ILLINOIS BOWLING ASSOCIATION --- SPLIT STATE TOURNAMENT
AT THE ILLINOIS BOWLING
ASSOCIATION’S 1982 BOARD MEETING, THE BOARD, FACED WITH DECLINING PARTICIPATION IN
THE ANNUAL STATE TOURNAMENT, DECIDED THAT PERHAPS A CHANGE IN THE TOURNAMENT OPERATIONS
WAS NEEDED.
THERE WAS AWARENESS OF THE VARIOUS REASONS WHY THE BOWLERS DID NOT BOWL, BUT LARGELY IT
WAS DUE TO THE DISTANCE INVOLVED, ILLINOIS BEING APPROXIMATELY 400 MILES IN LENGTH, AND
200 MILES WIDE
THE IBA BOARD, AND PARTICULARLY THE TOURNAMENT COMMITTEE CONTINUED TO DISCUSS THE CONCEPT. THE DECISION WAS MADE TO PUT THE SPLIT STATE CONCEPT BEFORE THE BOWLERS AT THE 1989 STATE TOURNAMENT, VIA A QUESTIONNAIRE. THE BASIC QUESTION, WOULD THEY BOWL IN THE TOURNAMENT IF THE TOURNAMENT OPERATED ON THE SPLIT STATE CONCEPT. THE MAJORITY OF THE QUESTIONNAIRES SHOWED NO OBJECTION. SEVERAL STATED THAT WHILE THEY DID NOT NECESSARILY AGREE WITH THE CONCEPT, THEY WOULD STILL BOWL, AND ONLY ONE PERSON SAID THEY WOULD NOT BOWL.
PARTICIPATION: IN 1988 THERE WERE 457 FIVE MAN TEAM ENTRIES AND IN 1989, 523 TEAMS.
THE FIRST YEAR UNDER THE SPLIT STATE CONCEPT, 1990, ENTRIES INCREASED TO 599 FIVE MAN TEAMS. MORE RECENTLY, THERE WERE 937 FIVE PERSON TEAMS IN 2000, 947 FOR 2001 AND 932 FOR THE YEAR 2002.
1.
DIVIDE THE STATE INTO TWO SECTIONS.
ILLINOIS IS DIVIDED ON A NORTH-SOUTH BASIS.
OTHER STATES MIGHT FIND IT MORE ADVANTAGEOUS WITH AN EAST/WEST SPLIT.
2. SPLITTING THE STATE IN TWO SECTIONS, IS DONE ONLY FOR THE PURPOSE OF
DECIDING WHICH BOWLING ESTABLISHMENT WILL HOST THE TOURNAMENT.
3. THE BOWLER
DETERMINES WHICH SITE THEY PREFER TO BOWL. ORIGINALLY,
WITH A CHAMPIONSHIP ROLL-OFF BETWEEN SECTIONALS, THE BOWLER
COULD BOWL IN ONLY ONE SECTIONAL. THE REASON FOR THIS—SO THAT THE BOWLER WOULD
NOT BE THE WINNER OF THE SAME EVENT AT BOTH SECTIONALS,
CREATING A POSSIBLE CONFLICT.
4. LATER, IT WAS DECIDED TO ELIMINATE THE CHAMPIONSHIP ROLL-OFF, ALLOWING A BOWLER TO BOWL IN BOTH SECTIONALS.
5. WHILE THE BOWLER
MAY NOW BOWL IN BOTH SECTIONALS, THE SCORES FROM ONE SECTIONAL COULD NOT BE USED IN THE
OTHER SECTIONAL, SUCH AS FOR ALL EVENTS.
METHOD FOR SELECTING THE BOWLING ESTABLISHMENTS, IN ILLINOIS.
1. CURRENTLY, THE
NORTH SECTIONAL BOWLING CENTER MUST PROVIDE AT LEAST 32 LANES AND THE SOUTH SECTIONAL BOWLING
CENTER MUST PROVIDE AT LEAST 24
LANES.
2. THE ILLINOIS
STATE TOURNAMENT IS BID OUT TWO YEARS IN ADVANCE. BIDS
ARE SENT OUT FOLLOWING THE END OF THE TOURNAMENT THEN IN OPERATION OF THE TWO YEAR
ARRANGEMENT.
