Scott Gannon,
Previous discussion in League Category titled, "Women on Men's league", currently on page 9.

10 min between games seems a long time to me. If you are out there to smoke that's a chemical addiction causing you to do that. Get your smoke and come inside. It might not be a full cigarette. The purpose for the cigarette break is not a time for socializing or discussion. Its a time to get the nicotine back into your system so you can comfortably enjoy the next 10 frames of bowling. I bet when it gets really cold that 10 min will be more then enough time for the cigarette.

But if the league votes to allow a 10 min break between games then so be it. Keep in mind that if you have a second shift of league play after you, and you run 20 min long every night the house may have an issue with that. They may request that your league start 20 min earlier. Or if there's a line waiting for open play (like there is on our Friday night) they may raise your lineage to cover the lost revenue. Our 9pm Friday night lineage went up this year just for this reason, without any smoking breaks. Our league apparently keeps the house away from revenue generated after 9pm on 18 lanes, so they raised our lineage. Used to be that the lineage on the 9pm league was cheaper because of it being so late (guaranteed revenue from the league), now its the same as the 6pm leagues.

Erin

Erin, there is NO following league. The House goes to open bowling at 10p.m. but, at $4.49 per line. We generally finish at 9:30. So, it is close.

I can't speak for those who will stand outside in the cold. Our concern is not to disturb the league with House rules. Our position will be that if the House goes to non-smoking, they will have to accommodate us to return next year.

I mentioned in an earlier post, that the House wanted to eliminate Cigars this year. Two leagues walked out with that announcement. The House ceded to the leagues.

I guess there is a totally different feeling in this geography then in yours. Even the McDonald's menu with low fat and cholestoral has been a flop.

If we tried to move our league, even the Friday 9pm league, we'd have a hard time finding a house that would accomodate us.

I think its been a little over 10 years now since CA went non smoking in public buildings (including bars). And the atmosphere was the same at that time. Very angry, "we're not going to bowl then", "we'll take our league to another house". But as the years have gone on, no one now even bats an eyelash at having to go outside to smoke. The smokers still smoke and they probably still wish they could do so in the alley, but laws have been passed. And our houses are full with leagues, full of open play.

I think I mentioned this earlier, I believe its going to be inevitable, that in the near future, the entire US will be non smoking in public places.

Erin

You are right Erin. As a fellow Californian it is just accepted now. I remember the uproar when it first happened but now like you say no one even bats an eyelash. I will admit it is warmer in the Southern part of the state but up north and in Mountain areas it gets as cold as back east.

I am really kind of shocked with the secondhand smoke lawsuits that the rest of the country hasn't followed suit sooner.

Thanks for your opinions. I too see the change as inevitable. I am in the initial stages of what you went through 10 years ago. All I want to do is learn from your experience. Maybe, we could short step any concerns.

Since, there is NO State wide law, but a law only in Chicago, each municipality enacts their own codes. In this instance, this is an owner imposed rule (Brunswick). And, there are alternative Houses that are privately owned in the near vacinity.

I remember when I was a kid and my Dad was bowling, it was common to have two squads each night. That is less common now. Especially at Brunswick Houses, open bowling that is called Cosmic Bowling, at a steep price, generally occurs after 10pm.
Regular bowlers won't come close to the place with lights off, black lights on, loud music and strobe lights all over. No one can concentrate, let alone see your spot on the alley.

In NJ we had 2 leagues per night, here in PA it's just one which I find weird. At my local house I can understand it, they break down so much they'd never be able to manage a 2nd wave of league bowlers.

You can keep that cosmic bowling stuff. I did that was I was younger but even for a night out it was bothersome not being able to see the arrows or even worse spilled beer on the floor with the lights out. Plus the price is ridiculous, they can keep it.

I used to bowl at an alley that had 2 squads, the last league I was in before this current one way back in 1993. I was on two leagues, one that started at 6:00 p.m. and the other on a seperate night that started at 9:00 p.m.

It is funny that you mention cosmic bowling because the league I was on in the summer was a Friday night and unknown to me at the time it was a no-tap and cosmic. Since it was the first league I had joined in 13 years I didn't think too much about but now like you said being a regular bowler I would "NEVER" bowl in a league like that again. With all that loud music and flashing lights that is probably where I picked up the bad habit of running up to the line as I was in a hurry to get out of there.

Cosmic Bowling IS NOT bowling.

$4.49 per line, or you can prepay by the hour for $50.00 per hour. It is hard for me to bowl 10+ games in an hour, don't know about you. Of course, there would be six, eight, or ten more bowling on the lane.

Our five man team bowls a game in a little less then an hour. And, we pay 9.75 per night. So $9.75 times 5 is $48.75 times two teams, is 97.50 for 3 hours. Kids are paying the equivelent of $150.00 for the same time.

Today's pricing schemes have people bamboozled. I get a kick when I go into a prepay gas station, and I ask the attendant how much I should pay because I don't know how much gas my car will take. I am usually faced with blank stares.

Well, let me say this about Cosmic Bowling; as ridiculous an idea as some of you may think, it really is a good way to increase your concentration. If you can drown out the lights and the music, you can make it a great practice session. You can't see your mark, so you "area" bowl and work on your "feel game".

Since I worked in a bowling center, I could bowl pretty much bowl anytime I wanted to. I would bowl during Cosmic Bowling to work on my feel. I would also, after the drawers were counted and doors were locked after a league, turn off all of the lane lights and leave the setee lights on and bowl in the dark - the old "moonlight bowling" style. I could barely see my mark, but I didn't worry about it and just watched the ball reaction. Great way to "bowl blind" and let your body work on muscle memory. I can't tell you how many 300's I shot this way, seriously. One night I ran off 30 strikes in a row twice in a span of 61 balls (solid 10 in between).

Cosmic Bowling is just a lucrative way to garner revenue. Yes, to the league bowler, it's blasphemy, but to kids, the loud music and "psychedelic" lighting it's what it's all about. It might drive you and I nuts, but it makes the cash register pretty fat, and that's all the owners care about. Again, most owners feel that open play and Cosmic Bowling will keep the doors open....well, at least until this fad dies out. Then some of them will be left with empty centers during prime league time because they ticked off the league bowlers with a nonchalant attitude towards league bowling.