Crib Notes
The short version:- 123, 137, 149. Very Bad.
- 157, 188, 202. Good.
- 128, 178, 136. Bad.
Format
The tournament is spread over four days, the 24th, 25th, 31st, and 1st. There are two heats per day. Each event is three games. In a heat you can fit either one three game set of four-on-four or two three game sets of four people playing both doubles and singles. To keep things fair you only bowl three games on one pair of lanes. If you do both doubles and singles in one heat you move to a new pair of lanes for the second set so you have to figure out the oil all over again.Prizes are given for both handicapped and scratch scores based on 2007-2008 Winter averages. My average from last winter was 151. The people who bowl in tournaments tend to be high average bowlers (190+ for men). Handicap is calculated on 90% of your score below 240 so I needed to do 5-10 pins per game better than my average just to hit my handicapped average*. And 25 pins better than my average to do well because people who win are the people who have a good day, 'natch.
Day 1, Heat 2
This was my four-man set with Don, Kevin, and Robert. Ouch. I'd never bowled in Malden before and they not only use a much different house shot than Cambridge but whoever had bowled on the lanes in Heat #1 had completely dried them up (they must have all been male righties). My strike ball was hooking so much [and so erratically - I threw 6 splits in game #2] I switched to my spare ball for game #3. It came closest to doing what my strike ball does on PBA oil patterns. My scores were 123, 137, 149.Day 2, Heat 2a
Doubles team with Don. The oil was pristine because it hadn't been used in heat #1. That meant my strike ball behaved predictably even if it was much more aggressive than on the PBA pattern I'm used to. I stood three boards left of my usual and aimed three boards right; it worked. My scores were 157, 188, 202. The 202 was a clean game (bowling jargon for all strikes or spares). Unfortunately Don shit the bed so I doubt we finished in the money.[I won a "Greater Boston BA High Score Award" pin for the 202 game. It wasn't clear what it was for but it certainly included handicap.]
Day 2, Heat 2b
Singles (w/ Don also bowling singles on the same pair of lanes). The lanes had been used by four male righties immediately before us so they were douched. It felt like Saturday all over again and I moved my feet eight boards left but still threw an occasional Brooklyn. My first game was bad enough to put me out of the running so I just tried new lines in the second two games. My scores were 128, 178, 136.Errata
The Malden lanes have a speedometer that tells you how many miles-per-hour you throw each ball. The big swinging dicks throw 15-17 MPH and +2 on spares. I throw 12-14 MPH and +1 on spares. The difference between me and the BSDs is that I don't throw at the same speed every time. It was instructive.I used the qualifier male/men several times. You can be as indignant about it as you like but there is zero overlap between the way that the women (1/3rd of the entrants) and men (2/3rds) bowl. The women throw lighter balls (10-13lbs instead of 14-16lbs) straighter and slower than the men. Feel free to take comfort in the fact that some of the oldest women kicked my ass in scratch score - the seasoned lady next to me had a game of 265. But she wasn't bowling on the same line as me so I would have been as delighted if she had bowled on my lane as I would if she had been a male leftie.
* People who bowl in tournaments are the serious people. I begrudge them nothing for not giving lesser bowlers like me an advantage by having a 100% handicapped tourney. 100% handicapped leagues are won by people who are brand new to bowling because their handicap is high. Tournaments are for the most competitive folks and they should have an edge in winning them.