SASBA Rules
ELIGIBILITY: SASBA is open to any male or female bowler over the age of fifty (including PBA members) and there is no minimum average requirement.
DUES: There is an initial membership fee of $60 and an annual renewal fee of $30 until age 70.
USBC RULES: Although SASBA tournaments are not USBC certified, USBC rules are followed unless specifically stated otherwise.
ENTRY FEES: Entry fees are $200 or $240, depending on the format and amount of added money. The entry fee covers much of the prize fund, lineage, and tournament expenses. It is encouraged that entries be mailed in advance. Some tournaments require advance payment of the entry to ensure a spot. Payment may be made via check, cash, or credit card. There is a minimal processing fee for use of a credit card. The entry fee must be paid prior to bowling and the bowler must be current on their annual dues.
DRESS CODE: SASBA's dress code requires that all members have a shirt with their last name on the back while bowling. SASBA will sell the materials to make a temporary name tag for $10. Slacks are required for male members (no jeans or shorts) and no headgear is allowed. Female members must follow the same dress code. Capri pants are allowed, as are knickers for men. Guests are strongly encouraged to wear name shirts as well. Male guests must wear slacks. Female guests are allowed to wear slacks, walking shorts, or skirts. Both must wear collared shirts or bowling industry sponsored mock Ts. No regular T-shirts or jeans will be allowed. Exceptions to the requirement of a shirt with the bowler's name can be made by the tournament director for new members bowling their first tournament.
TOURNAMENT FORMATS: The tournaments are scratch events. A variety of formats are used including Singles, Doubles, Trios, four person, and five person teams. A few of the tournaments are for Super Seniors (age 60 and over) only or for non-champions only. A complete description of the tournament formats and eligibility can be found on the SASBA website. The Annual Championship requires each bowler to have bowled at least one tournament previously that year and the Annual Team Tournament requires each bowler to have bowled in three tournaments previously that year.
SQUAD TIMES: On the regular Singles tournament format, bowlers will be divided into two squads. Each squad will bowl an 8-game qualifying block on Saturday. "A" squad will usually start practice at 8:45 a.m. Saturday; "B" squad will bowl at about 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., as soon as the lanes have been re-oiled. The field will be divided in half by score and both groups will bowl four more games of qualifying on Sunday morning. The lower half of the field starts at 8:45 a.m. and the upper half at about 11:00 a.m. Saturday squad assignments will be determined by a blind draw, unless you have specific needs and can't bowl one or the other. The finals will usually start at 1-2 p.m. Sunday (after re-oiling) with eight games of match play. When entries are low and lane availability allows, we bowl all on one squad. In this case, the Saturday shift starts at 9:00 - 9:45 a.m., with eight straight games. Sunday morning, we start at 8:45 a.m. with four more games, and then the finals will follow. Typically, there is no re-oiling before the finals when there is only one squad on Sunday morning.
QUALIFYING FOR FINALS: The number of bowlers taken to the finals depends on the number of entries. Typically for Singles tournaments, 12 bowlers will go to the finals for 59 or fewer entries, 16 for 60-79 entries, 20 for 80-99 entries, and 24 for 100 or more entries. In the case of a tie for the last spot in the finals of the tournament, high last game will break the tie if more places are paid under the finals qualifiers. If there are no paid spots under the finals qualifiers, then a one-game roll-off will be used to break the tie. Typically, the roll-off will occur immediately after the end of qualifying.
FINALS FORMAT: For regular Singles tournaments, thirty bonus pins are awarded for each win in eight games of match play. The last game of match play is a position round. The order of finish for the finalists is determined by total pins in qualifying and match play (twenty games total) plus bonus pins for match play wins. For Doubles tournaments, Baker format games are used in match play with 30 bonus pins for a win with each team bowling all other finalist teams and a final position round game. A few tournaments (Firecracker, Annual Championship, Age Bracket) use single or double elimination two game match play finals. Trios, four person, and five person team tournaments typically have a one game Baker format step-ladder finals for the top five teams.
BYES: In the Firecracker and Age Bracket Tournaments, seeding and byes in the finals will be allotted according to qualifying results instead of the blind draw system used in the past.
PRACTICE: During practice, it is common courtesy to throw one shot at a time, and not stand on the lane and wait to shoot your spare, as is common in many league practices. Your group can get a lot more shots if they don't have to wait on you to shoot your spare. If you want to shoot a 10 pin or some other spare, ask the person following you. They will usually consent, but it is his/her call.
LANE COURTESY: SASBA's bowling courtesy rule works great when everybody follows it. First, be ready to bowl when you are up. When a bowler has rolled a ball on your pair, you must wait for a bowler on the pair to the left and the pair to the right to roll a shot, and then it is your turn. If you don't understand it, please ask. Once you are used to it, you will agree that it is the best courtesy rule in use.
BOWLING BALLS: Any USBC approved ball may be used, even if it has not yet been released to the public. Plugged and re-drilled balls are okay. SASBA reserves the right to check any ball. Sanding or polishing balls after play has started is not allowed. However, surface adjustments may be made during the practice sessions or in between squads. Cleaning balls during competition is only allowed to remove foreign substances (such as rubber from lift belts) from the ball surface (lane oil not included). A USBC certified cleaner must be used. You can wipe off lane oil with a dry towel. If there is doubt, bring the ball to the tournament director.
LANE CONDITIONS: SASBA bowls on the house's choice of oil pattern. We ask proprietors to try to achieve parity between the left and right side. Some conditions will be easy and some will be tough. It's up to the house. To the extent possible, we will use the same number of pairs on each squad, using three on a pair as needed.
