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Faizan
From date nights to international tournaments, bowling offers different levels of competition and commitment for all participants. Even if you don’t aspire to bowl professionally, bowling leagues provide a way to socialize with friends and drink a few beers while enjoying the sport in a structured environment. Beyond a few basic principles – such as keeping score and tracking the first-place team – you have multiple options to consider when starting a bowling league.
Selecting a House
You might have a preferred day and time in mind when starting the league-building process, but scheduling can be limited by the availability at your local bowling center. In other words, houses only have space for a certain number of leagues and bowlers each night of the week. Make sure to speak with every facility in your area, but be prepared to make some concessions. Choose the house that offers the best schedule, provides the easiest travel times for the majority of your potential members and quotes the best price for lineage – the money you will pay for use of the lanes every week.
Finalizing Logistics
Once you have a bowling center picked out with a weekly schedule, you must choose the length of your league. Most leagues run the length of a season – fall, winter, spring or summer. This creates around 12 weeks of bowling including playoffs and tournaments, although holidays will result in some off weeks. Next, calculate a price point. Members will pay a weekly fee to cover their lineage, shoe rentals and prize fund contributions. Because cost can be a deterrent for potential participants, you will want to balance affordability with the creation of a large awards budget. One way to make the most of a small price fund is to forgo trophies and other physical honors – instead, offer only cash awards for team placement and a few individual achievements such as high average.
Attracting Members
At every stage of the planning process, you should be marketing your league to potential members. In fact, some bowling centers may require a head count before discussing prices or availability. However, some houses will schedule your league without hard numbers and will even help you advertise by posting fliers in-house and making announcements during other events. Word of mouth and postings on social media provide additional means for promoting your league. Prior to the first night, schedule a meeting to bring all prospective bowlers together. Discuss league rules, playoff format, team rosters – especially the number of members per team – and any potential changes to advertised prices or schedules.
Choosing to Sanction
Finally, you and your members must discuss sanctioning. Sanctioning is the process of registering with the United States Bowling Congress, which governs the sport of bowling. To sanction your league, you will need to ensure that the bowling center is certified and that each participant obtains a USBC membership card. While sanctioning provides members with important benefits – such as access to national awards and recognition, as well as the ability to enter certain tournaments – it also adds to the cost of participation. Competitive leagues with experienced bowlers should always sanction, but recreational leagues may benefit more from reduced prices than from association with the USBC.
Selecting a House
You might have a preferred day and time in mind when starting the league-building process, but scheduling can be limited by the availability at your local bowling center. In other words, houses only have space for a certain number of leagues and bowlers each night of the week. Make sure to speak with every facility in your area, but be prepared to make some concessions. Choose the house that offers the best schedule, provides the easiest travel times for the majority of your potential members and quotes the best price for lineage – the money you will pay for use of the lanes every week.
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| Set Up Bowling League |
Once you have a bowling center picked out with a weekly schedule, you must choose the length of your league. Most leagues run the length of a season – fall, winter, spring or summer. This creates around 12 weeks of bowling including playoffs and tournaments, although holidays will result in some off weeks. Next, calculate a price point. Members will pay a weekly fee to cover their lineage, shoe rentals and prize fund contributions. Because cost can be a deterrent for potential participants, you will want to balance affordability with the creation of a large awards budget. One way to make the most of a small price fund is to forgo trophies and other physical honors – instead, offer only cash awards for team placement and a few individual achievements such as high average.
Attracting Members
At every stage of the planning process, you should be marketing your league to potential members. In fact, some bowling centers may require a head count before discussing prices or availability. However, some houses will schedule your league without hard numbers and will even help you advertise by posting fliers in-house and making announcements during other events. Word of mouth and postings on social media provide additional means for promoting your league. Prior to the first night, schedule a meeting to bring all prospective bowlers together. Discuss league rules, playoff format, team rosters – especially the number of members per team – and any potential changes to advertised prices or schedules.
Choosing to Sanction
Finally, you and your members must discuss sanctioning. Sanctioning is the process of registering with the United States Bowling Congress, which governs the sport of bowling. To sanction your league, you will need to ensure that the bowling center is certified and that each participant obtains a USBC membership card. While sanctioning provides members with important benefits – such as access to national awards and recognition, as well as the ability to enter certain tournaments – it also adds to the cost of participation. Competitive leagues with experienced bowlers should always sanction, but recreational leagues may benefit more from reduced prices than from association with the USBC.
Posted in: bowling
