Hi all,

I'll be bowling the nationals this year in Reno at the bowling stadium. Does anyone have a good idea what kind of conditions I can expect? Extreme oil or dry? I haven't been to the stadium yet, but I hear it's pretty [censored] nice, and I really am looking forward to bowling there. Thanks guys.

The Stadium is a place every bowler should experience at least once in their life. The entire building is awsome. Get to your squad about 1/2 hour early so you can get your balls checked in. Make sure you adhere to the dress code. Get something to eat prior to your squad because as we discussed on another thread, there is no eating or drinking allowed, plus you are not allowed to leave the bowling area without permission (bathroom breaks). There's water, but only available in pointy paper cups that you cannot set down. Just drink what you need at the time and throw the cup away.

Bring an assortment of equipment. No telling what's going to work for you and your style. But often the most aggressive snappiest ball you like in league will not work here. its a flat pattern. Don't count of playing anywhere from 5 to 10 board, that area is not available for most bowlers. Bring a spare ball. If you do not have a spare ball, get one and get used to it before this competition.

Enjoy.

Erin

There Probally put a sport pattern down. Good Luck though and HAve Fun. I never bowled there but have visited the Stadium looks awesome.

Hey thanks for the info. The way I've been bowling recently I'm gonna need all the help I can get! No eating! That sucks; I guess I'll have to do the whole candy bar in the bag thing again. That's too bad that 5 to 10 is out of bounds. Honestly I'm getting tired of centers creating a huge out of bounds area just to make the shot harder. I mean what's next? Lanes that are 10 boards skinnier!!? Oh well, it will definitely prove to be a good challenge. Thanks again guys.

I never eat during bowling anyway. So the no food rule is not a problem for me. There's also no break between doubles and singles. You also get two practise balls on each lane, that's it. No more no less. You get one rack worth of pins. No reracking and once the pins are gone you are practising true shadow practise. No smoke breaks either.

There is a concession stand in the bowling alley and a sports bar. If they are open then food is availble to you right there before and after bowling. If your squad is real early or real late then of course they will be closed. Luckily Reno is pretty much a 24 hour town, so you can find food any time of the day or night.

If you have a medical condition that might make you break the rules make sure you tell the lane moniters.

Erin

They Get real strick. I can see the no eating. I dont eat either while bowling. But Bathroom breaks i guess if you dont eeat or drink you can survive with out them.

You can get permission to go to the bathroom. But they have a lot of squads each day and a lot of people bowling, so its important to not lag behind. There are also brackets available. If you think you are not good enough to participate in brackets think again. This oil pattern is so tricky that its not unusual to win your bracket with a sub 150 game.

Erin

Why is Reno so much stricter than Corpus Christi? There was a break between singles and doubles, for a snack, rest room use, or smoke break for many. Can you chew gum?

I've never had a problem with people needing to go to the bathroom being told no in Reno or anywhere else. And I've bowled quite a few events in Reno from ABC, WIBC, Mixed Doubles, and now USBC. Certainly in team event, with five on a lane, it's not going to be a problem to time it so as not to hold anyone up.

And in doubles/singles, with four people bowling per pair, you're supposed to let the scorekeeper folks know you are leaving your pair so they don't give you a zero for disappearing. But I've never seen anyone told they couldn't go. Often they will suggest you wait until the switch between d/s. If your pair is slightly ahead, there is plenty of time to do just about anything. If your pair is slightly behind, they'll ask you to wait until the switch to keep you from holding the other pair up even further.

Also, please note, the no food issue is NOT nearly as strict as some will claim. I have had doctor's notes some years and other years I just warn my scorekeeper that if I start to feel dizzy I have something in my bag. One year, I did bowl with an actual doctor, and he took care of everything for all the folks in our group (Hi Doc!). You can't pound food while bowling, and I disagree with the rule just on its face (and successfully had it removed at the local youth tournaments), but they're trying to keep people from tracking strange things onto the approach rather than trying to see how many diabetics, hypoglycemics and others they can get to pass out from sugar issues.

Hi Angel, thanks for the info. When we bowled in Corpus Christi last March, our set actually got a break between doubles and singles, for whatever their needs were. Just thought that would be the same. It sounded too restrictive in the discussion.

