The Bowling Federation By-laws
Vision
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, un-intimidating environments to experience this is what the Federation is all about. If you have ever been around college team bowling you would know the center is electric, that is what we are striving for.
The Bowling Federation By-laws for the Southeast Conference Bay Area and Central Florida Districts.
The Bowling Federation is devoted to giving bowlers of all skill levels a taste of competitive team bowling.
Federation Membership Eligibility
Membership in The Bowling Federation is open to all men and women currently a member of USBC and in good standing.
Federation Membership Year
The Bowling Federation membership year will be from August 1 to July 31 of the following year.
Membership, How to Obtain
To become a Bowling Federation member you must complete the application for membership or create a franchise. The Franchise Owner will submit: Membership application for each member of the team and pay the required fees by using the online membership program or directly paying membership fees and handing in application directly. Current yearly membership is covered in your first jersey purchase. Membership is $10 a year.
Franchise Ownership
Franchise owners are in complete control of the functions of their franchise. Logos, team names and designs are property of the Bowling Federation and are permission of the franchise owner to use in promotion on flyers and printed materials excluding apparel. All team name and logos will be sole property of the Bowling Federation for apparel and must go through certified vendors for apparel.
All Franchises must appoint a Team President and Rerate Committee Representative. All other team offices are at the discretion of team management
- a) President will be responsible for handling all items delegated to him by the franchise owner. Also will act as the leader when the franchise owner is absent at functions.
- b) Rerate Committee Representative will be the only voice of the team during a bowlers rerate discussion.
Federation Membership Fees
Membership allows Federation members to participate in all certified sanctioned and non-sanctioned events.
All Federation sanctioned events will be paid prior to participating.
Federation membership fees are:
Payment of $650 (U.S. dollars) per franchise using the online membership program. This provides certification of at least a twelve-person team roster.
Payment of $60 – $70 depending on jersey type (U.S. dollars) per member for anyone beyond a roster of twelve when using the online membership program upon initial entrance into the federation. (Additional costs for polo and branded jerseys)
Each franchises monthly dues are $420 and are due before the start of each event. Fees are broken down as follows (Lineage for center and remaining amount used for prize fund) Prize fund is returned 100%
A team will be disqualified from an event if it uses a non-certified participant or a member not listed on their current monthly roster.
Suspended Bowlers
A member suspended from membership in USBC shall be ineligible to participate in all certified tournaments or matches.
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 and mailed via certified letter or email stating the grounds for the appeal or protested item in question.
If an ineligible member is used in competition the member will receive no match 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.
Reinstatement of Membership
After the member’s time for suspension is up they are eligible for membership.
Reinstatement request are to be in writing and sent to the regional manager.
Status of applicants shall remain unchanged until the member has been advised on their reinstatement which must be completed within 48 hours of request of reinstatement.
Baker Competition
The following guidelines must be adhered to for baker scoring.
ABC Secretary Emeritus Frank Baker developed the Baker format. In this format, the leadoff bowler rolls the first, fourth, seventh and tenth frames, the second player rolls the second, fifth and eighth frames, the third player rolls the third, sixth and ninth frames.
On the scratch side, a team using a blind bowler for the baker games will receive 9 / for the missing frames. On the handicap side, a team using a blind will receive a 9- for the missing frames.
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 in baker.
Mixed Teams
All franchises are open to any mixture of averages and sexes.
Team Lineups
Active lineups are consisted of One (1) Scratch Team, One (1) Handicap Team, and One (1) Hybrid Team
- The Handicap Team’s combined averages cannot exceed 850.
- The Hybrid Team will consist of 2 Handicap bowlers followed by 2 Scratch bowlers. They will follow the average order within their respective types. Franchise Presidents/Team Captains must declare who is handicap/scratch on the Hybrid team when submitting rosters.
Substitutes are only allowed to enter competition at the beginning of a game (no balls have been thrown by the team making the substitution). Replaced bowlers are NOT eligible to return to the lineup.
Team Uniforms
- Team Shirts – Each member must wear an official Federation jersey that are identical in style, color, print and design.
- Logos – A member may wear apparel that bears a trademark and/or logo.
- You are not permitted to bowl without your jersey. Any team allowing any member to bowl without their jersey will forfeit all points for the match. Only exception by regional director approval.
Practice
All Federation matches will get 10 minutes of practice.
Re-Racks
Each team is allowed one re-rack per baker game. Violators will receive a zero for the frame. Federation management may grant additional re-racks.
Score Verification
Franchise owners, team captains and members are responsible for score verification. Any changes must be made before signing the recap sheet with the exception of mathematical errors as per USBC can be corrected by secretary. Once recaps are signed they are official.
Altering Ball Surfaces
Per USBC rules altering surfaces of bowling balls are prohibited during play.
