Should bowling leagues be based on different categories?

[weggy]

I was going to post this under George's question of whether bowling is a game or a sport, but I have since changed my focus.

In response to this question, tenpin bowling is in my eyes a 'pseudo-sport' but more has to be done before it catches up to sports like rugby league and soccer.

What I put forward is an opportunity for each centre to organise leagues by sex and average in juniors, and to organise four adult leagues - mens restricted and open, and ladies restricted and open. Apart from a smaller number of leagues, this will make things easier to manage when it comes time to select team members for championship and shield events.

While we are at it, why not have intercentre leagues as well within the bigger cities? This would encourage more team-like behaviour and pride in being a representative of your centre.

I'm interested in your responses.

 

[GeorgeF]

Ron Rush ran a league like that at Chermside where you had divisions, Open, A, B and C. Bowlers only competed against the same grade bowlers even though we all got to bowl together.

If you won your grade for a season (usually 12 week season) you had to move up a grade, subsquently, if you came last you dropped a grade. It was a lot of fun, needs a fair few numbers to work though.

 

[weggy]

Yeah, that's why I would consider replacing all leagues in a centre with a single system like what I've put forward. To me, this would increase the number of teams/bowlers that compete at the one time which would help in smaller centres like Burdekin where some leagues have had to close up and others play a lot of bye games in the season.

Thanks for the reply

 

[Black_Knight]

The Problem is bowling is such a casual sport. A very small percentage of bowlers take it serious enough to want to compete like this. Most league bowlers do it for the social aspect and bowl in leagues dependent on the right time for them. I think having different divisions for different averages is a great idea however trying to get the numbers in a league makes it hard to do. From what I see it tends to effect higher average bowlers than most. Often you find in some leagues that there is only a couple of bowlers who ave 200+ or 190+. If there in one division and there prize fund only comes from there division it will be very small. However it's a good topic for discussion.

 

[weggy]

I agree with everything you have said, especially for those with higher averages. However this is not about the competition that I am thinking about this idea. Just to clarify, here are the advantages as I see it. As a note to these, I base these advantages on a team league with at least three per team:

1. From my experience in a small centre, four central leagues would attract a larger prize fund for each league, making it a more viable option for increasing bowling numbers.
2. It is also advantageous for small centres because a number of the leagues in my home town for example have closed up from a lack of interest.
3. For those who are interested in the competitive side of bowling, teams will be easier to pick since selectors only have four leagues to search through for bowlers names.
4. It is an opportunity for competition bowlers to mix with others in a similar grading and a fostering of team spirit.
5. For the centres themselves, there will be less timeslots to manage and therefore more time for social bowling in the centre.
6. In relation to regular leagues between centres, such a competition would provide valuable practice for those looking to gain representative honours and again, an opportunity to forge team spirit and friendship.
7. Bowlers who are looking to improve their average will find the extra competition a bonus in helping them to progress through bowling.

The argument about those above a 180-190 average falls apart when you consider that teams with a combined handicap of 150 (in a five-person team) are at a serious disadvantage when playing against a team with a 400 handicap. Either way you won't please everybody.

Thanks for all the comments so far and keep them coming in

 

[rynzeski]

That is a great idea and I would love to bowl in that kind of League. Getting the numbers to make it a viable option is another story. Most people bowl in a particular league because it suits their schedule.

 

[Easy Tiger]

I believe that every centre or perhaps region needs a higher classed league that everyone aspires to compete in "to be good enough".

It might be teams of 3, of 5, maybe even a singles league. But I believe that bowling today lacks aspiration. It seems to me that the only aspiration is to be good enough to be a competitive tournament bowler. Well, that's great, but I think the sport (and particularly younger bowlers coming through in the 13-16 age range, like I was a few years ago when I started), needs something at a local level to aspire to. Something they can see.

I mean I can aspire to make an Australian Team in maybe 2010, but it's not easy from here, because you can't see it, or taste the competitive spirit and drive that is required to go there. It can be compared to bowling in the South Pacific Classic with a view to representing Australia at the World Cup. From my own perspective, I know it's there, I know what is required to win it, and I can go and fork out close to a grand to compete in it, but the fact is that until you actually compete in it, you don't know what's required, and it's hard to aspire to something you don't know, and can't experience unless you go 2500 km and pay a fortune. Bowling in local tournaments cannot teach you what's required at that level.

Since leaving juniors, I have experienced a sharp drop in aspiration. In juniors it's all about teams, eg Rocky Shield, President's Shield, etc, and there really isn't a lot outside of that. Certainly not the number of individual tournaments, which are prevalent on the adult scene. It has been a tough learning curve, and it's a daily battle to keep my vision on my goal, and what I want to achieve. At this stage, many youth bowlers have walked away from the game, and never taken it up again. I want it bad enough, so I'm here to stay.

The point of what I'm saying is I don't believe there is anything on a local scale to aspire to. By setting up an idea of an almost "invitational league", it gives you status to aspire to, and it teaches you how to set goals in the sport and achieve them. It is then that "winning becomes an obsession", and I can tell you that it does really become an obsession. You want to win, and you'll work your ass off to achieve it.

 

[double_d]

i play pool in an a grade league
we have people ranked from 1 - 4 4 being the best
you only allowed 11 points in your team of 4
with your top 2 not being any higher than 7
i have suggested this before
but you could run a league of 3 man teams with entering averages combined no more than say 580
and the top 2 no more than 420
1 at 220
1 at 190
1 at 170
give lower average bowlers a chance to bowl with better bowlers
and then at end of year teams can and will be mixed again for next year
you can even run 2 short leagues in a year like we do in pool

 

[weggy]

i have suggested this before
but you could run a league of 3 man teams with entering averages combined no more than say 580
and the top 2 no more than 420
1 at 220
1 at 190
1 at 170
give lower average bowlers a chance to bowl with better bowlers
and then at end of year teams can and will be mixed again for next year
you can even run 2 short leagues in a year like we do in pool

That's a good point, but would there be handicaps involved? If so, this would come back to the point I made about people in the higher bracket being disadvantaged when coming up against teams in the lower bracket.

Interesting idea though

 

[double_d]

maybe scratch but you would then have to say 1 bowler to average
between 210 - 220
next 180 - 190
next 160 - 170
this would make the bowlers in the lower part of each respective bracket to bowl harder to win

 

[Stuart Little]

Would an Australian Professional Bowling Association be too far?

 

[weggy]

That would be something of an ultimate goal for bowling in Australia. The question is, would there be enough sponsorship to see this happen? I would like it to happen, but putting up prize money that would make it worth competing for is tough.

Firstly, I would like to see a sort of pro-am situation like there is in golf. A certain number of highly ranked australian players tour around the country and play in teams with four amateur bowlers. I know it would be hard to manage in between other tournaments, but this would be a start.

 

[Wallbanger1]

I bowl in the telstar doubles most bowlers there average 30 to 40 more than me. I still have a respectable 177 average. I'm more in it for the experience of bowling with some of the elite bowlers in NSW. But to get back to the topic i think it really depends on when you can bowl & if there is a league suitable to what standard you want to bowl in.