This email is to let you know a league you participated in during the 2016-2017 season has been re-classified to a Challenge designation on BOWL.com’s Find A Member.  This was for the P B A - Experience. We have been notifying your league officers of this designation change due to average differentials over the last few weeks. We recently corrected this designation and wanted to make you are aware of the change. You’ll notice when logging into Find A Member that the Challenge designation now is there, as well as the average conversion.

USBC is scanning all averages and if bowlers have large differentials between leagues, they determine the lower avg league as challenge. Our house had the same thing happen. But we use the same pattern nightly and some bowlers have different avgs night to night. They tried to designate a fun league as challenge when the bowlers really just aren't trying compared to a competitive league.

We have an issue with our Travel League. We were sent a letter also and said we were being looked at for a re-classification also, but the funny thing is is that we may travel from center to center, but we bowl on the centers THS. Their reasoning is that because the league travels from center to center, its more difficult. Even though many of us still avg close to our normal THS avg, i dont see how they could re classify us if all we bowl on is THS and not sport compliant shots.

Quote from: Bowl_Freak on March 15, 2018, 07:36:13 AM

We have an issue with our Travel League. We were sent a letter also and said we were being looked at for a re-classification also, but the funny thing is is that we may travel from center to center, but we bowl on the centers THS. Their reasoning is that because the league travels from center to center, its more difficult. Even though many of us still avg close to our normal THS avg, i dont see how they could re classify us if all we bowl on is THS and not sport compliant shots.

Sorry, but I disagree. Just because it's a "house shot" doesn't make it less of a challenge when you don't know how it plays. You can put the exact same pattern down in every bowling alley in the U.S. and it would play differently for each house. Of course that could be said about "lane to lane" differences as well, but every house has it's own characteristics and that shows up in the scoring.


Yea, yea, I know. "Good" bowlers can find the shot well before shadow ends.

Quote from: milorafferty on March 15, 2018, 11:20:08 AM

Quote from: Bowl_Freak on March 15, 2018, 07:36:13 AM

We have an issue with our Travel League. We were sent a letter also and said we were being looked at for a re-classification also, but the funny thing is is that we may travel from center to center, but we bowl on the centers THS. Their reasoning is that because the league travels from center to center, its more difficult. Even though many of us still avg close to our normal THS avg, i dont see how they could re classify us if all we bowl on is THS and not sport compliant shots.

Sorry, but I disagree. Just because it's a "house shot" doesn't make it less of a challenge when you don't know how it plays. You can put the exact same pattern down in every bowling alley in the U.S. and it would play differently for each house. Of course that could be said about "lane to lane" differences as well, but every house has it's own characteristics and that shows up in the scoring.


Yea, yea, I know. "Good" bowlers can find the shot well before shadow ends.

Good point.  Topography and surface can be just as important as pattern if not more. 

I got the same email reclassifying ones of my leagues to a challenge league.  I have no problem with this but it isn't because of the pattern being put down that scoring is low in this league.  It is because of horrible approaches!!!  Also for 3 or 4 of the weeks during the season NO pattern was put down because the machine was broken or malfunctioning. Granted it was only 3 or 4 weeks of a 36 week season but it did bring the averages down somewhat, not to mention the affect it had on morale and confidence in the shot in the following weeks.

The email also stated the league officers and center management were notified as well.  I'm not sure if they will do anything about it or if they even can.  I think the problem with the approaches might be temperature control/humidity related and I don't think they have the money to fix it.