Hear ye, hear ye...bowling court is now in session.
RULE 1 - SCHEDULE:
a. The Bowling League shall not be sanctioned.
b. The league shall consist of 6 teams with a playing strength of 4.
c. The league will bowl on Tuesdays for 17 weeks.
c1. If necessary due to weather, or other circumstances, up to two (2) "snow" days may be used depending on lane availability.
d. Practice will start at 6:20 p.m.
e. Match play will start at 6:30 p.m.
f. The only position round is Week 16.
g. The last week of bowling will be a 9-pin tap fun night.
RULE 2 - FEES:
a. The amount to be paid per bowler per season will be $250, which covers our rental fee for the bowling alley and provides a small prize fund.
a1. Effective August 2020 cash is no longer accepted, and individual team collection envelopes are discontinued.
a2. Instructions for making electronic payments will be provided at each lane each week.
a3. Discounts are available for pre-pay.
a4. Bowlers who do not pre-pay should pay $15 weekly until the total season charge is reached.
b. All fees for the season must be paid by the sixteenth (16th) week of the league schedule, unless otherwise stated.
c. Any team shall forfeit games if more than 50% of participating members are more than three (3) weeks behind in league fees, unless satisfactory arrangements are made with the league officers.
d. If a bowler wishes to resign, a one (1) week written notice must be given to the team captain and/or league Pres./Sec.
d1. The resigning bowler continues to be responsible for all weekly league fees until a replacement bowler is found, unless other arrangements are approved by the league President.
d2. The resigning bowler forfeits all monies to the team unless other arrangements are made with the team captain.
RULE 3 - PRIZES:
All prizes below are contingent upon available funds after all lane rent has been paid. Prize amounts may very depending on funding.
a. The league will give prize money to the individual High Game and High Series, both scratch and handicap, both men and women.
b. A bowler must have been present and bowled 2/3rd of the season (32 games, or 11 weeks) to qualify for the individual awards. No one bowler may receive more than one individual award or prize. Any exceptions are at the sole discretion of the league officers.
c. Scratch awards begin the first week of league, handicap awards begin after 9 games have been bowled.
d. Each team will receive a prize payment based on final team rank.
e. Prizes are paid to Tournament of Champions finalists as funds allow.
RULE 4 - LEGAL LINEUP AND TARDY BOWLERS:
a. At least fifty percent (50%) of the team's roster must be present by the bottom of the first frame of any game or the game and total pins will be forfeit. Vacancies that are part of the team's normal roster count toward legal lineup provided at least one real roster bowler is present. (See also rules 10 & 11.)
b. 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.
c. Teams and subs can be any gender.
d. All members must bowl three consecutive games during the session in which the initial average is set. If a bowler fails to complete all three games on his or her first outing of the season, those scores will not be counted.
RULE 5 - SUBSTITUTES:
a. Subs should pay the regular fees of the bowler they replace. If the sub does not pay, the regular bowler must cover the fees upon returning.
b. No new subs/members may be used on position rounds or the last two weeks of the schedule that count. Subs need 12 games to bowl the last two weeks that count.
b1. For 12 week seasons, subs need to have rolled 9 games to bowl the last three weeks that count. For 8 week seasons, this is further reduced to 6 games.
c. A bowler who is a current member of a team shall not substitute for another team in the same league season.
d. A team must maintain the same roster throughout all three games of each series. Any bowler substitutions must be made by the bottom of the 5th frame of the first game, no exceptions.
RULE 6 - TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL BLIND SCORES:
a. The league blind will be 120 for man or woman and shall be used if a team is short a regular member.
b. If a team bowls a blind or absent team, they must bowl within 40 pins of their own teams’ average to win the game. A scratch total exactly 40 pins below the team's average shall be treated as a win and awarded a full point.
