The USBC Women's Championships offers participants a wide variety of optional side events. With the entry fee for most in the $5-$20 range, the side events allow competitors to fulfill competitive urges and expand opportunities to win additional prize money.
BRACKETS
The idea of brackets is simple: each “bracket” includes eight
randomly-selected bowlers on your squad during team, doubles and/or singles
events. You need to bowl a higher game than the bowler you are paired against
to advance out of each round. If you win all three matches, you win your
bracket.
At the Women’s Championships, there are several types of
brackets available, including scratch, handicap and senior (age 50 and older) handicap
with entry fees ranging from $5 to $10.
First prize in the $5 brackets is $25 and second place pays $10. There
will be scratch, handicap and senior $5 brackets available during each event. Handicap
for brackets is 75 percent of 220.
During the team event only, $10 handicap brackets also will be available.
First prize will be $50 and second place pays $20.
3-6-9 STRIKE JACKPOT
The 3-6-9 Strike Jackpot features a $5 entry fee and puts
bowlers in the jackpot for all three events (team, doubles and singles) for one
entry fee. The concept is simple: strike in the third, sixth and ninth frame of
each game in a series and hit the jackpot. You also can cash for hitting eight
of the nine strikes in the series or just for striking in the third, sixth or
ninth frame of any single game. Payouts will come after the conclusion of the
tournament.
CENTURY DOUBLES
For a $10 entry fee,
Century Doubles pairs two bowlers who are a combined 100 years or older on the
date of participation. Bowlers may only enter with other competitors on their
squad (up to five partners) in this tournament-long event.
For example, a bowler
who is 35 years old must find a bowler on her squad who is 65 or older in order
to enter his event and vice versa. Bowlers will use their combined doubles
scores to determine the winner at the end of the tournament’s run in July. The
handicap for Century Doubles is 75 percent of 220.
Prize money goes to the
bowler who signs up the pair, but the two bowlers can enter with each other and
share the place in the standings. For example, Bowler A can sign up with Bowler
B, and Bowler B can then pay her own $10 to sign up with Bowler A.
SIDE POTS
Side pots reward bowlers who are the best on their squads.
These handicap pots pay out for the highest game (each game) among those who
are entered. The entry fee for Side Pots during each event is $10. The handicap
for this product is 75 percent of 220.
TEAM
USA QUALIFYING
Women’s Championships bowlers are encouraged to use
their nine-game all-events totals as qualifying scores to earn paid entries
into the USBC Team USA Trials, an event that gives bowlers a chance to earn a
spot on Team USA.
For a $35 entry fee, one out of every 10 entrants
earns a paid Team USA Trials entry. In addition to a chance to represent the
United States in international bowling competition through the optional
qualifying program, USBC donates $1 from each all-events entry fee to support
the Team USA program. Bowlers interested in a chance to qualify for the
Team USA Trials can register when they sign up for brackets before team event.
SENIOR AND SUPER SENIOR TOURNAMENT OF THE
AMERICAS QUALIFYING
Earn the
chance to represent the United States at the 2013 Lee Evans Tournament of the
Americas (July 28-Aug. 3, 2013) being held at Strikers Lanes in Sunrise, Fla.
*The top two
finishers in each category (based on their nine-game all-events totals)
automatically will earn spots on the team that will represent the U.S. in this
international competition. The cost for this will be $35.
Senior
entrants must be at least 45 years of age before the first day of competition
at the 2013 Tournament of the Americas.
Super Senior
entrants must be at least 55 years of age before the first day of competition
at the 2013 Tournament of the Americas.
If a bowler
age 55 or older would like to sign up in both divisions, she can do so by
paying both entry fees. Should she qualify in both, she will choose which
division he’d like to compete in at the TOA.
Women only
will be eligible to qualify through the 2013 USBC Women’s Championships.
*Team USA will
pay for the TOA entry, hotel and uniform. Competitors will be responsible for
their own travel and meal expenses.
GEM SERIES
Introduced in 2010, this product is designed specifically so
bowlers will face only bowlers in their own divisions. The cost will be $10 per
bracket, and bowlers may enter up to 20.
This product will be set up like a traditional eight-person
bracket, but instead of using individual games, winners each round will be
determined by their three-game series in team, doubles and singles. This new
format makes things a little more exciting and gives you a chance to bounce
back from a bad game.
Another unique aspect of this product is that it will be tournament-long.
All bowlers will be randomly placed into the brackets at the conclusion of the
2013 Women’s Championships, and winners will be determined. The winner of each
bracket will receive $50, while the runner-up receives $20.
Handicap for the Gem Series will be 100 percent of 450 for
Sapphire Division bowlers, 100 percent of 540 for those in the Ruby Division
and 100 percent of 660 for Diamond Division bowlers.
OPTIONAL SCRATCH BONUS
Since
the Women’s Championships uses an all-handicap format, this optional scratch
prize fund is a special bonus for ultra-competitive bowlers and a chance to
earn additional prize money.
This
product is open to all tournament competitors. The cost will be $20 per bowler
per event, and bowlers can enter one, two or all three events. The team event
scratch bonus will be $100 total, and the doubles scratch bonus will be $40
total. Singles and all-events will be $20 and the responsibility of the
individual.
This
is a yearlong product and will feature a prize-fund-style payout after the
conclusion of the tournament. The prize ratio is 1:10.
Please
note: This product is completely unrelated to the scratch portion of the USBC
Women’s Championships that crowns overall tournament champions.