The Bowling Federation By-laws – Mid Atlantic Region – Carolina Region

Rev. August 22, 2019

The Bowling Federation is devoted to giving bowlers of all skill levels a taste of competitive team bowling. Competitive team bowling is bowling at its truest form that all bowlers should experience. Giving bowlers competitive, fun, unintimidating environments to experience; this is what the Federation is all about. If you have ever been around college team bowling you know the center is electric, and that excitement is what we are striving for.

Membership Eligibility

Membership in The Bowling Federation is open to all current USBC Standard Membership cardholders, and is secured by joining, or forming, a Federation Franchise. The purchase of your first jersey includes your membership fee to the Bowling Federation for the current season. Every season after, each bowler must pay $10 to remain eligible for Federation competition. Youth bowlers are not eligible for Bowling Federation competition. Jersey purchases made during the off season, do cover the membership fee for the upcoming season.

Membership Season

The 19-20 Bowling Federation membership season consists of 12 regular season matches from August through May, followed by playoffs in June.

Membership Fees

Membership allows Federation members to participate in all certified sanctioned and nonsanctioned events. All Bowling Federation membership fees ($10 per bowler, per year) must be paid prior to participating. Renewal membership fees can be paid here (https://www.bowlingfederation.com/renewal-form/). If paying for multiple quantities, please email [email protected] who is being paid for. Federation New Franchise fees include: Payment of $650 (U.S. dollars) per franchise using the online membership program (https://www.bowlingfederation.com/join-today/). This provides membership for a twelve person franchise roster. Payment of $60 (U.S. dollars) per member for anyone beyond a roster of twelve when using the online membership program. This includes the fee for the current bowling season. A franchise will be disqualified from an event if it uses a non-certified participant

Districts

Each district is allowed a maximum of 13 regional franchises. Districts will be realigned as growth or distance requires. In case of realignment, every effort will be made to maintain existing competitive relationships and avoid undue burden on any franchise.

Franchise Ownership

To become a Bowling Federation franchise owner you must complete the application for membership or create a franchise online through www.BowlingFederation.com, or in person at any BowlersMart location.
The Franchise Owner will submit a roster listing each member of the team and pay the required fees. Franchise owners are in complete control of the functions of their franchise and are ultimately responsible for franchise compliance with Federation rules and requirements.

Matches / Tournaments / Events

All team matches and tournaments will start at the designated time. Bowlers or teams who are not ready or checked in at the start of competition will receive a 0 score for any frames that are missed. Bowling Federation tournaments/events will be posted on Facebook.

Regional Tour
Tour matches will cost $480 per team per match. All Regional Tour Matches will be a 3 game set, followed by 3 Team Baker games. Each franchise will supply 3 teams of 4 bowlers. 1 scratch team, 1 hybrid team (2 handicap bowlers and 2 scratch bowlers), and 1 handicap team. One Scratch and one Handicap Substitute is allowed per Match. If a bowler is injured during competition USBC tournament rules apply (0s if the bowler is unable to finish the game). In the event a team is bowling unopposed, the team must bowl within 10 pins per bowler of their average. Baker handicap on the handicap pair will be the team handicap divided by 4. Hybrid pair will be team handicap divided by 4. Each Tour Match will allow the 3 teams to win up to 40 points for their franchise. Points will be given for team game wins, team series wins, team Baker wins, overall pins from regular games, and overall pins from Baker games.
• Points will be earned for each standard game win. (3 teams x 3 games x 1 point = 9 Max)
• Points will be earned for each standard series win. (3 teams x 2 points = 6 Max) Consequently, 15 points are available per team for the 3 game set. (5 per pair)
• Points will be earned for each Bakers competition game win. (3 teams x 3 games x 1 point = 9 Max)
• Points will be earned for each Bakers competition series win. (3 teams x 2 points = 6 Max)
Consequently, 15 points are available per team Bakers 3 game set. (5 per pair) Finally, 5 points are awarded for total pins win across all 3 teams from the first 3 regular games and 5 points are awarded for total pins win across all 3 teams for the 3 Baker games.