3. EACH ABC CERTIFIED BOWLING ESTABLISHMENT IN THE STATE, MEETING OUR LANE REQUIREMENTS, ETC., ARE INVITED TO SUBMIT A BID. THE BOWLING CENTERS ARE ADVISED WE WILL BE SELECTING THE SITES FOR TWO CALENDAR YEARS, SOT HEY CAN BID FOR ONE OR BOTH YEARS.
4. THE BID
REQUEST, NOT ONLY LISTS DATES REQUIRED, BUT ALSO INCLUDES A QUESTIONNAIRE, DETAILING
OUR NEEDS, OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES
AND ASKING FOR DATA REGARDING THEIR FACILITIES. THEY
ARE ASKED TO COMPLETE THE QUESTIONNAIRE AND
RETURN IT TO THE IBA.
5. A
DEADLINE FOR RECEIVING BIDS IS SET. AFTER
THE BIDS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED, THE IDENTITIES
6. THE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MAKES UP A WORKSHEET, CONTAINING THE PERTINENT FACTS OF EACH
ESTABLISHMENTS. THE
ESTABLISHMENTS
ARE IDENTIFIED WITH AN ALPHABETICAL LETTER, AND
LISTED IN THEIR APPROPRIATE SECTIONAL.
7. THERE IS A
SYNOPSIS WORKSHEET SENT TO EACH MEMBER OF THE TOURNAMENT COMMITTEE, APPROXIMATELY A
MONTH BEFORE THEIR SELECTION MEETING IN AUGUST. THE
8. AT THE
SELECTION MEETING, DISCUSSIONS HELD AND THE EVALUATION PROCESS BEGINS. THE COMMITTEE VOTES. THE NAMES OF
THE CENTERS ARE REVEALED AFTER THE VOTE TAKEN.
9. ALL BIDDING
ESTABLISHMENTS ARE NOTIFIED OF THE SELECTION DECISIONS, NOT JUST THE WINNING BOWLING
CENTERS.
10. A
WRITTEN CONTRACT IS SENT TO THE BOWLING CENTER, WITH A SPECIFIED TIME TO RETURN THE SIGNED
AGREEMENT.
CHAMPIONSHIP ROLL-OFF VERSUS SECTIONAL CHAMPIONS:
ORIGINALLY, ILLINOIS HELD A CHAMPIONSHIP ROLL-OFF BETWEEN THE WINNERS OF EACH EVENT,
SCRATCH AND HANDICAP, TWO WEEKS AFTER THE TOURNAMENT CONCLUDED.
THE BOWLERS USED THE SAME AVERAGE AS USED AT THE SECTIONAL.
NO SUBSTITUTIONS ALLOWED. THE REASON,
SO NO TEAM, ETC., WOULD BRING IN A “RINGER”.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP SITE IS SELECTED BY THE TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR, AFTER THE SECTIONALS HAD
CONCLUDED. KEEPING IN MIND THE CITIES
OF THE WINNERS WHO WILL BE COMPETING, A NEUTRAL BOWLING CENTER, AND GEOGRAPHICALLY
LOCATED.
THE ROLL-OFF DATE HAD ALREADY BEEN PRINTED ON THE TOURNAMENT ENTRY BLANKS, SO EVERYONE
SHOULD BE AWARE OF THE DATE. AFTER THE SITE
DETERMINED, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CONTACTS THE PARTICIPANTS BY TELEPHONE AND/OR LETTER,
ADVISING THEM OF THE LOCATION, AND THE LANES THEY WOULD BE ASSIGNED.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP ROLL-OFF PRIZE MONEY, LINEAGE AND OTHER EXPENSES, ARE PAID FROM EXPENSE
RESERVES.
IN ADDITION TO THE PRIZE MONEY FOR THE TOURNAMENT, THE WINNERS OF EACH EVENT PARTICIPATED
IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP ROLL-OFF, RECEIVED ADDITIONAL MONEY.
