

Each board of every lane was inspected and leveled every three feet in 18 locations per lane. As a result, 99 percent of the crowns and depressions plus cross-tilts are within twenty-thousandths of an inch of flat. This dramatically exceeds USBC’s minimum standard of forty-thousandths of an inch using three inspection locations per lane.

“Bowlmor AMF is committed to competitive bowling and playing a leading role in moving the sport forward in a positive way,” Bowlmor AMF Vice President of Leagues Jay Lietman said. “We are proud to create a world-class venue for the U.S. Open and strive to provide an exceptional experience for our league bowlers across the country as well.”

Details of the U.S. Open lane pattern also are designed to achieve a higher level of competition integrity. The lane pattern will not be revealed until immediately before official practice at AMF Garland Lanes. Additionally, there will be no re-oiling of the lanes between squads.

“From an integrity perspective, Bowlmor AMF has provided a venue of the same high quality you find with a custom installation such as the USBC Open Championships,” USBC Executive Director Chad Murphy said. “With no information being provided about the pattern in advance of the event and also no re-oiling procedure during the event, we have taken a step further to leveling the playing field. Multiple angles will need to be played throughout the event to be successful. It’s exciting to think about and I’m looking forward to it.”

USBC plans to use the partnership model developed with Bowlmor AMF to improve lane topography for future host centers of championship events. Limiting the release of lane pattern information already is standard practice for the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour, Intercollegiate Team and Singles Championships and most recently, the 2016 Junior Gold Championships.

While many equate a golf scorecard to bowling’s pattern information, Murphy explained a golf scorecard doesn’t change, since yardages are always the same, but bowling patterns migrate on top of the lane with every shot so it’s not static and is always evolving.

“The static piece in bowling is topography of the lane,” Murphy said. “In golf, the scorecard or yardage book that a PGA professional receives the morning of competition is the topography while the pattern is the rough, the speed of the green and the wind. In bowling, the lane map is the topography while the pattern is the factor that changes from shot to shot. For the 2015 Bowlmor AMF U.S. Open, we have done the work to ensure the lanes are in championship condition by making sure the lanes are well within specification. We also are delivering a scorecard to competitors. You can see a detailed report on the topography of the lanes at AMF Garland Lanes here.

“It is USBC’s role to create a level playing field where the athlete’s skill determines the outcome as we continue to build a future for the sport. We appreciate having a great partner hosting the U.S. Open to help make it possible.”

For more information on the Bowlmor AMF U.S. Open, visit BOWL.com/USOpen.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month,

Storm's Paint the Lanes Pink promotion donates a portion of the sale of specific PTLP Awareness Products to Cancer Research.  

October officially is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Storm is asking bowlers around the world to help Paint the Lanes PINK® to SAVE LIVES.  This on-going charitable project is designed to raise invaluable funds in support of breast cancer research.

The Storm charitable partners in the fight against breast cancer are the Huntsman Cancer Institute and Striking Against Breast Cancer Foundation, as we donate a portion of the proceeds from every sale of PTLP products to these vital breast cancer research supported foundations.

About The Huntsman Cancer Institute

Hope Through Research | Hope Through Education | Hope Through Care

Huntsman Cancer Institute has been created, through the generosity of the Huntsman Family, to find the causes of cancer, to develop new and better treatments, and to prevent people from ever developing cancer.

Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) is part of the University of Utah Health Care system. HCI is a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Center, which means it meets the highest standards for cancer care and research and receives support for its scientific endeavors.

Learn more about our Cancer Center Research Programs.

HCI is also a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), a not-for-profit alliance of the world’s leading cancer centers. NCCN is dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of care provided to patients with cancer.

To learn more about the Huntsman Cancer Institute, visit HuntsmanCancerInstitute

About Striking Against Breast Cancer

Striking Against Breast Cancer is a foundation grown out of the bowling community in support of raising much needed funds for research.  SABC raises monies through its' annual Luci Bonneau Memorial Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles Tournament affectionately known around the world as "The LUCI".  

Since its inception in 2000, "The LUCI" has grown exponentially over the years now to the point of garnering attention from the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) and Professional Women's Bowling Assocation (PWBA), bringing it to the forefront with live coverage through the PBA's Xtra Frame.  

For the first time, the 16-year-old fund-raising tournament, held in the memory of former PWBA competitor Luci Bonneau, awarded PBA Tour and PWBA Tour titles to the winners, if they are PBA/PWBA members.

To learn more about Striking Against Breast Cancer and the PBA Luci Bonneau Memorial Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles Tournament, visit strikingagainstbreastcancer.org

Paint the Lanes PINK® to SAVE LIVES

Because of the incredible support of the bowling community, Storm Products has been able to make an impact with breast cancer research – we are eternally grateful, thank you. 

But because we have a unique worldwide stage, we are asking that you join us in the fight by purchasing our products featuring the “Paint the Lanes PINK” initiative. 

In doing so, you can be rest assured that you are helping to SAVE LIVES.  

Because of your support Storm Products has been able to donate $70,632.72 to Breast Cancer research - Thank You!

 http://www.stormbowling.com/partners/causes/16

30th Anniversary Ball from Storm Coming in November

Storm plans to introduce the IQ Tour 30, a pearl IQ, obviously other than color, like the original Gold Tour IQ, which left the market too soon. Look for the 30th Anniversary ball in November 2015.

So what is it that makes these IQ Tour balls so special? They are very unique in the fact that they have a one of a kind core that cannot be found elsewhere.

The C³™ Centripetal Control Core which is engineered to yield ample mid-lane roll with its low radius of gyration, or center of gravity. Think of a figure skater with their arms pulled in. They spin quickly and so does this weight block shape! In addition, the differential, or imbalance, of this core is not extensive.

Many balls in this category have a higher differential to produce more hook or ball motion. The C³ shape is designed for higher rev players and those looking for a smoother change of direction.

And while the most famed R2S™ Pearl Reactive shell encases this core, you're sure to find that awesome dry lane traction you have come to love with Storm.

Celebrating Storm's 30th Anniversary in the bowling business, the new IQ Tour 30 is sure to be a hit for anyone who ever threw the Gold Ball, the IQ Tour Pearl.  Release date: 11/24/2015