RULES & DRESS CODE

1. League Format  – This league is a USBC certified, open, scratch, singles, adult/youth travel league and will consist of 9 stops between August and March. The stops will vary by location and differ each year. The first eight stops (league stops) will consist either of a 6-game head-to-head format or a 6-game right/left qualifying format followed a finals formats: the top 8 bracket, top 5 low-man-out, or top 5 stepladder. After a league vote for qualifying and finals format, the ninth stop (tournament stop) will consist of 8 qualifying games in head-to-head or right/left format, followed by one of the three finals format. To bowl the 9th Finals stop, an athlete must have bowled 3 of the first 8 league stops. All games are scratch, handicap will not apply.

 

2. Big Sky Tour Divisions – There are four divisions: U12 Minion Division, U15 Boys Junior Division, U15/U20 Girls Division and U20 Boys Major Division. If a bowler was born on 8/1/12 or later, athlete will be placed in the U12 Minion Division. If a male bowler was born between 8/1/09 and 7/31/12, athlete will be placed in the U15 Boys Junior Division. If a male bowler was born between 8/1/04 and 7/31/09, athlete will be placed in the U20 Boys Major Division and any female bowler born between 8/1/04 and 7/31/12 will be placed in the U15/U20 Girls Division. Adult bowlers in a U20 Major Division must be SafeSport certified prior to competition.

 

3. Head-to-Head (H2H) with Bonus Pins – At designated stops, bowlers will be matched based on their current BST average or prior years BST average. Bowlers without a previous established Big Sky Tour average will use their highest previous season’s average with minimum of 21 games. Bowlers with no average will be given a 225 average to start. The remaining matches will be paired based on a total pinfall plus bonus pins. The winner of each game in the match play will add 30 bonus pins to their total pinfall. In the event of a tie, each bowler will add 15 bonus pins to their total pinfall.

 

4. Right/Left Qualifying Set (R/L) – At designated stops, bowlers will bowl 6 games of qualifying, moving one pair each game. Bowlers on right lanes will move right and left lane will move left.

 

5. Ties – During H2H, ties of consequence will be decided with the bowler with the higher entering average for that stop receiving the higher placing. In the event there is a tie with total pinfall at the conclusion of H2H or R/L, a 9th/10th frame roll-off will be conducted. The higher seed will have first choice on ties between finishing first/last. Left lane starts first.

 

6. Top 8 Bracket Elimination Finals Format – The top eight bowlers will compete in a single elimination bracket. In Round 1, match #1 will be the 1 st vs 8th, match #2 will be 4th vs 5th, match #3 will be 3rd vs 6th, and match #4 will be 2nd vs 7th. Winners will advance to the 2nd round with the winner of match #1 versus the winner of match #2 and the winner of match #3 versus the winner of match #4. The round 2 winners will advance to the Championship match. Two balls on each lane of practice will be allowed in each round. All ties will be decided by a 9th/10th frame roll off.

 

7. Top 5 Low Man Out Finals Format – The top 5 bowlers after H2H or R/L will compete in 4 rounds. Each round the bowler with the lowest score is eliminated from competition and the remaining bowlers advance until a winner is determined.

 

8. Top 5 Stepladder – The top five bowlers will compete in a Top 5 stepladder where in the first round the #5 and #4 seeds compete head-to-head and the winner advances to compete against the #3 seed and so on until a winner is determined.

 

9. Scholarships – All bowlers are eligible to win scholarship at the first eight stops, there is a $50 scholarship for 1st place and $25 for 2nd place in both the U20, U15, and U12 divisions. Scholarships will be awarded to all of the bowlers who advance to the finals at the final stop and will be based on funds from entries, 50/50 sales and added money from sponsors. If added money from sponsors allow or more than 15 entries in a division, 1st will receive $100, and 2nd will receive $50. SMART Account# 14033.

 

10. Cost – The first eight stops will be $45. The final stop will be $55. Lineage is $4 per line with all remaining money going towards scholarships.

 

11. Time – All bowlers must be checked in by 8:45am. Practice will start at 8:45am and competition play at 9am. Bowlers who have not checked in or have not called to announce their tardiness will not be allowed to bowl. If a bowler calls to announce their tardiness, they will receive scores of 0 in each frame until arrival. Weather will be taken into consideration if a majority of bowlers are late in arriving due to weather.

 

12. Ball Limit in Pit – Bowlers will only be allowed to have 2 balls on the rack and an additional ball in the settee area. If a ball is retrieved from outside the settee area, then one of the balls in the settee area must be removed.

 

13. Dress Code – Goal of this dress code is to prepare bowlers for tournament competition in which a professional athletic dress is standard. Appropriate bowling competition attire must be worn (knee length cargo or walking shorts are allowed but no basketball shorts or yoga pants and skirts must be longer than fingertip length), no hats. Youth participants shall not wear apparel or use bowling equipment depicting alcohol, tobacco, gambling, an illegal substance, or inappropriate language/gestures during competition. All final decisions regarding attire will be at the discretion of the league officers and the adult league advisor. Any violation will follow penalty protocol. All Junior Gold Qualifier competitors will dress according to the Junior Gold dress code. League Advisor: Terri Johnson Cell: (406) 459-7985 Email: bigskybowlingtour@gmail.com or tejohnson@shockers.wichita.edu 24-25 MT BIG SKY TOUR

14. Language, Behavior, & Attitude – The Big Sky Tour is a competition where bowlers from across the state of Montana come to compete, meet other bowlers, improve their game, and have fun. Any misconduct (i.e., inappropriate language, gestures, abuse to any equipment, etc.) will not be tolerated. Any violation will follow penalty protocol.
 

