I bowl at a center that is in major disrepair. There mechanic quit a couple months ago and they haven't replaced him. They also have a revolving door on pinchasers. No one knows what they are doing there including the manager. The machines always break down and it takes them a long time for them to open back up. When we complain or ask to move to another pair they say its reserved for open bowling. They also tell anyone who says anything, "go bowl somewhere else, we'll make more on open bowlers and parties." Recently there have been a couple 300s thrown but they were not approved because the lanes were illegal. The center didn't even apologize to those people. We have to finish out the season in the center because there is no place else to move the league. The whole league is ready to move if there was a slot open at the other centers but they are all full.

What can we do? Contacting the ABC wont do anything because the obviously don't care that they are going to loose their sanction.

My only suggestion would be to disband the league and join a league at another center.

I agree you should give the league two weeks notice and find another center to bowl in. It's a shame what has happened in the bowling business for the last ten years or so. I have even seen tournament clubs have to alter the finals to accomadate cosmic bowling! If they don't want your business take it to a center that does!

I am bowling at a center and we are having similar problems. This season (our first there after their sister center closed), we had to trim to 14 teams from 19, because the house lied to us and said they could take our whole league. Since the start of the season, we have had two postponements/makeups (one team was involved in both of those) and three delays of more than 45 minutes (my team got two of those). The foul lights haven't worked all season. The pin deck on lane 16 is so bad (I thank the bowling gods that we don't bowl on that pair), balls that roll over a bad spot in front of the 8 pin, jump off the deck, hit high on the curtain and rebound back on to the lane! I have tried to get repairs set in motion at this house, but those pleas have fallen on deaf ears. A few weeks ago, I e-mailed the ABC (without mentioning the center's name) with this info. After what happened last week, I re-wrote the ABC giving them the center's name. Here's the scenario: we are bowling on lanes 23 and 24 (which have seriously broken down a few times this season), after the bowler in front of me has his spare shot swept away by gate, we have to wait a bit to get the pins respot. He shoots the split, and then I come up. I shoot my first ball and leave the 3-10. Gate sweeps the pins away. I told them repeatedly to set the split up so I can get the frame over and then they can work on the machine. Twenty minutes go by, I go down in back, grab two pins and tell them: "I am going to set up my own pins, wait til I shoot it then fix the machine." They listen to me this time. Of course after waiting 25 mintes to shoot, I miss the spare (shocker).
They finally fix the machine (after a total of 50 minutes of delays). In the mean time, I am going onto other lanes and resetting pins because they are so shorthanded. We get to game 3 and part way through the game, the have-a-ball-house-non-sanctioned league comes in and starts around us. Of course, the house has given these "fun" bowlers no etiquette lessons, and these bowlers are "running" up on us. I ask the manager for a second of his time, and he says "I'm busy" (he was putting league recaps out for the fun league). I go over and interrupt him (my bad), alert him to what's going on in regard to the other bowlers running up, and then he calls me rude. We really start getting mad, a bowler on our opponent's team says "This wouldn't have happened if the lane hadn't broken down." The manager responds: "You guys are lucky to be bowling here" then adds, "we are not going to ask you back next year". Little does he know, that no one wants to go back there, and that our league is in negotiations to move to another center.

If you need a copy of the e-mail I sent to the ABC, please don't hesitate to e-mail at Burlbowl@aol.com . I will give you a copy of my letter to the ABC along with the proper address to send it also.

[ February 13, 2001: Message edited by: Skipper - The Rocket ]

[MORE] I forgot to add:
You probably CAN NOT quit your league because of the house. If you do, you may be in violation of your contract with the house for your league, if you have one.

I meant disband the league at the end of the season, then bowl elsewhere.

Oops

The original "bwlrdude"

Well my team and several other gave notice this week. We're done all done with that house in two weeks, FOR GOOD!

The rest of this season we're just going to sub and get together on the weekends at another house for their weekend pot tournaments. It's not a league but it will have to do.

You had better hope the house doesn't bring you up on charges for failure to complete league schedule. If they do, be prepared to be suspended from the ABC.

We spoke with the association before giving notice!!!.....



Besides the house is about to lose its sanction. If that should happen before the two weeks is up, we can walk then and there! Association director thinks it probably will.

[ 03-03-2001: Message edited by: The Fish Bowl ]