Quote from: 3835 on March 30, 2022, 07:51:38 AM

I wonder.....

Turn back the clock 2 years ago. That is when Storm announced the move of 900 Global production to Utah. Storm had recently just completed an expansion, including new machines to pour more balls. The reason why Storm and Global were intertwined to start with is because Storm did not have enough capacity for just their stuff and Roto Grip stuff so they turned to Global to help out.

I wonder if there is an issue with the new production machines compared to the old ones (if they kept the old ones and didn't put in all new machines).

Its weird because the Phaze 4 is R2S pearl. The Hyroad Pearl is R2S pearl. If they are truly the same cover, how can the Phaze 4 be banned but the Hyroad Pearl ok? One thought could be there is a different batch of R2S. I would believe some Hyroad Pearls have recently been poured and would be from the same batch of resin as Phaze 4s....

It's a shame USBC is choosing to affect players now. Imagine you were on a plane with 1 or 2 of those balls, headed to Nationals. Some of your arsenal is now illegal. All your practicing, surface prep, preparation - out the window. It's really frustrating me, and I don't bowl Nationals for another 6 weeks!

I don't have the technical know-how to speak intelligently on how something like this happens. I just know that for as simple as bowling balls appear on the surface, they are HIGHLY technical when you really get down to it.

When the situation happened with Motiv and the Jackal/Carnage, I was told that something as simple as having changed suppliers of a filler material - even though it was technically the same material - could have been enough to cause later runs of those balls to be out of spec. I know from first-hand experience that although I use the same resin and hardener and follow the same exact procedure every time I plug a ball, sometimes the results vary a little bit in regard to how well the plug sets up.

The point is that variations that seem absolutely minuscule on the surface, even ones that can go completely unnoticed, can cause changes in your output. Add to that the fact that many of the balls these manufacturers are putting out ride the razor's edge in regard to the specification guidelines, and it's not hard to see how something like this can happen. After all, when you're looking to create the latest and greatest, you can't always play it safe and stay well within the lines. You push the envelope and get as close to the edge as you can without going over.

At the end of the day, there are myriad reasons why this could've happened to these SPI balls, but I don't think it likely that any of us has enough verifiable information to really say much here other than it sucks for SPI and for those who currently are at tournaments with those balls in the bag.

Like it or not, bowling is a sport with a governing body that establishes rules and equipment guidelines. We are entitled to our respective opinions on how well or how poorly we think they do that. Nevertheless, if these balls have been deemed non-conforming, then the right thing was done by pulling them out of competition. I was fortunate enough not to own any of the balls that have been flagged, but my opinion would be the same even if I had them all.

I don't have the technical know-how to speak intelligently on how something like this happens. I just know that for as simple as bowling balls appear on the surface, they are HIGHLY technical when you really get down to it.

When the situation happened with Motiv and the Jackal/Carnage, I was told that something as simple as having changed suppliers of a filler material - even though it was technically the same material - could have been enough to cause later runs of those balls to be out of spec. I know from first-hand experience that although I use the same resin and hardener and follow the same exact procedure every time I plug a ball, sometimes the results vary a little bit in regard to how well the plug sets up.

The point is that variations that seem absolutely minuscule on the surface, even ones that can go completely unnoticed, can cause changes in your output. Add to that the fact that many of the balls these manufacturers are putting out ride the razor's edge in regard to the specification guidelines, and it's not hard to see how something like this can happen. After all, when you're looking to create the latest and greatest, you can't always play it safe and stay well within the lines. You push the envelope and get as close to the edge as you can without going over.

At the end of the day, there are myriad reasons why this could've happened to these SPI balls, but I don't think it likely that any of us has enough verifiable information to really say much here other than it sucks for SPI and for those who currently are at tournaments with those balls in the bag.

Like it or not, bowling is a sport with a governing body that establishes rules and equipment guidelines. We are entitled to our respective opinions on how well or how poorly we think they do that. Nevertheless, if these balls have been deemed non-conforming, then the right thing was done by pulling them out of competition. I was fortunate enough not to own any of the balls that have been flagged, but my opinion would be the same even if I had them all.

The bigger head scratcher Noodle is USBC saying local associations can adopt the ban rule if they want.

That means if you bowl in 2 different associations like I do, one may adopt the ban and one may not. Now I need different equipment to bowl in different leagues.

Also what if you want to go to a tourney, but said tourney has adopted the ban. Are you getting new equipment just for the tourney?

Either make them illegal across the board or not....none of this in between gray area BS. All the USBC has done is cause MORE issues at the local level.

I'm wondering how Storm will handle the "exchange" of the affected balls.  With the Spectre, they did not want the ball back but obviously that can't be used in any sanctioned competition.

I have a Trend 2 that is the #1 ball in my bag that I will probably hang on to as long as I can legally use it in local stuff.

Will Storm "exchange" it for a new ball but not want my Trend 2 back or will I have to give it up in order to get it replaced?  I'm sure we will find out later this week when Storm announces the exchange program.