I recently wrote a letter to USBC concerning my opinions on the current state of bowling that I thought I'd share with everyone.  I actually got a response, and just about word for word what I expected, but at least an actual human read my letter and replied.  Here is the letter, their response, and then I'll finish up:

This is an open letter to whom it may concern reflecting my opinions and comments regarding the state of bowling as a whole as well as a widely perceived view on how the USBC is only serving to further destroy the sport so many of us love and have already begun to mourn.  I will however begin by saying that the USBC Open Championships represents everything that is right with the sport of bowling.  The challenge, the venues, the organization, the execution, the resources, etc., every part of "Nationals" is so expertly crafted that even some of the best bowlers in the world make a point to come compete.  That, unfortunately, is where it ends, and could one day be lost as bowling as a whole continues to decline.  It is incredibly irresponsible of USBC to be so out of touch with league bowling, the very foundation of the sport.  I read a published article regarding fresh oil for every squad at the 2013 Open Championships, finally correcting the only problem I believe the event had.  It referenced a quote from someone regarding having one pattern for the team event and a different pattern for singles and doubles, effectively saying that USBC wanted to challenge their bowlers' versatility.  I found it to be one of the most hypocritical statements or comments I have ever come across.  USBC's specifications and limits regarding legal lane conditions are so wide open that thousands of league bowlers who never practice can show up to league once a week, shoot 750 with the only ball they own, and go home without so much as a thought.  These are the same people that post 230+ averages during the league season, only to show up to the Open Championships to shoot 1500 for all events, and go home with their tails between their legs.  The idea that making tighter restrictions on lane conditions would only serve to further drive away bowlers and hurt revenue for center owners is ludicrous, as USBC membership has fallen from approximately 9 million to 1.7 million in a little over a decade, corresponding with ever increasing numbers of "honor scores" and member averages.  When scoring was harder, people spent money practicing, centers were full for early AND late leagues every night of the week.  This has made the future for our youth bowlers dismal, and has driven away the majority of the truly skilled bowlers.  The quality of coaches has declined, combined with the fact that it's impossible to convince a kid they made a bad shot even though they struck.  If youth bowlers are putting up numbers on easy shots, they believe they are good, and become hard to coach.  Then when they start competing in Junior Gold or PBA Experience leagues, they become discouraged fast, and when they are ready to be coached, more often than not, their game has to be completely torn down and rebuilt.  There was a youth in my city recently who shot his "first" 800.  He is not skilled, and not accurate.  He is a no thumb bowler who simply throws a lot of revs and a lot of speed, and on a legal USBC pattern, all he really has to do is keep the ball right of the headpin to strike.  This past summer, he, like a lot of the city high school bowlers, joined our summer PBA Experience league.  He proceeded to shoot 354 for the entire 3 game set the first night of league on the Cheetah pattern, following which he packed up his equipment and never came back.  This is the kind of bowler the USBC is creating.  I used to believe my "accomplishments" were earned and worth something, now I realize they aren't worth any more than the metal the rings are made out of, which is in fact so cheap that they are impossible to resize.  All my work, my effort, what I've learned, it's all meaningless.  I have been a pro shop operator for 7 years now, and I would consider my knowledge, experience, and skill to be very high, yet the process of selecting a ball, watching the bowler, and crafting a layout and surface prep for most USBC sanctioned lane conditions is needless.  I can pick any ball off the wall, "label" drill it, never touch the surface, put holes in it, and whoever I drill it for will be "successful."  People in their 60's and 70's are reaching scores they have never seen before.  It's more surprising to hear that someone has NOT achieved "perfection" now than to hear that they have.  USBC is supposed to be the governing body for sanctioned competition, but all it serves to do is drive people elsewhere for real competition or real challenge.  Bowling is no longer a sport, or even a game, it is a recreation, where people gather in attempts to record obscene numbers or merely occupy them while they drink and socialize.  Any activity that requires zero practice and little effort to achieve "perfection" will eventually cease to exist.  I have put my life into bowling, and in turn it nearly became my life, but no longer.  I am ashamed to be a USBC member, and to be associated with the laughingstock that this recreation of sanctioned bowling has become.  The amount of money and time that has to be put into obtaining "available" coaching certifications, or to attend "available" tournaments or events is staggering, and the opportunity to prepare for these things doesn't exist for most of us.  The USBC is turning a blind, uncaring, ignorant eye to the most important things in bowling, while raising sanction fees at the same time.  Charging me admission to view the destruction of a sport I have put my life into is unacceptable.  For the first time in several years, I will not attend the Open Championships, simply because I have zero opportunities to practice on tougher conditions to prepare in the months leading up to the tournament.  The attitude the USBC has towards the sport is wholly irresponsible.  I can serve my kids cake for supper, but make vegetables available, which do you think they will choose?  Bowling is not on the rise, it continues to fall, and the focus and effort is completely in the wrong direction.  Making coaching and affordable equipment available and teaching a golfer how to putt makes little difference if the greens they play on funnel down towards the hole.  The USBC is singularly to blame for the current state of bowling, and it disgusts me.  Thank you for your time.

