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buffto posted:Yeah, the whole Motiv thing has me scratching my head. Honestly it's kind of sketchy how all of these balls that were produced all of a sudden exceeded the maximum differential for the USBC. Well, I looked the two balls up and saw that they are designed to have a .060" differential (the absolute maximum allowed). USBC did a spot check and found that "a significant amount" of them tested out to have a .063" differential. I'm going to assume that Motiv didn't do this on purpose and this was just some manufacturing mistake. However, why on earth did Motiv design a weight block to have the absolute maximum RG differential when they knew some variance could occur during production? Whatever, I only throw Storm anyway. Yea I only throw Brunswick stuff. From what people are saying, Motiv liked to really push the standard boundaries as much as they could, which leaves such a small amount for error during production, which is really stupid on their end. It makes no sense to have your balls produced at the exact upper limit when there can be small production variances.
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Mar 24, 2016 15:10
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 20:43 |
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Yeah, Motiv is the brand you want to throw if you truly want to live ON THE EDGE!!! Get MOTIVated!
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Mar 24, 2016 21:44
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Women's State Championships are going on in Kansas this month. I competed this weekend for the first time. Rather glad they went with last season's book average (131, as opposed to 145), and some ridiculous handicap setting. Singles/Doubles were at my house, and then team was at a house I used to bowl at. Managed a 433 (715 handicap) for doubles, 553 (835 handicap) for singles (and managed to win both of my brackets!), and 439 (721 handicap) for team. Now I just have to impatiently wait until the beginning of next month for the event to finish up!
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Apr 18, 2016 20:04
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hockeyfrog posted:Women's State Championships are going on in Kansas this month. I competed this weekend for the first time. Rather glad they went with last season's book average (131, as opposed to 145), and some ridiculous handicap setting. Singles/Doubles were at my house, and then team was at a house I used to bowl at. Grats, last league I was in people were getting real pissy when my average was way below my scratch, glad it worked out for you =) I finally learned how to cut the hook on my alpha crux and rolled a 254 game the other night... hooboy.
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May 3, 2016 08:16
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Well, the fall leagues have started back up. I'm 3 weeks in on both of my leagues this season. What are your goals for this bowling season? Mine is to average 220 and get a 300 and 800 at some point. I think it is well within my abilities and the conditions seem much more scoreable this year than last.
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Sep 14, 2016 00:33
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I'm just getting back into it after a pretty long absence, so just rolling in a mixed handicap league right now. I'd like to start throwing a more consistent shot and bring my average up from 150 to 170 or 180 this season. I also wanted to ask what people think of Hammer's new-ish stuff (The Dark Legend, etc.). I have a Black Widow I'm throwing right now and have generally liked Hammer's stuff, but have no idea what the different balls out there now are really like beyond the "TEN IN THE PIT EVERY TIME" demo videos.
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Sep 19, 2016 01:57
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This thread made me want to go bowling after like a six month absence. First game: 189; second game: 159; third game: my wrist breaks. I forgot that throwing a 15 pound ball takes some strength.
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Oct 12, 2016 18:06
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I went to a demo day weekend before last and was able to try out a number of new balls. Not that I need one of course.. but I did find a couple I wouldn't mind getting if something went awry with what I already have. And then I came back only to bowl one of my worst weeks so far this season. I'm still 7 under my book average from last season. Hoping I can bring it up and over, for sure.
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Oct 12, 2016 20:33
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I just got back from throwing a few games for the first time in ??? a decade ??? - It's been forever. Left after the 3rd (solo) game as my tricep started bitching - but at least this time around, for the first time ever, I actually got my own ball so now I have something non-poo poo and consistent to measure with.  Now to figure out how to throw a hook - since this is my first actual drilled ball, i hit the gutter a lot today. Throwing straight was fine, but any attempts at a hook were awful so far. E: This loving ball smells like I walked into a goddamned candle store. Sniep fucked around with this message at 23:51 on Oct 26, 2016 |
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Oct 26, 2016 23:45
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Supposedly that one smells like Butter Pecan. I've always thought it a little weird that Storm does that with their balls. Before I knew about it, I always questioned why my bf's bowling bag smelled of chocolate oranges. As far as first balls drilled for you and making them hook... I was legit awful when I got my first fingertip grip ball, and the gutters and I were pretty well acquainted. There is definitely a learning curve on how to make the ball hook. (ha I made a funny!) There are a lot of factors that affect the path of your ball though, and other than practicing/getting lessons, I read a lot/watched plenty of youtube videos. bowlingball.com has some decent articles about it, in fact they wrote a series on it that was pretty informative for me at least. http://www.bowlingball.com/BowlVersity/why-wont-my-ball-hook-part-one Biggest piece of advice I've got is just be patient. After enough practice, it seems like something just clicks suddenly and you know how to throw it to make it do what you want. PS I love the cat photobomb.
