2011-12 MBA Championship Tournament

Prairie Lanes will host the annual MBA Championship Tournament (City Tournament) next month. Entry forms will be distributed to centers this weekend, and mailed to all participants from last year. You can download your entry right away by clicking here.

Tournament squads will be 12:00 and 3:30 on Saturdays, January 7, 14, and 21; and 10:00 and 1:30 on Sundays, January 15, 22, and 29.

There will be three divisions again this year; Scratch, Division 1 (1000 and up) and Division 2 (999 and under). Last year 91 teams participated - is this the year for 100?

Stop-N-Go Convenience Centers return as the tournament Title Sponsor. Bowl-A-Vard Lanes and Rob Bailey's Pro Shop are also back to support the event as Major Sponsors. Rob Bailey also provides the bowling balls for tournament raffles. Early discussion indicates it could be the new Storm Nano.

Long time tournament supporter Schemm Bowling Inc. is staying on as well. The MBA and its members appreciate the support of our sponsors, who will again add over $4,000 to the City Tournament and MBA Masters.

The tournament will once again be held on a USBC White pattern, a condition that proved very popular at Schwoegler's Entertainment Center last season. There are no major changes to the City Tournament format to report for this year.

The team event is only $20.00 per person to enter, and it is fully handicapped 100% to 230 - making the tournament primarily an over average contest.

Organize five bowlers from the same league and enter the "League Challenge" - a FREE over average contest exclusively for league teams. Cash in the tournament as normal, and possibly win a portion of a separate $1,000 prize fund for your league.

Organize eight teams, skip the raffle, and get a new ball.

We will also run the "Captain's Raffle" again this year. Each team captain will receive a raffle ticket for a special bowling ball give away on February 4 during the Masters. Last year, we gave away three bowling balls to team captains - THANK YOU for organizing a team!

2010-2011 Tournament Results
2011-12 Entry Form

2010-11 MBA Championship Tournament

The entry form is complete. There was some delay while the MBA board hashed out some tournament committee recommendations for this year's event. Look for entry forms in your centers very soon.

What's New This Year

1. Lane Conditions

The biggest point of contention was a debate on lane conditions. The City Tournament has long been held on whatever league conditions existed at the host center. Over the years, this has produced an extremely high scoring condition with city records falling seemingly every year.

This year, Association Manager and tournament director Bill Dennis planned to hold the event on the new USBC White condition - as was used for the Senior City tournament.

The MBA Tournament Committee met and recommended the City Tournament continue on house conditions.

The board vote was nearly even, but a slight majority favored going with USBC White. There is substantial support for returning the Senior City tournament to house conditions, however.

Read More

2. Bonus Events

Another narrow vote by the board was whether to continue with the optional Bonus Events. The contention from some was that the Bonus Events were not understood and, therefore, unpopular and/or confusing. The entries the past two years speak against this. Last year, about 25% of all tournament entrants participated in the Bonus Events - about 350 entries all told. So - what are they?

Bonus Team pays the highest individual series bowled in the team event.
Bonus Doubles pays the highest individual series bowled in Doubles.
Bonus Combo pays the highest Minor events totals (doubles and singles).

Each event is $5.00 to enter and pays the top 1:5 entries.

3. Minor Events Limited

Last year, the tournament allowed multiple entries into minor events, provided one of the events was the scratch division. This year, minor events are limited to once per bowler. The Team event may be entered multiple times - see the tournament rules for cashing multiple times.

4. Team Captain / Organizer Bonuses

Every team captain will receive a raffle ticket. On February 5, the MBA will draw three tickets and give away a top of the line bowling ball to at least three captains.

Anyone who organizes a squad of eight teams or more will get a top of the line bowling ball as a thank you from the MBA.

5. 10 Pin Rule Changed to 15 Pins

The '10 pin rule' has been changed to 15 pins. Use last year's highest regular season or summer season average unless you current average is 15 pins higher.

2009-10 MBA Championship Tournament Final Standings

The city tournament final standings with prize payouts are posted here.

What's New This Year?

Bowl-A-Vard Sponsors City Tournament for $1,000.

Proprietor Don Bussan adds Bowl-A-Vard Lanes as a Major Sponsor of the MBA Championships this year, adding $1,000 to the tournament prize fund. The MBA extends a very appreciative thank you for supporting the renewed growth of our championship tournament.

Declared Scratch Division

This year, teams, doubles, or singles entrants may choose to compete in a separate scratch division. Simply check the scratch box on the entry form to be placed in the scratch division. All prize money from your entry goes to this division. Scratch titles will not be awarded exclusively to this division. The highest scratch totals from the entire tournament - regardless of division - will earn the scratch title.

With this new scratch division, there is no longer optional scratch team, doubles or singles. Optional all events and scratch all events are still available.

Proprietors Cup

All MBA centers with certified leagues will be invited to sponsor a team in the city tournament to compete for the inaugural Proprietors Cup. The award will be presented to the center whose team is highest over average among Proprietors Cup entrants. All teams entered in this challenge qualify for the city tournament prize categories as normal.