15. Penalty: First offense will result in a verbal warning from the Sgt-at-Arms. Second Offense will result in a second warning by the president or league advisor. A third offense will cause the bowler’s scores to be disqualified and the bowler to be removed from the competition for the remainder of the competition.

16. Jr Gold League – Athletes who pay the Jr Gold Entry at a stop will be members of the MT Big Sky Junior Gold League Session in their respective age divisions U12, U15, U18. League Session 1 will be stops 1-4, and League Session 2 will be stops 5-8. The 6 qualifying games bowled at each league stop will total 24 games by the end of Session 1 and 24 games by the end of Session 2. At the end of each League Session in each division, the Athlete with the most points plus athletes in a 1:4 ratio and EARP will earn Jr Gold Spots. You must pay the Jr Gold Entry at a stop in order to earn points for that league stop. At the end of each session, if a tie in points exists, the athlete with the lowest total sum of finish positions from the 4 stops in that session will earn the higher seed. If a further tie is necessary, the athlete with highest game from the 24-game league session will break the tie.

17. Jr Gold League Cost –To earn points in the Jr Gold League, athletes in the U12/U15/U18 Jr Gold will pay an additional $10/$15/$20 respectively.
 

18. Jr Gold League Points System – Points will be allocated to each athlete and awarded as follows: 5 Pts for each stop attended, High scratch series in each division for each stop will earn points equal to the number of Jr Gold Athletes who paid entry and are present for that stop then multiplied by 2. Each subsequent finishing position will earn 1 point less than seed above them for that stop then multiplied by 2. 1 Pt will be awarded for athlete with high game each stop, Ties will split point(s) equaling of the sum of the tied positions. For example, Minions have 5 athletes in attendance. All 5 will receive 5 points, the high series qualifier will earn 10 points(5 athletes *2), 2nd will earn 8 points (4*2), 3rd will earn 6 points (3*2), 4th will earn 4 points (2*2), and 5th will earn 2 points(1*2). 2nd place had the high game so they will earn 1 extra point.

19. Junior Gold Tournament Qualifier – The 9th and final tournament stop will be a Junior Gold Qualifying Tournament and scores will not count toward their Big Sky Tour average. All Junior Gold Qualifier competitors will dress according to the Junior Gold dress code. The highest placing girl and boy in both divisions who attempting to qualify for Junior Gold will qualify for Junior Gold. Additional qualifiers will earn a berth to Junior Gold if funds are available to buy additional qualifying spots.

20. String Pinsetter Centers – Centers with certified String Pinsetters will be eligible for a MT Big Sky Tour League Stop. Games from String Centers will be included in the cumulative league average with games from Freefall Centers. The League Advisor will submit String Averages and Freefall Averages to USBC in accordance with USBC requirements.

21. League Meetings and Elections – Two league meetings per year, a fall meeting, and a spring meeting. Fall meeting will be conducted at the first stop. Spring meeting and election of officers will be conducted at the Tournament Stop.

22. Big Sky Tour Board – Consist of seven positions: President, Vice-President, Secretary/Treasurer, Sgt-at-Arms, Girls Rep, Junior Rep, and Minion Rep. To be elected, athletes must be a Big Sky Tour League member in good standing and in the U20 Division, except for the Girls Rep, Junior Rep, Minion Rep who must be a member of their division.

23. 18-Year-Old Athletes – Athletes 18 years or older must complete the U.S. Center for SafeSport’s Core Center for SafeSport Training within 45 days of initial membership. Athletes who will turn 18 during the season must complete the U.S. Center for SafeSport’s Core Center for SafeSport Training within 45 Days of turning 18. 18-Year-Old members cannot bowl until he/she has completed the training for SafeSport.

24. 18-Year-Old Board Members – Board members who are 18 years or older must complete the U.S. Center for SafeSport’s Core Center for SafeSport Training and the Registered Volunteer Program. Board Members who will turn 18 during the season must complete the U.S. Center for SafeSport’s Core Center for SafeSport Training and Registered Volunteer Program before the next Big Sky Tour competition event.

25. BST Parent Committee – formed by the League to assist the League Advisor with the Points system, shirts and merchandise, technology, and any other happenings approved by the League.

 

26. Bank Account - The BST has an account at Stockman Bank. The League Advisor, the Assistant League Advisor, a member of the Parent Committee, the BST President, and the BST Secretary/Treasurer are account members of the bank account.

 

27. Rule 400 In Effect – There will be no monetary rewards or promise of monetary awards during competition play from anyone. Rule #400 will apply. Bowlers caught are subject to suspension from competition play and will be reported to USBC headquarters.

 

28. Electronic Devices – During completion play, no electronic devices are to be used by bowlers.
 

29. Spectators are not allowed in the settee area during competition play.

30. Certification – Freefall/String: (U12 Minions #902490/902491, U15 Jrs #902492/902493, U1518Girls #902494/902495, U20 Maj #902496/902497)
 

31. Jr Gold League Certification - Session 1 (U12 #730063 / U15 #730062 / U18 #730061), Session 2 (U12 #902498 / U15 #905499 / U18 #902500)

32. ALL USBC RULES ARE IN EFFECT!!!