THE PRIZE MONEY FOR THE ROLL-OFF WAS $100 (PER PERSON) FOR EACH OF THE WINNERS AND $50 FOR
EACH OF THE RUNNERS UP, PLUS A JACKET OR PLAQUES OR CLOCK, ETC. THIS WAS INCREASED TO ($200 AND $100 PER PERSON),
PLUS THE OTHER PREVIOUSLY STATED TYPE AWARD. ALSO,
THE ROLL-OFF WAS TELEVISED (TAPED) FOR LATER SHOWING, FOR TWO YEARS.
TO ENSURE THAT NO ONE HAD A PERCEIVED ADVANTAGE OR DIS-ADVANTAGE BY THE NUMBER OF GAMES
THEY WOULD BOWL, EVERYONE ONLY ALLOWED TO BOWL A THREE GAME SERIES.
THE SECTIONAL ROLL-OFF WAS DISCONTINUED STARTING WITH THE 2001 TOURNAMENT -- BASICALLY DUE
TO LACK OF INTEREST
BY THE BOWLERS.
IT HAPPENED ON OCCASION, THAT A PERSON WON BOTH THE SINGLES AND THE ALL EVENTS, ETC.,
RESULTING IN HIS OPPONENTS BEING TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE.
REGARDLESS, THIS PERSON’S THREE GAME SERIES WOULD BE USED AGAINST BOTH
OPPONENTS SCORES. OR, A PERSON MIGHT HAVE
BEEN ON THE FIRST PLACE TEAM, PLUS WON ANOTHER TITLE—THE SAME RATIONALE WOULD EXIST,
HIS SCORE FROM THE TEAM EVENT WOULD BE PITTED AGAINST HIS OPPONENT'S) OF THE OTHER EVENT. HOWEVER, THAT COMPETITION WAS ON THE SAME PAIR OF
LANES.
AFTER SEVERAL YEARS WITH A CHAMPIONSHIP ROLL-OFF, INTEREST FOR DECLINED, WITH A NUMBER OF
BOWLERS NOT CARING TO PARTICIPATE, CITING A NUMBER OF REASONS, SUCH AS CONFLICTING WITH
OTHER TOURNAMENTS AND IT ALSO MADE THE SEASON TOO
LONG, OR JUST NOT INTERESTED. THE
RESULT, A NUMBER OF CHAMPIONSHIPS WERE AWARDED VIA FORFEIT.
RATHER THAN CONTINUE WITH A STEADY DECLINE FOR THE ROLL-OFF, THE BOWLERS WERE QUESTIONED
DURING THE 2000 STATE TOURNAMENT ABOUT POSSIBLY ELIMINATING THE ROLL-OFF. ALMOST
EVERYONE AGREED THAT IT WOULD BE THE BEST MOVE. IT WAS ELIMINATED WITH THE 2001
TOURNAMENT, WITH THE WINNER OF EACH EVENT, SCRATCH AND HANDICAP, DECLARED THE CHAMPION.
THIS ALSO MEANT THAT THE IBA, FROM EXPENSES, WOULD NOW HAVE TO SEND THE SCRATCH ALL EVENT
WINNERS FROM EACH OF THE TWO SECTIONALS, TO THE ABC MASTERS.
AWARDS:
THE FIRST PLACE WINNERS, EACH EVENT, EACH SECTIONAL, RECEIVED AN APPROPRIATE AWARD, WHICH
IN THE PAST, HAD USUALLY BEEN A WINDBREAKER TYPE JACKET, WITH THE NOTATION OF THE YEAR,
AND “CHAMPION” ON THE JACKET.
ON THE OCCASION'S WHEN SOMEONE WON MORE THAN ONE EVENT, THAT PERSON WOULD STILL RECEIVE
ONLY ONE JACKET.
THE CHAMPION OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP ROLL-OFF RECEIVED AN ADDITIONAL AWARD, SUCH AS A CLOCK
TROPHY, PLAQUE, OR MORE RECENTLY, A WRISTWATCH WITH AN IBA LOGO, AND “CHAMPION”,
ON THE WATCH FACE.
WM. G. CHESTNUT
BOX 121
CANTRALL, IL 62625
FAX -- (217) 487.7515
TELEPHONE (217) 487.7513
E-MAIL: IBAWGC@MCHSI.COM