I am looking forward to Reno. I've never been there. Don't want to go with a pre- concieved negative feeling.

I'm usually one who fights the majority on behalf of the minority, whether I am one of them or not. I have been shot leading the charge many times.

I bowled in Corpus too and we didn't have a break. I guess that it depends on how fast the lane you are moving to bowls.

The one rule that I don't like is the no applying powder to your finger holes. Before every shot, I take my rosin bag and tap my fingers and thumb, then wipe the ball off. At Nationals, that is a no-no. My first Nationals was at Reno in 2001 and I did it once before I got yelled at. If it was a USBC rule, then I would understand. But it isn't.

As for the conditions, most players throw the ball deep inside (4th to 5th arrow). Although at Corpus, I saw a guy going straight up 8 board with a vis-a-ball and didn't have a series below 700. The main thing is consistency. Like Erin said, have a spare ball and get very used to it. I normally only use mine for 6 and 10 pins. This year I am using it for almost every single pin spares. I can't tell you how many 9 pins I missed last year. I would get it a touch wide and it wouldn't finish or I would tug it a bit and zip right past it.

The main thing is have fun and don't get disappointed if you shoot bad. I have seen some really good bowlers go there and look like they just picked up bowling that day. Enjoy the experience.

I guess some tournment have certian rules. Never heard the No Rosin rule. Shouldnt be illegal even some of the pro's use rosin.

The no-rosin rule is there for the same reason the no food or drink rule is; because some bowlers are just plain sloppy. Same goes for the no easy slide rule. How many times have you ever seen someone apply rosin to their ball or easy slide to their feet and leave a dust cloud or not wipe off the residual? I've seen it quite a few times and actually had to tell a couple of people to wipe off the extra as a courtesy to the other bowlers bowling on that pair.

And as far as the no food or drink rule goes, I did not mention that there were special circumstances. My wife is a diabetic and she's allowed to eat during competition. They're not going to disallow any food to everyone else they'd have a lawsuit on their hands. But unless you have a medical condition that requires you to eat food or drink something other water during competition, you're stuck with water and nothing else. Again, I understand the basis for it, but I don't agree with it which is why I won't bowl in that tournament.

GP, last year at Corpus Christi, I found that I would dive through the head with a particle ball, leaving many 6-10's. On about half, I picked the 6 off. There was a tail on the back end. I still don't use a spare ball.
I too bowled with a 350 series on one side and a 750 series on the other side of me. I cashed in doubles and singles though. My first tourney in 25 years, and a payout. I was happy. Although, I gave most of it back in the brackets.

Bowling in the stadium is an interesting experience. I have bowled there several times (tournaments and sweeper nights for some of my leagues).

I can tell you that the shot could be anything from flooded to super dry. I remember once that I had to point from the corner to the head pin and another time when I had to stand 35 and throw out 22 to keep the ball on the right side of the lane.

You should come prepared for anything. It is an awesome experience and everyone should do it at least once in their lifetime.

Mike

I've been reading the posts as I plan to bowl in Reno this year. I'm not even concerned with the shot...not going to beat myself up about that before I even step into the place. Two practice balls is also not an issue, so long as you have a benchmark starting position and ball. Normally, I take my Fired Up and stand 20, hit 10 and take it out to around 5 to get a feel for any lanes...again, no problem with that. The eating thing, not an issue...much like Erin, I don't eat when I bowl. I normally don't do anything to change the feel my hand, fingers, etc. I ensure that I eat before bowling and at the very least take an energy bar or protein bar with me and that usually gets me by.

What I do see as being a potential problem is the rule regarding the application of rosin on your fingers. I use a dry towel on my shoes, which I don't even allow near my rosin bag, then I pat my rosin bag and touch my fingers on it before I insert them into the ball. Not only is this my pre-shot routine, but it also ensures that my hands are dry, because my hands tend to sweat a little.

I can understand not wanting rosin/EZ slide all over the lanes, approaches, etc, but there's a big difference in someone using EZ slide on their shoe and someone patting a rosin bag in an effort to keep their hands dry. That should be more of a discretionary rule, and if someone is seen using EZ slide for their shoe, etc., then it should be dealt with accordingly.

Just my opinion...

