Saturday, April 29, 2006

Responses from USBC

Here are two e-mails received from Roger Dalken, CEO at USBC

The first:

Dear Kathi:

Thanks for the information.  I'll try to provide you with the information you requested.  Please understand that an auditor does not look at every account and every transaction, but does tests on the process.  The audited financial statements of USBC are published annually and are in the delegates' book distributed at convention.  Do you want the audited financials sent electronically in PDF form?

What I actually think you are looking for is the budget breakdown for the Junior Gold, the list on investment instruments used for SMART, and the expenses charged buy USBC to manage SMART.  I just want to verify this before I send you something you don't want.

The second:

Dear Kathi:

I will get the information and forward it to you Monday.

In answer to your questions, we have to administer a program nationwide and to set individual standards based on state or even local athletic eligibilities would be virtually impossible.

The only change that has some impact is the change of the ring or watch to a medal and certificate.  The recognition by the national organization is still there, just the form has been modified to comply with athletic eligibility requirements.  Parents or the athlete still has the option to buy the ring.

The scholarships have not been abandoned or outlawed, only that once the youth qualifies for the scholarship it is administered by the National Governing Body of the sport.  the NCAA does not want to monitor, review or approve multiple independent organizations within a sport to be sure they comply.  The NCAA simply, as a result of their bylaws, assigns the responsibility of administering scholarships to the NGB to assure compliance.

Thus, the recognition is still there, the scholarships are still available.  we are simply trying to protect youth against potential eligibility issue as bowling becomes more recognized as a sport.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

E-Mail I have sent to USBC

Gentleman:
I have been running junior tournaments in the Northeast for the past five years.
I have been using SMART until just recently...

I am more than concerned about the operations of the USBC organization. I have
previously requested an accounting of the SMART program and the Jr. Gold
National Championship. I wanted a copy of the audited statements. I was told I
couldn't have them. It is really audacious to try to strong arm me into
investing my junior bowlers scholarship money in your fund without any assurance
that it will be well managed.

I also think the allocated portion of Jr. Gold entry fees to expenses is
absolutely exorbitant....$104,000, give or take, to run a tournament...not
counting entry fees for survivors, doubles and team events, and opening and
closing ceremonies and membership fees of $25/$30 per member (whether or not
they qualify for the tournament)...come on.

Last year the entry fee allocation for Jr. Gold was 50-50-50. 50x1500=75,000
plus other fees. How that could not be sufficient is beyond me. Scholarships
awarded were $50,000. What happened to the other $25,000? I assume that is the
$25,000 you have so generously added to this year's purse.

I work hard to provide a decent amount of scholarship dollars for my bowlers
without just handing it over to anyone with carte blanche in management of if. I
provide nearly the only chance the junior bowlers in New England have to qualify
for Jr. Gold.

There seems to be a strong undercurrent of displeasure with USBC with the
revision of your non-awards program. There is no high school bowling in
Connecticut or most of New England. And I see no prospect of it in the near
future. Without the rings/medals/scholarship dollars to recognize their
achievements, what is the advantage to them for me to continue sanctioning my
tournaments?

Kathi McCaw
Northeast Junior Scratch Tour

Chuck states it well...please read

To all our junior bowlers and their families,
 
The United States Bowling Congress (USBC) is in the process of making changes in their rules that will affect all junior bowlers. The JBT thinks most of these rules are not in the best interest of junior bowling and we are fighting for what we think is right. If you visit http://www.bowl.com/ most of the changes are explained there.
 
Our biggest concerns/complaints involve:
1) Beginning next season, the USBC will REQUIRE all certified tournaments to use their banking system (it's called SMART) for scholarship money. The JBT has always handled it's own scholarship money since we began awarding scholarships in the late 1980's and has had no problems. If we use SMART, we will receive less or possibly NO interest on the money they hold. This interest is crucial in helping add to the prize list of many of our special events in which you compete. This is not fair to you!
 
2) Beginning next season, the USBC will ELIMINATE rings, watches, etc that are awarded for honor scores such as 300, 800 and 700 for girls. They believe these awards may endanger your eligibility in other sports. It sure hasn't stopped football, basketball and other high school sports teams from awarding rings to their champions. This has not been a problem in the past and we feel they are trying to fix something that isn't broken. This is one less set of awards available to you even though the sanction fee is set to INCREASE. These rings, etc. will be available for you to PURCHASE if you "earn" one.
 
3) If the JBT (and other organizations) refuse to allow USBC to earn interest on our money, our events will not be certified by the USBC. We are trying to find a way to work with the USBC to avoid this from happening, but it doesn't look promising. We are not willing to sacrifice prize money from YOUR special events by allowing USBC to keep the interest earned on JBT scholarship funds.
 
4) If we are not certified, we will not be permitted to run Junior Gold qualifying events next season during our regular events. We are also trying to find a solution to this problem, but the best we can hope for is a few events to be run, which will results in fewer of our bowlers qualifying for the Junior Gold tournament in Buffalo next July.
 
The Junior Bowlers Tour is not alone in their stance against these changes. Almost all similar organizations around the country are disappointed and outraged at what USBC is doing to the tournament groups, leagues, local associations, bowling centers and MOST OF ALL the junior bowlers.
 
