My wife quit for 4 years and I quit for 2 a few year ago due to other priorities being higher. Our kids got into bowling, so we joined a league with them and decided that we could make things work now that they are older. My wife and I bowl on same night as kids do so we just set that night aside unless there's a school activity.
Scratch bowling in this area is almost gone. Thunderbird in Wichita, KS used to have 25+ 3-member teams every year, but that was down to 12 this year. This summer that center will close and I doubt the league will bother staying intact by moving to another place. Most will give up that night or find handicap league to join.
In Hutchinson, their bowling center closed about 3 years ago and a few have travelled to nearby cities, but most just quit. I wonder how many of those that quit will join back up once the new place opens this summer. The new place will be focused on family entertainment more than high-level bowling leagues. Seems the trend anymore.
Some of my fondest memories were of Rose Bowl East that had a 5-member scratch league. This was mostly dominated by a few teams, but I was young and dumb enough to think I had a chance to finish toward the top of the standings. Only had 10-16 teams every year, but almost all were competitive. After a couple dominant teams, the finish order fluctuated a lot from year to year. I just can't see a 5-member scratch league surviving here anymore.
