2019-2020 Rules

1. USBC Sanctioning

1.1.	The Microsoft Bowling League (the league) shall be sanctioned with the United States Bowling Congress through the Greater Seattle USBC Bowling Association. The league shall consist of up to thirty-two teams with a playing strength of four bowlers each. Each bowler must also be sanctioned.

2. Weekly and Season Schedule

2.1.

League Schedule: The league shall bowl each Monday evening for thirty-four consecutive weeks starting 14 September 2015, except for a two-week break during the winter holiday season. All regularly scheduled matches shall start promptly at 6:30 PM, or as soon after that as the lanes are made available by the house. The schedule shall consist of: Thirty regular matches Three position matches scheduled on the eleventh, twenty-second, and thirty-third weeks Final championship playoff the thirty-fourth week

2.2.

Position Rounds: The three position matches shall define the end of each segment of the schedule. Team standings shall reset to zero at the beginning of each segment. The first thirty-one matches shall count toward league standings, awards, and prizes. The last match will only count toward determining the league championship.

3. League Management

3.1.

The management of the league shall be vested in the board of directors, which shall consist of the league officers and the team captains. The league officers shall consist of the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary, and the Treasurer. A simple majority shall constitute a quorum for all meetings. The board of directors shall adopt the league rules and the membership of the league shall elect the league officers. Issues shall be presented to the board of directors as provided for elsewhere in these rules, or as provided for in the USBC rules, or at the discretion of the league President. The board of directors shall have final decision-making power in all league matters.

4. League Fees

4.1.

The amount to be paid by each team, each night shall be $72.00, which is $18.00 per bowler, of which $14.50 shall cover the cost of bowling, with the balance to be placed in the league treasury. The weekly fee for the last week of the schedule (week 32) shall be paid by each bowler before completion of the fifth week of the schedule (8 October 2018). The weekly fee for the penultimate week of the schedule (week 31) shall be paid by each bowler before completion of the ninth week of the schedule (4 November 2018). Team captains are responsible for collecting their team's bowling fees and submitting them to the league Treasurer by the first frame of the second game each night. Any team more than two weeks late in paying bowling fees will be suspended from the league until their payments are made current. Teams are responsible for their fees regardless of attendance or lack thereof.

5. League Secretary

5.1.

The league Secretary shall be compensated for their services at a rate of $.50 per bowler per week. Completion of the duties of the Secretary at the end of the schedule is still required, which includes furnishing to the Secretary of the local association all average sheets requested by her/him, including the final average sheet after the conclusion of the season.

6. League Treasurer

6.1.

The league Treasurer shall be compensated for their services at a rate of $.25 per bowler per week. Completion of the duties of the Treasurer at the end of the schedule is still required, which includes providing to the board of directors a full accounting of the league funds for the entire schedule and final disbursements of prize monies.

7. Team Franchise

7.1.

The franchise shall be held by the team captain as long as the team captain is acceptable to the majority of the board of directors, except that the franchise cannot be recalled during the season without sufficient cause. Disputes pertaining to team captaincy shall be decided by the board of directors.

8. League Account

8.1.	An account shall be opened in the name of the league at the Chase bank, 15600 NE 8th Street, Bellevue WA 98008 in which funds shall be deposited weekly.

9. Prize List

9.1.

The prize list shall be approved by the board of directors and distributed to each team captain prior to the sixteenth week of the schedule. The prize list shall distribute all league funds available for prizes. Teams that have not fulfilled their financial obligations to the league shall have their prize money reduced by an amount equal to the amount owed. Individual bowlers and alternates must bowl at least sixty of the scheduled games to be eligible for individual prizes. Substitutes shall not qualify for any league prizes. A bowler or team can qualify for only one special award for high series or game. When a bowler or team qualifies for an award in each category, and prizes are of equal value, the series or scratch award shall be awarded. In all other cases the prize of highest value shall be awarded. Bowlers become eligible for the most-improved-bowler awards after bowling twenty-one games in this league.

10. Averages and Handicap

10.1.

Each season, all bowlers shall establish a league average at the end of their first match in this league. The handicap allowance shall be 95% of the difference between the bowler’s current average and 220, except that there shall be no negative handicaps. The league Secretary shall use appropriate computer software to determine individual averages each week, and this shall be the only recognized calculation of each handicap. League Secretary-supplied standings sheets shall be the only recognized source for weekly handicaps. Microsoft Bowling League has voted to carry previous year averages forward and new averages for returning bowlers will be established with a book average and after 9 fully bowled games. Any new bowler will establish a handicap after 3 full games.

11. Team Rosters

11.1.

Team captains shall submit rosters of team members to the Secretary prior to the start of the schedule. Rosters shall consist of a minimum of four bowlers and a maximum of six bowlers including alternate bowlers. Any roster changes must be reported to the Secretary by the team captain prior to the time a new team member bowls. No new members shall be permitted to join the league during the last three weeks of the schedule. If a team member or an entire team has cause to resign from the league during the season, those bowlers must give a two week pre-paid notice to the league President and/or to the league Secretary to allow time to find replacements.

12. League Substitutes

12.1.

