Adjusted Schedule Ahead for USBC Open Championships

The remainder of the 2017 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships will have an adjusted squad schedule, with the evening squads pushing back to 5:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

The change will be effective April 1, and all team captains will be notified by email, along with the traditional schedule notices sent out approximately one month prior to their competition dates (for teams bowling May 1 or later).

Data collected during the first five weeks of competition at the South Point Bowling Plaza has indicated that squads are running an average of 13 minutes longer than the two previous years using the current schedule, heavily impacting the start time of the later squads.

To lessen the inconvenience on bowlers competing later in the day, the final two squads have been changed from 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., respectively.

The schedule for the 2018 USBC Open Championships in Syracuse, New York, also will be adjusted to address the current trends. Team competition in 2018 will be held at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., and doubles and singles will be bowled at 7 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 10:45 p.m.

"We want bowlers on the evening squads to have a great experience at the event and not spend extended time waiting," USBC Executive Director Chad Murphy said. "Our staff will take steps to encourage faster play, but we also believe it is best to adjust the evening squad times for Syracuse in 2018."

Additional slow bowling enforcement will be implemented moving forward to help keep competition running on time.

Per tournament rules, the recommended time allotment for team event is three hours and 20 minutes, while doubles and singles competition should take approximately three hours and 40 minutes.

Beginning April 1, teams that have not reached the halfway point of their second game (or bowlers who have not completed doubles) through half of their squad time, will receive a formal warning for slow bowing and be given the rest of the squad to get back on time. After being warned, those who exceed their allotted squad times will be assigned to the last squad of the day in 2018.

Information collected earlier in the 2017 Open Championships and running lists of habitually slow bowlers tracked during the 2015 and 2016 events also will be used to determine squad assignments in 2018.

For more information on the Open Championships, visit BOWL.com/OpenChamp.

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United States Bowling Congress: The United States Bowling Congress serves as the national governing body of bowling as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). USBC conducts championship events nationwide including the largest participation sporting events in the world - the USBC Open and Women's Championships - and professional events such as the USBC Masters and USBC Queens.  
 
Founded in 1895, today USBC and its 2,500 state and local associations proudly serve more than a million members. USBC is headquartered in Arlington, Texas, working toward a future for the sport. The online home for USBC is BOWL.com.