Scheduling

We will have 12 tour stops per season, on Sundays. 10 regular stops (1 position round), 2 inter conference stops (East vs. West district where 1v1, 2v2, 3v3…etc.), and 1 Sunday of playoffs make up the entire season. Byes will be used to balance the schedule in districts with an odd number of teams. During inter conference stops with an uneven number of teams in a district, the 10 teams district’s 10th place team will bowl unopposed. Every team gets a home house stop barring any unforeseen circumstances. Changing home houses to guarantee a home house stop has to be completed by the same date as the new franchise deadline for the upcoming season. Regional Tour Stops will start when designated on the schedule based on the type of stop (1 shift or split shift) or time requested by the bowling center, with 1 hour check in windows. Blind Scores For team competitions, a Blind may be used at 190 with no handicap. During Baker competition, that Blind will be awarded for every 4th frame with a score of 5/ 5/. The Blind in Baker cannot be the leadoff or anchor bowler. During Baker, no more than one blind score can be used for any lane and the blind. When a team on a pair bowls unopposed the team must bowl within 10 pins per bowler or 40 pins of the team average.

Baker Competition

The following guidelines must be adhered to for baker scoring. A team that bowls a Baker System 300 game is eligible to receive a Federation award. Each member is eligible for one award per season. ABC Secretary Emeritus Frank Baker developed the Baker format. In this Bowling Federation Baker format, the leadoff bowler rolls the 1st, 5th, and 9th frames, the second bowler rolls the 2nd,6th, and 10th frames, the third bowler rolls the 3rd and 7th frames, and the fourth bowler rolls the 4th and 8th frames.

Practice

All Bowling Federation events, tournaments, or matches will get 15 minutes of practice. Franchises may practice up to 5 bowlers per pair. Lane Courtesy To maintain a steady pace and keep on schedule one lane courtesy is observed. Only bowlers in competition or team officials may enter the pit area. Tournament manager reserves the right to warn teams delaying the pace. The First offense is a warning. On the Second offense the team will receive a zero for all frames left in the game. After the Third offense the team will be removed from the event. Unsportsmanlike conduct including but not limited to taunting, heckling, or other distracting behavior needs to be reported to staff. It will be evaluated on a case by case basis by the Director of Operations and/or District Manager to determine proper judgment. Harassment of any kind will not be tolerated in any capacity and proper authorities will be called to asses the incident.

Altering Ball Surfaces

Follow USBC rules Per USBC the dry towel rule is now enforced. Per USBC rules altering surfaces of bowling balls are prohibited during play. The ball altered will be removed from competition. Intentional violation will result in forfeiture of game or frame (Bakers), that the violation occurred.

Score Verification

Franchise owners, team captains and members are responsible for score verification. Any changes or protests must be made before the end of the competition.

 

Averages

The Federation will use a true composite average of the last 2 years. If no average is available on bowl.com, we will use a current sanctioned league average with more than 21 games. The Federation reserves the right to adjust or re-rate the average of any bowler at any time. If rerates are brought forth from another organization the re-rate will be honored. In the event that a USBC average isn’t available, the member will bowl scratch (240) and establish an average after 6 games are reached. Handicap will be set at 80% of 240. After 6 games, bowlers will establish a Federation average and that average will be maintained throughout the season. There will be a no pin-drop rule in effect. The composite average will be considered the floor for all averages and you cannot drop below that average.

Franchise Uniforms
Each member must wear an official Bowling Federation jersey with their ROSTERED jersey name in order to bowl regional tour matches and other Federation events. . There are no restrictions on branding or logos for other clothing or accessories worn during competition. You are not permitted to bowl without your ROSTERED official Bowling Federation jersey. Any team allowing any member to bowl without their jersey will forfeit all points for the match. The only exception allowed for bowlers to not wear a rostered jersey is if they are on a new franchise during the franchises first stop only.

