That's a valid question.

I see some factors causing issues like: Stefanie Johnson missed the first 2/3 of the year because she had another child.

Boomershine is in the same boat this year.

Who will it be next year?

The travel could be factored better. Example: Next year's schedule is out....starting in Vegas, then to Rohnert Park, down to LA, and then on to Reno for the Queens.

If you just take general routing and not the specific bowling alley, to get to each city from the next is a total of 23 hours of driving according to Google and covering almost 1550 miles.

However, if you change ONE thing...change the order of the California events. Start in Vegas, then to LA, then Rohnert Park, and ending in Reno....the total driving time is 14 hours and of 900 miles.

The order of the events adds 9 hours of driving and 650 miles. Doesn't seem like much and maybe it is not, but adding extra expenditures for those on tighter budgets is troublesome. If the bowler is not flying home in between events (why would you when you have to be back out there in 3 days) the travel schedule is adding hundreds if not thousands of dollars in expenditures just to get to each event.

I would not be surprised to see the entries low for the 2 California stops next year....I could see some ladies flying into Vegas for the first event, going home, and coming back in a few weeks for the Queens.

oh great, thanks. When I mapped it I thought Sacramento was the nearest "big city" so that is what I used......now that I am looking at it again, you are 100% correct.

Speaking to the OPs statement on viability and funds, I just did the math from the last stop. Only 72 bowlers, 18 of which entered as a Non PWBA member which is $400...that's a total of $7200 in entries. The other 54 entries were PWBA members @ $300 per entry for a total of $16,200....combined that is $23,400 for entries.

Payouts for 1-32 were a combined $53,000.

Yes, I realize there are other revenue streams and entries are not the only thing...but considering you only had 52 PWBA members enter (I guess I expected more) and the entry fees versus the payout was almost $30,000 short prior to covering any other expenses....yikes.

CharlesT

The complaint going around now is the way the finals are done. Yes, the final tapings provide the ability to show the stepladder on TV....but for the leader who only has to win one match...when the finals of 3 or 4 events are taped at a future location, the leader who had a great look at the previous center now may have a completely different look. Center characteristics, surface differences, etc and the advantage someone had in one center is gone in another.

Stinks for someone to qualify #1 and then have to wait a month or more to bowl the finals at a completely different center.....but everyone acknolwedges the cost of taping the finals at every event is wayyyyyyyy too expensive.

CharlesT

The complaint going around now is the way the finals are done. Yes, the final tapings provide the ability to show the stepladder on TV....but for the leader who only has to win one match...when the finals of 3 or 4 events are taped at a future location, the leader who had a great look at the previous center now may have a completely different look. Center characteristics, surface differences, etc and the advantage someone had in one center is gone in another.

Stinks for someone to qualify #1 and then have to wait a month or more to bowl the finals at a completely different center.....but everyone acknolwedges the cost of taping the finals at every event is wayyyyyyyy too expensive.

It's been that way for a long time now, though. Heck, it started back on ABC with the PBA in the 1960s. Up to that point, the leader after all the games were done won the money. Then, to make things exciting for TV, the winner was now the leading qualifier.

Yes, I know it has gotten so bad these days that, often, the leading qualifier now bowls the finals 4 weeks later on/in a completely different house and set of lanes. All for the sake of an audience (maybe TV, maybe not) that is almost non-existent. More's the pity.

I'd argue though that the PWBA right now offers a better product than the PBA . . they're just not good at marketing it. 

Nobody is being forced to participate and they know well before they enter the situation for the TV taping.  Most of them have to be smart enough to realize this is not a sustainable model and they need to get a piece of the action while it's still around.