Junior Forum is Dead

[ShermDawg]

Look at it... need i say more ... so sad
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Mason Sherman
Hammer Amateur Staff
"Nothing Hits Like A Hammer."
Talk is Cheap, Just Bring it...

[pointless_3]

It's cause everyone went adult.  Hah, no, but I was thinking the same thing.
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- Richard (Ricky) Brown

When do I get a nickname?

[snowgimp]

Junior bowling is dead.
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Be a good Irish boys friend...www.myspace.com/snowgimp

Hi, my name is Brian and I'm a recovering Brunswick user.  Thanks Rotogrip!

-"That Kangaroo stole my ball"

-"It's like a tire fire, trying to put it out only makes it worse.  You've just gotta let it burn... grab a beer and let it burn.'

[Duke of Earl]

Junior bowling isn't completely dead yet but it's certainly dying. Read my blog under the miscellaneous forum titled "why bowling is dying - please help".

[ShermDawg]

bowling isnt dying... just junior bowling... usbc is killing it and making it look way more attractive to go adult that is for sure
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Mason Sherman
Hammer Amateur Staff
"Nothing Hits Like A Hammer."
Talk is Cheap, Just Bring it...

[Mark French]

Excuse me, Mr. Sherman...

If I'm not mistaken, isn't this a junior forum? Last time I checked, you've bowled some regionals and all. Your opinion isn't asked for anymore. Thank you, and have a nice day .

[jbtsouthwest]

www.bowljbt.com

reports of the death of junior bowling are greatly exaggerated, as they say, despite usbc's misguided efforts...

We have our own message board now, so I rarely post on this one.  Check it out!   :-)

Thanks,
Jeff

[leftehh- LG]

I wouldnt say its dying because junior gold keeps getting bigger and bigger every year.
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Bowl to Win!

[Duke of Earl]

Junior Gold isn't getting bigger every year......they want you to think that. It was bigger last year because of location. Ft Lauderdale was an attractive location for multiple reasons, not to mention all the people who have relatives there they could visit. With more juniors going adult and even more importantly less certified events for bowlers to qualify through (think USBC and SMART) plus the location (shuffle off to Buffalo?) they will not reach the same number this year. I can tell you for a fact that a number of organizations in the Northeast including the biggest one which generally sent about 100 kids doesn't run qualifiers anymore and these kids had the least distance to travel. Let's see what happens.

[BallsDeep]

Thats a valid if not slightly misleading point.  I take it you're talking about JBT's and Chuck Pezzano's decision not to sanction his tournaments.  Chuck doesn't want to harm junior bowling, he is all for the progression of junior bowling, but he was not going to lose turnaments for the sake of the USBC.  That being said, bowlers that bowl JBT's don't boycott other sanctioned events.  There are many opportunities, and those that want will find a way to get to JOG.  I don't know what I would rather happen.  Nobody shows up at JOG this year or everybody shows up.  If nobody shows up can the USBC be trusted to reevaluate their recently imposed regulations, or do they simply not care.  If everybody shows up will that spurr further idiotic changes like those that have already come about.  I really don't know the answer, all I know is that either way, junior bowling loses out.  

Junior bowling is still alive, but there need to be more people willing to step up and take a leadership role, and the USBC needs to understand that bowling thrived with limited intervention, and has fallen as a result of the opposite.  This is not the whole story, and there are certain tourneys that needed someone to step in, but overall, it is valid.  Crack down on those that are negligent with their tournament funds, not those that have run successfull tournaments for years.  Its poor management that needs to change.
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four fried chickens and a coke[/size=4]

Let me say something, let me say something...
AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[ShermDawg]

i think they really need to make junior gold smaller and make it harder to qualify to go do it personally... truly make it a test for the best of the best, and if yo doint qualify, you can still enter but have it cost more, and have that extra money go straight to the prizefund, and
Mr. French, at least i have an opinion and am trying to get some talk up on here... and wut little opinion yo do have means less than dog pee to me now you have a nice day fruity pants
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Mason Sherman
Hammer Amateur Staff
"Nothing Hits Like A Hammer."
Talk is Cheap, Just Bring it...

[Duke of Earl]

I won't spend a lot of time rehashing old stuff....Mr BD has all valid points and as I said in my other blog under Miscellaneous, unless more involvement takes place, nothing will change. As for Mr Lefty thinking that USBC tries to get more bowlers to insure they get the best, think again. At $72 per bowler from the entry fee, not to mention kickbacks from airlines and hotels with the hotels now an extra day, practice sessions etc etc etc., the more kids, the more money for them. That is what this is all about same as  te scholarship money. They already know who they want for the team, hell they have even changed the rules and format to insure someone they want doesn't get left out.

As for the tournament, I agree withh ShermDog. It needs to be smaller starting with kids who average at least 200 attending, not 175 or 165 for women. I was part of a conversation with a prominent current PBA bowler who noted it should be regional with allowances for a few spots in case there are kids who can't make it because of the dates, or injury or just plain bowl bad and invite those from the region to a true best of the best national. Sounds like a good idea to me!

[Silencer]

Like Duke Of Earl said, they for sure need to raise the minimum average to enter the tournament. If you are a boy and average 180 on a house shot, you stand no chance at all to make the team or cut or anything. Every tournament always needs donators, but out of 1000 guys this past year, the bottom at the very least 600 bowlers, shouldn't even be there. Funny thing is that if they cut 600 guys, but then gave out the real ammount of money that is there and not being taken by the usbc, the scholarship money shouldn't be affected much at all. And I think the worst thing is you get alot of these kids that go in there thinking they have a good chance, then they go minus 700, finish like 800th place and want to quit bowling because they think they totally suck. That's for sure not going to help junior bowling. It's funny how for the amatuer team usa, they have just a small amount at the tournament. The reason is because they know they can't get 1000 adults to spend the kind of money to pay and donate like they can junior kids and parents.
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And Then...........

I left another 10 pin

J-Rad Lawrence

[jrbowler]

I agree too.  Make it 200 for boys and 180 for the girls.  You could raise the entry fee $10-$25 to off-set the loss of bowlers.

[Duke of Earl]

By the way, in case anyone else wants to jump on this bandwagon......I have reliable information that USBC claims that there are @3,500 Junior Gold members. If this is true (which I don't believe), then that tells you that half of all the members went to the nationals last year. While it could be true that a few were injured or had other personal commitments that prevented their attendance, it's probably also true that most if not all don't go for a good reason......they realize there is no reason to. So given the other comments here about how many go and shouldn't be there, this shows it should be a much smaller event. By the way, anyone do the multiplication on the number of members times the annual fee? Whatever happened to the econcomies of scale that were supposed to be gained by joining the three organizations? Let's add this to the increase in the adult annual dues. What a bonanza for them!!!!!