United States Bowling Congress
Encyclopedia
The United States Bowling Congress is a sports membership organization dedicated to ten-pin bowling
in the United States. It was formed in 2005 by a merger of the American Bowling Congress, Women's International Bowling Congress
, Young American Bowling Alliance, and USA Bowling. The USBC's headquarters are located in Arlington, Texas
, after having moved from the Milwaukee
suburb of Greendale, Wisconsin
in November, 2008. The move enabled the USBC to combine its operations with the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America (BPAA).
, which set the basic specifications for the playing rules and equipment of the ten-pin sport, used to this day. Historically, the membership of the ABC was all male, but beginning in 1993, women were permitted to join. In 1916, the Women's International Bowling Congress
(WIBC) was formed by a group of 40 women, and through 2004 served as a partner organization of the ABC. The Young American Bowling Alliance (YABA) was established in 1982, after previously existing as the American Junior Bowling Congress, to serve youth bowlers from pre-school through collegiate level. Prior to the formation of the USBC, the national governing body for bowling was USA Bowling, which oversaw the participation of Team USA in international events. These four organizations merged to form USBC on January 1, 2005.
was formed in 2005 by the merger of the ABC Hall of Fame (established 1941) and WIBC Hall of Fame (established 1953).
Through 2011, there are 385 Hall of Fame members in four categories:
The USBC Hall of Fame has its home at the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame
on the International Bowling Campus in Arlington, Texas. The induction ceremony is held annually in the spring. For the first time ever, the ceremony was held outdoors on the grounds of the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame, May 12, 2010.
, and won by Tom Hess
The USBC Queens, one of two major women's professional tournaments, is conducted by the USBC with the finals televised live on ESPN2
. The 2011 event was held in Syracuse, New York
, and was won by Missy Parkin.
The USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships, a.k.a. ITC, the national championship of collegiate bowling, is conducted by USBC and usually televised on a tape-delay basis. The 2010 event was on ESPN2, and was held in El Paso, Texas. The men's division champion was Wichita State University
and the women's division champion was Webber International University
. USBC announced that it would not televise the 2011 event finals, but broadcast the entire event live on its website, BOWL.com.
USBC was the presenting sponsor of the PBA Women's Series
for three seasons, beginning with the 2007-08 season. In the 2009-10 season, USBC changed the name of its presenting sponsorship to BOWL.com, the organization's website, which was re-launched on August 3, 2009. USBC did not renew its sponsorship for the 2010-11 season.
In 2007, USBC acquired the rights to the U.S. Women's Open
from the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America (BPAA). The event, which had been on a three-year hiatus since the disbanding of the Professional Women's Bowling Association
(PWBA) in 2003, was telecast for five weeks on ESPN
in September-October, 2007. ESPN again held multi-week broadcasts of the event in 2008, while ESPN2 did the same in 2009. In 2010, USBC reverted to a more traditional format and a one-day stepladder-style TV finals, airing live on ESPN2. That event was held in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, with Kelly Kulick
winning. Kulick became the first bowler ever to win the USBC Queens and US Women's Open in the same year. USBC announced in May, 2010 that it would not conduct the US Women's Open in 2011, as the BPAA had agreed to resume its association with the tournament. The TV finals took place June 30, 2011 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where Leanne Hulsenberg
was crowned champion.
In May 2008, USBC conducted a special, made-for-TV event called "Bowling's Clash of the Champions." The taped telecast was broadcast May 10 and 11 on CBS
, marking the first time bowling had been broadcast on regular network television since June 26, 1999. The event featured eight male and eight female bowlers representing youth, college, senior, amateur and professional bowlers who had won recent USBC titles. It was won by Lynda Barnes. The event returned to CBS in 2009, when it was won by Chris Barnes, Lynda's husband.
In 2009, USBC began showing championship competition live on its website, BOWL.com. This offering, which is free to all users, was designed to give viewers additional coverage of events that they wouldn't normal see.
Ten-pin bowling
Ten-pin bowling is a competitive sport in which a player rolls a bowling ball down a wooden or synthetic lane with the objective of scoring points by knocking down as many pins as possible.-Summary:The lane is bordered along its length by semicylindrical channels Ten-pin bowling (commonly just...
in the United States. It was formed in 2005 by a merger of the American Bowling Congress, Women's International Bowling Congress
Women's International Bowling Congress
The Women's International Bowling Congress was an organization for women bowlers formed in 1916 as a counterpart to the American Bowling Congress ....
, Young American Bowling Alliance, and USA Bowling. The USBC's headquarters are located in Arlington, Texas
Arlington, Texas
Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas within the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. According to the 2010 census results, the city had a population of 365,438, making it the third largest municipality in the Metroplex...
