2009 Switch Innisfail Open
- Thread starter E-J
- Start date
Shadows Fall
Prince of Darkness
Boy I wish the men's got a BONUS payout!! 
EJ, I am not having a go at you, I think your doing a great job both with the bowl and the tournament and I think your tournament will be a great success.
This bonus payout for ladies format has been a pet hate of mine for a while and something that I feel is somewhat unfair to the men, for the following reasons;
Male Bowler A makes it to the final 12 and after averaging 236 in matchplay finishes in 4th position and earns himself $1000.
Female Bowler B makes it to the matchplay and after averaging 203 finishes in 10th position and earns herself $600. She is also the top placed female so she earns a bonus $500. Meaning that even though she has finished nearly 400 pins behind Male Bowler A, she pockets $1100 ($100 more than 4th place). This just doesn't seem right or fair.
I feel the fairer way to go is similar to what Burdekin and Mount Louisa do with their Opens. The women have the choice of paying a reduced entry fee and only bowling against other women for a seperate prize fund, or they can pay the full entry and bowl against everyone and receive the appropriate prize fund (e.g. in this example Female Bowler B finishes 10th so she receives $600).
To take my example to the extreme a few years ago Ann-Marie Putney came up and bowled the Sun City Open. Now this woman is one of the most talented bowlers Australia has ever seen. So if she was to come to Innisfail and predictably finishes in 1st position she would receive $3000 ($2500 + $500). Yet the maximum any male bowler can achieve is $2500, even though they paid the same entry fee.
It is bad enough guys get disadvantaged when you go to a tournament in a really hot centre like........CAIRNS!! and in Matchplay the girls are allowed to wear shorts, yet the guys are required to wear long pants.
I realise that some people will disagree with me for a variety of reasons which is totally cool, as everyone is entitled to their opinion (Obviously most women would have a vested interest in keeping this format). But considering that in almost all NQ tournaments men make up at leat 75+% of the entire field (Food for thought!!)
I recognise the need to encourage more females and juniors to bowl tournaments to further develop our sport, so maybe their could be encouragement awards for top placed female and top placed junior (i.e a new ball etc)
Once again I must re-iterate that in no way shape or form is this a personal attack on EJ, the Innisfail Open or anyone associated with the bowl. I know a hell of a lot of hard work has gone into organising and promoting this tournament by E-J and his family and I will be there with bells on.
Cheers
Steve
PS If you are a female bowler who is incensed at my comments, and are thinking of replying with some form of witty response and your name is NOT down to bowl in the Innisfail Open (especially if you are from NQ), then give yourself an upper cut and ring EJ and put your name down or post a new entry under my post with the words "EJ can you please put me in A or D Squad!!)
EJ, I am not having a go at you, I think your doing a great job both with the bowl and the tournament and I think your tournament will be a great success.
This bonus payout for ladies format has been a pet hate of mine for a while and something that I feel is somewhat unfair to the men, for the following reasons;
Male Bowler A makes it to the final 12 and after averaging 236 in matchplay finishes in 4th position and earns himself $1000.
Female Bowler B makes it to the matchplay and after averaging 203 finishes in 10th position and earns herself $600. She is also the top placed female so she earns a bonus $500. Meaning that even though she has finished nearly 400 pins behind Male Bowler A, she pockets $1100 ($100 more than 4th place). This just doesn't seem right or fair.
I feel the fairer way to go is similar to what Burdekin and Mount Louisa do with their Opens. The women have the choice of paying a reduced entry fee and only bowling against other women for a seperate prize fund, or they can pay the full entry and bowl against everyone and receive the appropriate prize fund (e.g. in this example Female Bowler B finishes 10th so she receives $600).
To take my example to the extreme a few years ago Ann-Marie Putney came up and bowled the Sun City Open. Now this woman is one of the most talented bowlers Australia has ever seen. So if she was to come to Innisfail and predictably finishes in 1st position she would receive $3000 ($2500 + $500). Yet the maximum any male bowler can achieve is $2500, even though they paid the same entry fee.
It is bad enough guys get disadvantaged when you go to a tournament in a really hot centre like........CAIRNS!! and in Matchplay the girls are allowed to wear shorts, yet the guys are required to wear long pants.
