The Travel Scratch Trios bowling league shall consist of 15 teams with a playing strength of three bowlers per team. A match shall consist of four games. The teams entering average shall not exceed 625. The league will bowl on Tuesdays at 21:15 (9:15pm) for 35 weeks. There will be 10 minutes of practice bowling prior to the start of competition. The first match will commence on 5 September 2000 at Bowl America Chantilly.
The league will rotate each week between Bowl Americas Chantilly and Dranesville. The odd numbered weeks (1, 3, 5, etc.) will be at Bowl America Chantilly and the even numbered weeks (2, 4, 6, etc.) will be at Bowl America Dranesville.
The league will be sanctioned with the American Bowling Congress and Women's International Bowling Congress through its local associations, Nation's Capital Area Bowling Association and Washington, DC, Area Women's Bowling Association.
The management of this league will be vested in the league's Board of Directors which shall consist of its league officers and team captains. The league in attendance at the organizational meeting shall adopt the league rules. League meetings conducted during the course of the season must have two-thirds of the team captains and at league one league office for a quorum. Consent from every league member is required for any rule changes.
The league in attendance at the organizational meeting shall adopt the league rules and the league membership shall elect league officers.
Entering Averages shall be defined in the following manner for all bowlers:
NOTE: Averages will be verified by the league secretary and any errors in the yearbook must be brought to the attention of the league secretary. Failure to do so will result in the application of ABC Rule 114a, which is immediate expulsion from the league and ABC/WIBC, as well as forfeiture of all games won and forfeiture of all monies paid and owed to the league, if exceeds cap.
The amount to be paid each night by each bowler shall be $20.00. Of this fee, $10.25 will cover the cost of bowling, $0.50 will cover the secretary and treasurer fees (to be held in the league treasury) and $9.25 in the league treasury for prizes and awards.
ABC and WIBC sanction fees must be paid on the first night of bowling for those members who are purchasing a card through this league. For the 2000-2001 winter bowling season, the ABC sanction fees are $16.00; the WIBC sanction fees are $14.00.
The bowling fees for the final two weeks of the schedule must be paid by the fifth week. All checks are to be made out to the Travel Trios league and no checks will be accepted during the last four weeks of the season. Any returned check fees shall be borne by the bowler submitting the check for payment. Checks returned for insufficient funds shall be immediately replaced in cash, including any bank charges. Bowlers experiencing two (2) returned checks shall be required to pay cash for the remainder of the season unless approved by the Board of Directors.
In the event a bowler is absent, that bowler must pay for all arrears on the first night back unless other arrangements have been made with, and approved by, the league officers. No one may bowl without paying weekly league fees. All games will be forfeited if a player or team bowls in arrears (excluding absentee bowlers). The team captains are responsible for collecting all money and returning the envelopes to the treasurer by the end of the first game.
The secretary and treasurer salaries shall be paid at the completion of the schedule when all duties have been completed. Some of these duties include, but are not limited to, league sanctioning of all members, application for awards and submitting final averages to the local association. The salary for the secretary shall be $0.25 per bowler per night and the salary for the treasurer shall be $0.25 per bowler per night.
An account shall be opened with Bowl Americas Chantilly and Dranesville in which league funds shall be deposited on a weekly basis. Withdrawals from the account shall be done only with the joint signatures of at league two (2) league officers. The league president shall verify the monthly balance in accordance with ABC rules. Any discrepancies should be reported to the bowling centers.
On the first night of competition, the President shall appoint a committee of three (3) bowlers to draw up three (3) prize lists. The lists shall be approved by the league officers. The league membership shall vote on the prize fund no later than five (5) weeks after the start of the season. All league members get one vote. The winning prize fund must receive at least 51 percent of the votes. If no one prize fund gets 51 percent, then the prize fund receiving the fewest votes will be thrown out and a re-vote will occur. This will continue until one prize fund receives the necessary 51 percent of the vote.
All awards will be paid in cash. A bowler must have bowled in a minimum of one-thirds of the regularly scheduled games to be eligible for a game or series award, and two-thirds of the regularly scheduled games to be eligible remaining. A bowler may win only one individual award, excluding high average and most improved (if approved as a league award). A team may win only one award excluding team position. The most improved bowler will be determined from the 21st game of the current season to the completion of the league.
