Sandbagging violates the integrity of bowling

Almost all league bowlers in Prince William County are familiar with a so-called lack of integrity among a small percentage of bowlers. When we talk about integrity in bowling, we are thinking about such things as values, ethics, trustworthiness, honesty and honor. It can be said that integ-rity indicates a commitment to doing what is right and fair.

In bowling, as in many sports, there are threats to integrity. In bowling, the illegal practice of sand-bagging is sometimes prevalent and often times blatant. It is also difficult to prove and even more difficult to deter and punish.

There are five bowling center in Prince William County, all have their fair share of league bowling and all have their fair share of sandbaggers. The centers are AMF Dale City, AMF Centerville and Bowl America Woodbridge, Manassas and Bull Run.

Sandbagging

Since almost all bowling leagues in the five centers in the county use a handicapping system of some sort to level out the playing field, unscrupulous bowlers can manipulate the system to their advantage by sandbagging. One could simply bowl at a lower-scoring pace than their ability in order to accumulate more handicap and then bowl at their ability during key matches to secure wins with the extra handicap.

One could also bowl less than average in one league in order to maintain a lower average for handicap tournaments or to qualify for average-capped big money leagues. By maintaining a lower average, a bowler would have a higher handicap for tournaments allowing him or her to get essentially "extra pins" for the tournament. It would also allow bowlers a lower enter-ing average to aid in fitting teams into leagues with team average caps.

This is not something new and we all know or have at least heard the term "sandbagging." Sandbagging and those who participate in the practice threaten the honor and integrity of the sport of bowling. Essentially, by deliberately missing shots to lower their average, they make a mockery of the sport as well as the players who take it seriously.

Take a stand

You may think there is nothing you can do about sandbagging, but there are some safeguards. As a participant in this sport, you have a voice. Talk to your league officers, the management of your bowling center or your local association. For bowlers in Prince William County, the association is the Nation's Capital Area United States Bowling Congress Association. The Association can be contacted in the following ways:

Their mailing address is 9315 Largo Drive West, Suite 110, Largo, MD 20774-4762; their tele-phone number is 301-499-1693; their fax number is 301-499-5927; and their e-mail is webmas-ter@ncaba.org.

When sandbagging is detected, leagues can vote to disallow bowlers to participate and center managers can ban bowlers. As bowlers, we should be aware of sandbagging practices and take an active roll and stand up for our sport. Sandbagging is a serious offense. Not only does it threaten the integrity and honor of our sport, it frustrates honest, committed bowlers and pushes them away from our sport -- which ultimately causes a decrease in participation that affects us all.

Gil Sanchez is a freelance bowling writer for the News & Messenger. He is a member of the Bowl-ing Writers Association of America and the USBC Advisory Council. Reach him at 703-587-6792 or at gsanchez@insidenova.com.