So if you have been throwing a __________ ball for 3/4 of season in a money handicap league and you change to a ____________ ball , and your scores conisiderably increase for remaining weeks of league.  Are you breaking any USBC rules? Could someone file a complaint and prove that you are cheating?

(By changing balls, this means you have had the ball before the season starts)

1. Urethane to Reactive
2. Plastic to Reactive
3. Weak Reactive to a Strong Reactive
4. Reactive to Urethane

I am going to guess most bowlers would cry foul if someone did 1 and 2? But are they really that different from each other?

All I was doing was trying to point out that anyone can perceive that cheating is happening if someone else has an advantage. Perception is reality.

Gunny got this right.

Sorry, nobody functioning with a full deck is going to perceive 'cheating' when someone improves due to coaching or switching to a ball that matches up better. Again, there are any number of valid reasons a bowler might improve through a season.


This is about bowlers who manipulate the system. It may not strictly violate a USBC rule, but is cheating all the same.

Who keeps track of what balls you are using during the season?  Somebody has watched way too many conspiracy theory shows.

Maybe the USBC needs to do something about this, but what can they do?

I thought I read somewhere that the USBC might pass a rule where any bowler can be re-rated in league, but needs a 3/4 of the league captain vote.

Would that be good enough? 

Like I stated before, take a 230 bowler and now he is 200 (on purpose) there is a 30 pin buffer on the handicap.

The above quote demonstrates the problem...the "230 bowler" is not miraculously a "200 bowler"...it is the BALL.

If everyone in the league is using the same ball/drill as the "200 bowler" how much do you want to bet that the "200 bowler" destroys the entire league?  That is why, should the "200 bowler" decide to use updated equipment, like everyone else, he "all of a sudden" starts destroying everyone...he is just that good.

The problem with these threads is the belief that bowling good means scoring good.  Bowling is more than just scoring.  How many times have you felt you bowled great, but scored average or worse?  How many times have you scored great and talked about how poorly you threw it?

No bowler is under any obligation to do anything other than to TRY their best.  Notice I did not say SCORE their best.  If I own 12 bowling balls, who are you to tell me that I can't just pick one to throw each week...regardless of how they actually perform on the lane, IF I am trying my best?

Sorry...no sandbagging there.  The problem, as is typically the case, is perception and a lack of understanding.  A bowler is obligated to TRY their best at all times...to perform to the best of their ability.  If that bowler's ability is limited by the ball they are using, so what?

Perhaps that bowler couldn't afford the "magic" ball that would make him great?  Perhaps that bowler owns the ball, but decided he wanted to use one of the other 12 he owns?  Perhaps that bowler isn't knowledgeable enough to know what ball would allow him to score better?

None of it matters, if he is trying his best...of course, it always matters to someone else because they MUST be getting cheated if they aren't winning.

I'm sorry Eagle, I just don't agree with you.  Your statement will most likely be true in that bowlers will "try" to the best of their ability.  But I can't believe you would be okay with all of the examples given. 

Many bowlers will do anything for an advantage.  Unfortunately, sandbagging is one of those things that is near impossible to PROVE.  But most know it when they see it. 

In a different perspective, I average around 230 right now.  This summer I am contemplating giving 2-handed bowling a try.  Halfway through the season, I realize I am not a 2-handed bowler, especially after averaging 200 or whatever I average.  Would you be okay with me going back to 1-handed bowling and averaging 230?  I did try my hardest with the 2-handed method.  And USBC sees this method as no different as 1-handed in the average books.

This is what everyone is alluding to. 

Sorry Eagle, you're wrong on this. League is team competition, and you're ethically obligated to TRY to SCORE your best. Without everyone doing their best to score, the integrity of the league disappears. What's ironic is that you'd never get away with scoring less than your best in anything other than handicap. Try your best using just plastic in a scratch league, and the USBC would be the least of your worries. Your teammates would perform their own justice on you at some point early in the season.
 
If you're bent on trying your best while intentionally using inferior equipment, have at it during open play practice. There is a time and place for everything.

So now ethics are a large part of bowling?? Let's be real for a minute...

Who are you to tell someone that their OPINION is wrong and then add in your... yes, OPINION as though it's gospel?? I will never agree with sandbagging, but I'm not sure how someone can see using inferior equipment as sandbagging.. If that's the case, then every single new bowler should start with a reactive in their hands, right?!

If ethics played such a large part, then then small percentage that sandbag wouldn't be mentioned here (or in the numerous stories that everyone hears) to begin with..

The answer to the initial question is quite obviously no. There's no USBC rule regarding it. However, if someone throws plastic for 3/4 of a season and then out of nowhere switches to reactive, their character would quickly come into question..

Also, while we're talking context, open practice had nothing to do with the OP's question either.