Procedures and Rules
Eligibility: At least 50 years of age, male or female.
Cost:
Membership-$45
- Entry fee for members-$90
- Non Member entry fee-$100: Of the $90, $5 goes into the year-end event, $10 pays for lineage, $3 goes in to MSC fund and $72 goes into the prize fund. Membership fee-$45 goes to the director as a fee.
The MSC encourages payment by cash. If you need a receipt, please ask. Checks accepted only from first time players.
*Note: A participant need not be a member of the MSC to play. Membership is one of the qualifications needed to participate in the added money year end tournament. The other qualification needed is that one must play 4 tournaments during the course of the season.
Format:
A one day-same day payout; 8 games of scratch match play (7 games against random opponents, followed by a position round), followed by a stepladder.
Participant definitions:
- Any male/female who is 50 years of age or older on the day of the tournament.
- One’s birth date determines the age category he/she is assigned.
- There are 3 classes of participants:
- Regular Senior: 50 through 59 years old.
- Super Senior: 60 through 67 years old.
- Real Old Guy: 68 and older.
Playing Format:
Each player, upon paying the entry fee, draws a recap sheet, which displays the starting lane and starting position. The field gets 10 minutes of warm up. Ideally, there are 4 players on a pair. Each player bowls against the player opposite him/her. When there are an odd number of players on a lane, the bottom position bowls against the score of the first player on the opposite lane. After each game, the players rotate down, example: player 1 moves to 2, player 2 to 3, and player 3 to 1. Players move to different lanes after each game, (the move pattern determined by the Director). Each match won is worth 40 points; a tie is worth 20 points. After 7 games, scratch and bonus are totaled to determine the standings. A position round takes place, with 1st playing 2nd, 3rd versus 4th, etc. After 8 games, the totals are added and the step ladder participants are determined. The qualifying positions are determined by the scratch pin total plus bonus pins. In the event of an injury during a game, at any point of the game, the injured player forfeits the game, the incomplete game is not included in the player's statistics.
THE OFFICIAL STEPLADDER LINE UP IS ANNOUNCED BY THE DIRECTOR, until then no other announcements are valid.
Stepladder Makeup:
The stepladder must have at least 1 player over 60 years old and 1 player under 59.
Note: if after qualifying, a tie exists for 5th or a spot in the ladder, a one game roll off, with winner moving into the ladder.
A: The stepladder will follow the qualifying and consists of at least 4 games, with the winner of the 1st game advancing to the 2nd game, etc. The championship will be contested by the qualifying leader and the player who advanced through the stepladder. If no player over 60 qualifies for the stepladder naturally, then the conditional provisions listed below go into effect.
B: If 7 players qualify for the ladder, the seeded players bowl the first game. The winner advances to meet the 5th seed. Should the seeded play win, he can improve his finishing position. If the seeded player loses to the 5th seed, he falls back to his original position.
Other conditional stepladder provisions:
If there are 4 or more SS, at least 1 must be in the ladder. If there are 4 or more ROG, at least 1 must be in the ladder.
- Scenario 1: there are 10 SS, 5 ROG in the field.
- A: the high in each category is seeded into the first game.
*Special rules for who qualifies for the step ladder.
If an age group does not meet the minimum of players to qualify for seeding into the ladder, the following occurs.
If there are fewer 4 ROG players, they then become SS players.
Examples:
- Scenario 1: there are 7 SS and 3 ROG in the field.
- A: the 3 ROG fall into the SS category, there are now 10 SS, the highest is then seeded.
- Scenario 2: there are 4 SS, 2 ROG in the field.
- A: the ROG become SS with the high player being seeded.
- Scenario 3: there are 2 or 3 SS and 3 ROG.
- A: because there are less than 4 SS, all SS & ROG become SS, then the high
- SS is seeded.
Stepladder Rules & Procedures:
- Order of qualifying finish determines the stepladder seeding.
- All stepladder games must start on the left lane.
- When 2 seeds are added, they play the first game. The winner advances to meet the 5th seed, the winner of 2 seeds only wins the right to meet the 5th seed.
- When 2 players are seeded, the higher seed has 1st choice of beginning or finishing last.
- The first player must start on the left lane.
- If the seeded player defeats the 5th place player, he/she advances and cannot finish lower than 5th. The defeated 5th player’s finishes in 6th.
- If the 5th place qualifier defeats the seeded player, he advances and the seeded player finishes in his original qualifying position.
When 2 seeds meet in the 1st game, they are simply bowling for the right to advance to meet the 5th qualifier.
A SEEDED PLAYER MUST WIN THE FIRST GAME TO AVOID FALLING BACK TO THEIR ORIGINAL QUALIFYING POSITION.
NOTE: EXAMPLES
Scenario A: 2 seeds meet in first ladder game: a SS who qualified 7th, and a ROG qualified 13th. The ROG wins the first match, the ROG advances, the SS finishes in 7th.
Scenario B: Same seeds as above, the SS wins; finishing positions are: SS advances, The ROG falls back to 13th.
Scenario C: The seeded winner then plays the 5th placed player. If the 5th place player wins, he advances to the next ladder game and the seeded player falls back to his/her qualifying position. If the seeded player wins, the 5th placed player finishes in 6th. This results in the players from 6th on down being demoted one spot.
