Welcome to the Summer 2021 bowling season, our 44th season of bowling! (Also referred to as "MidSummer 2021" for technical reasons, since the abbreviation 'S21' was already taken by the Spring 2021 season.)

Just when we thought our league was dead due to the sudden sale of our home bowling alley, Gladstone Lanes offered us a spot for a short summer season! However, this will likely be out last session for at least a year, as they don't currently have any openings for Fall and Spring. However we hope that this gets out foot in the door should an opening become available in the future.

Joining us this season are two people we haven't seen in a few years: Dustin Schmeltz and Brandon Martinez. Also joining us is a new bowler, Lareash Bridges. Welcome!

Because we have an odd number of bowlers and an 8 week schedule, we technically have 4 teams of 4. However 3 of the teams carry a Vacancy bowler who earns 120 points per game. If you are a team of 3 you are welcome to recruit an additional bowler at at time within the first 5 weeks. Or you can stick with your Vacancy if you think the guaranteed 120 per game works better for you.

Also I didn't bother to pester any of you about team names. If you come up with a team name, write it on your scoresheet and we will have it in the system the following week.

We are continuing cashless payments, though if necessary you may also write checks made out to Gladstone Bowl. Bowling fees are $12.77 per week or $102.16 if you want to pay it all out at once. (Does not include shoe rental.) Send payments through Venmo to @scooterjm, through CashApp to $gutteralley, or Paypal to scott@syphon.com. (If you pay by check, hand the check to either Scott or AJ.) To the best of his ability Scott will be personally making sure we are squared away with Gladstone Bowl so that they will like us, so he greatly appreciates you keeping him reimbursed as quickly as possible!

We don't know what lane numbers we will be on, so for now the web site and tomorrow's stats sheets will just say Lanes 1-4.

START DATE: Wednesday, June 23, 2021 at 6:20PM (league bowling starts at 6:30 after ten minutes of practice)
END DATE: Wednesday, August 11, 2021)

LOCATION: Gladstone Bowl, 300 NW 72nd St, Gladstone, MO 64118.

PRIZES: None. The league is too small and short to generate any meaningful prize money so we are only charging you exactly what we have to pay to use the lanes.

IF YOU ARE NEW OR HAVEN'T BOWLED IN A WHILE (aka BRANDON, DUSTIN, LAREASH):

Anyone that has been in the league pretty much knows everything else that's about to be told but, just in case you are bored and/or need a refresher, here's the GutterAlley 101 so that you know what to expect in our league:

1. Bowler's Etiquette
   This is a fairly simple rule to remember -- if someone is up to bowl on the lane immediately to your left or your right, please wait for them to begin bowling before stepping up onto your lane to roll. That's it. See? Simple. The other no brainer portion of this? Do not ever shout up at the person that is currently in the act of bowling. We've condoned beheadings when this has happened in the past.
2. Remove those wet shoes!
   There's nothing we enjoy more than seeing someone step up to bowl with something wet on the bottom of their bowling shoes from rain or, if winter weather hits us, snow tracked in by someone else. Why? Well, when they go to slide they are going to stop abruptly and possibly fall. There's even a chance for serious injury. It's so funny to watch that happen! In all reality, it's not fun at all...and with us bowling into the beginning of winter, please remove your shoes before coming down the steps after you arrive. It'll save everyone – including yourself – from possibly wiping out.
3. COVID
   Our league provides hand sanitizer. Masks are not required if you are FULLY vaccinated. And, obviously, please do not bowl if you are sick or have been exposed. We will work with you to make sure your team is covered to the extent we can.
4. Read the League Rules
   You can find them here: http://www.gutteralley.com/rules/. They will probably be confusing and you won't be tested on them, but check them before trying to do anything weird and ask Scott or AJ if you need something clarified.
5. Being late
   If you are running late to the bowling alley and will be past 6:30 when we officially start, please do us all a favor and call someone on your team to let them know. According to the league rules, "any bowler who arrives late may enter any game provided the anchor bowler of the opposing team has not completed the fifth (5th) frame. Frames missed may be made up." If you don't make it by that time, your average will be carried for the game that you missed and you can then jump in and bowl the remaining games that evening. The ONLY exception is the very first week. If you can't make it then you are SOL as we need people to bowl three games to set their average and you can't do that if you're late on the first night.
6. Absenteeism
   If you are going to miss a week there are just a couple of things you'll need to do, check irishpaving.ie/. Firstly, let your team know that you'll be absent. Secondly, you can make arrangements to have someone bowl in your place (a substitute) or your team can opt to simply carry your average that night. Lastly, you'll still be responsible for payment that night -- if your team opts to carry your average you'll owe your full weekly rate as usual. If they bring in a sub, the substitute bowler should pay the usual fees of the person they replace. If the sub doesn't pay, the absent person will need to make it up.
7. GutterAlley.com
   You're currently on it...the official web site of the league. Every week after bowling, the scores from earlier in the evening will be entered and a write-up will be crafted to keep everyone up to date with the latest standings, averages, etc. In the write-up we also call attention to the three biggest individual performances of the evening: the Most Valuable Bowler, the #1 Power Ranked Bowler, and the #1 Head-to-Head Bowler.

8. We're on Facebook
   Big whoop, I know...but we're on both Facebook (which we updated frequently). Like us, follow us, enjoy us.

That's it for starters. Did we scare you away yet? Hopefully not. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask either Scoot or AJ.