What happened? Someone got their feelings hurt? Can't discuss the lousy Usbc here? I wouldn't care if they folded. Another sanctioning group will take over. People act like we need them, they need us and that's how it works. A member suggested to them to raise the fee....ok..what if another member suggested to lower the fee? Give me a break. This is and was the worst organization that ever tan bowling. Again, its not the 5 bucks, or 1 dollar..its we got nothing in the past and now they want more for doing less.
It's a joke and the joke us on the bowlers. When is the last time the Usbc inspected a lane at anyone of your locations? Case closed.

They've been trying and failing to increase membership for two decades...I don't think any amount of money can fix stupid.

morpheus,

Who do you think should be ultimately responsible for the number of USBC members?  Should it be USBC going door-to-door trying to drum up new members?  Or should it be the proprietors going lane-to-lane during open play trying to get new members? 

The problem is the proprietors might be making more money per lane per during open play then they are during league.  Many believe bowling as entertainment is part of the reason for the decrease in membership.  When I started bowling, leagues were the bread and butter of the bowling industry.  Bowlers bowled in more than one league and they practiced away from the league.  Bowling for fun wasn't anywhere near as popular.  Now we have centers where if there isn't a league on the floor the lights are turned off and music is blaring.  Not quite the environment for practice.  Which in turn can cause some bowlers to not care as much about their game and eventually quit the competitive side of bowling.

The relationship between USBC and BPAA seems to have caused a split in the types of bowlers.  And right now, the BPAA side is "winning" if you want to call it that.  The two organizations share marketing (if I remember correctly) and thus the goal of that marketing is getting butts in the door.  But not necessarily for leagues. 

If local associations or proprietors want to increase their league base (for monetary reasons) that is when USBC membership will increase.  USBC can showcase the sport of bowling through Team USA, PWBA, High School Bowling, Collegiate Bowling or any other way they can all in hopes of trying to convince the person on their couch to bowl competitively.  But once they are in the center, many times it falls on the proprietor to take the next step.

How about continued operations without having to cut any more services?  All the cuts that were made weren't done just because someone wanted to, it was to keep the organization going.

Back in the early 2000's, when they were talking about merging the various bowling organizations, there was plenty of discussion here and on other forums about it.  I was doing an internet search for that and ran across an article that I had not seen from 2014.
Seems like it would fit here.

http://www.examiner.com/article/hostile-usbc-takeover-escalates-ruining-bowling-for-americans

Wow, five plus pages of responses, and the only take-away I have from this thread  is that some members of this site are real douche canoes who claim to be organizational and financial experts, yet they can't put together consecutive sentences without making 3rd grade grammar errors. I love 99% of the bowlers out there; the other 1% is full of a bunch of whiners and know-it-alls who are still ticked off that they can't line their junk drawers with 4-7-10 patches and 700 series coasters anymore. Some people really need to grow up. 

I should go the USTA, my softball leagues, and other places and demand to get 2006 pricing in 2016.    Do people in here actually expect dues to remain the same indefinitely? 

There is a lot to be said (good and bad) regarding the USBC and bowling, but I find it hard to believe that anyone can truly think that this increase is out of line. 

They should have just said they are raising dues because of the economy.  At least people wouldn't be able to hide their cheapness and anger behind some manufactured principle ( which seems to keep changing in this thread after the intelligent rebuttals of the ridiculous expectations)

I would question any organization that has been as ineffective as the USBC for the last two decades...but apparently this is an emotional discussion so carry on gentlemen.