Maybe it's time for a 'Bill of Rights' in the Bowling Industry By Dick Evans

Recently the nation's flying public was stunned to learn that passengers were stranded on an airplane for more than seven hours during a winter snowstorm.

After the ordeal was covered by the media, the president of the airline that was the culprit decided to come up with a 'bill of rights' for passengers.

I thought that was a superb concept and think it should be applied to the bowling industry – a 'Bill of Right' for bowlers, the United States Bowling Congress, the Bowling Proprietors Association of America, the Professional Bowlers Association and spectators who pay to see professional competition.

So based on things that I have seen and experienced and complaints that I have heard over the years, I will present a 'bill of rights' for everyone involved in bowling world wide.

It is not a campaign to champion changes, its only a story to hopefully make you think:

1. Bowlers automatically will be offered a free soft drink, ice tea or cup coffee if a lane breaks down for more than 15 minutes.

2. A proprietor can increase league fees five percent during a season if he/she can show the USBC that the cost of doing business (taxes, electrical, salaries) has gone up 10 percent.

3. Bowlers who have paid their entry fees, purchased their airline tickets, paid for their hotel and car reservations, and asked for vacation time will be reimbursed accordingly if a tournament is canceled This will be done through an escrow fund that the tournament promoter will give the USBC before the tournament is announced. Such a strong refund will eliminate those bowling promoters who promise the world but take flight if entries don't soar out of sight.

4. Any person who is inducted into a bowling hall of fame will agree to attend at least one Hall of Fame ceremony every third year unless ailing or broke. If he/she is not willing to make that commitment then the person doesn't really have respect for the Hall of Fame itself and what induction really means. Like President Kennedy said, its not what the Hall of Fame can do for you but what you can do for the Hall of Fame.

5. Every tournament sponsor must prominently print the cost of all expenses so that a bowler can decide if the expenses outweigh the potential prize fund.

6. Every bowler who has to wait more than 30 minutes for a broken down lane will be offered a free bottle of beer or wine if so desired.

7. Every bowler who destroys any property – chair, scorer, foul light, bathroom fixture – shall be forced to pay the proprietor for labor cost plus the cost of buying a new fixture. If he/she refuses, then the USBC will suspend their league bowling privileges for a year.

8. Every league treasurer should sign a legal document before the season starts that states he/she agrees that he/she should be prosecuted to the limit of the law if he/she absconds with league funds. No exceptions. Too many crooked bowling treasurers get off with a slap on the wrist.

9. The USBC should consider the cost for delegates when picking sites of convention cities and remember that most delegates want to bowl while there.

10. Proprietors who do not make an extra effort to keep their bathrooms clean 24/7 should be forced to use them.

11. Bowlers who arrive late should be forced to apologize to their own team members and also the members of the rival team.

12. Proprietors will give league bowlers who cannot find a substitute when they are forced to miss a league session two free practice games during a slow period.

13. Spectators at PBA events should be guaranteed that they will be able to read the automatic scoring devices directly in front of them plus a pair of lanes to the left and right. If binoculars are needed, then they should be provided free.

14. The USBC should be forced to return 95 percent of the profit from any of its national tournaments, after expenses, to that tournament prize fund and not be able to move the extra profit to its general fund. It is the tournament bowlers money, not the USBC money.

15. The BPAA and USBC should get together on picking one convention city and then run consecutive conventions and it should feature a PBA tournament. What better way for each organization to learn more about the other organization. And with that new knowledge hopefully there will come new appreciation.

16. Every bowling ball sale in a pro shop located in a bowling center should include one hour of free instruction. That way, no sane person would buy a bowling ball in a department store or even on line for that matter.

17. No bowler should be allowed to bring more than three bowling balls into a bowling center for league competition. Enough is enough because not every bowler can afford to buy six bowling balls.

18. Coaching should be allowed during all junior competition. Kids only can learn if they receive coaching and junior bowlers only will grow into adult bowlers if they continue to improve.

19. Nobody anywhere should be allowed to run betting on a youth tournament. No excuses.

20. Any bowler who deliberately hoists a ball 20 feet out on the lane should be suspended. If they say they cant help it, then they should seek coaching help.

21. Any bowling writer who traces the loss in league membership numbers directly to high scores should be forced to take a course in bowling history and social changes within the United States over the past 35 years.

You may believe that some of my proposed 'bill of rights' appear far fetched and probably you are right, but hopefully they will make you think. Maybe you will think of other things that irk you and you will Email them to me at Evans121@aol.com.

Sometimes while sitting in airports or in airplanes, I think passengers have no rights and often in bowling centers I think some people should be read their rights.

Is that right?