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Oct 27, 2016 22:22
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Over the years I've taught myself to hook with lane balls, but now that I've joined a league I'm looking to get my own ball. The thread guide is good and I'm going to talk to a pro, but I'm wondering about some of my habits and if any are going to screw me over. Mainly, my grip: no thumb, resting the ball on the palm. Is that horribly wrong? I've tried using my thumb, but with the drilling pattern my wrist never felt secure.
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Oct 28, 2016 02:42
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If you ever want to get better you should use your thumb. Most of the no-thumbers I've seen over the years hit a plateau and then are laughably bad compared to the actual good bowlers. The accuracy just isn't there unless you're some kind of no-thumb prodigy.
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Oct 28, 2016 21:21
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Caught Cubs Posting
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Yeah, there are definitely some no-thumb exceptions (Mike Miller, Jason Belmonte, Osku Palermaa, plus a few local bowlers you've never heard of), but generally speaking it's best to learn with the thumb. I threw thumbless for the first year or so I bowled and plateaued around 195-200 on some really easy conditions. Once I got a ball drilled for my hand and I worked out the kinks, my consistency went way up.
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Oct 29, 2016 17:40
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buffto posted:Yeah, there are definitely some no-thumb exceptions (Mike Miller, Jason Belmonte, Osku Palermaa, plus a few local bowlers you've never heard of), but generally speaking it's best to learn with the thumb. I threw thumbless for the first year or so I bowled and plateaued around 195-200 on some really easy conditions. Once I got a ball drilled for my hand and I worked out the kinks, my consistency went way up. Haha, I'm still a ways from having that problem, but probably better to nip it early. Is wrist support something that a proper fitting would help? It does feel like the holes for the finger size I need are too close together.
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Oct 29, 2016 23:23
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When you get a ball custom drilled the holes are exactly as far apart as you need them. And they're the correct size. Assuming your pro shop owner has a minimum level of competency. Getting a ball that actually fits your hand is easily the #1 best and easiest thing you can do to improve your scores.
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Oct 30, 2016 00:26
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Devo posted:When you get a ball custom drilled the holes are exactly as far apart as you need them. And they're the correct size. Assuming your pro shop owner has a minimum level of competency. Getting a ball that actually fits your hand is easily the #1 best and easiest thing you can do to improve your scores. Yeah I was really impressed by the guy who did my new ball the other day - he measured a couple times on each finger/thumb for circumference and then this disc-shaped thumb-to-fingertip gauge - legit tools to specifically measure for it, took like 2 minutes, then bam ended up with a ball I took it back into the pro shop as I threw a few games a couple of times to get some adjustments made, but after 3 games it fits perfect now dupersaurus posted:It does feel like the holes for the finger size I need are too close together. Cuz' they are I'm just learning all of this and it's neat how much actual thought is put into it - Never realized before Sniep fucked around with this message at 00:35 on Oct 30, 2016 |
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Oct 30, 2016 00:33
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Bowled my first 200 game last week in league (before slowly falling apart in games 2 and 3 for various reasons). Still a good night in the end though, and so far this year I'm averaging right around a 150, which is p. nice considering my average last season was 130.
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Oct 30, 2016 06:49
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Mr. Despair posted:Bowled my first 200 game last week in league (before slowly falling apart in games 2 and 3 for various reasons). Still a good night in the end though, and so far this year I'm averaging right around a 150, which is p. nice considering my average last season was 130. That is awesome to hear! I'm in a similar boat to you. I'm hovering around a 145 right now, but just sometimes even getting one awesome game like that proves to yourself that you can do it! Keep it up, you'll start seeing more of those high numbers 
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Oct 31, 2016 21:44
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dupersaurus posted:Haha, I'm still a ways from having that problem, but probably better to nip it early. Is wrist support something that a proper fitting would help? It does feel like the holes for the finger size I need are too close together. A proper fit will help out with wrist support. The more you feel like you need to grip the ball, the tougher it is to do everything else. A good way to quickly check the span (finger to thumb distance) on your drill is to put your thumb in the ball all the way, then lay your fingers over the holes. Don't stretch, just lay them over top. The creases in your fingers should approximately line up with the middle of the hole.
