Our league is a friendly, not competitve league what so ever. Which doesn't mean they don't try hard. The averages range from around 100-200 at most.. Harder centre, or so I've been told for high scoring. Lovely people, no ar*eholes here. Friendly and relaxing way to spend a couple of hours..

Monday night certainly doesn't help a great deal, but still I look at it as the highlight to the start of my working week.. Thats just me I guess.

We are happy for anyone to join!!

Money is not paid out, maybe a "Chis cringle" prize paid out to each bowler or a trophy... Not a money league, or is it driven by the thought of making a buck at bowling.

It all has to do with the Management, if people's balls are coming back damaged and the shot is inconsistent to dirt dry then they don't deserve our business and should make the necessary repairs and maintain the place, or paint the windows black and start doing 24/7 party bowling and stop trying to be serious.

The Bowl America center where I used to bowl (when I was able to bowl) will not allow a Pro Shop to operate there, the house that used to compete against them lost all of their leagues and went to all party bowling and tossed the Pro Shop out the door, so the next closest Pro Shop is in Fredrick Md or Hyattsville. It is disappointing to me to see the entire lack of support to the bowlers in the area where not just the house, but the entire chain will not support the sport by allowing a Pro Shop to operate on site in any of their houses.

If I was able to bowl I would still have to think twice about coming back.

Aside from lane maintenance, which should be done at every House, gimmicks are the league attractions that fill Houses. So, what's the attraction to your league?

Pizza and Beer Leagues on weekends. No prize money but you get a pitcher of Beer and a Pizza in your fee.

Ball leagues where your extra pay goes towards a ball.

Vegas Leagues where you accumulate a fund for a trip.

Practice Leagues where bowlers get a punch card for free practice games during the month.

Then, there are also the competitive leagues where money is involved, and winners get more.

PBA leagues that present a different challenge.

Weekend morning King of the Hill tournaments, where the winners can win a few hundred bucks. Brings in a lot of spectators too, who eventually bowl.

Monthly house tournaments draw the best from other leagues.

No-tap tournaments and leagues draw also.

Adult/child leagues and Junior leagues with coaching help develop the younger interest. Keeps the Pro-shop busy as kids need balls and they always change the span and go up in weight as they grow. Kids always want the newest too.

Pricing gimmicks like our House runs Super Bowl 44 bowling all Super Bowl afternoon, and games are $.44 per line on a day where the house would be empty.

Parent bowls free on Mother's or Father's Day.

Lower lane prices after late weeknight hours.

The House has to do things to attract bowlers in and they will stay to bowl in other leagues through the year.

I know many bowlers who will bowl in 3 leagues a week just for the opportunity to bowl against another, or bowl with their spouse to have a night out.

I believe alot of the decline in bowling is directly tied to the economy...at least here in Michigan. We have really been hit hard because of the auto industries problems. The center I bowl at promised synthetic lanes this year but had to cancel the plan due to a drop in the open bowling through the summer that would have helped fund the project.

This of course caused some grumbling amongst the league bowlers who took the center at their word, and were looking forward to the lanes being changed from beat up old wooden lanes to the new synthetics. The center is making "some" changes to soften the disappointment..like refurbishing the scorers, new paint and facing over the lanes etc., and the promise that the sythetics are the #1 project on the table when things turn around.

Point is..its very hard right now to compete for the entertainment dollar. Bowling centers and every business really are going to have to bend over backwards to attract and KEEP new customers. Making the product attractive is a challenge, bowlers need to feel they are getting value for the hard earned dollar. Take care of the center, make the necessary repairs as needed, put out a quality consistant shot,plow the parking lot when it snows (a pet peave)just make the customer feel like they are appreciated for there business. Treat the customer with respect..and they will be your customer for the long haul.

Two houses near here made announcements to convert to synthetics over wood. While one is under new ownership, and has seen an increase in bowlers and leagues, they have delayed the conversion, citing an improved budget will help in the next year. The second saw a decline in bowlers and proceeded with their plan over the Holidays because they felt the new image would increase the number of bowlers. They also raised prices in this economy due to the remodel.

So, I guess it goes both ways.

Dennis, some great ideas, and occasionally we may have a raffle of some sort..Money really doesn't motivate these bowlers, as last year had the option of getting some money, or put it back into league... The problem here is to attract people into joining our league. Having league on a Monday doesn't help, but also keeping the bowlers who do join our league to WANT to keep coming every Monday night..

