Bowling Tournaments – From Preparation to Competition

Tournament bowling is a different experience from league bowling. The added games bowled in most tournaments causes the lanes to change more and change differently than they do in league. The pressure of bowling for money or scholarships and bowling to win an event also play a large role. Finally,
the lane conditions are often much more challenging than they are in a league setting. This month we’ll look at what it takes to be a great tournament player.

Preparation

To prepare for any event, you must practice.  I recommend practicing at least as many hours per week as the number of hours in your event.  If you will be bowling for three hours for an intermediate level tournament, you should be practicing at least three hours a week.  This practice time is more physical as you are learning to repeat your delivery and control the consistency, but it can (and should) also include mental and tactical practice as well.  Start practicing at least four to six weeks before your event, ramping up your practice until about a week before the event.  At the one-week mark, you should taper off and just work on repetition, mental focus and tactical items like lane play and spare shooting.  If you don’t have a coach, get one and complete one or two lessons at least two to three weeks before your competition.

To get in the right frame of mind to bowl, get your body ready to bowl. You should get enough sleep the night before, eat well, and eat well before the tournament begins. You also need to prepare yourself mentally before you bowl, by visualizing the situation and how you will feel and perform. If you establish
positive mental images about what will happen and “rehearse” how it will feel to perform well during the tournament, you will be more successful. Notice that I did not discuss the outcome – you merely want to focus on making a great performance during the tournament, and let the results take care of themselves. If
you perform to your best expectations, you have nothing to be disappointed about at the end of the day.

Before you go, get your equipment in order – do you have an adequate arsenal of equipment for the type and length of tournament you will be bowling? Have you cleaned your equipment, adjusted the surfaces of everything to what you expect to face in order to have a variety of options, and have you done other maintenance like changing worn finger inserts? Tournaments are expensive – don’t try to save $10-$15 on minor maintenance items. Also, make sure you don’t get trapped into have too much equipment in your bag that is in one category and not enough balance – it’s always good to have at least 2-3 balls that will generally work on the lane condition on which you are competing.

During the Tournament

The first thing to remember as you begin the tournament is that it’s just bowling. Whether you are bowling a league session or bowling in the U.S. Open, you want to remember that the added drama is only what you create around the situation. That added drama is a source of distraction, so get rid of it! Many first-time PBA bowlers often find themselves spending more time watching other competitors than they do focusing on their own game. In fact, most experienced players are too busy trying to figure out how to maximize their own scoring to even pay attention to you. So, you need to put all your focus on your game and what you want to do to bowl your best. As you practice, make sure you visit the entire lane, rather than focusing on one play zone. You are practicing to bowl well for the entire tournament, not just get lined up for the first game. Don’t get me wrong – you do want to get lined up for the opening game of the tournament, figuring out which ball, what part of the lane to play, what ball speed and roll to use, and so on. However, assuming that does not take up the entire 10-15 minutes of practice, try another ball or two that you might need as the tournament progresses. This will give you some idea of how it might react to the lane conditions when you do need to pull it out of your bag. Also, make sure how your spare game will perform on this lane condition by minimally taking at least one shot to each of the 7 and 10-pins. Once you begin, remember that the lanes are usually tougher and change the most during the first three
games of the tournament.

After the Tournament

After the tournament, evaluate what you did well and where you need to improve.  Work with your coach to factor what you have learned into a training plan to work toward your next event.  The process is about training, competing, and starting the cycle again.  If you learn from each practice and competition, you will improve as a player!