The ball altered will be removed from competition.
Second violation will result in forfeiture of game the violation occurred.
Lane Courtesy
To maintain a steady pace and keep on schedule one lane courtesy is observed.
Tournament manager reserves the right to warn teams delaying the pace.
First offense is a warning.
Second offense the bowler will receive a zero for all frames left in the game.
Third offense the bowler will be removed from the event.
Format
All Regional Matches will be three game sets.
After the 3 games there will be 2 baker games.
Conference Position Rounds – Position Rounds will be the 5th and 10th month of season.
Regions and Districts
The Southeast Region in Florida is comprised of 32 teams broken down into 2 conferences. Bay Area (Tampa) and Central Florida (Orlando)
The Weber and the Petraglia Divisions within the Bay Area Division
Orlando Conference
Teams will be accepted into the southeast region in groups of 2.
Team Disbanding
Should a team drop out of the Season Tour after it starts that team is responsible for their portion of the prize fund for that half or until another team takes its place in the Regional Tour.
If the prize fund is not paid in full by the end of the current Season Tour the team and members will be banned until prize fund is made whole. Prize fund is forfeited if the half’s prize fund is not paid in full.
Teams that have shown a weak record of recruiting bowlers and having members show to bowl will be asked to provide plans moving into a new season to rectify the situation. For fairness of all other franchises involved and to keep it fun and competitive we need franchises who can fulfill 12 member rosters at each event. If a franchise fails to do so Bowling Federation reserves the right to revoke the franchises right to bowl that season and adjust the schedule accordingly until actions have been taken to fulfill a active roster. If a team loses the right to bowl they can rejoin fresh in the second half or next season but will forfeit the prize fund for the previous half. Any franchise that forfeits 2 times in a half will have their spot revoked until further action is taken.
Membership Guidelines
There may be a maximum of 40 bowlers on a team’s roster.
Team fees each month are $420 and must be paid in full before the start of competition.
Averages
The Southeast Conference will use your Federation average of at least 9 games from last season. If no 9-game average is available from Federation matches we will use the highest bowl.com average of at least 21 games for the prior season.
If no average is available the bowler will establish an average each event for the first 3 events. The 4th event the bowler’s average will be a composite of the first 3 events.
White and Blue averages will not be used to determine averages. Sport Averages with conversion to a house average will be used.
Bowlers will establish an average after 9 games and will use that in competition going forward.
Handicap will be 90% of 220
The Federation reserves the right to adjust or re-rate the average of any bowler at any time.
Individual scores will be capped at 300 for handicap.
Team Status Changes
A team member’s status can be changed from active to suspended by the team President or Regional Director.
If a franchise commits after the Opt Out period and then pulls out the franchise and the members will not be able to join new franchises that season.
If a Team member decides to quit their team after renewing with them then that bowler is without a team and cannot participate as a member of a new team for 90 days
If the team is at chaos with franchise ownership or captains and 75% of the team decides to disband to form their own team at the end of a half it can be allowed if passes a majority vote from the regional franchise team owners.
If a member is released by the team President and wants to join another team they may do so, however, they must sit out the next scheduled season tour match.
Matches / Tournaments / Events
All team matches and tournaments will start at the designated time.
All official tournaments/events will be posted on the website.
Season Tour rules will be posted on the website.
Point System
Each team will be able to win up to 35 points for their Franchise. Points will be given for head to head wins and team total wins.
1 point will be given for each individual game win.
1 points will be given for each team game series win
2 points given for each individual series and team series win
3 points given for total team pinfall plus handicap (if applicable)
totaling 29 points per team.
Each baker game is worth 3 points for a total of 35 points per team match.
Any team not having a legal line up (2 members) will forfeit all their points.
If you do not have a full team you will use a 200 blind score for scratch and 95 scratch score for handicap (207 total with handicap) . Blind scores are eligible to win points – You will only win the blind point if:
- a) The blind score is higher than the opposing players score.
- b) AND your team wins the games series
aka – Blind points go into the team game.
Baker frame blind score is 9- for scratch and 9- for handicap
Bowling Against a Forfeit
Should a team have to bowl against a Franchise that forfeited, whether by lack of attendance or a rule violation, the following rules apply:
- Individual Game Points will be earned by bowling within 10 pins of your average.
- Individual Series Points will be earned by bowling within 30 pins of your average series (your average x3).
- Team Game Points will be earned by bowling within 40 points of your team average.
- Team Series Points will be earned by bowling within 120 pins of your team average series (your team average x3).
- Baker Game Points will be earned by bowling the vacant score. Scratch will have to beat a 200. Handicap and Hybrid will have to beat a 207 with handicap. Ties in Baker will result in split points.
