Bowling - the good and the bad

Bowling - the good and the bad

By John Jowdy

Although bowling has experienced a gradual decline for the past 15 years, a bright future looms over the horizon. There is good news and bad news.

First, let’s face the bad news.

1) Membership in the ABC/WIBC/YABA (now together under the USBC umbrella) has decreased at an alarming rate.

2) Phony high scores made a mockery of the sport. 300 games, 800 series’ and averages ranging from 220 to 250 became routine. 900 series’ were being recorded regularly. Worse though, the ABC sanctioned these scores by mere average bowlers, yet refused to accept a 900 series by Glenn Allison, a Hall of Fame bowler.

3) Sport Bowling and "honest conditions" have been slow in attempting to lure supposedly elite bowlers who opted to post averages of 230 upward.

4) The Ladies Pro Tour lost its TV package.

5) Popular tournaments such as the High Roller and the Eliminator experienced huge drop-offs in entries.

6) Steve Sanders, one of the game’s premier promoters, tarnished his reputation by defaulting on the guaranteed payoff of the Mini-Eliminator megabuck tournament. Furthermore, Sanders’ Generations Senior Tour was a total disaster and is in jeopardy of total extinction.

7) With all due respect for Sanders, he was simply a victim of the times. In addition to the decline in megabuck tournaments, entries in amateur tournaments like the NABI and ABT have sagged, as much as 50%.

8) Bowling centers have been closing at a disturbing rate…for several reasons. First, some centers became out-dated and were unable to compete with modern bowling establishments. Second, and more important, property values have become so attractive, proprietors are practically forced to accept "offers they can’t refuse".

That’s the bad news. Now let’s examine the GOOD news.

1) The rate of dwindling membership has slowed down.

2) The USBC has done a remarkable job of addressing and attempting to harness outlandish high scores. The USBC Sport Bowling program enjoyed explosive growths across the board this past season, due principally to the remarkable popularity of PBA Experience leagues, which allow Sport members to compete on the same oil patterns as professional bowlers. The number of Sport Bowling members rose 120 percent over the previous season. Sport Bowling leagues were up 134 percent while centers holding Sport events increased 155 percent. In PBA Experience leagues, bowlers compete on the same patterns used on the Denny’s PBA Tour (Chameleon, Cheetah, Scorpion, Shark, and Viper) which offer bowlers a unique challenge. This oil application typically is described as a 3:1 ratio.

3) Although the Ladies Pro Tour vanished, the PBA opened its doors to top female bowlers. In doing so, the PBA and bowling overall, gained national attention when Kelly Kulick succeeded in qualifying for the PBA Tour through the Tour Trials. Additionally, Liz Johnson became the first female to appear on the PBA TV show by gaining a spot on the tour through the Pro Tour Qualifier. Moreover, female performers like Johnson, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard and Missy Bellinder made their marks on the PBA Regional Tours. As of this date, Bellinder has annexed TWO Regional titles. Furthermore, all female bowlers were given an additional opportunity to appear on PBA television by qualifying through the 2007 Women’s U.S. Open in Reno. Ladies had to pay an additional $750 to qualify for 16 spots. Surprisingly, 65 ladies paid this fee.

4) Although many bowling centers have closed, a majority of existing establishments have increased their incomes with glow and cosmic bowling, birthday parties, private parties, tournaments, and ever increasing open bowling. These innovations have made up for the lack of late league structure. Nevertheless, despite the closing of many bowling centers, they are being replaced by larger/modern establishments featuring state of the art equipment. In many cases, they are part of large sports complexes financed by wise investors.

5) Another promising aspect for bowling is the ever-increasing acceptance of bowling as a letter sport and a credit in high schools as well as colleges.

6) A recent USBC news release revealed that bowling is the fastest-growing high school sport of this decade, according to the newest National Federation of State High School Association participation survey. Since the 2000-01 season, bowling participation has more than doubled and the number of schools participating has nearly tripled. These young men and women represent the future of bowling. With this in mind, bowling programs can only get better and better, particularly in view of the low cost to school budgets. Unlike football, where size and speed are an absolute must, or basketball, where anyone shorter than 6’2 is considered a midget, bowling participants are capable of competing against each other, regardless of size or gender. Consequently, bowling affords students who lack the size or talent for major athletics an opportunity to become involved with their high schools and lay the foundation for a lifetime sport. Additionally, this helps athletes earn scholarships to bowl in college.

In my humble opinion, the good news far outweighs the bad news. Mistakes of the past are being addressed. As I see it, the new USBC personnel seem hell-bent on restoring the game to its creditable position in the sports world.

With this in mind, I envision a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for bowling!