The response:
I appreciate your feedback and your membership. Your email illustrates a challenging issue the industry faces. USBC’s role in controlling lane conditions are a controversial subject and one that draws out many strong opinions. While you make a good argument for a mandating lower scoring lane conditions, there are enforcement and compliance challenges on the other side. USBC’s Sport Bowling program attempts to provide an option for those bowlers/centers who want the challenge you seek. I realize this is not a perfect solution as many communities do not have a center that offers Sport Bowling leagues.

 

I respect your passion for the sport and have no doubt your opinions come from a desire to improve bowling. I do want to clarify your implication that USBC has been raising dues. USBC national dues are $10 and have not increased since 2006.

 

Thank you for taking the time to write.

 

Best regards,

Jason Overstreet

USBC Communications


First of all regarding the league dues, a few years ago our dues rose from $15 to $17, apparently our local association raised their fee and blamed it on USBC, so I wasn't very happy about that, I definitely would not have stuck that in my letter if I'd have known.  The point of the letter wasn't to throw USBC under the bus, but this is honestly the way I believe it is.  I knew I would get something back about the challenges of enforcement, but here's the deal.  The USBC let it get out of control years ago when they were more concerned about an ounce of sideweight in a ball than about the ball itself, or about regulating the oil patterns.  The PBA figured this out 15 or more years ago, why didn't the USBC?  So maybe the current people in power at the USBC didn't have anything to do with it, but the organization itself is completely responsible.  Regarding the challenges though, as I said in the letter, I've worked in the bowling industry for 7 years now, I very well understand all the challenges and issues, I'm not just writing the letter crying about things without having a very knowledgeable and objective viewpoint.  Honestly though, they're going to have to do something, and here's the real point of contention.  Center owners will fight tougher conditions because they think they'll lose business.  Well, they have already lost business for years.  A real simple solution here, make conditions tougher for the sanctioned leagues.  If you don't want a tougher shot, don't bowl a sanctioned league.  What does sanctioning really do for you?  Gives you some trinkets, and allows you to use your average in tournaments for potential handicap.  People wouldn't quit bowling if they were told their league wouldn't be sanctioned, they would see it as a way to save fees every year.  Most people don't bowl tournaments anymore.  But of course, this would really hurt the USBC.  So instead of really governing the sport and enforcing the rules, they're content to just let things slip away while they say, "oh, well we offer a bunch of stuff."  Rant off. 

I like think of it this way. Why would you use any average on a house pattern as any kind of standard. I don't care what average anyone has on THS. It's the kiddy course of bowling (one step above bumper bowling).

It's like running the 110 meter hurdles and the hurdles are only 12 inches high(just for the info: men's hurdles are 42 inches). Would anyone give you notice if your time was in the top 10 of the world? Heck No! It means nothing.

So why do we use this easy course as a standard in bowling?

Answer: Unlike the hurdles that you can clearly see; in bowling the things that help the bowler tremendously are hidden. The lanes are still 60 feet, the ball is still round, the pins are same shape. So when the bowler rolls that ball down the lane (which has an oil pattern designed to funnel his ball into the pocket, no matter how bad he/she throws it), and the ball hooks into the pocket crushing the pins (because of the ball's high end coverstock and high tech core), the bowler of today believes that he/she made that strike happen. They know that they bowl on an easy shot but have no clue how easy it realy is.

They can't see what is helping them!

Definition of the modern "game" of bowling:

1. "Bowl high scores without practice" (Bowling Center's version)

or how about this

2."No need to adjust, just buy another ball" (Ball manufacturer's version)

