Have you ever done this.Now before you say it's wrong,that they are not
your's to take.That is  what I thought for many years.Then one day at the house
my friends own I found a rare gem on a rack.My friends dad said to me take it
if I wanted it.I  ask him if he was letting me take it because his son was my friend.
 He said no that was not the case.He told me that any ball left at the center
on the rack by another bowler,or someone that worked at the center, or the
pro shop was not house property.The house property was what they bought
and had their name on it.Any other balls left there on the racks could be taken.
 
 I could not let this concept go.So every house I have went to for the past eight years
I have ask the owners,managers and employes the same question,Can anyone
take the balls on the racks that are not house balls.The answer I get is usually
yes on about a 70% ratio.

 They usually tell me that is why people put the balls there in the first place.That the people
 left them there because they didn't want them anymore,and hoped someone
would want them.It was better to have someone use them rather than throw
them away.Most houses said that they just wanted you to ask them first.But if not
they didn't care.

 This got me thinking,I have put more than 60 balls on racks at houses that I didn't
give to friends or family.My reason,that I hoped someone would find it and enjoy it.

 If you ever go to a house and look on a rack,balls that you see one week,will be gone
within the next couple of weeks.
 Next time you go, ask the owners,managers and employees,and see what they answer.

 Since that time I have never taken any equipment,but some of the gems I see on
the racks are crazy good still,and I'm talking about 20 years old and still in great shape.

 Hey owners,managers,and employees.What is your take.

We have people donate balls to our center, but we don't want people to take them! The reason being is we discard cracked balls and people donate and we don't give them away cause we want everybody that comes in to be able to use that ball. Sometimes people will be able to use something a little better than a plastic or urethane conventional drilled house ball to see the difference in reaction! Just what we do in our little 20 lane center, but it may not be the practice of all centers! Just my $.02, Bruce
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"Train a child up in the way they should go and when they are old they will "Get MOTIVated, with a Big B cause a Storm's a brewing and not turn from it.
Bruce Campbell
USBC Bronze Certified Coach
IBPSIA Certified Technician
Originator of the -35deg x 25 leverage drilling!
http://www.motivbowling.com/products/2/
http://www.stormbowling.com/products/balls
http://www.rotogrip.com/products/balls/

I would still advise asking. Once the ball has been left on the rack, it's technically under the center's possession. Maybe they won't care if you take it, and maybe they will. I think it wiser to ask them rather then just snaking it into your bag. If they see you doing that, you could be in for a confrontation.
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Bowling bad since 1979 with no end in sight

http://members.bowl.com/SearchUSBC/ViewMember.aspx?prefix=519&suffix=9130

I've been to a couple of bowling centers that don't care if you take discarded bowling balls.  But one bowling center manager would walk through the ball racks and pick up discarded bowling balls, take them to the pro shop and have them label the ball as a house ball.  I think thats the way to go if the center wants to claim discarded bowling balls.


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Nicanor (Ten On The Deck)