Q1. We’ve got a small district with only 4 schools. There is another district that has schools within easy driving distance. Can we have scrimmages against those schools?

A1. Sure. There’s nothing that would preclude scrimmages against other schools. Teams in other sports do it all the time, even football. Of course, the results of those matches will not enter into your Won/Lost record, but they’re good practice matches. Teams in some other sports don’t usually have non-district games during the season, but there are exceptions, e.g. Basketball. It’s not uncommon to see non-district games at any time.

Q2. Can we download the names of the students from the back office?

A2. Yes, you can, but it’s not recommended. Even though coaches may fax or e-mail the names of their starting lineups to the host bowling center prior to the match, things may change for a variety of reasons. Also, remember that coaches can substitute between games. It takes very little time to enter names onto the monitors from the scoring console.

Q3. During the Baker Format games, should the teams alternate lanes or bowl on the same lane?

A3. There is no set policy on this, but we recommend you set it up in league format, i.e. each school will alternate lanes each frame. That eliminates the “my lane is worse than your lane” excuse. But, it really depends on the host center’s scoring system. Some find it easier alternating lanes and some the other way. Whichever system you use, it should be the same for the entire district.

Q4: I would like to be able to know how each school is doing throughout the season, not only in our district, but other districts as well. Is there a way to do that?

A4. Yes, but it requires the cooperation of each district coordinator. TBCA Executive Director Karen Miller will post the district standings on the TBCA web site (texasbowling.com/tbca) if she receives them from the district coordinators. Also, Joe Gennaro of Dallas-based The Bowling News will publish things if he receives them. His e-mail address is bowlingnews@sbcglobal.net.

Q5: Some of the schools in our district do not have both a boys and girls J.V. team. What should we do with the schools that do have J.V. teams on those match dates?

A5: They should bowl if they want to get a win by forfeit. By bowling, the team present will win points by forfeit. All the J.V. kids can gain something from the experience of bowling in this format, even though they do not have an opponent. If one school does not have either J.V. boys or girls teams and the other school does, there is nothing to preclude you from letting the boys and girls J.V. teams from competing against each other in the Baker games -- just for the sake of competing against each other.

Q6: If the same school later in the season has enough players to field a J.V. team, can they then compete?

A6: Absolutely. They would then pick up wherever they were at in the standings.

Q7: We have a business in town that is willing to underwrite the cost of the shirts for all players on our school’s team. Can we put that sponsor’s name on the shirts?

A7: Unfortunately, no. Article 9 - Costs, paragraph a(iii) of the THSBC Bylaws state that only the name and logo of the school, the sponsoring bowling center name, and the individual players’ names are all that may be allowed on the uniform shirt.

Q8: I’m not clear on what I should pay the coach (faculty sponsor) for the schools we are sponsoring. Plus, what do we really get for paying that stipend?

A8: We recommend that each school coach be provided with a stipend of $500. We further recommend that $250 be paid at the beginning of the season and the final $250 at the end of the season. What return you get for your investment is up to you. However, here are some of the things that you can ask for: (1) verify the eligibility of each student on the team; (2) conduct the practices and teach the students to bowl or to bowl better; (3) encourage the students to enroll in your center’s youth program where they will be able to get additional instruction and experience; (4) assist is fund raising events to help offset some of the costs each center has to bear.

Q9: We have a private school in city who would like to participate. They’re not a part of U.I.L. in other sports. Can they join?

A9: Absolutely. Article 3 - Membership - of the THSBC Bylaws states that schools currently affiliated with the U.I.L., TAPPS (Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools) as well as other non-affiliated high schools within the geographical boundaries of the state of Texas are eligible to compete in our program. Understand, however, that if and when the U.I.L. recognizes bowling as a varsity sport, that may limit competition from private schools.

Q10: Can 8th graders participate in this program?

A10. Sorry. Article 5 of the THSBC bylaws states that students competing in this program must be in grades 9-12. However, there is nothing to preclude proprietors from working with the middle schools in their area to establish “feeder clubs”. These could be after school programs in which middle school students come in to receive instruction on a paid basis.

Q11: Can a student compete on both the varsity and J.V. Teams?