  AS A FAIRLY NEW BOWLER(NOW IN MY 4TH YEAR), I SEE MANY THINGS THAT THOSE OF YOU HAVE BEEN BOWLING FOR YEARS DON'T SEE. I BOWLED FOR 3 YEARS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL THEN WENT INTO THE MILITARY. 25 YEARS LATER I HAVE TAKEN IT UP AGAIN. THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT I SEE THAT ARE DIFFERENT NOW. ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS I SEE IS THAT IT IS NO MORE A GAME OF SKILL. MOST OF THE BOWLERS I SEE NOW ARE THE HIGH SPEED CRANKERS(SLING AND SLAM) BOWLERS.IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE IF THEY HAVE A GOOD HIT OR NOT, THE HIGH SPEED AND HIGH REVS CARRY PINS EVEN IF IT IS A BAD HIT. THE LOCAL ALLEYS WHERE I AM CATER TO THEM ON THE SHOTS THEY PUT OUT.IF YOU CAN NOT THROW THE BALL 20MPH PLUS FORGET IT.
  ANOTHER THING I SEE IS THE BALLS USED TODAY. LOCAL PRO SHOP OPERATOR QUIT BOWLING BECAUSE AS HE PUT IT, "IT'S NOT THE SKILL OF THE BOWLER ANYMORE, IT'S THE LOADED BALLS". HE CLAIMS WHAT I HAVE STATED ABOVE, THROW IT HARD AND SCORE HIGH. HE WAS AVERAGING 215-220 AND HAS NOT BOWLED FOR 2 OR THREE YEARS NOW.
  AFTER SCHOOL WE HAD 4 ALLEYS WITH TWO SHIFTS 5 NIGHTS A WEEK. NOW THERE ARE 3 ALLEYS AND ONLY ONE SHIFT THREE TO FOUR NIGHTS A WEEK. TWO OF THE CENTERS CATER TO THE AFTERSCHOOL BOWLING WHICH IS NOTHING BUT A RIP OFF. THE KIDS PAY THEIR MONEY, GET SOME PIZZA AND POP, AND ARE LUCKY IF THEY GET TO BOWL MORE THAN THREE FRAMES. THE OWNWRS HAVE MADE THE STATEMENT"WE WOULD RATHER HAVE THE KIDS IN HERE THAN TO HAVE TO LISTEN TO THE LEAGUE BOWLERS BITCH ABOUT THE INCONSISTENCY OF OUR SHOT".
  OTHER THINGS I HAVE SEEN IS THE CONSTANT CHANGING OF BALL SPECKS BY USBC.IF THEY ARE GOING TO KEEP CHANGING THE EQUIPMENT YOU CAN USE AND THE COST OF THE BALLS, WHO CAN AFFORD TO BOWL. IF I HAVE A BALL I LIKE AND WANT ANOTHER BUT CAN NOT GET IT BECAUSE USBC HAS CHANGED THE SPECKS AND SAID BALL CAN NO LONGER BE MADE, WHY DO I WANT TO CONTINUE WITH EQUIPMENT I DO NOT WANT BUT AM FORCED TO BUY BECAUSE OF USBC REGULATIONS.
 AND AS FAR AS THE NATIONALS IN RENO, I KNOW OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE QUIT GOING TO THEM AFTER 25 YEARS BECAUSE THEY WILL NOT GO BACK TO THE SAME PLACE THAT THEY DO NOT LIKE. OTHERS I KNOW WILL NOT GO BECAUSE IT IS TOO FAR. ME, I WILL NOT GO AS IT IS TOO EXPENSIVE AND TOO FAR TO DRIVE. I WILL NOT PAY THE AIRFARE AND RUN THE RISK OF THE AIRLINES LOSING EQUIPMENT THAT CAN NOT BE REPLACED BECAUSE OF USBC RULES.
  OTHER THINGS ARE THE CONDITIONS OF THE CENTERS LOCALLY. I BOWL 3 NIGHTS A WEEK IN THREE DIFFERENT HOUSES. THE REASON FOR THREE DIFFERENT HOUSES IS THREE DIFFERENT LANES AND THREE DIFFERENT PATTERNS.HOUSE ONE IS GUARDIAN THAT HAS NOT BEEN CHANGES OR HAD ANYTHING DONE FOR AT LEAST 35 YEARS. HOUSE TWO HAS WOODEN LANES THAT HAVE HAD NOTHING DONE TO THEM SINCE THEY WERE PUT IN IN THE 50'S. HOUSE THREE, BRAND NEW SYNTHETICS THIS YEAR. BUT THAT HOUSE IS NOT IN MY TOWN.THE LANE DO NOT MATTER TO ME AS MY AVERAGE IS 177, 177, 180. AT LEAST I AM CONSISTANT.WHAT MAKES THE CONSISTANCY A BIG DEAL WITH ME IS THAT I AM A DISABLED VETERAN THAT WAS TOLD BY MY DOCTOR"I DO NOT KNOW HOW YOU EVEN BOWL"..
  THERE ARE  MANY REASONS FOR THE DECLINE OF BOWLING, BUT IF IT IS TO MAKE A COMEBACK THE ISSUES MUST BE ADDRESSED ONE AT A TIME AND THE BOWLERS NEED TO BE LISTENED TO BY USBC OR THE SPORT WILLCONTINUE TO DECLINE. AS I STATED, IT IS NO LONGER A SPORT OF SKILL, JUST SLING AND SLAM AND WATCH EM FALL...

