Okay all,
I realise this is going to be a little inflammatory, but that's not my intent. Patience, read on.
I've read a lot of anti-TBA comments on this forum of late. Now I'm the first to admit, there are some things in this sport that either don't make any sense, or are outdated. Sure, some things are struggling to get the support or attention they deserve.
I'm also happy to admit that I personally have contributed to these statements in the past, and have not shown a great deal of support for our NSO for the past year.
We've all seen the list of "What could be done better" or "What's wrong with TBA" or "Why doesn't this happen this way" topics that go around here occasionally, but I'm not aiming to start one of those - rather I am hoping to project an air of calm over the bowling community, and a little anticipation perhaps.
As everyone is painfully aware, it costs a crapload of cash to do anything these days. That's no different when you're a National Sporting Organisation I'm sure, which is why we invest dollars into them as members - it sure isn't just for the hell of it.
Now there are several things that can be done to improve the state of this sport, some are fundamental, some are superficial, some are way too complicated, and others are good ideas, so how do we choose what to implement and what to throw away?
Decisions like this are made by making cost/risk/reward assessments - easy... Except that after these things have been prioritised, the next question is readiness - how do we do these things? This sport has deteriorated into a bit of a mess that's going to take some time to repair, and that's going to involve some "one thing at a time" improvements.
When I was a kid, my room was a mess most of the time. Like really, a mess. My parents didn't make me go to a new room, they didn't divorce me and get a new son, they made me clean it up. TBA's house appears to be a mess, sure. Bringing in new administration doesn't solve the problem, the mess is still there. We need to give TBA some time to clean up their room.
Which leads me to an exciting product waiting in the wings! Inspired by a few things such as the phrase "If you don't like the way I do it, do it yourself", and the fact that sometimes I had help to clean my room, I have embarked upon a course of action which I hope will provide a platform for this sport to leverage going forth into the future.
Following on from discussions on this forum (some of you will be nodding and recalling those threads), there has been some designs and ideas around statistical systems associated with this sport. This is almost ready to progress, however there is a block in the way which is caused by an old process within TBA - but it's a process that they're trying to improve - membership
Next month, a letter will be presented to the board meeting of TBA outlining a proposal for streamlining the membership system and aligning it with a future vision of statistical capture. If this proposal is accepted and implemented for 2009, the level of information available will be unprecedented:
And this is just the beginning. Those of you who have seen the tournament software here in the ACT or its output (http://tbcbowling.servegame.org/) may be aware of what this could build to. The site at this link was developed under some severe limitations; time and money. The server dishing up those pages is sitting on a desk in my spare room, connected to my broadband connection, and the website itself was whipped up in a matter of hours only. Imagine that extended to cover tournaments, leagues, team trials (Rachuig, Holt, ATBSO etc)... The list goes on.
So if you've read this far, you're dedicated to this sport. I propose that we get off TBA's back for a while and see how they respond, let them get on with the job.
If nothing else, lets give them a chance to build up 2008 with their new CEO, and see what changes will emerge.
I realise this is going to be a little inflammatory, but that's not my intent. Patience, read on.
I've read a lot of anti-TBA comments on this forum of late. Now I'm the first to admit, there are some things in this sport that either don't make any sense, or are outdated. Sure, some things are struggling to get the support or attention they deserve.
I'm also happy to admit that I personally have contributed to these statements in the past, and have not shown a great deal of support for our NSO for the past year.
We've all seen the list of "What could be done better" or "What's wrong with TBA" or "Why doesn't this happen this way" topics that go around here occasionally, but I'm not aiming to start one of those - rather I am hoping to project an air of calm over the bowling community, and a little anticipation perhaps.
As everyone is painfully aware, it costs a crapload of cash to do anything these days. That's no different when you're a National Sporting Organisation I'm sure, which is why we invest dollars into them as members - it sure isn't just for the hell of it.
Now there are several things that can be done to improve the state of this sport, some are fundamental, some are superficial, some are way too complicated, and others are good ideas, so how do we choose what to implement and what to throw away?
Decisions like this are made by making cost/risk/reward assessments - easy... Except that after these things have been prioritised, the next question is readiness - how do we do these things? This sport has deteriorated into a bit of a mess that's going to take some time to repair, and that's going to involve some "one thing at a time" improvements.
When I was a kid, my room was a mess most of the time. Like really, a mess. My parents didn't make me go to a new room, they didn't divorce me and get a new son, they made me clean it up. TBA's house appears to be a mess, sure. Bringing in new administration doesn't solve the problem, the mess is still there. We need to give TBA some time to clean up their room.
Which leads me to an exciting product waiting in the wings! Inspired by a few things such as the phrase "If you don't like the way I do it, do it yourself", and the fact that sometimes I had help to clean my room, I have embarked upon a course of action which I hope will provide a platform for this sport to leverage going forth into the future.
Following on from discussions on this forum (some of you will be nodding and recalling those threads), there has been some designs and ideas around statistical systems associated with this sport. This is almost ready to progress, however there is a block in the way which is caused by an old process within TBA - but it's a process that they're trying to improve - membership
Next month, a letter will be presented to the board meeting of TBA outlining a proposal for streamlining the membership system and aligning it with a future vision of statistical capture. If this proposal is accepted and implemented for 2009, the level of information available will be unprecedented:
- Actual numbers of members, and their demographics
- Actual participation of those members across events (if the events choose to participate)
- Earnings lists from those events
- Centre recruitment figures
- Member takeup/decline stats
- Area growth (in members of various levels)
- Differentiation of Returning or New members
- Bowler turnout at events vs regional numbers
And this is just the beginning. Those of you who have seen the tournament software here in the ACT or its output (http://tbcbowling.servegame.org/) may be aware of what this could build to. The site at this link was developed under some severe limitations; time and money. The server dishing up those pages is sitting on a desk in my spare room, connected to my broadband connection, and the website itself was whipped up in a matter of hours only. Imagine that extended to cover tournaments, leagues, team trials (Rachuig, Holt, ATBSO etc)... The list goes on.
So if you've read this far, you're dedicated to this sport. I propose that we get off TBA's back for a while and see how they respond, let them get on with the job.
If nothing else, lets give them a chance to build up 2008 with their new CEO, and see what changes will emerge.