A lot of the bowlers/teams who begin are beginners, do improve to varying degress throughout their first or (if we are lucky) their second season.. I'm not sure, but they seem to struggle a bit... I can only think how frustrated they may feel with little improvement.. Our centre has no Pro Shop or coach available (very sad!!).. Its kinda like take your money and run.. The centre does little in the way keeping these bowlers happy. Its like they are cut adrift to sink or swim, and more often than not, sink... Why pay $20 every week to feel disappointed and frustrated. Theres a heck of a lot of other activities to spend their hard earned dollar on. The centre seems to think business will walk through their doors, it does to a certain extent, but a disenchanted league bowler rarely comes back to the sport.. Social bowlers come once every two to three months, but our centre makes (according to management or so I was told) 50-55% of revenue on league bowling.. Its hard to imagine taking so little effort in regards to your business...

Many other sports, especialy the more televised sports have big numbers in terms of junior participation (think of basketball,soccer,football). These sports are on view on TV and PayTV...There is promotion and advertisments on TV,internet and radio.. How does bowling fare in comparison.

Our junior leagues, half empty leagues where the kids turn up , pay their money, don't know who they are playing, bowl a game or two and go home.. Wow thats exciting!!! Coaching, occasionally a staff member might wander around the lanes and give some advice only if they are free... There just is not the same value in coaching bowling from the kids or parents. Whether this is society, where the motto is to do the least u can to get the most out of it mentality is prevalent I don't know?!?!?!

League bowling for both junior and adult is really struggling. When I first began bowling 2000,my first league had 14 teams of 4.. This league has now gone to 8 teams of 2... Every night, we use to have at least 3-4 different leagues over 28 lanes over two shifts. Now lucky to have 2 different leagues each night... If the trend continues, then by 2020, there may be 1 league per night thats it!! 2030, who knows?

My centre is no surprise an AMF centre.. They have a league bowlers yearly card, gives u slighly cheaper practise rates.. Although they had a special practise card for 2 months around Xmas period, really cheap practice games, great... Why not keep this going, have big displays at counters and at doors, promote the Shi* out of it.. Join a once a week league, practise with our super cheap practise rates and watch your scores soar! Coaching available signs on counter, and actually staff their centre so that someone is available for this, have a couple of TV screens fixed a top the ceiling, show some PBA telecasts, u know where they get to see the pros throwing a strike for a win and so forth.. Most would not even know there is a Elite level of the sport. Most don't even realise bowling IS a sport at all. ALso have DVD playing as people walk in demonstrating some coaching points, and the value of lessons and practise... Something different..

I'm really going on now (sorry about that).. I love bowling, and my league, and want both to continue.. I am not prepared to let it die.. I'm pissed off that my centre lets people walk in and out of the door so easily, they take it for granted.
Peace
Looseleftie

our association membership is up 5%, including our juniors.

We attribute this to a new center built last year. (we've had two new centers in the last three years). And a lot of brand new bowlers.

No centers have closed down. When a center closes down, most of that center's bowlers stop bowling. A small percentage travel to get to the next closest center. But you lose bowlers by a center closing down.

The new USBC rule aging out the Juniors at 20 instead of 22, caused most of them to move into our adult ranks.

Due to the economy many juniors are not leaving to go to college. They are staying home, going to local schools and still bowling locally instead of leaving town going to university and most not bowling.

Erin

we almost doubled our thursday social league this year. it's 11 bucks a pop, we have a small prize fund at the end, and have a huge clam bake at the alley at the end of the year and get to bowl free at the party. it's probably so cheap due to the amount of bar business they do on that night, but, it's friendly and we have 85 avg bowlers up to 220 avg bowlers with no cry babies. it's bowling league utopia.........almost..

It seems this topic keeps opening for discussion. The decline in bowling isn't an overnight event. Bowling has been on the decline for decades, and it's no wonder there isn't any one or two causes.

This is similar to the decline in drive-in theaters and single screen walk-in theaters. But, there isn't one or two quick fixes that will get people to start bowling leagues.

Today's society considers bowling a recreational choice, like what to do on a Saturday night. Bowling is just something to do, when there isn't nothing else to do. It's a place parents have their kids birthday parties.

But, when you ask people to commit to bowling a league, they don't want to commit to bowling 1 time a week for 35+ weeks, where they have to pay upon return, even when missing a week of bowling. People want variety and bowling on a weekly basis is boring, from a recreational point of view.

Where I bowl, the manager would rather have 3 sessions a year:

A. 16 week fall league with 2 weeks off for xmax/new years
B. 16 week spring league with a week off before the start of summer league
C. 16 week summer league with a week off before the start of the fall league

His reasoning is it might be easier to attract new bowlers if the leagues are shorter (4 months instead of 8). But, the alley owner is against the idea. Also, the owner admits that the house takes a loss with leagues, and the real money is with open play, and the higher linage. But, the owner doesn't know how to keep the house full, during week nights with just open play, thus why they have leagues week nights.

As a newer bowler I'd appreciate a league with an intro coaching night where new bowlers can get to know some of the members and get some free coaching advice.

My summer league came with daily free practice bowling and it was the deciding factor to join that league.