Physical Altercations (Fights)
1) If a physical confrontation occurs in a bowling center, and a report is filed, police are called, or the Federation is under scrutiny from the public due to the act, the Federation will investigate the situation
internally and all parties involved will be unable to compete until investigations by a disciplinary council are complete.
2) If a physical confrontation occurs and the bowling alley and/or police are not involved, it is the obligation of the franchise to report the incident and disciplinary action taken to the Federation home office.
3) In the event that multiple franchises are involved, the franchises should work together to come to a mutually agreed position and disciplinary action and follow rule 2.
4) In the event that the franchises cannot agree on the situation, the Federation will provide mediation for the franchises to assist in finding a solution that is satisfactory to both parties.
5) In the event that mediation is not successful, the Federation will investigate the situation internally and franchises/members will be at the judgment of the Federation Disciplinary Council, rule 1 goes into effect.
6) Anyone found to be the aggressor (initiating physical contact) should be suspended for no less than 6 months.
7) Anyone found to be an instigator (provoking physical contact) should be placed on probation for no less than 6 months, or suspended for no less than 1 month, depending on the level of instigation.
8) Anyone found to be aiding or abetting an aggressor or instigator should provide a written apology to the victim(s) and be placed on probation for no less than 6 months.
9) Any violation of this section of the By Laws, by a member on probation for violation of this section, will result in a minimum 6 month suspension.
10) Any disciplinary actions that result from a violation of this section of the By Laws is attached to the member, and must be honored by all Federation franchises in the event of an opt-out, trade, release or request to go independent.
11) As long as the regional director sees fit, competition will be allowed to continue to its natural conclusion. Any and all rulings will be made after competition is finished. Regional director will inform team representative during play if there are any pending issues regarding a current participant and suggest using a substitution (if available) for their team’s best interests.
Standings
Standings will be based on an overall total match point record. There are 6 match points available to win at each event.
Each team within a franchise may receive 1 match point upon winning at least 18 points against their opposing team. A team will receive .5 match points should they score 17.5 points against their opposing team.
A Franchise that takes the minimum 53 of the 105 available points and will be awarded an additional 3 match points.
A Franchise that takes 52 of the 105 available points and will award no additional points.
A match where both Franchises take exactly 52.5 of the 105 available points will have both Franchises awarded 1.5 match points each.
Teams will be placed in position order by way of overall season match points won then by overall points. Should two teams have equal number of overall match points and overall points the tie breaker will be a head to head match during the regular season with the following exception:
A tie for 1st place or 3rd place will be decided by an additional baker game (4 quad baker games per team) following the last regular season match with the total wood determining the higher seed.
The 4th and 9th month is cross conference position round. Your yearly standings determine your seeding. The 5th and 10th months are in conference position round, your seedings are determined by yearly standings.
Playoffs
The top 2 teams position wise in each division at the end of the regular season will qualify for the playoffs. The wild card spots will go to the two best records not in for each conference.
Playoffs are a 1 match stepladder format.
Wild Card teams will bowl the 3rd and 4th place qualifiers for the 1st round with the 1st place wild card against the 4th place qualifier.
The winners of those matches will go on to face the 1st and 2nd place qualifiers, with the lower seed from the previous match facing the 1st place qualifier.
The winners of those matches will face each other for the semifinal round.
Winners of those matches are the Central Florida and Bay Area Conference Champions and will face each other to determine the Southeast Champion.
Rule Additions
2018/2019 Season
After Event 8 no bowlers added to a team’s roster after this date can bowl in the playoffs. They can bowl the remaining matches.
Bowlers must have a minimum of 6 games completed during the season to bowl playoffs.
10 Pin Drop rule added – Bowler’s average cannot drop more than 10 pins from their entering average. Pin drop average will be used for the next season if the bowler returns.
Federation average of at least 9 games will carry over to the next season until a new average after 9 games is established (unless affected by the above-mentioned rule).
Roster changes will not be accepted within 2 hours of squad time unless emergency withdrawal. If a roster change is needed the opposing team will be able to see the affected team’s lineup and make any final changes after.
Playoffs will be a 1 day event consisting of a Best of 7 Baker match competition, with 1 team of 5 Handicap bowlers and 1 team of 5 scratch bowlers. Subs would be allowed at any time and would use college bowling rules.
No PBA national title holders can bowl.
Handicap team would need a team average of less than 850 using average rules set by Federation.
2019/2020 Season
No rule changes for this season.
2020/2021 Season
Average cap for roll-offs and playoffs is 1062 for 5 bowlers on the Handicap Team.
Playoff Practice – teams will have 5 minutes on each lane.
Franchises with Byes in the playoff rounds will have access to a warm-up pair that starts 20 minutes or so before their match (depending on lane availability)
Position Round Format Change
Closure
Anything not covered by the Bowling Federation Southeast Conference Rules will be directed by USBC Playing Rules.