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Oct 31, 2016 23:07
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So what's the new hotness in bowling balls these days? All 3 of mine have cracked due to leaving them in my garage and sitting in the florida heat. The only one I have left is my plastic spare ball. I like to throw a pretty decent hook. Won't be for league bowling or anything but my wife and I like to hit the alley a few times a month for fun. edit: Thread to slow lol. Went to pro shop today and picked up a Ebonite Adrenaline Overload. Pro shop had some great deals on. Ball was originally 169, marked down to 149, plus 15% off that and free drilling and plugs and I was out the door at $130. Checked online and that seems a good deal. Bowled 3 quick games with it, took me 2 games to find my line then threw the front 6 of the 3rd game and wound up at 235. Might look at joining a league again and see if I can get back to my 205 average I had a few years ago when I was bowling league. Old and very very busted, *hint* don't leave you bowling balls in your hot rear end garage!   New hotness, which will now be kept inside! 
mattfl fucked around with this message at 00:29 on Nov 22, 2016 |
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Nov 20, 2016 23:03
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Well, the heat probably didn't do you any favors, but bowling balls just do that sometimes. The weight blocks are much denser than they use to be, and just sitting idly for a long time can put s lot of pressure on the cover. I just came across 2 balls that have been sitting in my closet at room temperature for a year or so and they were both cracked.
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Dec 2, 2016 05:05
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Not sure what's going on with me this season but we're about halfway through the regular season and I'm bowling a 170 average, my best ever by about 10 pins. We took a long break going into this season and I think the rest helped me reset a bit. I went 193-171-220 tonight and I think the 584 is my best three game series of all time. Funny thing is I stupidly left the first two frames of the first two games open so it really easily could have been a 600.
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Jan 19, 2017 05:53
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I bowled a 242 a month ago, took 2nd in a tourney (in the sub150 handicap bracket since it was using last years handicap), along with first in mystery doubles and a bracket that I entered in. Wound up winning a decent chunk of change and turning it into this guy: Took a little used to being able to actually throw a ball fast and still have it grab and hook, but i'm really digging it now. Bowled a 653 series on monday (first time with 3 games back to back to back above 200), and posted a 178-206-179 in league tonight which was pretty solid (700 series with my handicap is always nice). Need to stay like this though, one of my team mates in the span of about 3 weeks bowled his first ever 300, and then broke the middle finger on his bowling hand at work. 
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Jan 19, 2017 07:26
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That's some poo poo luck. Is that phaze your first storm ball? I tried my first one back in 2008 and basically haven't looked back.
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Jan 22, 2017 01:06
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I bowl in a beer league only and our opponents intentionally slowplayed us tonight to the point where we finished our series in FOUR loving HOURS, over a full hour after all 14 other teams had finished bowling. We took 5 of 7 points but it REALLY hosed with our rhythm by the third game, complete bullshit.
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Feb 9, 2017 06:18
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You don't have a pace of play rule in your league? Intentionally bowling slow sounds horrible and I probably would have confronted them about it and/or the league secretary. Like, that's not even a real strategy. That's just being a bunch of loving tools.
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Feb 9, 2017 16:22
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Thom P. Tiers posted:You don't have a pace of play rule in your league? Intentionally bowling slow sounds horrible and I probably would have confronted them about it and/or the league secretary. Like, that's not even a real strategy. That's just being a bunch of loving tools. It's a great league at a super fun old alley, but it doesn't really have rules or a secretary. It's supposed to be really chill. When we asked them if they could pick it up, they said they were already bowling faster than they usually do and made a big scene about it, so it was clear they were lying tools. You're right that it's not a strategy, but we let it get in our heads for the last game (and we were also exhausted)  Nobody in the league likes them, so maybe they'll be gone next season.
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Feb 9, 2017 16:43
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Ugh, that is probably my biggest pet peeve in bowling. Mostly because i used to be a pinsetter mechanic and waiting on the last pair of lanes to get done because of slow bowlers was a giant pain in my rear end.
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Feb 10, 2017 05:16
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Good god, I get annoyed when teams go 3 hours. I'd probably be homicidal by 4. Institute a 90 second shot clock.
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Feb 10, 2017 09:53
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Funny that, we finished 90 minutes earlier than last week! We also set the season high for handicap series at 2552, about 60 pins higher than the previous high 
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Feb 16, 2017 06:06
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So it's tournament season. Just bowled in the greater Ozarks open in Springfield, MO this weekend. Shat the bed in singles with a 531. Brought it back a little in doubles with a 675. Really showed up in team with a 738. Doubled my investment in side pots. Especially proud of team event because no one else on the pair was scoring. Heading to the Missouri state open in a couple of weeks. What tourneys are you guys hitting up?
