The bowling landscape is about to change on the national level with Bowlero Corp./Professional Bowlers Association announcing recently its League Bowler Certification program this fall across more than 300 bowling centers in the United States with over 180,000 league bowlers enrolled.
The program will start with Bowlero Corp.’s footprint, and soon after the PBA will work to expand to all U.S. bowling centers.
In addition, there has been plenty of discussion and questions concerning the United States Bowling Congress’ decision to ban certain bowling equipment from competition, some earlier in 2022 and others after its Open Championships had already begun in March.
Snier on Bowling reached out to both USBC executive director Chad Murphy and the PBA requesting interviews to discuss the current state of bowling. PBA has failed to respond to our request while USBC requested an email list of questions to which the organization would respond.
Below are the questions posed to the USBC with Dave Schroeder, USBC director of communications, supplying the answers:
SOB: With the list of sites being released for the future of the USBC Open Championships, is there the possibility of having another site East of the Mississippi River for the two open years in addition to Baton Rouge, La.?
USBC: We’re always open to new host cities and proactively seek proposals. With that in mind, certain criteria do have to be met and that sometimes presents challenges for cities looking to host. Included in that criteria are convention centers/venues with a minimum of 100,000 square feet of space, along with a $1.5 million subsidy needed for construction. Any center meeting our requirements, regardless of location, would certainly be considered.
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SOB: Locally, we have increased USBC sanction fees by $5 overall for the upcoming season (breakdown is $2 for national, $2 for state, which had been covered by the association previously, and $1 for local). We know that the increase in national was part of a package adopted before the pandemic, but how do you answer critics who are seeking more bang for their fees with the increase?
USBC: We created an information sheet that was sent out to our associations to start the season. It’s attached and page 2 summarizes the benefits of being a USBC member. (See the attachment)
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SOB: The bowling ball bans began a flurry of activity and criticism from amateurs and pros alike. Both the local and state associations didn’t enforce those in Ohio due to the lateness of the ruling. Also, there were bowlers permitted to use the banned balls to that point in the Open Championships but not after, including people who already had them on-site when the ban was announced. Was this unfair under the circumstances? Will anything be changed heading into the 2022-23 season and can we expect more equipment questions?
USBC: Approved bowling balls may be used for competition until the data demonstrates otherwise. Once identified as outside specification, they are removed. The timing will never be good. However, allowing balls the national governing body knows to be outside of specification to continue to be used at our national events would simply be wrong.
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SOB: Are there any updates on testing of equipment and changes that could be made?
USBC: USBC is planning to release a new research report in the coming weeks. The report will be informational, with no specification changes tied to it.
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SOB: Did the concerns raised on social media by PBA pros over equipment concern you?
USBC: We are sensitive to, and understand, the concerns of these professionals and have taken the time to speak with many of them. As we said, timing will never be good when these types of decisions are made, and we never make them without doing our due diligence and proper research.
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SOB: Bowlero Corp./PBA has announced a new bowling certification program for the fall for its more than 300 centers. This is nothing new for Bowlero, which had a similar program in place the past two years. But what was new is a line in the news release saying it will attempt to expand to other centers nationally. Plus, Bowlero again has re-upped with the BPAA after leaving. Are you concerned the group is attempting to begin another sanctioning body to challenge USBC similar to LIV Golf and the PGA Tour? If not, why not? And, if you do, what will USBC attempt to do to stop possible defections?
USBC: USBC saw the news release about the PBA League Bowler Certification program as well. We don’t have any additional information beyond what was published in the news release.
The foundation appears to be a bowling center operator looking to give value for its bowlers through providing enhanced league and tournament offerings. Proprietors have been doing this for years and while we don’t know all the details, USBC certainly welcomes additional support for competitive bowling.
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SOB: Scoring has been high for the Open Championships according to observers. Are you concerned, and what attempts may be made to halt this rise in scoring heading into 2023 in Reno for the Open and Las Vegas for the women?
USBC: Our goal is to have an equitable pattern from the left and right, and to provide multiple ways to attack the pattern so many styles have an opportunity to compete. The scoring pace at the Open Championships will always vary year to year and it’s something we analyze. Our overall philosophy on the patterns remains consistent.