I realise that some people will disagree with me for a variety of reasons which is totally cool, as everyone is entitled to their opinion (Obviously most women would have a vested interest in keeping this format
). But considering that in almost all NQ tournaments men make up at leat 75+% of the entire field (Food for thought!!)I recognise the need to encourage more females and juniors to bowl tournaments to further develop our sport, so maybe their could be encouragement awards for top placed female and top placed junior (i.e a new ball etc)
Once again I must re-iterate that in no way shape or form is this a personal attack on EJ, the Innisfail Open or anyone associated with the bowl. I know a hell of a lot of hard work has gone into organising and promoting this tournament by E-J and his family and I will be there with bells on.
Cheers
Steve
PS If you are a female bowler who is incensed at my comments, and are thinking of replying with some form of witty response and your name is NOT down to bowl in the Innisfail Open (especially if you are from NQ), then give yourself an upper cut and ring EJ and put your name down or post a new entry under my post with the words "EJ can you please put me in A or D Squad!!)
OMG want a tissue...well i think it's a great encouragment 4 the ladies...do you no how hard it is to come up against you guys let alone try and bet ya's .... tell ya it not the easiest thing in the world to do.....you should try and see it from our point of view i mean come on there not that many tournaments that pay well for ladies unless you are willing to travel alot.. most or nearly all tournaments we go to the prize money is only $500 for first were for you guys it's what round the $1500-$2500 so i reacon if us ladies can go out and beat at least some of u guys and get that extra bit of cash well good on us.....come on how many times really have there been women in finals..and here you are
having a sook just because maybe 1 or even a couple of us may do extreamly well.... please.....you say it unfair for men well i say it unfair for women because we dont get the deadly little pay-outs like you guys so if you need any help building that bridge....
having a sook just because maybe 1 or even a couple of us may do extreamly well.... please.....you say it unfair for men well i say it unfair for women because we dont get the deadly little pay-outs like you guys so if you need any help building that bridge....
Shadows Fall
Prince of Darkness
Nice reply Brenda, I'll try and put an extra spoonful of cement in my coffee
But in all seriousness maybe if more women got off their butts and actually entered and supported local tournaments then you would also be able to compete for good prize funds of $1500+ and bonus payouts would not be required.
I mean it was only a couple of years ago that Gavin Third ran a seperate ladies division for the Cairns Open with it's own very good prize fund, and the response from the ladies was so abyssmal he scrapped it.
How is it that a great new tournament is being run in Innisfail, yet at this stage there is only 2 girls from Cairns or Innisfail who have entered?
But like I said that's just my opinion, and no matter what happens I'll be there and hopefully we'll both make the finals.
Cheers
Steve
But in all seriousness maybe if more women got off their butts and actually entered and supported local tournaments then you would also be able to compete for good prize funds of $1500+ and bonus payouts would not be required.
I mean it was only a couple of years ago that Gavin Third ran a seperate ladies division for the Cairns Open with it's own very good prize fund, and the response from the ladies was so abyssmal he scrapped it.
How is it that a great new tournament is being run in Innisfail, yet at this stage there is only 2 girls from Cairns or Innisfail who have entered?
But like I said that's just my opinion, and no matter what happens I'll be there and hopefully we'll both make the finals.
Cheers
Steve
E-J
Innisfail Sugarbowl Lanes
Look, I dont want to get involved with the political rubbish associated with Male v Female events etc etc. In reality there is NO EQUALITY in ALL SPORTS and the fundemental element driving this is simply lack of participation. If we had an equal amount of male and female bowlers you could easily have separate divisions, however prizefund would be severely hampered and you would practically need double the sponsorship. A while ago John Wilk attempted to run a Ladies Open, a stand alone event, failing of course because of lack of numbers. The "BONUS" payout for Juniors and Ladies in this event is designed to encourage more participation.
If you have a look at the history of Opens around North Queensland in particular, there are very few exceptions where ladies have actually made the top cashing spots anyway, and the ladies that have are well deserved in winning it. Those ladies that do make those cashing spots would most undoubtedly win a ladies ONLY event and have a better chance of winning the sort of cash that the blokes do year in and year out.
The fact is that the sport of tenpin bowling is well within the dark realms of inequality and I say "go for it" if the ladies have a chance to win a bit of extra cash to make up for the events that simply don't exist for them year in and year out.
If you have a look at the history of Opens around North Queensland in particular, there are very few exceptions where ladies have actually made the top cashing spots anyway, and the ladies that have are well deserved in winning it. Those ladies that do make those cashing spots would most undoubtedly win a ladies ONLY event and have a better chance of winning the sort of cash that the blokes do year in and year out.