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Mar 7, 2017 01:24
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One of my local city tournaments was last month, and they have a "Masters" tournament for the top 16 qualifying All-Events scores. So, I started off the tournament with a 591 in team event, which is horrible for me. Everything was going wrong from ball selection to execution, and even when I did execute, the carry was poor. So, needless to say, I put myself in a hole going into minors events the following weekend. I show up for singles, and end up shooting 215 267 264, good for 746 and third place singles. I follow that up with a 706 in doubles. I shoot 2,044 and end up barely hanging on to top 16 with a 14th place finish. The "Masters" tournament is this weekend and I am looking forward to it! Other than that, I unfortunately won't be bowling state this year, because the normal weekend I go happens to be a bachelor party weekend for the same group of guys that I also bowl state with. A little bit disappointed in that, but oh well. I head out to Nationals to bowl May 1/2. My tournament season is all packed in around that time frame. I do a big doubles tournament right when I get back along with two match game tournaments with 8 games qualifying that same week and the following week. End of April and beginning of May is my favorite time of bowling. After that, I take three months off and never enter a bowling alley until late August. Looking at getting a new ball soon and I want the green quantum but ugggghhh ball prices keep going up as well as drilling prices around here. Sad!
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Mar 7, 2017 16:46
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I'm going to bowl the Petersen in May like I always do because I'm a dumbass idiot
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Mar 7, 2017 21:38
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I was one ball away from having the high score on a lane last year  Needed a strike and count for 260 something and the 4 pin didn't fall down Don't ask me about the rest of my games
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Mar 7, 2017 23:30
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I'm just hoping for a 1400 one of these years
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Mar 8, 2017 00:46
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Any lefties in here? All my league buddies keep telling me how easy I have it because I've got more oil to work with, but I keep sailing past the pocket and hitting brooklyns. I bought a new ball (15lb Cyclone) and have been trying to step up my game. My average has improved a bit, but I just can't stay consistent. On the rare occasions I hit the pocket that drat 7-pin is standing there, laughing at me.
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Mar 8, 2017 00:49
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"More oil to work with" might be a bit of a misstatement. In general though once you find a spot that works you should have an easier time holding there than most right-handers do. Without knowing exactly how you're throwing it's hard to give you advice, but usually if you're consistently over-hooking the ball you should look into moving your feet to the right and swinging the ball out through the oil in the middle a little more.
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Mar 8, 2017 01:38
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Pretty much what Devo said. Lefties get a bad rap because usually nobody else is on their side of the lane taking up any of the oil. Once they find a spot, they can usually sit there all night, especially on a house shot. And if you are consistently going brooklyn, move your feet and your mark a bit right and swing the ball out a bit. Play through more of the oil, as Devo said. (There is generally more oil in the middle parts of the lane, which will allow your ball to hold on the left side a bit longer if you send it through that oil)
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Mar 8, 2017 16:20
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It is tournament season around here as well! Being on the women's association board of directors, I had to work a few days of city tournament. One day I wasn't needed (there were literally 2 teams and 2 sets of doubles/singles that day) so I got picked up to sub in the men's city tournament. I did awful. The women's association manager comes by and jokes, "You know the guys don't give out awards, right?" I came back with "I'm saving my 200 for tomorrow." (Last day of me bowling in the women's city tournament.) I did awful in the men's tournament, but my score with handicap was better than a 0 for their missing player. Also found out that the guys were super cool to bowl with, and cheered me on quite a bit. Sure enough, last game of the day though for women's, I pulled off a 200 on the nose, and got my pin. (First 200 in a tournament setting, I was pretty happy, especially with the rut I've been in the past few weeks.) Ended up doing awful in singles, took 4th in doubles, and took first in team. And because I'm the designer in our association, we're getting super special plaques (rather than the generic stuff I came up with last year) I have state coming up in May, and the bf has talked me into bowling USBC Open Nationals this year in June. Somewhere in all of this, our women's and men's associations are having to merge, and there is a rather large chance that I'm going to be elected president of the association. Not quite sure how I feel about that one.
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Mar 8, 2017 17:34
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hockeyfrog posted:I have state coming up in May, and the bf has talked me into bowling USBC Open Nationals this year in June. Enjoy nationals. If you have never bowled on a sport shot, be prepared to struggle and don't be disappointed. Otherwise, have a ton of fun! Our womens/men/youth is merging into one association too. I wonder if this is happening everywhere.
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Mar 8, 2017 17:55
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