Note: In sum, to reiterate, the seeded player who wins over the other seeded player only wins the right to advance.
Stepladder Play Format:
When lanes are available, each ladder game is played on a different pair of lanes. Each player gets 2 warm up shots on each lane. The higher seeded player has the option of starting or finishing. The starting player will start on the left lane.
A pair of practice lanes will be available for all ladder participants to warm up. In the event of a tie, a 2 frame roll off takes place. The highest seed chooses to lead off or to follow and gets choice of which lane to start on. The first player bowls the first frame, then waits for the opponent to bowl both the 9th and 10th frames. Then the 1st player bowls the 10th frame. The player with the highest 2 frame total wins the match. Should a tie occur, then another 2 frame roll off occurs. The start is reversed. If another tie occurs, then a 1 shot frame occurs. The order of bowling is high seed gets choice of 1st or 2nd shot. Should this result in a tie, another 1 shot frame takes place? The order of play is the reversal of the previous frame. Any succeeding tie would have the shot order the reverse of the previous frame.
Prize Payout:
Same day cash payouts at the Director’s convenience or after the first stepladder game.
Prize lists are predetermined by the number of entries for a tournament.
The prize fund is based on the number of entries times $72. The ratio is 1 cash prize for every 2 entries for each age bracket.
By Rule, a player must be in the top 50% of their age bracket to cash.
Example, if 21 ROGs in the field, 10 1/2 ROGs will cash, with the last ROG getting $45. If there are an odd number of SS and/or ROG, the 1/2 will be paid $45 if they are not naturally in the prize list.
All money won by players counts toward their season total.
The goal is to pay 1 for 2 in each age bracket, however, no 59+ player can be moved out of the prize list if they naturally finish in the prize list. This may result in more than 50% of the players winning money. This happens, due to the aforementioned sentence.
*The reason for the aforementioned is to keep 59+ players in the tournament fields.
Questions regarding the payouts is left to the discretion of the Director and/or the board of Directors.
Point System and Awards:
A point system is utilized to determine year end awards, such as Player of The Year, All Star Teams and Rookie of the Year. There are two categories of awards, one for the MSC as a whole and a separate one for players over 59. Points are awarded based on the following: 25 pts for 1st, 23 pts for 2nd, 21 pts for 3rd, 19 for 4th, 17 for 5th, 15 for 6th, 14 for 7th, 13 for 8th, 12 for 9th, 11 for 10th, 10 for 11th, 9 for 12th, 8 for 13th, 7 for 14th, 6 for 15th, remaining cashers get 5 points each. Players who do not cash are awarded 2 points.
Any player advanced into the prize list is awarded points for cashing and the points for that spot. Season cumulative totals determine awards. Player of the Year is determined by the player who has earned the most POY points during the season. All Star teams are determined by POY totals. The Rookie of the Year will be awarded to the first year player with the most POY points. NOTE: to qualify for ROY, a player must not have participated in more than 3 tournaments in his/her first MSC season. (The reason for this exception: the MSC does not want to discourage players from entering its events because a player’s 50th birthday occurs towards the end of a season). In this case, he/she will be eligible for the ROK award the following season.
Playing Rules:
The use of either hand is allowed at any time. Since we are certified by the USBC, rules of play are in effect unless otherwise noted. Players are responsible for tracking their scores on the recap sheets. Please double check the addition on your recaps and you are encouraged to check your opponents recap sheets. Please endorse your opponents recap sheet at the conclusion of your match. Errors on the recap sheets cause delays in the pace of play. If a player drops out of the field during qualifying, his traveling partner continues alternating as the A or B player after every game. This means that he plays against the player on the opposite side every other pair of lanes. Also, it means that he bowls against the opposite top player's score every other game.
Special rule: If a player designated an "X" , is traveling by himself and withdraws due to injury, opponents in future matches must compete against each other, both starting on the same lane.
Moving to the next pair of lanes:
The players rotate from 1 to 2, 2 to 1; If 3 players travel together, then 1 moves to 2, 2 to 3 and 3 to 1. Should players forget to rotate and it is noticed before the start of the second frame, then delete the frame and start over in the normal rotation. If it is noticed after the second frame, then continue the game. The next game, begin a new rotation schedule. Any questions concerning scoring should be addressed to the Director. Any honor counts accomplished during tournament play will be submitted to the USBC by the director. 300 games and 800 series will be filed by the Director. An 800 series in the MSC is legal for games 1,2,3; 4,5,6; 7,8,9; and 10,11, and 12. Any lane breakdown lasting more than 15 minutes entitles those players to two shadow balls on each lane. If the lane problem cannot be resolved, moving to another pair of lanes is an option, when and if available.
Generalities:
Please do not complain about lane conditions to the proprietor. Address any complaints to the director. There are no specific dress codes, but the wearing of a shirt with your name on it is encouraged. Shorts are allowed. It is suggested that a shirt with sleeves be worn. Slacks, levis, etc. without holes are preferred. Civilized behavior is encouraged during the tournament. The MSC employs no system of monetary fines.
Final Rule:
#1: A player must be at least 50 on the day of the tournament.
#2: The only Absolute Rule is that any questions regarding play, scoring, payouts final standings and points awarded, are subject to the discretion of Director