The fact is that the sport of tenpin bowling is well within the dark realms of inequality and I say "go for it" if the ladies have a chance to win a bit of extra cash to make up for the events that simply don't exist for them year in and year out.
bluey
Member
Hi Steve, maybe a solution would be to pay lesser amount bonuses to more lower placed women out of the top ten, if the player was good enough to finish in the top ten then she shouldn't need the encouragement of a bonus. It is the fringe bowlers that need to be appealed to to enter and boost numbers, ladies like Ann Marie, Maxine, Carol, etc, are by no means struggling against men, these girls can and do win against all....
Cheers, Paul.
Cheers, Paul.
E-J
Innisfail Sugarbowl Lanes
Paul now thats idea makes perfect sense to me. Probably will see that in our format next year. I am however in negotitiations with another sponsor to bring a totally separate womens division next year. If that falls through then it is a no brainer to approach it as how you suggest.
If these ladies such as Ann Marie, Maxine, Carol etc arent having trouble competing against the boys, why dont we see them more often up this way? For Cairns or Townsville Opens? Even with bonus payouts!!!!!!
If these ladies such as Ann Marie, Maxine, Carol etc arent having trouble competing against the boys, why dont we see them more often up this way? For Cairns or Townsville Opens? Even with bonus payouts!!!!!!
Shadows Fall
Prince of Darkness
Paul,
Your suggestion is excellent and one which makes a lot of sense.
EJ,
I am pretty sure the main reason that the likes of Carol, Maxine and Ann-Marie don't come North is due to costs. Especially Carol as she is in WA.
2004 when Ann-Marie bowled Sun City Open in Townsville she was locked in a battle to win the National ratings, so she bowled in Townsville to earn extra points. She finished 3rd in tournament behind Brando and won the rankings.
If you are keen to get a couple of the top shelf bowlers to your open, you could always aproach them and work out a deal. A few years ago for Sun City Open(thanks to Otty) we approach Ian Bradford and Frank Ryan and worked out a deal with them. Basically we paid their airfare, entry etc and they came up and bowled.
Cheers
Steve
PS
Another idea I had for a tournament was a scratch tournament with the following format;
Qualifying: 12 games of singles (6 x 2 games)
At the end of qualifying the top 12 men and top 12 women progress through to the matchplay final.
THIS IS WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING!!!!
Matchplay: 11 games of doubles in the following format;
Top Qualifying male is teamed with 12th placed female
2nd placed male with 11th placed female
3rd with 10th
4th with 9th
5th with 8th
6th with 7th
7th with 6th
8th with 5th
9th with 4th
10th with 3rd
11th with 2nd
12th with 1st
Each doubles team plays 1 match against each of the other teams with the winning team earning 20 bonus pins. At the end of the 11 games the team with the highest pinfall + bonus pins is crowned the winner.
Just an idea
Your suggestion is excellent and one which makes a lot of sense.
EJ,
I am pretty sure the main reason that the likes of Carol, Maxine and Ann-Marie don't come North is due to costs. Especially Carol as she is in WA.
2004 when Ann-Marie bowled Sun City Open in Townsville she was locked in a battle to win the National ratings, so she bowled in Townsville to earn extra points. She finished 3rd in tournament behind Brando and won the rankings.
If you are keen to get a couple of the top shelf bowlers to your open, you could always aproach them and work out a deal. A few years ago for Sun City Open(thanks to Otty) we approach Ian Bradford and Frank Ryan and worked out a deal with them. Basically we paid their airfare, entry etc and they came up and bowled.
Cheers
Steve
PS
Another idea I had for a tournament was a scratch tournament with the following format;
Qualifying: 12 games of singles (6 x 2 games)
At the end of qualifying the top 12 men and top 12 women progress through to the matchplay final.
THIS IS WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING!!!!
Matchplay: 11 games of doubles in the following format;
Top Qualifying male is teamed with 12th placed female
2nd placed male with 11th placed female
3rd with 10th
4th with 9th
5th with 8th
6th with 7th
7th with 6th
8th with 5th
9th with 4th
10th with 3rd
11th with 2nd
12th with 1st
Each doubles team plays 1 match against each of the other teams with the winning team earning 20 bonus pins. At the end of the 11 games the team with the highest pinfall + bonus pins is crowned the winner.
Just an idea
just before the thread gets back on topic I'd like to see an 8-way elimination final, or perhaps bring back the 4-way stepladder.
these formats will not necessarily mean the best overall bowler will win, i know that, but at least bring the excitement back into bowling with a sudden-death factor.