No, there is no long range solution.  The genie is out of the bottle.  But thanks for hitting upon the real reason people get upset.....you got beat by somebody with a new ball.  Didn't matter that maybe that ball and drilling matched up perfectly to his game.  Didn't matter that maybe the pattern matched up to his game and new ball perfectly.  What matters is with all your "skill" and "experience", you couldn't figure out how not to have your ass handed to you.      
 
Doesn't matter how many times this topic is started, it always comes down to somebody's got the red ass because he doesn't believe he should ever get beat unless it's by a touring Pro.  Why don't you guys just tape an aspirin to your bruised ego and try to move on without posting Illiad length dessertations on why bowling has to change because you got beat.   

Haha...elitist, that's funny.  "Hi, Kettle?  You're black."

Quote from: Long Gone Daddy on April 01, 2013, 11:54:33 AM

No, there is no long range solution.  The genie is out of the bottle.  But thanks for hitting upon the real reason people get upset.....you got beat by somebody with a new ball.  Didn't matter that maybe that ball and drilling matched up perfectly to his game.  Didn't matter that maybe the pattern matched up to his game and new ball perfectly.  What matters is with all your "skill" and "experience", you couldn't figure out how not to have your ass handed to you.      
 
Doesn't matter how many times this topic is started, it always comes down to somebody's got the red ass because he doesn't believe he should ever get beat unless it's by a touring Pro.  Why don't you guys just tape an aspirin to your bruised ego and try to move on without posting Illiad length dessertations on why bowling has to change because you got beat.   

Got a point, but the one thing I'll say is that in today's game, the better bowler doesn't win as often as they should, which nullifies the spirit of competition.  Knowledge and experience should win the majority of the time, but when the clueless guys with the newest toys and gizmos come along, you either have to keep up with the game or quit.  I'm just saying that sometimes skill doesn't have much to do with it.  I mean, you still feel the need to constantly bash and run people down on here, so why don't you just tape an aspirin to YOUR ego and either quit posting or give it a rest?  No different from what we're talking about here.  But you can't quit being a condescending, elitist, know it all, so why should they stop their discussion? 

What is people's definition of elite?

Someone posted for Detroit, the largest sanctioned bowling population in the country, that only 3% average 215 or higher.

For me, if I am in the top 3% of any category, I am one of the elite.

For all of you who find it easy to average 230, you have to realize, that there are 1.85 million bowlers who cannot average 215.  You are elite.

Are you the top 1% of the top 1%?  No, but that's not my definition of elite.  But for some of you, I guess that is your definition.

to objectively evaluate bowling skill as best we can is to toughen up patterns across the country a 3:1 pattern should be considered a house pattern to truely compare "elite" bowlers. i know people dont like that idea but like it or not those patterns require consistent shot making which would accurately compare. theres too much variety in house shots across the country.

The only reason the game SHOULD change is if the goal of the sport is different than what it currently is.  Many people are fine with the way the game is played today and they are justified to say nothing should be done.  At the same time, some want the game to be in a different place than it is right now and they too are justified to suggest changes. 

I know USBC wants to have bowling in the Olympics.  There are many different criteria bowling has yet to achieve to accomplish this.  Part of it is the perception of competition.  Inside the game, bowlers know who are the best bowlers in the world.  But, outside the game, how do you determine this?  You can't use averages since they are not indicative of ability or talent.  You could use tournament success, yet I could argue some of the most talented bowlers in the world don't compete in those tournaments because of a lack of financial gain. 

So what do you do?  Give up on having the most popular sport/activity included in the Olympics, or do you make the changes necessary to show those outside of the sport how the hierarchy of talent is determined?  Until all bowling is on a level playing field in terms of conditions (leagues and tournaments) it will continue to be looked at in a negative light for future consideration in Olympic events. 

But for some, that is fine.  I would love to see bowling in the Olympics.  I tried to make the US team to get into the '88 Olympics when bowling was an exhibition sport.  Back then, leagues and tournaments were contested on similar shots.  Unfortunately, proprietors needed to change the league conditions to stay afloat.  We can't blame them.  Poor economics and general disinterest in bowling forced their hand.

So what is the cure for all of this?  No one can say for sure.  Something drastic may be required, but at what cost?  Do we need to lose 50% of the current league base to be a better organization?  Do we simply forgo any perception of bowling as a sport and relegate it to the lands of horseshoe pitching and extreme ironing?  I would like to see a change from the game bowling has become to the sport I feel it should be.  If you disagree, that is fine.