What are they going to change?
Look at your leagues. The vast majority of bowlers are over 40 and they are dying, getting crippled, or just plain quitting faster than they are being replaced.
Kids are growing up in a computer generated bigger than life action world. They want instant gratification. They are use to games they can play 20 hours straight to memorize them and then throw them in the scrap heap to play only once in a great while. They don’t want to commit to something for 30+ weeks a year.
Bowling was a niche sport, became a national fad, and is now retreating back its niche status. Cosmic bowling, color pin, 9-pin no tap, pins missing, etc, are all gimmicks and are not real sport bowling. They may help keep the doors open but it isn’t really bowling.
The ABC (USBC) is really a regulatory agency to insure that the sport is played on a uniform field, with uniform equipment, with uniform rules, and run a few championship tournaments. They never have been a promotional organization.
Bowlers are the cause for the demise of scoring integrity. 25 years ago when honor scores were disallowed what did they do? First bowlers went to bowling centers that had higher scoring. Then they sued the ABC. Their main argument being that the bowler shouldn’t be punished for the transgression of the proprietor, even though they couldn’t have shot the score without the illegal lane condition.
The ABC couldn’t stand the cost of legal action and possible awards given by juries so they relented and went with short oil and the rest is history.
The momentum generated by our changing society will mean that the sport of bowling will continue to decline for sometime to come and no amount of self promotion is going to change it.