A11: Yes, but not in the same match. A student may be on the varsity for the first few matches of the season and then be dropped down to the junior varsity. Likewise, the coach may call up a junior varsity player at anytime during the season. The only stipulation is that in any one particular match, a student may not compete on both the varsity and J.V. teams. For example, a student may not compete on the J.V. during the regular games of bowling in a match between School A and School B and then come in during the Baker Format games and compete as a varsity player.

Q12: What is a typical season?

A12: I’m not sure we have a “typical” season. There are so many variables involved. We know for sure that the season cannot start earlier than November 1, nor end later than the last weekend in February. That’s spelled out in Article 7 of the THSBC bylaws. Ideally, a good schedule would be to have each school compete against each other school in their district twice, on a home and away basis. That being said, it could vary based on the number of schools in each district, distance from the schools to the host bowling centers, the time schools are dismissed for the day, and lane availability at the centers. If a district has only two schools, for example, they may compete against each other several times during the season. We have purposely left that up to the individual districts for now in order to better accommodate their schools and host centers.

Q13: When are the state finals and how long to they take?

A13: For the 2006-07 season, the state finals will be held at AMF Showplace in Garland on Saturday & Sunday, March 24-25. The boys will compete on Saturday, March 24 and the girls finals will be on Sunday, March 25. Competition will start around 8:30 a.m. and we expect to finish around 4:00 p.m. With the addition of Singles competition, the Girls Singles will be on Saturday at Noon while the Boys Singles will be Sunday at Noon.

Q14: Can the players wear hats while competing?

A14: We realize teenagers like to wear hats. However, bowling is an indoor sport and you don’t wear hats indoors. Also, hats are not prescribed in the uniform requirements. So the answer is emphatically -- NO.

Q15: Does a team receive a vacancy score if they have less than 5 players? If so, what is a vacancy score?

A15: The District Rules of the THSBC bylaws specifically state that absentee bowlers receive zero pinfall for frames or games missed. There shall be no vacancy scores.

Q16: A student bowled in an USBC adult league last season, but is not bowling in one this year. Is he eligible to compete in the High School Bowling program this year?

A16: If the league awards cash prizes students are not eligible to compete in High School Bowling. However, a student may apply for and receive USBC Youth eligibility reinstatement through his local USBC association and the national USBC. If that is done, he would be eligible.

If the league were one that awards only trophies, the student would be eligible. Additionally, if a student competes in any type of tournament in which cash prizes are awarded, he/she is not eligible to compete in Texas High School Bowling Club competition.

Q17: When will the U.I.L. recognize bowling as a varsity letter sport and what can be done to help get it recognized?

A17: Frankly, we don’t know if or when U.I.L. will act. What we do know is that the U.I.L. has certain criteria for including a sport in its program. If 50% or more of the schools in a particular enrollment classification favor adding a sport, then it’s almost a done deal. In the 2006-08 U.I.L. alignment, there are 247 schools in Class 5A and 228 in Class 4A. Logically, one or both of those groups are our target groups since the larger schools are located in metropolitan areas where there are bowling centers. Our goal in implementing High School Bowling in Texas was to get it recognized within 5 years. Whether or not we achieve that goal will depend primarily on bowling center proprietors in Texas agreeing to implement the program. What else can be done to help? A groundswell of support from students, parents and faculty members would be very beneficial. Let your high school principals, athletic directors and superintendents know that there is a great amount of interest out there and the chances are greater that they would vote for adding bowling. The U.I.L. executive committee sends out questionnaires annual to superintendents and then meets twice annually. We are on their agenda at each meeting to ask for their approval.

Q18: Can we schedule matches on Sunday or on school holidays?

A: We’re in a gray area here that may vary from district to district. The U.I.L. does not allow competition on Sunday except in an emergency situation. Until the U.I.L. does approve bowling as an approved varsity sport, we can certainly schedule matches on Sunday if necessary. However, we would encourage all districts to refrain from doing this unless absolutely necessary.

Scheduling matches on school holidays is similar. Some I.S.D.s do not allow competition on school holidays for any reason while to others it does not matter. The best bet here would be for the district coordinator to determine which schools are not allowed to compete on school holidays and schedule matches for those schools accordingly.

Q19: What happens if a match ends in a tie?

