I am trying to get a list of ideas of different tournament formats for single day tournaments.  Feel free to post any wacky ones as well as the house I bowl at does like to do some different formats. 

My other question I would like input on is thoughts on carrying pins from round to round.  If the format was a 4 game qualifer followed by 3 games of matchplay with bonus pins, should the qualifier scores also carry from one round to the next?    Going along with that, what is the best "fairest" way to setup the match play format?

Thanks for any input.

I hated sprints...and anything less than six games of qualifying is a sprint, even worse when it is only three or four games. 

I used to LOVE the midnight marathons that one of the Showplace facilities in the D/FW area used to do in the late 80's- 12 games with a break after six where they served a breakfast while the lanes were re-run.  Then finish up with the last six.  They also had a pre-tourney Calcutta, but even those seem to have gone the way of the dinosaur. 

Even Bluebonnet Queens was 8 games with a cut for another four games and then a cut to a final 12 for match play.

Michelle, unfortunately bowling multiple day tournaments are going away also.  Sure, a 2-day tournament with up to 12 games being bowled would be great.  But we both know you cannot run that type of tournament often; unless you move the tournament to multiple cities (regional and SASBA type events).

I got the impression the OP was looking for a simple format for something like a monthly tournament to be held in his home house.

Marathons can be done in a day as can anything with an 8-game qualifying block...the problem that too many people want re-entry sprints since the flaws in their game aren't exposed (to include a lack of stamina).

Killing off good formats is one of the many reasons I haven't bowled a tournament in eight years and might have 15 games total in the past five years...