Team Rosters

Rosters are mixed and may contain up to 40 Adult bowlers, with no average requirement. If a bowler is removed from a roster, to make room for another member, that bowler is ineligible for the Regional Tour for the following 3 stops for that team. The ineligible bowler may leave their team for another team during this period and be eligible immediately. If a bowler quits a team they must sit a 3 stop penalty period. A member suspended from membership in USBC shall be ineligible to participate in all Federation events. The use of an ineligible or suspended member shall result in a forfeit of any event in which the member was used.
Protests and appeals must be in writing stating the grounds for the protest or appeal within 48 hours of the completion of the event. They must be emailed to the Director of Operations for the Mid-Atlantic Region.
If an ineligible member is used in competition the team will receive no points and the team’s points will be recalculated. The team is also not eligible to win baker points or bonus points of any kind.

The Director of Operations along with District managers are allowed to bowl during season tour.

Member Status Changes

A franchise member’s status can be changed from Active to released, on a franchise roster, by the Franchise Owner or Federation staff. Franchise members are considered Free Agents during the off-season, and may change franchises at any time during those months, without requesting to be released. Bowlers must inform Federation staff of this request (email [email protected] what team you are leaving, if you notified that team you are leaving, and what new team you are joining). Franchise members who decide to quit their franchise without being released, outside of the Free Agency period, will be ineligible for Bowling Federation competition for 3 stops. Suspension begins the date their resignation from the franchise is made official. If a franchise Disbands, everyone on that franchise becomes a Free Agent, no matter the time of
year. If a member is released by their team owner or president, and wants to join another franchise, the member may do so with no penalty. This includes mid-season changes of status by a team owner or president.

Position Round Eligibility

A bowler must have a Federation average to be eligible for playoffs. Any bowler added to a team after January 1st will not be eligible for playoffs, although they will be eligible to bowl remaining regular-season stops.

Playoff Eligibility

Same as position round eligibility as stated above.

Playoffs

Playoffs format is as follows: 3 rounds and the top 4 teams from each district will bowl playoffs.

In round 1: 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3 from each district bowl tour stop format with the winners advancing. Round 2 is each district’s round 1 winners from the 1 vs. 4 against the winners from the 2 vs. 3 match bowling tour stop format. The winners advance to the grand championship match (Round 3) where it is the East district against the West. They bowl tour stop format to determine the grand champion. Bowlers’ averages will be recalculated after each round. In the event of a playoffs tie a 5 man Baker best of 3 where the higher seed chooses scratch or handicap will be used to break the tie. IF Handicap, the handicap of the 5 bowlers chosen to bowl will be divided by 5 to determine Handicap total

Franchise Disbanding

If the members are generally dissatisfied with franchise ownership or captains and 75% of the franchise decides to disband to form their own franchise it can be allowed if it passes a majority vote from the remaining regional franchise owners. Franchises that resign from the Regional Tour due to disbanding will be responsible for their portion of the prize fund or until another franchise takes its place in the Regional Tour.
If the prize fund is not current, the disbanded franchise’s members will be banned until the prize fund is brought current, or another franchise takes its place in the Regional Tour. Federation Tournament Directors reserve the right to extend team fees when necessary and recuperate them from the season’s prize fund money. If another franchise joins the region and wishes to replace a franchise that has resigned, they may
do so. Franchises will pay the remaining balance of the prize fund and lineage. The new teams entering points will be based on team membership. If 50% of the old franchise comprise the new team, they will take over the point total of the old team. If the new team is brand new, they will enter with an equal number of points to the last place team in the tour.

Physical Altercations

The Bowling Federation observes a zero-tolerance for fights that occur at Bowling Federation events. All altercations will be evaluated internally by staff and disciplinary action will be determined on a case by case basis. Any violation of the By Laws, by a member on probation, will result in a minimum 3 month suspension, and maximum of permanent loss of membership eligibility. Any disciplinary actions that result from a violation of this section of the By Laws is attached to the member and the member is ineligible to be a Free Agent, even if their team disbands.

Intellectual Property

Franchise logos and art provided by the Bowling Federation are the property of Bowling Federation. Franchise owners are permitted to use their logos and art for marketing of tournaments, events,
and matches. Franchise owners are prohibited from using their logos and art on apparel, without express permission from Bowling Federation.

ANY RULES NOT COVERED HEREIN WILL FALL BACK ON USBC TOURNAMENT PLAYING RULES.