Please make yourself aware of what is happening that threatens the quality of junior bowling everywhere. There is a message board which has started a thread about this subject. Please read it and feel free to comment. (don't be confused by the name of the link)
 
BallReviews.com - Bowling Balls, Bowling Ball, Bowling Ball Reviews, BowlingBalls, Bowling Ball Review
 
 
The two people we have been dealing with regarding these issues are the CEO of USBC, Mr. Roger Dalkin and Mr. Gary Brown, also of the USBC. If you feel the need to voice your concerns to them after understanding the situation, they can be reached at:
 
Roger.Dalkin@bowl.com
 
Gary.Brown@bowl.com
 
Although we expect you will be as outraged as we are once you are completely aware of the situation, we urge you to show these men the respect their position deserves should you decide to contact them.
 
Thank you for taking the time to read this. We felt you should know what is happening behind the scenes that will affect all of us.
 
Chuck Pezzano Jr., Director
Junior Bowlers Tour

Monday, April 24, 2006

Results of Tournament at Fishkill Bowl

46 bowlers (37 boys and 9 girls) competed in 5 divisions. The field average was 192.7 on a house shot.







In the Prep Division Taylor
LeClair (Athens, NY) defeated Brittany Reid (Enfield, CT) 169-134 then Corado Marone (Poughkeepsie, NY) 161-131 for the gold medal.











Christopher Layton (Beacon, NY) climbed the ladder defeating Andrew
Golding (Pleasant Valley, NY) 243-211 and Sean Finlay (Fishkill, NY) 189-178 only to fall to Craig Alexander (Rye Brook, NY) and win the bronze medal. Shane Fleury (Plainfield, VT) defeated Craig 248-203 for the win in the Junior Boys Division.












The Major Boys Division had the largest field for this event with 18 competitors. Brian Dyksinski (Poughkeepsie, NY) scaled the step-ladder in dramatic fashion. He defeated Jacob Bersch (Chatham, NY) 257-199, then Danny Khuu (Brockton, MA) 227-175, then T. J. Bailey (Hopewell Junction, NY) 234-186, and finally, for the win, Scott Alexander (Rye Brook, NY) 246-194.











Alexandra Kiesman (Attleboro, MA) won the Girls Division. Stephanie Brockway (Wappingers Falls, NY) finished 2nd with Christine Belsky (Attleboro, MA) 3rd.








Jim O'Connor (Wappingers Falls, NY) took gold in the Collegiate Boys Division. Dan Quesnell (Kingston, NY) received the silver medal. Josh Parthree (S. Easton, MA) earned the third place bronze.

19 at Lowell Lanes L

#19 at Lowell Lanes, Lowell, MA on April 9th

27 bowlers competed…21 guys and 6 gals.

The Prep and Junior Girl Divisions were uncontested with gold medals being
awarded, respectively, to sisters Jackie and Jessica Evans.

Alexandra Kiesman (Attleboro, MA) won the Girls Division defeating Brittany
Garcia (Amherst, NH) 255-224 in the final match of the step-ladder. Karrie
Stockley (Charleston, ME) was 3rd.

Cameron Lawson (E. Barre, VT) defeated Cody Reichenberger (VT) 200-197 to
win the Junior Boys Division. Keith Poulin (Manchester, NH) placed 3rd.

In the Major Boys Division, Ben Lester (Wallkill, NY) worked his way up the ladder only to be defeated by
Mike Ciampi (Barre, VT) 153-188. Derrick Hamm (Raynham, MA) took the
bronze medal.

Billy Trudell (Coventry, RI) defeated Chris Page (Cumberland, RI) 191-160 to
garner the gold medal in the Collegiate Boys Division. Lenny Ernst (Brockton,
MA) got the bronze.

Sunday, April 23, 2006

Changes for our Second Season

Please check the message board for changes I'm considering for next season. There are a few polls set up.

Please look at them and place your votes for your preferences....

Hope to see most of you today at Fishkill...except for those of you competing in the first weekend of Ct's Pepsi Finals....good luck to you (Caitlin, Kyle, Adam....etc)

Sunday, April 02, 2006

18th Event of the Season at Silver Lanes

46 entries…38 boys…8 girls…on a sport condition…field average was 167.55.

Collegiate Boys division was won by Billy Trudell (RI) in a 9th and 10th frame roll-off with Tony Bennett (MA). Anthony Valentine (CT) took 3rd place.

Leigh Pratt (NY) eked out a win over Amie Tomblin (NH) 176-175 to win the Girls Division. Brittany Garcia (NH) placed 3rd.

Tim Steward (NY) defeated new-comer Tyler Alston (CT) to take the gold medal in the Junior Boys Division. Stephen Rogers (NY) won the bronze medal.

The Junior Girl Division was again un-contested. Jessica Evans (MA) got the gold.

With a field of 18, 8 Major Boys advanced to the finals. Jim Bosse (CT) prevailed for the division win. Steve Stahursky (CT) finished 2nd. Floyd Prince (NY) 3rd.

Corrado Marone (NY) in his second tournament defeated Taylor LeClair (NY) for the Prep Division gold. Jackie Evans (MA) placed 3rd.

34 bowlers are now qualified for the Championship Tournament June 24-25.
59 others can still qualify for the tournament.
The BASH is open to everyone.