Here's the info that I have right now:
Tentative dates: Sunday, Feb 20 or 27th.
Times: A squad will begin sometime between 8 and 9 a.m. The lanes will be stripped and re-oiled between squads and B squad will begin around noon.
Format: This is a scratch, singles event. There will be 2 squads with a maximum of 32 bowlers in each. Bowlers will bowl 5 games across 10 lanes. After the 2 squads have finished, the field will be cut to the top 16 (based upon a full field of 64) and seeded for single elimination match play. Now, last year the match play was 2 out of 3. This caused the leagues that come in in the late afternoon to be pushed way behind schedule. For that reason, match play will be single elimination until the championship match, which will be 2 out of 3.
Entry fee: Last year it was $30 for entry alone, or $80 for entry and a NIB plastic ball of your choice. We are thinking about raising the entry fee up to $50 in order to make the prize fund a bit more lucrative. I would like to hear your thoughts on this issue. Would you support the idea of raising the entry fee in order to pay out a higher amount or do you think it should stay where it was?
Prize fund: Last year we advertised a 1 out of 4 cashing ratio, but we actually paid at an even better rate thanks to the extra cash that was earned through the help of our sponsors. Here is the prize fund that we offered based upon a max field of 64-- 1st-$500, 2nd-$250, 3rd-4th-$120, 5th-8th-$60, 9th-16th-$30 We only reached 54 bowlers, but we paid higher amounts for each of the above places and we even had cash left over for additional spots. Hopefully, the same will occur this year.
Okay, that's what we've got so far. Let me know how those dates would be for you guys and let me know what you think about the proposed hike in the entry fee. I want to do what will make the most people happy, so your suggestions will not go unheard. After I get a sense of what you guys and gals want, we'll nail down a solid date and provide info on how you can lock in a spot for you and your group this year. This was a blast last year, and I expect this year to be just as fun, if not better. I hope to see all of last year's ballreviewers there, as well as some new faces who couldn't make it last time. Help me out with some input and we'll get the plastic ball rolling!
Edited on 12/3/2004 4:46 PM
