USBC Suspending or Postponing National Events

ARLINGTON, Texas – The United States Bowling Congress (USBC) is postponing or suspending nationally conducted USBC events until May 1, 2020, due to COVID-19 safety concerns.

This includes the USBC Open Championships, USBC Women’s Championships, USBC Convention, USBC Masters and USBC Senior Queens. USBC made this difficult decision out of concern for the health and safety of our members, their families and local communities.

• The 2020 USBC Open Championships and 2020 USBC Women’s Championships are suspended until May 1, 2020. All teams registered from March 21 through April 30 will have the option to reschedule for new added dates in the summer. USBC customer service will contact team captains directly with more details.
     
• The USBC Masters, USBC Senior Queens and USBC Convention are postponed indefinitely. USBC intends to reschedule these events later in 2020, as public health conditions allow.

USBC will announce any changes to the Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour schedule no later than April 2, 2020.

We realize our stakeholders will have many questions related the changes. USBC staff is working on additional communications and guidance for our bowlers and association leaders. We appreciate everyone’s patience as our staff works to provide more information as soon as possible.

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. 

USBC Women's and Open Championships in Las Vegas, Baby

United States Bowling Congress News: South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa, the United States Bowling Congress (USBC), Las Vegas Events (LVE) and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) have announced a 12-year deal to host several annual USBC events, including the USBC Open Championships and USBC Women's Championships, both citywide, and inside a new, $30 million bowling tournament facility at South Point starting in 2013.

Over the course of the agreement, USBC will host seven Championship events inside South Point's new bowling tournament facility, including the USBC Women's Championships in 2016, 2020 and 2022 and the USBC Open Championships in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023.

There also will be more than 40 additional tournaments, conventions and short-duration events held throughout Las Vegas during the agreement, including events such as the USBC Masters, USBC Queens, USBC Senior Masters and USBC Team USA Trials. "Las Vegas is excited to continue a partnership with the United States Bowling Congress that began four decades ago when we hosted the USBC Women's Championships," said Rossi Ralenkotter, president/CEO for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

"We look forward to strengthening the partnership over the next decade and becoming the premier destination for USBC events."

The USBC, LVE and LVCVA are partnering with South Point to enhance this new agreement by building a permanent, world-class bowling tournament facility at one of Las Vegas' premier bowling destinations.

Construction of the new arena at South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa will commence in May 2013. South Point's current bowling center, which will still continue operations, is already a world-renowned facility that annually hosts top professional and amateur events, including the Professional Bowlers Association's World Series of Bowling.
The new tournament facility will include more than 60 lanes featuring the latest bowling technology, tournament registration area, squad room, locker area and more.

With participation estimates for the seven Championship events taken into account, event organizers estimate that 27 percent of attendees will have the ability to stay at the South Point, while the remaining 73 percent will occupy rooms throughout the city during events held for the duration of this agreement.

"We are extremely excited about our partnership with the USBC and South Point Hotel and Casino," said Pat Christenson, president of Las Vegas Events.

"This would not have been possible without the commitment from Michael Gaughan to build a state-of-the-art bowling venue and the USBC's commitment to host an unprecedented number of its events in Las Vegas."

In 2009, the 106th USBC Open Championships, held at Cashman Center in Las Vegas, ran for a record 154 consecutive days with a capacity total of 17,200 teams competing from Feb. 21 to July 24, 2009.

The total estimated attendance for bowling participants and their travel parties was 292,750 with an average room stay of 4.3 nights and a non-gaming economic impact of more than $120 million.

Las Vegas also hosted the USBC Open Championships in 1986. The USBC Women's Championships previously was held in Las Vegas in 1973 and 1983, attracting 9,644 and 14,430 teams, respectively.

"The creation of a new bowling arena as part of a Las Vegas casino will be an amazing experience for our bowlers to enjoy," USBC Executive Director Stu Upson said.

"This agreement required tremendous public and private support in order to come together. We look forward to seeing the construction of a great venue that will be a source of pride for the entire bowling industry."