Rules for Summer Tournament Series 2008 Season

 

Please take the time to read these rules thoroughly.

 

1.       SCHEDULE – Tournaments will take place every Thursday from May 29th, through the second to the last week in August.  Due to lane refinishing work, there will be no bowling on August 7th.  The finals will be held on the last Thursday in August.

 

2.       BOWLER REQUIREMENTS – The Summer Tournament Series is open to Men and Women 18 years of age and over.  Any bowler may enter the Tournament Series with an established Stoughton Sports Center house average, a 2008 MBA average card, or verifiable proof of a 2007-2008 season league average from an MBA-member house.  Bowlers not using a Stoughton Sports Center house average must use their highest league or Pro Tour average.  Bowlers who enter the tournament without a verifiable league average must bowl scratch for two weeks to establish an average.

 

3.       TOURNAMENT FEES – The cost per bowler will be $25 per tournament.  The Tournament Finals are bowled at NO CHARGE to the five finalists.  The costs will be broken down as follows:  $12.00 for bowling  -  $6.00 for prize pool that night  -  $7.00 for finals prize pool

 

4.       POOLS – Bowlers have the option of entering either or both of the following pools prior to the start of bowling:

 

a.       HIGH SINGLE POOL - Bowlers may enter the High-Single pool for $5.  The High-Single pool will pay $1 per entry, per string, to the bowler with the highest scratch game rolled on that night.  Prizes for this pool will be paid out at the end of the evening.

 

b.      TRIPLE STRIKE – The house offers a Triple Strike pool; the entry fee for the pool is 50 cents per week.  All three strikes must take place in the same string to be eligible.  The pool pays 80% of the accumulated total.  All Stoughton Sports Center leagues and tournaments may enter this pool.

 

c.       PERFECT STRING – The house offers a Perfect String pool; the entry fee for the pool is 50 cents per week.  A perfect string is defined as a string with all boxes having 10s or better. The pool pays 80% of the accumulated total.  All Stoughton Sports Center leagues and tournaments may enter this pool.

 

d.      STRIPED PIN STRIKE - The house offers a Striped Pin Strike pool; the entry fee for the pool is $1 per week.  Each lane contains one striped pin.  If the striped pin comes up as the #1 pin, and the bowler rolls a strike on his/her next regular turn, the bowler shall win the pool. In the event that the Striped Pin is set in a frame that is in some way fouled BEFORE the bowler has a chance to roll their first ball at it, the frame may be re-racked, and the box shall be considered a Striped Pin box regardless of what the re-racked head pin is.  Conversely, in the event that a bowler has to re-rack a non-Striped Pin box, and the Striped Pin comes up as the #1 pin, the box SHALL NOT COUNT as a Striped Pin box.  The pool pays 80% of the accumulated total.  All Stoughton Sports Center leagues and tournaments may enter this pool.

5.       REGULAR TOURNAMENTS – Tournaments shall be held every Thursday evening (except for August 7th) with bowling starting at 7:30pm.  Warm-ups will begin at 7:20pm.  Bowlers are encouraged to enter as many weeks as possible to help improve their chances of getting into the Finals.  Bowlers arriving after the first ball has been delivered will not be allowed to enter.

 

6.       SUBSTITUTES – No substitutions will be permitted.  Bowlers may only bowl for their own scores.

 

7.       LANE ASSIGNMENTS – Bowlers will draw for lanes prior to the start of the first string.  Bowlers will bowl 5 strings, 5 boxes at a time.  The Stoughton Sports Center reserves the right to use less than 5 lanes (but not less than 2 lanes) when there are less than 6 bowlers on a shift.  The Sports Center staff will assign only 2 bowlers to a lane, unless there are more than 20 entries for a given evening.  The staff will maintain a one-lane “cushion” between the tournament bowlers and any “public bowlers”.

 

8.       HANDICAP – An 80% handicap (based off of 140) system will be used.  The Sports Center staff will post the standings each week in the house.

 

9.       BOWLER’S AVERAGES – Bowlers will use their entry averages for two weeks of bowling (see rule #2).  Also, if in the opinion of the Sports Center staff, a bowler is actively attempting to lower their tournament average (throwing balls away, not rolling the appropriate number of balls in a frame, bowling with the wrong hand, etc.) the staff may elect to give the bowler a verbal warning, and disqualify that string from the bowler’s record.  In the interest of maintaining the integrity of the Tournament Series, a bowler who requires multiple warnings about this matter shall be disqualified from the remainder of the Tournament Series.

 

10.   GENERAL RULES – All ICBA rules will be in effect at all times.  Copies of the rule book are available at the ICBA’s website at: www.candlepinbowling.com .  At present, the foul light system at the Sports Center is not operational.  Therefore, the staff will make its best efforts to watch the foul lines, and we will ask the bowlers to help out in that matter as well by being honest and using good sportsmanship.

 

11.   QUESTIONABLE INCIDENTS – Any questionable incidents must be brought to the attention of the staff IMMEDIATELY in case a decision needs to be made; do not wait until later to question something.  If the question pertains to a ruling needed while bowling, all bowlers involved MUST STOP bowling until the staff resolves the issue.  All rulings from the staff shall be final.

 

12.   ADDITIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES – In the event that a ruling needs to be made that is somehow not covered in the ICBA rulebook, or in this rulebook, or there are rules in this rulebook which are somehow in conflict, the Stoughton Sports Center staff will make a final ruling, and then amend this rulebook accordingly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13.   TOURNAMENT FINALS – During the last week in August, the top five bowlers for the summer will be entered into the Tournament Finals.  Finalists will use their six best handicapped scores to determine seeding.  In the event of a tie, the bowler with the highest single handicapped series will be given higher seeding.  Bowlers qualifying for the Tournament Finals will bowl in a stepladder format, with fifth-seed bowling fourth-seed, the winner of that match bowling third-seed, etc.  The bowler remaining to bowl the top seeded bowler will bowl two strings to determine the Tournament Champion.  If one of the finalists cannot attend the finals, then the sixth seeded bowler will assume the fifth seed and all remaining bowlers will “move up” to fill the gap.

 

14.   PRIZE PAYOUTS:

 

a.       NIGHTLY PRIZES – Prizes will be awarded each night in cash out of the monies collected that evening.  One prize shall be paid for each five bowlers.  Amounts of the prizes will be determined based on the number of bowlers for the shift.

 

b.      TOURNAMENT FINALS – Prizes will be paid out that night after all bowlers have bowled.  Amounts of the prizes will be determined based on the number of entries in the Tournament Series throughout the summer.  Actual prize payouts will be posted prior to bowling in the Tournament Finals.  When this program was run in Needham, fifth seed was paid between $50 and $80, while the Tournament Champion has won between $200 and $300 in the finals.