OK ill leave the TBA alone for a while, I can start a TBA kicking thread later on. I think people here are missing the point, We need to start looking after the 2/3 of the bowlers that make up most of the tourneys, George, Sam, Michael and the rest of the guys that make the top 10 will keep coming. The 8 pin rule does not stop disadvantage them. They are elite bowlers. Anybody who says 8 pin is not much of an advantage is wrong, 8pins over 10-16 games of qualifying is a huge amount on a sports pattern....These guys, the ave bowler and ill call myself one, dont get to bowl on these patterns much. We might have a 190-205 ave in league because we bowl on ditches and want to have a go at some tournaments but are face with bowling against female bowlers who ave 200+ and are given 8pins (80pin over 10 games of qualifying) its just not right. Maybe I should put my money where my mouth is and start a tourney for "US" guys...Ill give the ave guy 10 pins on every body else entering the field. How do you think the top girls and guys would like them apples!!!!!!
P.s If you bowl in an AMF centre Australia wide then the rego is compulsory. When the AMF staffer came around to "collect" our registration i ask why and what are the benefits? I was told " I dont know but if you dont do it you are not Allowed to bowl". Ok if that doesnt sound like a dictatorship what does.
Maybe the TBA should at least look at educating their "TAX" collectors.
Anyway because of that, I no longer bowl league. Instead I come down when I want, bowl my 4 or 8 games at a reduce rate with my mates.
P.p.s I knew I said I was not going to bash the TBA but the whole thing stinks to high heaven.
Im sure their are others out there that disagree with the 8pin rule and the way bowling in this country is run...I encourage you to come forward and be heard!
It's not about bashing the TBA, I disagree with a lot of things that happen, however putting posts up here, is almost the equivalent to falling on deaf ears, they rarely have a presence on TB and that is due to TBA bashing over the years, they are in a no win situation, but that is why I guess their website is also a lot better than it used to be and actually lists all the benefits of membership and is actually reasonably well filled with up to date news.
I think you might be shooting the messenger when the staffer came around to fix up memberships? I feel that lack of knowledge could be more symptomatic of AMF and their training procedures rather than anything else. A lot of independant centres however don't require membership to bowl in their leagues. No other sport in this country allows you to play in any form of competition without a membership to some governing body of some kind whether it is state or nationally based. I had to renew my registration for a 6 a side friendly outdoor soccer competition over summer, cost me 4 times a base TBA annual membership and that was just for a summer comp, plus weekly game fees. Don't pay it, don't play, simple as that and that was just so I could participate, not get any benefits out of it. Bowlers can be a big bunch of sooks to be honest, I know everyone should look out for number one, and it is previous incarnations of the TBA that have really fumbled this issue, but the only way things will get better is if everyone is reading from the same book on this issue. Then with some financial backing, I am sure you will see things that most members want like their awards and other things.
In regards to the original topic, I still think the broader issue is getting more numbers on a whole for tournaments. . I agree with you Carl, that we should be investing more grass roots style, however not sure the funding is there to pay for coaches to attend leagues or hold clinics on a weekend to boost fringe players skills to be more competitive. I think it comes down to a funding issue as it would most likely be up to each state and association to cater for, but still a decent idea nonetheless. There is where I was heading with the current membership fee getting diluted through various associations. Not really enough to go around.
Education will always be highly important in anything, the tournament bowling community had a harsh introduction to 3:1 ration conditions and it was poorly presented and handled by those making the decisions many many years ago. There was no education, where the wrongs can be righted is through fine tuning processes like the SBT and NTS squads, but also allowing coaches who participate in these areas to extend their services to the broader tournament bowling community. It will help get some fringe tournament bowlers better up to speed on how to play conditions and give them an insight of just where they can go with the sport.
I believe an issue such as giving 8 pins start to the ladies will become less of an issue. And to say it doesn't affect bowlers like myself is not right either, as there is still a matchplay component to consider for those ladies that make matchplay, not just an overall pinfall consideration.
I still think that there should be a progression through tournament levels, we already have our national tournament schedule and most tournaments use a WTBA pattern of some kind. Each state should have its own little circuit or group of tournaments to give these guys an understanding of how these patterns play in a lower intensity environment, the sports series are a good example. Low cost and cater for a lot of people, personally I would like to see another step up above these that include a two day tournament, at least 2-3 a year in each state. These are my roundabout thoughts for getting what you call the fringe players a little further up to speed to be more competitive (incorporating coaches from SBT to attend tournaments and give a run down prior to each squad on lane conditions and potential ball selection), without the cost factor of travelling around the country until they are ready and feel as though they aren't donating, which in turn over time will help boost entries for all tournaments.
