April 1, 2009: The LIGBT is pleased to announce the details for its next tournament at East Islip Lanes on Sunday, April 19th. There will be a new starting time with qualifying beginning at noon and the free practice session kicking off at 11am. The times have been moved up one hour to allow for the regular 5-games of qualifying to return for the scratch competition.
For the scratch event our normal 5 games of qualifying will be in effect with 1 in 6 bowlers advancing to the finals and guaranteed to double their money (minimum $200). 1 in 4 bowlers will continue to cash and receive a minimum of $100. The top 49 & under and senior will be automatically seeded into the final shootout and guaranteed no less than 5th place money.
The most significant change will be in the finals format. If 10 bowlers or less advance to the finals a single game match play format will be used. If more than 10 bowlers advance an elimination format (beat half-the-field) format will be utilized. This flexibility allows the LIGBT not to maximize the number of bowlers advancing to the finals while keeping the number of finals rounds to a maximum of 3.
For the 205 & under event a couple of improvements are being made. Our regular 3-games of qualifying with 1 in 6 advancing to the finals, and 1 in 4 cashing, remains in effect. Seeding bowlers in the finals will change slightly with the top 2 series seeded into the final shootout if there are 58 or more entries. With 57 or less entries the top series will be guaranteed in the final shootout. The finals format will also depend on the number of finalist and be the same as the scratch tournament; 10 or less bowlers in the finals a single game match play format will be used. More than 10 bowlers in the finals an elimination format will be utilized.
The growth of the 205 & under tournaments has been amazing. To protect our members from “sandbaggers” the average rules have been improved. If a bowler does not have a verifiable average prior to the tournament they will not be paid until their average is confirmed. In addition, once a member has 9 games bowled in the LIGBT they will have a club average. If the club average is more than 10 pins higher than their highest league average from the past 2 years their handicap will be based on the club average. Details of all the new average/handicap rules are posted on LIGBTour.com.
We look forward to seeing everyone at East Islip Lanes on Sunday, April 19th. This is a very popular bowling center and we are expecting another great crowd. Kegel has designed the lane pattern which is now posted on our website. The pattern being used is 38 foot in length with a ratio at 22 feet approximately 5 to 1.
If you know you are bowling please pre-register at
www.ligbtour.com or call 1.877.900.6464. With all 40 lanes available we should be able to accommodate everyone but if you pre-register you avoid the long check-in lines.