RULE 7 - HANDICAP AND AVERAGES:
a. Handicap will be based on 80% (percent) of the difference of the bowler's average from 200 for individual awards and 80% (percent) of the difference of the two team averages for team handicap.
b. Team handicap begins the first week and is figured after three (3) games are bowled.
c. Three (3) games constitute an average.
d. A new bowler or sub coming in after the first week will figure handicap after (3) three games are bowled.
e. An unpaid bowler's average may be carried for two (2) consecutive weeks, after which time the bowler is dropped and a new bowler or league blind will be used, unless satisfactory arrangements have been made with the league officers..
f. A paid bowler's average may be carried indefinitely.
RULE 8 - SCORING:
a. The four-(4) point system shall be used. One point for each game won and one point for total pins. In case of a tie, each team shall be awarded half a point.
RULE 9 - PLAYOFFS:
a. In case of a playoff for the league championship or a cash position, a one game roll-off will be bowled the last night of bowling.
b. An extra complete tenth frame shall be bowled in the event of a tie at the end of the playoff series.
c. Scores bowled in playoffs shall not count toward individual awards or individual or team averages.
We know that sections 10 & 11 can be confusing. Please do not hesitate to ask the league officers for clarification about any aspect or post-bowling or pre-bowling.
RULE 10 - UNPLANNED ABSENCES / POST-BOWLING: (Post-bowling refers to rolling make-up games after a missed bowling session, and must be done as a team only.)
a. Out of fairness to the opposing team, if a team is completely absent the league officers must be notified of any plans to post-bowl before lanes are turned on for league play or the game(s) must be scored as a forfeit with no opportunity for post-bowling.
b. If at the start of league play a team has at least one member present but does not have quorum, any bowler for that team who is present should immediately approach a league officer to request one the following:
b1. Postponement — The bowler or bowler(s) present do not bowl and should return later with the rest of the team for the scheduled post-bowling session.
b2. Under-Quorum Bowling — With consent of both a league officer and the captain of the opposing team, an under-quorum team may be permitted to bowl. If this option is used, all absent bowlers record their blind scores and no post-bowling by any other team member is permitted.
c. All postponed games are required to be made up within six (6) days of the scheduled match and must be scheduled directly with the bowling center by the absent team.
c1. Schedule your post-bowl quickly, if the bowling center is unable to accommodate your post-bowling request, the missed game(s) must be forfeit.
d. After post-bowling, send your scores or a photo of your scoresheet to a league officer, then turn your scoresheet in at the front counter.
e. Post-bowling is never permitted for a bowling session immediately prior to a position round.
f. No team or individual may post-bowl more than twice in any season.
g. No team or individual may post-bowl if any team member has already bowled for that week's scheduled session. Post-bowling is an all-or-none situation.
RULE 11 - PLANNED ABSENCES / PRE-BOWLING: (Pre-bowling refers to rolling make-up games before a missed bowling session when the absence is known in advance, and may be done by the entire team or by any individual.)
a. Any bowler who plans to be absent for any future week of bowling may pre-bowl at any time prior to the session that will be missed, for any reason, for as many sessions as necessary.
b. Pre-bowling must be scheduled in advance with the bowling center by the individual(s) who will be absent.
c. A team member pre-bowling does not preclude other team members from bowling at the regularly scheduled time. However, if a team member pre-bowls, no team member may post-bowl. (See rule 10g.)
d. After pre-bowling, send your scores or a photo of your scoresheet to a league officer, then turn your scoresheet in at the front counter.
RULE 12 - UNUSUAL SITUATIONS:
a. Though we are a non-sanctioned league, we defer to the USBC Rulebook for situations not covered by our own rules.
b. For situations that cannot be resolved by either our rules or the USBC Rulebook, the League Officers shall make a joint ruling after consulting with the captains of any and all teams directly affected by the situation.
c. This may be the most important of our rules: Our league is based on the idea that bowling should be fun and we should make it as easy as possible to bowl. To that end, if you encounter any situation where a league rule may prevent a team or individual from being able to bowl, please discuss it with the league officers before giving up. We are always open to reasonable exceptions provided that all teams affected by the decision are agreeable to the solution.
LEAGUE OFFICERS
CO-PRESIDENT : Scott Murdock - 816-509-4466 scottm@decisioninsight.com
CO-PRESIDENT : AJ Hofmann - 913-660-4980 ajhofmann@gmail.com