CASHERS: One in three will cash, except for some of the $240 tournaments where one in two cash. First place will be at least $1,000. For Singles tournaments, Super Senior (age 60-69 and 70 and over) prizes will usually be awarded to some non-cashing Super Seniors based on the number of Super Senior entries. Typically, one Super Senior check will be awarded for every five Super Senior entries. Of these, one age 70 and over check will be awarded for every five age 70 and over entries. In addition, a check will be awarded to a non-cashing women for every five women entries. Special prizes will be awarded to some high Sunday block non-cashers.
FRIDAY SWEEPERS: There is usually a sweeper for members and guests with five or six squads each hour beginning at noon on Friday, with an entry fee of $20. You do not need to be signed up for the tournament to bowl the sweepers. The SASBA dress code does not apply to the sweepers.
BRACKETS: Part of SASBA's income comes from running brackets. Because of this, our policy is to allow other people to "enter" bowlers in brackets, if available. Additional brackets provides more income for the association. More income for the association means more "added money" for all tournaments, including the ones guests bowl in. Each bowler has first call on as many brackets as they want. Once they have entered as many as they want, someone else may put them in additional brackets, side pots, big boards, etc. The bowler is not entitled to a "tip" or share of the winnings, if any. They also aren't responsible for any losses incurred. The person entering them may give a "tip" if they wish, but it is their choice.
USE OF EITHER HAND: A bowler may use either their right hand, left hand, or both hands (on any shot) throughout SASBA competition.
PBA TOUR CHAMPS: Some Doubles and team formats do not allow two PBA Tour champions to bowl together. "PBA Tour champions" means winners of a PBA, PWBA, LPBT, or PBA Senior National Tour event and does not include winners of PBA Regional Tour events or PBA Regional Senior Tour events.
MEMBER/GUEST DOUBLES: One Member/Guest Doubles tournament a year will be designated as the "Open Doubles Championship". This tournament will be open to any member and any guest with these exceptions: 1) no two PBA Tour champs can bowl together, and 2) no two bowlers who have won a M/G Doubles event as partners can bowl together. For all other M/G Doubles events, if a member won previously as a guest, but has not won a M/G Doubles event as a member, he/she is eligible to bowl with anyone, whether they have won previously or not. If a member has won one M/G Doubles as a member, he/she can still bowl with anyone except the partner he/she won with. Once he/she wins two M/G Doubles as a member, he/she can no longer bowl with a guest who has won a M/G Doubles previously.
NON-CHAMPIONS ELIGIBILITY: For eligibility purposes, an Annual Team Tournament title does not count against you in the Non-Champs Singles, Member/Member Doubles, Trios, Foursome or any tournament that has restrictions on a champion. A Singles, Doubles, Trios, or Foursome title does qualify you as a champion in all formats.
WIDOW TEAM: In team tournaments where each round is a position round and an odd number of teams are bowling, a widow team will be used where each position on the widow team receives 200 pins per game. The widow team will receive points for any individual or team wins and it will move up and down in the standings like all other teams. The widow team is not eligible for the step-ladder finals and will be ignored in determining cashers and finals qualifiers.
LATE BOWLERS: Typically, every effort will be made to ensure tournaments start on time as scheduled. The Tournament Director may delay the starting time under highly extenuating circumstances. Bowlers who arrive late after scoring has started will be allowed to bowl, but will receive zero for all frames missed.
WITHDRAWALS FROM COMPETITION: If a bowler is forced to withdraw due to injury (or other emergency reason approved by the tournament director) during qualifying in a Doubles or other team formats, the bowler's team-mate(s) may continue qualifying using a score of 200 per game (20 pins/frame) for the absent bowler. The team is eligible to cash and/or qualify for the finals, but cannot bowl in the finals without a full team. If a bowler withdraws from the finals, the bowler and any team-mate(s) must forfeit and receive zero pins for any remaining games. Their opponents for forfeited games must beat individual scores of 200 pins to receive any bonus pins.
AWARDS: Bowlers will receive a Champion's Jacket upon winning their first tournament as a member and a Champion's banner will be hung at future events. SASBA Hall of Fame inductees will have a red banner with white lettering. The Board of Directors will select winners of annual awards such as Senior Bowler of the Year, Super Senior Bowler of the Year, 70+ Bowler of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Sportsman of the Year, 1st and 2nd team Seniors, Super Seniors, and 70+ bowlers, etc.
HALL OF FAME: A Member is inducted into the SASBA Hall of Fame for performance based on the following criteria:
1) having participated as a Senior or Super Senior in 150 or more SASBA tournaments,
2) having accumulated 275,000 or more points where points are awarded according to the following scale:
100 points or each tournament participation after 200 tournaments
5 points for each dollar of all time earnings,
10,000 per Singles title,
5,000 per Doubles title,
3,333 per Trios title,
2,500 per Foursome title,
2,000 per Five person team title.
Winners of their age group in the Age Bracket tournament will receive 6,000 points.
Points for titles by a Super Senior are doubled and points for age 70 and over bowlers are multiplied by 2.5 (Regular Singles, and Doubles tournaments only).
Points for an age 70 and over bowler winning a Super Senior Singles or Doubles tournament are doubled.
Points are totaled each year on October 31st and those meeting the criteria are inducted into the SASBA Hall of Fame at the banquet on the Saturday night of the Annual Team Tournament. The Board of Directors may, from time to time, elect others to the SASBA Hall of Fame for long term, meritorious service to the organization.
Date of Last Update: January 25, 2023
