xballs (Mr Kuhn)
The only thing I'm smoking is reality.
Yes, it's a long day at the bowl if you're fortunate enough to make cut after cut..
BUT, The reward is a fairly sizeable lump of money. Surely more than we can make in a day at our 'regular' job.
Your post read as if it was geared towards the longevity of the finals day for the bowlers themselves and the bit about one's partner having to endure the long day was merely an aside, added on as if to take the edge off of your post. When I was bowling fulltime for a living, it was my wife's decision whether or not to go to the bowling centre and watch. Most of the time she chose to remain at home and let me go to work (bowl) by myself, just as she does now in my present workplace.
The chances of making money in this sport while competing within Australia are pretty damn slim..not just for the average bloke, but for the elite bowlers as well. Travel costs, entry fees and accomodation eat into one's pocketbook, making it tough for anyone to justify entering the national tournaments. Truth is, our prize funds are an embarassment and the real winners of the tournaments are the bowling centre owners due to the large number of games that are paid thru our rentry fees before the paltry prize fund is paid out.
The hours of practice and cost of equipment add to the bowler's expense, with no real pot of gold at the end of the tournament rainbow. Chase dreams if you so desire, but until such time as there is a complete overhaul of our tournament scene, realise that you'll have to be content in knowing that you've done it for yourself and to fulfill a dream to compete with the best our sport has to offer. That alone can be worth the expense of time and money invested...
