Association eNews: July 12, 2012

In this week's e-News

WinLABs 10.0.10
BOWL.com maintenance
New association in Fort Worth, Texas
Summer supplies
Special achievement applications
USBC SportStore summer clearance

WinLABs 10.0.10 now available
The newest version of WinLABs is now available for download on BOWL.com/associations. To download, please click on the WinLABs login tab on the right-hand side of the page. You will need your association number and supply order password to begin the download.

The updates and changes to WinLABs 10.0.10 are as follows:

Added the new Scholastic High School, Scholastic Middle School, 8 For 8 and Roll N Grow PLUS membership products
Added the new Scholastic High School, Scholastic Middle School and 8 For 8 league mix types
Updated achievements and awards
Added new and expired old achievements
Corrected issue with being locked in membership history box in WinLABs after attempting to void a membership
Added option to hide youth or adult achievements and awards for merged state associations
Corrected issues with the Achievement Eligibility Report for State associations
Removed 900 series achievements and awards (please contact USBC HQ in the event of 900)
Changed the default to “Ship to Bowler” for all 300/800 rings and plaques
Edited the format for pre-printing membership cards (Associations on WinLABs 10.0.10 must use the new membership applications. Anyone on a prior version of WinLABs will have to use the old membership applications)
Instituted an expiration date of 7/31/2013 for all standard memberships purchased through summer leagues starting on or after 3/15/2013 (Legislation from Convention)

Once downloaded, associations that track inventory of awards within WinLABs will need to make sure to check the box for “Track Inventory” that is located under the Awards portion of the Setup menu.

Scheduled maintenance for BOWL.com
The USBC IT Infrastructure department will perform system maintenance on Saturday, July 14, 2012 at midnight Eastern time. This maintenance will last no later than 9 a.m. Eastern on July 15, 2012. During this maintenance window, the following systems and services will be affected:

BOWL.com
Associate Membership (Join USBC)
USBC Search (Find-A-Member, Find-A-Center, etc.)
Center Certification and Maintenance
Coaches Association Registration
College Bowling
Event Registration
High School Bowling Team Registration
League Standing Sheets
Online Membership Processing (Youth)
Online Championships Team Registrations (Open 2012/Women's 2012)
Sport Bowling – League, Tournament/Center Registration, Search Pages
SMART (including Online Accounts/Administration)
Online Tournament Registration and Maintenance
WinLABs (including AWARDS)
Youth Open Tournament Registration

USBC forming new association in Fort Worth, Texas
USBC is forming a new local association to service bowlers in the Greater Fort Worth, Texas area. USBC revoked the charter of the Greater Fort Worth Metroplex USBC earlier this year due to lack of compliance with IRS regulations and USBC policy.

“When USBC is forced to revoke the charter of a local association, we first look to neighbor associations for assistance in servicing members,” USBC Managing Director of Rules and Association Services Mike Spridco said. “The Fort Worth area is too big for another association to easily absorb, so USBC has decided to create a new association with a new structure. We want bowlers to be served locally, but need additional oversight to protect the members and ensure mismanagement does not occur again.”

North Central Texas USBC will be incorporated with a new test franchise structure. The association will remain under local governance with a smaller seven member local board of directors appointed by USBC. Each bowling center in the area will be invited to designate an association liaison to assist the board with USBC programs and grassroots communications. The association will continue to provide tournaments, local recognition and other programs offered by USBC, as well as have delegate representation at the USBC Annual Meeting.

“This new franchise association structure is a solution for a specific situation in Fort Worth, but we are interested to learn from it,” Spridco said. “There are no plans to implement this association structure in other areas at this time, but we will certainly look to see if there are successes in North Central Texas USBC that we can share with our volunteers across the country."

Summer supply shipments

Associations can log into the supply order page of BOWL.com to view the status of their orders. By viewing their most recent order, it shows the estimated ship date. This is the date the order will ship from USBC Headquarters and is not the date associations will receive their shipments.

Special achievement applications

The new special achievement award applications will be available on BOWL.com starting August 1. Associations will need to print these off the website as they will not be included in supply order shipments.

USBC SportStore summer clearance is underway
Save up to 30% on select items at the USBC SportStore, your online store for bowling and lifestyle apparel. Go to USBCSportStore.com for great deals on tournament apparel, polos and shirts, shorts, headwear and so much more.