How many of you have seen the commercial in which Earl Anthony says, "There are bowlers, and there are people who bowl"? Anthony then holds up an ABC card and tells you the benefits of being an ABC member.
Well, being a member could be very costly in the near future.
During this month's legislative session of the ABC Convention in Albuquerque, the biggest item on the agenda will be a proposed dues increase that, if approved, will be the highest increase in the history of the ABC.
The proposal would raise national dues $2 and authorize a $2 raise for state and local fees. Approval would, for the 2001-2002 season, raise the maximum from $12 to $16.
That alone should get your attention. But if the ABC membership drops more than 10 percent below the 1998-1999 figures, another $4 hike automatically would kick in.
Now all you ABCers, don't think you are being picked on because WIBC is considering increasing national dues from $6 to $11 per season during its legislative session in Reno. A separate amendment from the Tulsa, Oklahoma Women's Bowling Association would change the national dues to $15.
Now I gotta tell ya, folks: This will have a drastic effect on sanctioned bowlers.
ABC and WIBC have some standard company answers for why this must be done, but they will have a hard time convincing the bowlers in leagues who simply want to compete for the socialization and recreation.
I can tell you that the league my wife is secretary of will have a very hard time filling the usual 12 teams if these proposals pass. Her league is made up primarily of retired people ranging in age from 50-80. There are younger people, many of whom are military who have a hard time making ends meet and often are deployed and miss portions of the league for which they pay for a substitute. The younger people also pay for child-care because our center does not, and will not, provide it. The first night of bowling gives them a jolt when they pay for their cards and their bowling.
Lineage at that particular center isn't bad because it is a military center, but when the civilian centers raise their lineage, so does the military. We have had many a couple show up for the organizational meeting only to leave once they realize the overall cost.
ABC and WIBC will have a hard time
convincing the bowlers in leagues
who simply want to compete
for the socialization and recreation.
I do not see how ABC and WIBC cannot expect to lose recreational bowlers in men's, women's, senior, and junior bowling.
You can go to the ABC/WIBC web site and read the top 20 questions the organizations claim to have received on this topic. Well, I'm here to tell you that the biggest question I'm asked by the recreational bowler is, What does ABC do for me?
Having an organization that simply makes and interprets rules isn't any incentive to join ABC. The ABC awards for the recreational bowler are trivial at best. All the patches look alike; the high average award, league championship award, and others are, in all honesty, cheap. There isn't much difference in what I see with WIBC.
The competitive bowler enjoys the ABC and WIBC Nationals, but most individuals go knowing they have a minimal chance of winning. They go for the tradition, socialization, and vacation. More bowlers hope they win something in the brackets than in the event itself.
ABC and WIBC do not help their own causes when we look at what has happened with Strike Ten Entertainment, Bowling Inc., a planned headquarters move, and the possibility of combining their forces. Is the dues increase a bailout, a subsidy for salaries and the cost of an extensive move?
I certainly don't want to see the demise of either organization, although I would like to see some restructuring.
Being a military man, I have first-hand knowledge of the inverted pyramid. I know that whenever you have a headquarters of any kind, its needs always seem to come before that of the guy in the field. I see a bloated, mismanaged-for-years organization that needs money for survival, and the bowler is the answer to their needs.
I submit that if this increase is approved, ABC and WIBC may not feel the repercussions immediately, but I will assure you that 10-percent decline will become a reality. So all you ABCers be ready to grab your wallet again when that additional four bucks kicks in.
Don Wright is a member of the Bowling Writers Association of America. Visit Don's web site.