, after having moved from the Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
suburb of Greendale, Wisconsin
Greendale, Wisconsin
Greendale is a village in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 14,405 at the 2000 census.-History:Greendale was settled in 1938 as a public cooperative community in the New Deal Era...
in November, 2008. The move enabled the USBC to combine its operations with the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America (BPAA).
Purpose
The USBC is the national governing body for ten-pin bowling in the United States. It has approximately 3,000 local associations across the USA serving over 2 million members. Among its duties and responsibilities to these members are:- Maintain specifications, conduct research testing for, and certify: bowling lanes, lane dressings, pinsetting and ball return equipment, bowling pins, bowling balls and other bowling-related products.
- Establish and publish playing rules, and provide counselors to help interpret them.
- Certify leagues and tournaments.
- Protect the financial investment of certified leagues through its league bonding program.
- Manage Team USA as it competes in international tournaments.
- Conduct championship tournaments: USBC MastersUSBC MastersThe USBC Masters is a championship ten pin bowling event conducted by the United States Bowling Congress. The Professional Bowlers Association began recognizing it as a title event in 1998, and it was designated one of the four majors in 2000....
, USBC QueensUSBC QueensThe USBC Queens is an annual ten-pin bowling event for amateur and professional female bowlers, sanctioned by the United States Bowling Congress...
, USBC Open Championships, USBC Women's Championships, USBC Youth Open, USBC Junior Gold Championships, USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships, USBC Intercollegiate Singles Championships, USBC Senior Masters, USBC Senior Queens, Team USA Trials, USBC Senior Championships and Pepsi USBC Youth Championships. - Provide recognition for achievements (300 games and 800 series for three games, among others).
- Maintain historical records of bowler averages for use in USBC-certified leagues and tournaments.
- Certify coaches for both youth and adult bowlers.
- Regulate and promote high school and collegiate bowling.
- Manage SMART (Scholarship Management and Accounting Report for Tenpins), the only youth scholarship fund recognized by the United States Olympic CommitteeUnited States Olympic CommitteeThe United States Olympic Committee is a non-profit organization that serves as the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the United States and coordinates the relationship between the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency and various...
(USOC) and the National Collegiate Athletic AssociationNational Collegiate Athletic AssociationThe National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA), through a separate corporation.
History
The first nationally recognized organization for bowling was the American Bowling Congress (ABC), founded in 1895 in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, which set the basic specifications for the playing rules and equipment of the ten-pin sport, used to this day. Historically, the membership of the ABC was all male, but beginning in 1993, women were permitted to join. In 1916, the Women's International Bowling Congress
Women's International Bowling Congress
The Women's International Bowling Congress was an organization for women bowlers formed in 1916 as a counterpart to the American Bowling Congress ....
(WIBC) was formed by a group of 40 women, and through 2004 served as a partner organization of the ABC. The Young American Bowling Alliance (YABA) was established in 1982, after previously existing as the American Junior Bowling Congress, to serve youth bowlers from pre-school through collegiate level. Prior to the formation of the USBC, the national governing body for bowling was USA Bowling, which oversaw the participation of Team USA in international events. These four organizations merged to form USBC on January 1, 2005.
USBC Hall of Fame
The USBC Hall of FameHall of Fame
A hall of fame, wall of fame, walk of fame, walk of stars or avenue of stars is a type of attraction established for any field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field...
was formed in 2005 by the merger of the ABC Hall of Fame (established 1941) and WIBC Hall of Fame (established 1953).
Through 2011, there are 385 Hall of Fame members in four categories:
- Superior Performance (253)
- Meritorious Service (112)
- Pioneer (19)
- Outstanding USBC Performance (1; category introduced in 2011, with Jeff RichgelsJeff RichgelsJeff Richgels, of Oregon, Wisconsin, is a member of the Professional Bowlers Association who competes primarily on the PBA Regional Tour. He has won 29 PBA Regional titles....
as the inaugural member)
The USBC Hall of Fame has its home at the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame
International Bowling Hall of Fame
The World Bowling Writers International Bowling Hall of Fame was established in 1993 and is located in the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame, on the International Bowling Campus in Arlington, Texas.-Criteria for election:...
on the International Bowling Campus in Arlington, Texas. The induction ceremony is held annually in the spring. For the first time ever, the ceremony was held outdoors on the grounds of the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame, May 12, 2010.
USBC in the Media
The USBC Masters, one of four major tournaments on the PBA Tour, is conducted by the USBC with the finals televised live on ESPN as a part of the PBA Tour. The 2011 event was held in Reno, NevadaReno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
, and won by Tom Hess
The USBC Queens, one of two major women's professional tournaments, is conducted by the USBC with the finals televised live on ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
. The 2011 event was held in Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
, and was won by Missy Parkin.
The USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships, a.k.a. ITC, the national championship of collegiate bowling, is conducted by USBC and usually televised on a tape-delay basis. The 2010 event was on ESPN2, and was held in El Paso, Texas. The men's division champion was Wichita State University
Wichita State University
Wichita State University is a NCAA Division I public university in Wichita, Kansas with selective admissions. WSU is one of six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The current president is Dr. Donald Beggs....
and the women's division champion was Webber International University
Webber International University
-External links:* -- Official web site* -- Official athletics web site* at -References:...
. USBC announced that it would not televise the 2011 event finals, but broadcast the entire event live on its website, BOWL.com.
USBC was the presenting sponsor of the PBA Women's Series
PBA Women's Series
The PBA Women's Series was a mini-tour for female professional bowlers. It was started in 2007 as a way to bring women's bowling back to television after the Professional Women's Bowling Association disbanded in 2003...
for three seasons, beginning with the 2007-08 season. In the 2009-10 season, USBC changed the name of its presenting sponsorship to BOWL.com, the organization's website, which was re-launched on August 3, 2009. USBC did not renew its sponsorship for the 2010-11 season.
In 2007, USBC acquired the rights to the U.S. Women's Open
U.S. Women's Open (bowling)
The United States Women's Open, a.k.a. U.S. Women's Open, a.k.a. Women's U.S. Open, is an annual tournament for women, dedicated to ten-pin bowling in the United States. From its inception in 1949 until its cancellation in 2004 , the event was held every year except for 1953, 1997 and 2002...
from the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America (BPAA). The event, which had been on a three-year hiatus since the disbanding of the Professional Women's Bowling Association
Professional Women's Bowling Association
The Professional Women's Bowling Association formed in 1960. After the organization struggled, a group of female professional bowlers left the PWBA to form the Ladies' Professional Bowlers Association in 1974. The two merged again in 1978, forming the Women's Professional Bowlers Association,...
(PWBA) in 2003, was telecast for five weeks on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
in September-October, 2007. ESPN again held multi-week broadcasts of the event in 2008, while ESPN2 did the same in 2009. In 2010, USBC reverted to a more traditional format and a one-day stepladder-style TV finals, airing live on ESPN2. That event was held in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, with Kelly Kulick
Kelly Kulick
Kelly Kulick is an American professional bowler from Union Township, New Jersey. She has won eight professional women's bowling titles and one PBA Tour title.-Bowling accomplishments:...
winning. Kulick became the first bowler ever to win the USBC Queens and US Women's Open in the same year. USBC announced in May, 2010 that it would not conduct the US Women's Open in 2011, as the BPAA had agreed to resume its association with the tournament. The TV finals took place June 30, 2011 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where Leanne Hulsenberg
Leanne Barrette
Leanne Barrette-Hulsenberg, currently of Roseville, CA , was one of the top female professional bowlers on the now-defunct Professional Women's Bowling Association Tour. In a career that spanned 17 years, she won 26 PWBA titles and was twice named PWBA Player of the Year...
was crowned champion.
In May 2008, USBC conducted a special, made-for-TV event called "Bowling's Clash of the Champions." The taped telecast was broadcast May 10 and 11 on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, marking the first time bowling had been broadcast on regular network television since June 26, 1999. The event featured eight male and eight female bowlers representing youth, college, senior, amateur and professional bowlers who had won recent USBC titles. It was won by Lynda Barnes. The event returned to CBS in 2009, when it was won by Chris Barnes, Lynda's husband.
In 2009, USBC began showing championship competition live on its website, BOWL.com. This offering, which is free to all users, was designed to give viewers additional coverage of events that they wouldn't normal see.
USBC rule change for the 09-10 season
Starting with the 2009-10 league season, USBC Youth membership will be available to bowlers who have not reached their 20th birthday on or before Aug. 1 of the current bowling season. The old rule was they could not have reached their 22nd birthday on or before September 1st.SMART Program
The SMART program (Scholarship Management and Accounting Report for Tenpins) was established in 1994 in order to manage and store bowling scholarships until the youth bowler requests the use of the scholarships for college. The bowling scholarships can be from winning tournaments to filling out scholarship application forms. Recently the validity of the term "scholarship" for the SMART program has been questioned by the MHSAA (Michigan High School Athletic Association). The association questions where the education requirements are in earning the "scholarships." Most bowling scholarships earned are from winning a tournament, and are awarded as a cash prize in the form of a scholarship with no GPA or formal scholarly work necessary to claim the money once in college. This in turn has caused the MHSAA to rule high school athletes "ineligible" due to "accepting cash, checks, or any other form of award over $25 in value." This rule is highly debated and has questionable means of enforcement.External links
- United States Bowling Congress official website
- United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame official webpage. USBC website