A list of substitutes shall be maintained by the Secretary. A woman may substitute for a woman or a man, and a man may substitute for a man or a woman. A substitute may bowl with only one team on a given night, but may bowl with any team on any given night. Substitutes shall not qualify for any league prizes. Substitutes must be sanctioned bowlers. There shall be no new substitutes during the last three weeks of the schedule. Substitutes shall not be allowed to bowl in the position rounds or the playoff round. The penalty for using a substitute under prohibited circumstances shall be the loss of all match points won while the illegal substitute was bowling. The lost match points shall be awarded to the opposing team in that match unless the points originally were awarded due to a forfeited game or match, in which case the points shall not be awarded to either team. Pacer bowlers shall not be allowed under any circumstances.

12.2.

Additional team members who are not scheduled to bowl on a given night can bowl for another team as a substitute provided they meet the following criteria: Their team already has four players that are bowling on the night that they substitute for another team Players may not substitute for the team that their team is playing against for that night

13. Legal Lineup

13.1.

The minimum legal lineup shall consist of two bowlers from the team’s current roster. A minimum legal lineup must be present by the start of the fourth frame of each game, or that game shall be forfeited. A late bowler shall be permitted to begin bowling from the first frame, with the score to count, provided the game has not proceeded beyond the third frame. Practice balls shall not be allowed to bowlers who arrive after the start of the first game.

14. Absentee Scores

14.1.

Absentee scores shall be allowed when a team has a legal lineup but less than a full lineup at the start of any game in a match. The absentee score shall be the absent bowler’s current average minus ten pins. In the case of multiple bowlers on a roster eligible to be considered “absent”, the bowler with the most games bowled will be considered the absent bowler for purposes of determining which average to use for the absentee score and handicap. In the event of multiple bowlers having the same number of games bowled, the lower/lowest average shall be used. The handicap shall be computed from the actual current average of the absentee. When a team does not have enough bowlers on its roster for a full lineup, a vacancy score of 150 shall be used. Such score shall be the basis for the handicap and used as the absentee score. Any team not at full strength for more than four consecutive weeks shall be subject to review by the board of directors.

15. Pre-Bowling

15.1.

Team-match postponements shall be allowed only with advance notice to the league Secretary or President. Team-match pre-bowling shall be allowed only with twenty-four hour advance notice to the league Secretary and the opposing team captain, and according to a schedule acceptable to the house. Postponed and pre-bowled match games can be bowled individually. Pre-bowling is allowed for five matches per season per team. House-supplied printouts or hand-written score sheets, either one countersigned by the opposing team captain or a league officer or a house representative are the only acceptable record of pre-bowling. Such record shall be presented to the league Secretary prior to the scheduled date for bowling, or, in the event of a postponement, prior to the next scheduled match.

16. Position Standings

16.1.

League position standings shall be determined on a seven point system: two points shall be awarded for each game won and one point for total pinfall in a match. No points shall be awarded to any team in forfeit of a game or match.

17. Position Rounds

17.1.	Qualification: In order to participate in position rounds or the championship playoff, rostered bowlers must have completed the following numbers of games in this league to be eligible to compete in each position round or the championship playoff: nine games to qualify for the first position round; eighteen games to qualify for the second position round; twenty-seven games to qualify for the third position round, and twenty-seven games to qualify for the championship playoff.
17.2.	Ties: Ties between two teams in the standings at the end of a position round shall be broken with a tenth-frame roll-off (including handicap) immediately following the playoff match. If still tied, USBC Rule 113b.1.d shall be followed. Ties between three or more teams shall be broken by using total pins plus handicap for all games up to and including the position round.

18. Championship Playoff

Qualification: The following eight (08) teams qualify to participate in the championship round:

• a. In a league with 20 teams, 8 teams represent 40% of the league making the playoffs. This compares to 27% for MLB, 37% for the NFL, and 53% for the NBA and the NHL.
• b. 8 teams allows the playoffs to be run 3 rounds with a clear winner.
• c. The 8 playoff teams consist of the following:
• i. The 2 teams with the highest win point totals at the end of each trimester that have not already made the playoffs in a previous trimester.
• ii. The 2 teams at the end of the season with the highest win point totals that have not already made the playoffs are in.
• iii. In the event of any ties, the team with the highest year-to-date pin total with handicap wins the tie.

Tournament Style: Run the playoffs as a 3-round single elimination tournament.
• a. This provides head to head competition for 3 rounds with a clear winner (one team will finish 3-0).
• b. Pairing between the 8 teams to be randomly determined for the 1st round.
• c. c. At the end of each round eliminated team members can choose to participate in the remaining single player challenges.

For all other bowlers: Run single player challenges for all other players not participating in the playoffs to have a chance to win prizes on the same night.
• a. This allows individual players a chance to win prizes without being penalized if members of their team choose not to participate.
• b. Each non-playoff participating individual player can bowl up to 3 games in the single player challenges. Playoff participants that choose to enter the single player challenges after they are eliminated from the playoffs can do so as the following.
• i. Members of playoff teams that are eliminated in the 1st round of the playoffs can choose to participate in the last 2 rounds of single player challenges. Their individual scores from playoff games will not count towards the single player challenges.
• ii. Members of playoffs teams that are eliminated in the 2nd round of the playoffs can choose to participate in the final round of the single player challenges. Their individual scores from playoff games will not count towards the single player challenges.
• c. Nine prizes given out as follows
• i. $35 to the highest male and female individual score with handicap for each of the 3 games
• ii. $25 to the second highest male and female individual score with handicap for each of the 3 games.
• iii. $10 to the third highest male and female individual score with handicap for each of the 3 games

Current USBC playing rules shall be considered incorporated herein by reference and shall prevail except as provided for specifically herein.