All team captains shall submit to the secretary on the first night of competition a complete list of all team members, including addresses and phone numbers. Rosters will be limited to four players. All roster changes must be reported to the league secretary prior to bowling. The order on the roster sheets will be the default line-up for each team. Changes may be made through the season as needed.
AThe number of position rounds will be determined by the number of teams in the league where each team will compete against every team at least once through regular rotation. The remainder of the schedule will be balanced with position rounds.
Substitutes will be allowed as long as the 625 average cap, using entering averages only, is maintained. No one may sub for more than one team during the regularly scheduled games each week. This includes league make-ups (pre and post bowled games). Substitutes who later join the league as a regular member will be eligible for awards only from the date of entry as a regular member. The substitute must also meet eligibility requirements for awards.
Absentee scores shall be allowed when a team has less than a full line-up but maintains a legal line-up by the completion of the third frame of a given game. The absentee score shall be the missing bowler's average less ten (10) pins. A bowler must have completed twelve (12) games before the absentee score may be used; otherwise, the vacancy score will be used.
Any blind score may only be used for three consecutive nights. Thereafter, either a substitute or a vacancy score must be used.
When a team does not have enough bowlers on its roster for a full line-up, a vacancy score of 185 will be used, provided it does not exceed the 625 maximum average. If the maximum average is exceeded, the vacancy score will be the highest score allowable not to exceed the team average of 625.
If a member has cause to resign from the league, two weeks written notice must be given. The bowler will be held responsible for paying league fees for those two weeks. All money paid to the league is forfeited, with the exception of the final two weeks of bowling IF prepaid and a replacement is found within the following week of resignation.
A minimum of one (1) rostered bowler must be present at the start of a given game or the game will be forfeited. When a team fails to present a legal line-up, teams bowling must bowl as if the games were being contested. The team bowling must bowl within thirty (30) pins of their team average to win points. Individuals must beat a flat score of 185 (the vacancy score).
Teams and individuals who equal (tie) the score stated will be credited with one-half the points, as governed in head-to-head competition. There will be automatic forfeited losses but no automatic wins.
For the purposes of the first night of bowling, the teams on the odd lanes shall enter their names first (establish their lineup). For the remainder of the season, the team higher in the standings as listed on the sheet shall enter their names first (establish their lineup). All lineup changes must be completed before the first ball is rolled by either team. Lineups, once set, may not be changed for all of that night's bowling. Substitutes must take the spot of the bowler they're replacing.
The league officers shall determine what is sufficient cause for these situations.
In the event that teams bowl unopposed against each other, if the lower seeded team is scheduled to bowl first, the higher seeded team must either declare their lineup prior to, or use their default lineup at the time the opposing team posts their scores. If the higher seeded team is scheduled to bowl first, the lower seeded team will be given their opposing team's lineup prior to posting their scores.
Bowlers arriving after the match has begun shall be permitted to make-up the missed frames provided the anchor bowler of the opposing team has not completed the third frame. If a bowler arrives after the completion of the third frame, that bowler may complete any remaining games other than the game in progress.
The league shall use a match point system for awarding points won. This system has a maximum of 25 points won per night. The 25 points are awarded as follows:
When bowling against a blind score, teams and individuals must beat the score stated in order to get credit for points won. Teams and individuals who equal (tie) the score stated will be credited with one-half the points, as governed in head-to-head competition.
NOTE: For position rounds, should two or more teams be tied for a certain position, the ranking shall be determined by total pinfall (as listed on the weekly standings sheets).
On position rounds, if the first place team is far enough ahead of second place that they can not be caught, they will compete against the last place team. The starting lanes for the final position round will match up the second versus third place teams, the next pair will match the fourth versus fifth place teams, etc.
Individuals will be allowed to be in arrears for only one week. If the bowler or team does not pay fees due the following week, that bowler, or substitute for that bowler, will be given a score of zero for each game and no substitutes will be allowed. The last two weeks do not count towards arrearages. All arrearages will be deducted from that team's payoff at the end of the season.
Rules governing a playoff shall be the same as outlined in the ABC/WIBC rule book. The game fees involved will be paid for by the league.
All rules not covered herein shall refer to the current ABC/WIBC rule book.
The league officers for the 2001 winter season, as elected by the general membership prior to the first night of competition, are:
President: Lee Cassidy
Vice President: Aki Damme
Secretary: Bob Ashley
Treasurer: Scott Laflen