My 2c worth - and good luck to those bowling on the weekend
I'd like to see an 8-way elimination final, or perhaps bring back the 4-way stepladder.these formats will not necessarily mean the best overall bowler will win, i know that, but at least bring the excitement back into bowling with a sudden-death factor.
My 2c worth - and good luck to those bowling on the weekend
2009 Switch Innisfail Open Results
Congratulations to Adrian Shelton for taking out the title. Also, well done to Shaun Dunn (2nd) and Steve Hunt (3rd).
From what I’ve heard there was some sensational bowling which included 2 x 300's from Hamo and a 300 & 299 from Shaun.
Shaun, I bet the Storm Hy-Road is your new favourite ball! Great result mate - the cash will be handy in Las Vegas.
I wish I could have been there.
Brando
Congratulations to Adrian Shelton for taking out the title. Also, well done to Shaun Dunn (2nd) and Steve Hunt (3rd).
From what I’ve heard there was some sensational bowling which included 2 x 300's from Hamo and a 300 & 299 from Shaun.
Shaun, I bet the Storm Hy-Road is your new favourite ball! Great result mate - the cash will be handy in Las Vegas.
I wish I could have been there.
Brando
hamster
Just a Bowler
Re: 2009 Switch Innisfail Open Results
Just to update on brando's post.
Adrian Shelton won the title by 5 pins( 2740 pins inc bonus) from Shaun Dunn on 2735. Steve "Tubby" Hunt was 3rd at 2724. Robbie Buckley was 4th on 2703 and myself on 2683 in 5th.
Allan Slone Jnr won the Jnr Div and also finished in the top 12.
Kate Murray was the Ladies Div Winner and also made it to the first cut to 18.
Also Scott Gillington ( sorry if i spelt wrong ) rolled a 299 in the second stage of the tourney.
A big thanks to E-J and his family and staff for a terriffic event. Steve Jones from Switch also thank you for your support and sponsorship. Well done to you also with the payout. Falling 6 short on numbers still honoured the advertised prize fund. Looking forward to 2010, if work permits.
Thanks again
Tony Hamilton
Just to update on brando's post.
Adrian Shelton won the title by 5 pins( 2740 pins inc bonus) from Shaun Dunn on 2735. Steve "Tubby" Hunt was 3rd at 2724. Robbie Buckley was 4th on 2703 and myself on 2683 in 5th.
Allan Slone Jnr won the Jnr Div and also finished in the top 12.
Kate Murray was the Ladies Div Winner and also made it to the first cut to 18.
Also Scott Gillington ( sorry if i spelt wrong ) rolled a 299 in the second stage of the tourney.
A big thanks to E-J and his family and staff for a terriffic event. Steve Jones from Switch also thank you for your support and sponsorship. Well done to you also with the payout. Falling 6 short on numbers still honoured the advertised prize fund. Looking forward to 2010, if work permits.
Thanks again
Tony Hamilton
Well done to Adrian Shelton -certainly some good bowling on the weekend by all the field
Tony - sorry we had left and missed your 2nd 300 - if it was as good as your first ....awesome
to E-J & Mandy and your happy band of helpers -your hard work both behind the scenes and on the weekend certainly paid off so thank you for a good tournament.
A big thanks to :-
Steve Jones - Asian Pacific Representative of Switchbowling -as the Tournament Director and Major Sponsor.
Paul Constante - Lane man extraordinaire for his hard work down the back
It was a pleasure to bowl up in in your area.
Animal & Carol
nothing hits like a hammer
Tony - sorry we had left and missed your 2nd 300 - if it was as good as your first ....awesome
to E-J & Mandy and your happy band of helpers -your hard work both behind the scenes and on the weekend certainly paid off so thank you for a good tournament.
A big thanks to :-
Steve Jones - Asian Pacific Representative of Switchbowling -as the Tournament Director and Major Sponsor.
Paul Constante - Lane man extraordinaire for his hard work down the back
It was a pleasure to bowl up in in your area.
Animal & Carol
nothing hits like a hammer
C.Carney
Member
The Switch Innisfail Open was a truly great tournament and very professionaly run. I was a plesure to take part in this wonderfull event.
I want to say thank you to to EJ & Mandy, Steve Jones, Switch, all other sponsors who with out there support in these tough times.
Would mean a event like this could not happen so thank you all. I also what to thank all the players who supported this event.
I want to say thank you to to EJ & Mandy, Steve Jones, Switch, all other sponsors who with out there support in these tough times.
Would mean a event like this could not happen so thank you all. I also what to thank all the players who supported this event.
