THINGS TO KNOW (FAQ)
Here's some details about the Main Event that may answer some of your questions about how it all works, as well as some helpful travel information. If you can think of anything else that might be helpful to be on this page, let us know and we'll add it on!
Some
things to take note of:
1)
As in previous years, we will not pre-announce the exact lane conditions
for the event.
We will tell you, however, that the goal is to have a very challenging
and fair, but not impossible, lane condition for the Singles event, and a
typically much easier ‘house’ condition for the Doubles.
In order to stay on time, the only re-oiling of the Doubles lanes will be
after the Noon squad. if you like 'em oilier, bowl at 8 AM or 3 PM.
if you like them drier (or carried down, etc.) bowl the other squads.
Doubles is only 3 games, so the house condition will hold up just fine.
Singles will of course have fresh oil at the start of every squad.
Also, two years ago we used a lane pattern very similar to what a college
tournament bowled on the previous week.
That event won’t be at Texas Station this year, but even so we’re
going to make sure that the two conditions won’t be the same, so our
college-aged Main Event bowlers won’t get any perceived extra advantage.
The bottom line is that lane conditions are an inexact science, as most
of you know, and we’ll strive for a fair, fun, and challenging condition for
all—so bowl on what’s out there, heh heh!!!
2) Texas Station is offering great lodging rates this year- $59 for 12/23-27 and 12/30-31, and $89 for 12/28-29. That’s a very good deal. Call Texas Station at 1-800-654-8888 to book these rooms by Dec. 4 at the latest. They’re under the group name “Junior Bowlers Tour Southwest”. Last year these rooms sold out very far in advance, so if you want to stay at Texas Station, book early! If you don't get in there or don't want to stay there, Fiesta Rancho, in walking distance on the same side of the street, usually has slightly cheaper rooms. If you wanna go on a room hunt, try the local casino's websites first, then try the Strip casinos if you want to spend, then try websites like hotels.com, or expedia.com, which I almost always use myself for great deals (but remember, they're not so helpful if you have to change plans, so make sure you're sure of your dates).
3)
Probably the most polarizing question regarding our tournament is the
issue of re-entries.
Some of you love the fact that you could re-enter as much as you wanted
in 2005 (which generates a lot of extra prize fund), and some of you hated
that fact. Our compromise was that for 2006 and now for 2007 as well, you may re-enter ONCE
ONLY in the Singles tournament.
Moreover, you can PREPAY for your re-entry when you
sign up for the Main Event (goodbye, lottery!!).
In the Doubles, however, you can re-enter as much as you want (or switch
partners), space permitting.
4)
That ‘space permitting’ thing I just wrote is a pretty big deal.
With the 5 singles and 7 doubles squads, that allows for approximately
1,000 singles entries, and 400 doubles team entries.
If entries continue to increase at the rate they have been (we’re
cautiously optimistic they will), we should be able to sell this event out.
So, what I’m telling you is, the only way to guarantee your second
singles squad is to prepay for it when you sign up.
You can always withdraw from the re-entry on-site if you want (as long as
you give us at least 30 minutes notice- more is better).
Secondly, for the Doubles, while unlimited re-entries will be allowed, if
everyone who enters singles also enters doubles, there won’t be room for ANY
re-entries, so bowl with the partner you really want to bowl with first!
The Doubles is still a bit of an experiment, but we think it might be really popular-
we’ll see!
5)
After the 1 PM singles squad on the 27th, we’ll know our complete
semifinalist field. It will take us a while to crunch the numbers,
however. The 1 PM squad should finish around 6 PM, which will give us
final cut numbers around 9 PM.
6)
The Open Scratch Division first place scholarship remains guaranteed at a
minimum $5,000!
Not bad, huh?
Part of the raised scholarships come from a projected increase in total
entries, and part of it comes from the increase in the scratch entry fee to $100
in 2006. This
came from feedback from the scratch bowlers themselves, who overwhelmingly said
they’d be willing to pay a little bit more to play for a lot more.
We think you’ll agree $5,000 for first (not to mention $100 for 24th)
is a pretty amazing prize fund, and let’s face it, you’re spending quite a
bit just to be in Vegas for the week, so an extra $20 on the entry fee to play
for that much more is a pretty fair trade, we think.
7)
As
far as we know, there are still the other side tournaments going on at Sam’s
Town and The Orleans, and between our Singles and Doubles, and their events,
there should be plenty of time to do everything!
You can bowl doubles first or singles first as well- we want to be as
flexible as possible for you!
Wipeout Info: For 2007, they have squads 12/25 at 7 PM, 12/26 at 10 AM and 2 PM, and 12/27 at 10 AM, with a finals 12/27 at 2 PM. For more info or entry blanks, contact Bobbi Hoven or Bobby McVey at 702-365-7400.
No-Tap Info: For 2007, squads 12/26 at 10 AM, 2 PM, and 9 PM, and 12/27 at 9 AM and 1 PM. For info, contact Vickie Sanchez at 702-564-6471, or jrnotap2007@aol.com.
8)
We’ve secured some great new and continued sponsorship, including Ebonite, our
title sponsor!
Ebonite reps will be at the tournament all week long to introduce their
product and give out free advice.
We’re also working on finalizing plans for a special clinic-demo day
type thing with the Ebonite folks which should be very special, so stay tuned
for that as well!
Our previous sponsors were great, but Ebonite will be much more hands-on,
adding another great angle to the Main Event experience!
9)
Like last year, to give more bowlers a chance for continued bowling, we’ll be taking
more bowlers than last year (a total of 154) into the semifinal round!
And, to give those semifinalists more to shoot for, we’ve developed an
exciting 16-person stepladder finals (it only takes five rounds) for the Open
Scratch and Handicap divisions!
10)
All the other neat details of our event will remain the same: the
optional brackets, the squad leader bonuses, the videotaped finals, the oodles of stats, my sultry
microphone voice (hee hee), and all the other little things that we hope make
this tournament stand out as truly special!
Whew!
As you can see, we’re working our butts off to make the 2007 Main Event
as good as it can be and then some!
As always, please feel free to contact me any time for questions,
answers, or just to shoot the bowling breeze- we want to be the most interactive
tournament out there.
Most of the changes above came directly from bowlers’ input, so your
voice is being heard, even if we didn’t make every change that every
individual mentioned.