As we plan and prepare for this new season, we need to look at where our sport is headed. Membership continues to decline, which leads to the question of what will it take to bring people back to the centers.
For some, it’s a matter of economics and beyond our control. For others, it’s because a league has lost its luster—a dwindling in the number of teams, a stagnant set of rules, or its leadership not performing its duties. Those are things that you, as a league member, can control.
And it all starts by attending the organizational meeting and taking the initiative to speak out. I can’t begin to tell you how many people have told me they did not want to bring forth an idea or opinion for fear of being a “target” within the league. As a result, things rarely change and a league becomes stagnant, which then leads to people complaining about why the rules are the way they are.
New ideas can definitely help revive interest in our sport. Just last summer, I was secretary of a new scratch league using a unique “challenge” format where each game was scored differently: The first game was based on head-to-head singles matches; the second was doubles format (1st and 2nd players’ scores against each other, and 3rd and 4th players’ scores against each other); and the third was the traditional team format.
Last summer, we filled just over 50 percent of the center (22 teams in a 40-lane center); this summer, we had a full house of 40 teams and a lot of excitement within the league. And it’s all because someone stepped up to bring forth a new idea.
So take the initiative in your organizational meeting. If you’re not happy with some of your rules, suggest a change. If you feel your officers are not performing their duties, step up and run for an officer position. Our sport needs people with passion to keep it alive and well.
If leadership is your passion, please give thought to serving on our local board of directors. At the start of this season, we had six vacant positions and are always looking for people with passion for our sport to help lead it, especially our youth and young adult bowlers who are the future of our sport.
Our Hall of Fame Induction & Dinner Celebration will take place Saturday, October 6, 2012 at Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, Md. This year, we will induct Alden “Andy” Anderson, Buddy Engleman, Bobby Hall Sr., and Richard “Rick” Parker. I hope all of you can be there to recognize their accomplishments and service to our sport here in the Nation’s Capital Area.
Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.
In closing, I wish you all a prosperous 2012-2013 bowling season and challenge you by paraphrasing the late President John F. Kennedy: Ask not what our sport can do for you, but what you can do for our sport.
May you strike out often and be spared of any splits.