Flying to tournaments

Several guys on one of my leagues have flown all over the world going to tournaments, they even went to the United Arab Emirates a couple times. I asked them if they are still going to be going to all the tournaments this year and only one of them is brave enough to although he said all the tournaments in the middle east are now out of the question.

If you regularly participate in the international and domestic tournaments that you have to fly too are you going to sit them out this year or are you still making plans to go?

Are the airlines making more restrictions on bowling equipment? I heard that a few airlines specifically banned bowling bags and anything over 25 pounds.

My friends and I will usually go to a couple tournaments on the east coast, most of us are sitting them all out this year.

I had plans to go to my parents for Thanksgiving but I don't think I'm going to even go to that.

If anyone has flown since 9-11 with their balls and equipment I would appreciate it if you could share your experiences with us. I'm thinking accessory bags, with files, tools, etc...are out of the question, and do we even bother to seal up our ball boxes, because I'm sure they would be opened and searched anyway.

Our teams will be traveling, so any tips from your experience would be welcomed!

Very good topic

As far as flying in the post Sept 11th world, there has really never been a safer time to fly at any time in American history. Flying overseas to the Middle East is another situation altogether, I don't think I'd do that either.\

I have not had to fly with bowling equipment since Sept 11th, so I really don't know what to expect. I'd guess that if you have your tool bag in your bowling bag that is going under the plane in cargo, that really wouldnt be a problem since you wouldn't be able to get underneath the plane when it is in flight. I wouldn't take the tool bag in your carryon luggage though, that might be frowned upon LOL.

Has anyone flown with bowling equipment lately? I'm hearing from some that there are no problems and others say the airlines won't accept the equipment. One friend got where he was going with 3 balls but when he went to the airport to go home they wouldn't let him check his balls so he had to ship his stuff back home at great expense.

A couple of my teammates are planning to go the ABCs and they said that Delta, United, and American are not permitting any bowling balls or shoes as carry ons. United and American have also placed a limit on weight and only allow ONE ball to be checked with your luggage! They're supposedly making you open your checked luggage if it is over 15 pounds.

If you would like to check into it, there is a shipping service for your bowling ballls at Nationals. Not sure if this will help, and don't really know much info on it, but I have seen the booth at Nationals.

Anna Lynnette Broussard

Here is the info for the shipping service:


ABC Championships Tournament Equipment Shipping Information
USBC Bowling Ball Express
The United States Bowling Congress staff is pleased to announce that due to the success of last year, Bowling Ball Express will be offered again during the 2005 American Bowling Congress Championships Tournament. This service is mainly provided due to most airline baggage policies that still only allow 50 pounds per baggage piece. There are provisions/instructions of the contract and they are as follows:

All pre-paid mailing labels for shipments will be obtained from the Internet site through abctournament.com with a link to UPS.com . Each team is encouraged to help each person on the team with his or her shipping needs as some might not have access to the Internet.

Only equipment shipments processed using the ABC program will receive our discounted UPS rates. Shipments processed outside of the program will pay UPS regular published rates and a processing fee will be assessed at time of pick-up.

Affix labels to shipping box(s) using a clear shipping pouch, which are available at the UPS Store or UPS staffed centers.

Shipments will be billed freight collect to USBC and paid for, along with a by weight processing fee, upon arrival at the convention center when pick-up is made.

The UPS ground time in transit from the East or West Coast to Baton Rouge is 3 business days (Monday-Friday). USBC recommends you add two additional days to assure equipment arrival before your team squad.

Shipments can be dropped off at any UPS Store or at a staffed UPS Counter. Shipments can also be included with a normal UPS shipping stop at a place of business. The package icon located on the label will indicate to UPS that the shipment is pre-paid by ABC. Under no circumstances should a member call UPS for a pickup as additional charges will be assessed.

Shipments may be picked up at the Baton Rouge River Center between the hours of 8:00 AM and 9:30 PM .

Outgoing shipments from the convention center will be paid for at time of shipment and will be delivered to your home address and will be slightly higher in cost due to residence delivery costs.
Finally, by printing the label, you release the United States Bowling Congress tournament personnel, agents and/or vendors from any liability pertaining to this shipment. You understand that United Parcel Service provides minimum liability insurance in the amount of $100.00 on each shipment and that additional insurance can be purchased for $.50 per $100.00 as outlined in the existing contract. You also understand that USBC DOES NOT provide supplemental insurance in the case where UPS insurance will not honor a claim and/or pay a claim.

If you experience any problems using this service, please contact Bowling Ball Express in Baton Rouge at 225-383-0480.

I had no problems with Jet Blue. They allowed 100 pounds per bag, and allowed 3 checked bags and one carryon plus a laptop if you carryed it on. So I took 2 triple rollers with me, a suitcase, and my laptop. Flew into New Orleans and then we rented a car and drove to Baton Rouge. My doubles partner, who also flew on the same flight, also had a triple roller and a two ball bag with one ball in it, and he bought a ball out there, snd came back with a triple roller and a double bag with no problems.

I have flown all over the US with my 4 ball roller. I break it down into 2 parts and have had no problems with United and Southwest. American was another story. I flew American to Baton Rouge with a stop over in Dallas/Fort Worth. I watched them put the bottom part, with the handle in the up position, onto the conveyer. As it is going up it is getting closer and closer to te edge. At about 6 - 7 feet off the ground it goes crashing to the concrete below. Thankfully the bowling equipment survived. There is now one wheel bent. but it still sort of rolls.

I just came back from Baton Rouge. I flew Delta and checked 2 2-ball totes with no problem and carried a samll roller bag on as carry-on. Delta's bag policy is you can check two bags for free as long as they don't weight over 40lbs(each) I also put my White Dot in my carry-on and had no problems with security. All they did was open the bag, look at the ball, run their detector wand around the ball and the bag, and let me take it on the plane.