A19: We have addressed that issue in Rule 14 of the THSBC Bylaws and District Playing Rules. If a match ends in a tie (i.e. overtime), the two opposing coaches will determine which lane each team will use to break the tie. An independent coin flip will be used, if necessary. Then the first bowler in the lineup for each team will roll one ball with the highest pinfall determining the winner. If they are still tied, the second bowlers in the lineup will also throw one ball at a full rack. This procedure will continue until the tie is broken.

If an individual game ends in a tie, we recommend that each team receive ½ credit for the points available for that particular game.

Q20: Can we start our season in December after football is finished?

A20: Certainly. Our only requirements are that tryouts cannot start earlier than October 1, the district schedule cannot start earlier than November 1 nor end later than February 24.

Q21: Can we purchase letter jackets for our players?

A21: Maybe. U.I.L. rules specify that each student-athlete may receive only one “major” award in their career. Therefore, if the student is in a U.I.L. approved sport in which he/she will receive a letter jacket, you should not purchase them one. It could affect their eligibility in future sports. Also, each I.S.D. may have some stipulations as to style and what may be put on each letter jacket. Since bowling is a Club Sport in Texas, school funds will undoubtedly not be used to purchase jackets, but there appears to be no reason why funds raised by booster clubs could not be used for that purpose for students who won’t otherwise get one. We strongly recommend, however, that your school district athletic director or school principal be contacted to determine exactly what the requirements or stipulations are prior to purchasing letter jackets for your students.

Q22: What are “farm teams” and how can we establish them?

A22: Generally, farm teams are groups of students established by the proprietor to generate additional revenue. For example: if, after school tryouts, there are students who have not made the team who want to continue working toward making the team in the current or future years, they can be organized by the bowling proprietor into mini-instructional leagues. These leagues would be conducted on a paid basis. The students would get the benefit of professional instruction to improve their game and the proprietor receives compensation from the students. This same concept could also be used to attract students in middle schools who will be moving up to high school in future years.

Q23: Can a student receive a bowling ball or other equipment as an award?

A23: No, this would not be legal under the U.I.L. Rules. A student may receive one $60 award per activity during their high school years (usually a jacket). The amateur rule has changed. Under the old rules any award in any activity would make a student ineligible in all activities. Under the current rule a violation only applies to the activity in which the award was received.

Q24: What should we do if the lane conditions are different, i.e. Lane 7 was oiled and Lane 8 was not?

A24: Although unfortunate, there really isn’t anything that should be done. Using league format where each bowler on that pair of lanes alternates lanes each frame, each bowler of the competing schools will throw the same number of frames on each lane. Therefore, neither team gains an unfair advantage.

Q25: What is the rule on Position Rounds?

A25: Although nothing in the Bylaws or District Playing Rules prohibit position rounds, we do not encourage them. We believe that scheduling should follow U.I.L. format as closely as possible so that if and when bowling is recognized, the transition goes as smoothly as possible. We are aware of no other high school sport where there are position rounds, which we believe is unique to bowling. We believe that the district schedule should be similar to basketball, for example, where each team plays each other team on a home and away basis.

Q26: If a student has enough credits to graduate in December, but will not be attending graduation ceremonies until May with the rest of his class, will he still be eligible to compete the second half of the High School Bowling season with the team?

A26: According to Section 400, Subchapter M of the UIL Manual, a student is not eligible if they are a high school graduate. Once they’ve earned their credits to graduate, the school district will not allow them to continue in school. If a student wants to graduate in the Spring with the rest of his class, he could take part of the hours needed one semester, and the rest the next. However, they must take a full load of classes both semesters in order to be eligible according to UIL.

Q27: If a school does not have enough players to field a team, can they use students from another high school in the same I.S.D. or another I.S.D.?

A27: Yes, you can. However, that falls under the co-op team rule in Article 8f - Team Structure in our bylaws. That team cannot compete above district level. Also, prior approval must be granted by THSBC to field a co-op team.

Q28: Can Home School students be included on a high school team? If not, will they be able to compete in the future?

A28: No. This is the Texas High School Bowling Club. Home schooled students are not eligible to compete. They will probably not be eligible to compete in the future.

Q29: Are “special needs” students eligible to compete on a high school team?

A29: Yes. All students properly enrolled in grades 9-12 of the school competing in our High School Bowling program are eligible to tryout and compete assuming they meet the academic and residency requirements. Therefore, special needs students are no different. The head coach has the authority and responsibility to determine who will make the team and who will not and they made those decisions based on their own criteria.