You'll just have to change your preshot routine and not use the rosin on the ball. They allow rosin, but you have to keep it back in the seating area and away from the ball return. So, apply it to your hand before heading up to bowl, that's all. I'm sure it is because they had too many issues with rosin all over the approaches from guys patting their ball and then wiping. The tournament doesn't have time for dealing with approach cleaning problems (although I've still had my share of approach sticking over the years before SSTs).

The shot is never the same and can change quite a bit as you bowl. It is fresh for the first S/D squad in the morning and then fresh again for both Team squads. Besides that, the other S/D squads get leftover shots. Sometimes there is no telling what you'll have out there, it depends a lot on what the bowlers ahead of your squad were doing.

It is difficult bowling for the most part. If you can find a shot with a couple boards of area and hit the pocket consistently, you are in good shape. Try to stay with it, maybe adjusting slightly in if the line you're playing begins to breakdown. Like others have said, deep inside tends to do better than outside... however, outside can produce! I have scored well playing straight up 5 a couple of times, including my all-time best - a 1904 All Events score in 1998 in Reno.

If you get in brackets, you will need to make spares to make money. There aren't too many bowlers out there stringing strikes. The difference between winning and losing in the brackets is often because of too many missed spares.

Don't get discouraged if you struggle out there. It happens to many... no, it happens to most. I've seen 200+ house bowlers reduced to rubble at the Nationals. I've advanced in brackets with games in the 150-160 range quite often. Keep plugging away and trying.

It's an experience I never grow tired of. Year #13 coming up on Mar 3 & 4 for me. Can't wait. Good luck!!

I love going to the Nationals. I normally don't bowl every well but I have fun. I have shot some decent games but like BeachBuzzard said, spares are the killer. The oil patterns basically make you throw straight at almost all spares. One of the best pots out there is the 30 clean pot cause it is really hard to go 30 clean. I consider myself a pretty good bowler and I have broken 600 only a couple of times in the 4 times I have been (Reno twice, Knoxville, and Corpus). When you go, don't get upset if you bowl bad. It happens. I bowl with people who make me look like a kid who just picked up a ball yesterday and they struggle. Just enjoy the experience and have fun.

I went for the first time two years ago, but it wasn't the first time I bowled on a competitive pattern.... Blind squirrel found a nut and Stayed there! In singles I went 206, 259, 266. Got a very nice paycheck! :)coupled with a 572 in team, and a 578 in doubles (I missed a few spares in those events)I ended up with 1879 for all events. Not to shabby for my first outing. Also told my doubles partner to be quiet during the team event so I could concentrate. He would not stop yapping during the team and doubles! "why am I bowling bad, why isn't my ball hooking and yours is, etc etc"


And I have a new spare ball all ready for reno, and that puppy is being carried on the plane with me.

I've never needed my spare ball at Nationals. The right side spares are so straight I use my strike ball (it ain't gunna hook away) even for 10 pins. And the left side runs away, so i just give it a couple more boards. Though I bring it, basically as a security blanket.

Erin

The OP asked about the conditions at the Stadium. The below web address is the actual conditions as posted on bowl.com.

http://www.bowl.com/downloads/pdf/tournaments/OpenChamps/2007LaneConditions.pdf

Other posters have advised to take several different balls. This is a must!!! However, you should also know that if you travel with 3 balls in a bowling bag you WILL have problems coming home from Reno. Most airlines will accept a 3-ball bag as a piece of checked luggage. Normally you can get on the airplane at home without question. For some reason baggage handlers in Reno have protested this policy and charge for overweight/oversize parcels. I was witness to this in 2004 the last time Nationals were in Reno. A traveler was arguing with an airport supervisor about the airlines acceptance of the 3-ball bag as a normal piece of checked luggage. It got to the point that he was in jeopardy of not going home. It ultimately cost him extra to check his bowling bag. The National Tournament has a service called Bowling Ball Express (BBE). Using it, one can ship their equipment to the venue and the BBE people will accept shipment and have everything ready for you when you get there. When finished bowling you use BBE to ship them home again. They won't accept bowling bags, so just use your bag as a suitcase. Fill it with clothes and take it with you on the air plane.

Have fun
Mike

When I use a spare ball for my 10 pins, I use it all of the time. Going back and forth messes me up more than the lane conditions could ever do. That being said, neither way has really worked for me at Nationals :-)