more thoughts from a letter I sent to an SBA officer.... I know it sounds like sour grapes, but I have been in the bowling industry for 17 years, and this wasn't my first rodeo... I have bowled in a LOT of tournaments around the country....
I am writing to let you know of my disappointment with the conditions encountered at Golden Lanes during the singles/doubles portion of the Southeast Bowling Association's tournament being held in Greenville, South Carolina. The disappointment is unanimous among everybody on the team, and indeed, the opinions of the conditions would be more likened to disgust than disappointment. I signed up our bowlers for 3rd shift with the SOLE intention of benefitting from the redressing of the lanes after 2nd shift bowling was completed. This was not done at Golden Lanes. The lane man brought out the machine, and ran it for approximately 6-8 feet on each lane.... the front of the machine did not reach the first set of arrows I was assigned to lane 3 and was able to closely observe the entire process, and to hear the short verbal exchange between the lane man and the tournament official who apparently questioned him as to what he was doing versus what he was supposed to be doing. The lane man eventually said "I don't have time"... to do the lanes as required, and the official walked away. There were 10 teams bowling third shift, or 5 pairs of lanes to be redressed. This would not have required but approximately 10 more minutes than the minimal effort already being expended. We started our shift at approximately 4:20 pm.... only 20 minutes later than our scheduled start time. Such delays are not uncommon in tournaments requiring two or three shifts per day, and. in fact such a small delay as 20 minutes is counted as an on-time start by most. The lack of lane oil rendered the lanes virtually unplayable. The scores posted reflect the condition of the lanes. One of our bowlers resorted to using his plastic spare ball and it was hooking almost uncontrollably. Other players who had multiple balls available were playing the most shiny and longest/latest reacting piece they had. These were also hooking the entire width of the lane. Myself... I am a down-and-in type player who wound up standing on the 35 board, crossing the fifth arrow with SPEED, and still hooking a PEARL ball past the head pin. I have never played such a line before, except when shooting at a 10-pin spare.
I am aware that, as a bowler in an unfamiliar tournament, I must be ready to adapt to unfamiliar conditions, but I, along with the rest of my teammates, feel the particular condition encountered was so extreme as to effectively eliminate ANYONE who bowled that shift(Sunday, June 20, 4pm) from any chance of prize considerations. Now... if ALL SUBSEQUENT shifts are subjected to the SAME lane condition, then this is no longer a valid argument. If the information on the tournament application pertaining to the redressing of the lanes is incorrect, I certainly would not have signed up our team for 3rd shift. If the tournament officials will not enforce the rules pertaining to this issue, then all scores at Golden Lanes for singles/doubles will reveal the absurdity of the lane conditions encountered by 3rd shift bowlers, and should either be invalidated, offered a chance to re-bowl under the advertised condition, or at least a refund of the singles/doubles portion of their entry fee.
Personally, I will be very hesitant to bowl any SBA sanctioned tournaments in the future, if the tournament officials can't/won't deliver a tournament condition as advertised. I feel that my teammates will also be suspicious of any tournaments that I recommend, though they have all expressed that the situation was out of my control. Ultimately, it will be the SBA reputation among tournament players that will suffer. I feel this is an issue that will require immediate attention to prevent any further loss of prestige to an organization that depends on tournament players for their existence.
--------------------
r.k.wolfe
