The PBA is giving out national titles (as compared to a regional titles) in some  international events.  I think they devalue the national title. I think fields are not strong enought to warrant a national title.  There are regional events with stronger fields.

Chris Barnes won an Internatilonal National Title in Vienna.  There were a handfull of touring players in the event.  Also women received handicap against the men in the event.

Belmonte won an International National Title in Australia.  The only other touring player there was Rash.

I know I am late the party with this.....but this whole thread deserves a big....C'mon Man!!
 
Do you realize the caliber of international bowlers out there? Before they were on the PBA, you had the likes of Belmonte, Stuart Williams, Dom Barrett, etc competing in these tournaments. You still have the likes of Paul Moor, who is one of the best bowlers in the world (and not a member of the PBA as far as I know) competing in these type of tournaments. There are many very very good Asian bowlers out there. Even if the entire field is not PBA caliber bowlers, winning a tournament against 300 other bowlers is a significant task. Winning one of these International PBA titles is just as hard, if not harder than winning a standard PBA tour event. To cast slight on these is ignorant at best.

If there is handicap given I would say it is no longer a "PBA" event.

I think the PBA is going in the right direction with the association with WBT.  I disagree that this devalues a national title. 

Here are two things that do devalue a national title:

Low prize funds that limit participation of good and potentially great US players in national events because anyone with a halfway decent job would be insane to give up a good job for a shot at the tour.  Had Smallwood not have been laid off, it is unlikely he would have given the tour a shot.

What really devalues a PBA title, would be for the PBA to fold.  Then what is a national title really worth?

Consider the above items and then hope the association with the WBT can ultimately restore the prestige of Pro Bowling and grow prize funds where US players considering a career as a bowler have a pursuit worth the risk of losing a steady job at home.

Wilbert,

I don't know how old you are but another example of a watered down PBA field would be the summer tour.  Not all guys were out for all events.  For that matter, many top players skipped winter events as well. 

I just wanted to add my comments to this thread. If you have never had the opportunity to bowl any international events specifically in Europe, I encourage anyone to do it. It is probably one of the best opportunities to bowl with international players from a number of countries. The field includes PBA stars as well. I have had the chance to bowl in several of these events while I was in Germany. Even before the PBA partnered with the WTBA, PBA stars had bowled these. They are sponsored by all of the major ball manufactures as well. There is quite a big field because it draws a lot of amateur bowlers and the money is pretty good too. They usually start on a Saturday or Sunday with the finals the following Sunday. You can enter as many times as there are open spots, but only make the cut with the highest 6 game set. It is very competitive as every European country enters their national team for both men and women. These are the same people that are competing on an international level against our Team USA. The shots are made by Kegal and can be downloaded from their site if you are ever interested in putting them out at your house. Also, the reason for the handicap for the women is because its a WTBA rule if I am not mistaken (please don't quote me on that). I will guarantee you that most of the women bowlers that receive it, probably do not need it to make the cut or win match play. Yes there are lots of average joe's out there, and some do well enough to make the cut. By far the majority of the bowlers that make the cut are definitely better than the average house hacks and could easily compete and do well on the regional tour and some are quite good enough to compete in PBA events. If the PBA was open to nonmembers, yes there will be huge turn outs. Realize, Osku, Belmonte, Dom Barrett, Stuart Williams, Martin Larsen, Mika, Paul Moore, Tim Mack, just to name a few, competed before the PBA and still do. I say keep an open mind until you have had the chance to bowl any of these. If you are interested, see www.bowlingdigital.com and www.etbf.eu and take a look at the results. The cuts can be brutal at some of these. I could go on and on, but I think that is a good amount of info. Thanks for reading my post.