Red, white and blue oil patterns

Does bowling really need new oiling patterns? We are already subject to so-called traditional "house" conditions which are used in most leagues and tournaments in Prince William County. These conditions refer to how the oil is put down on the lanes. Everyone knows that "house" conditions are easier to score on than the conditions on which the pros compete.

The pros bowl on five different oil patterns; the Professional Bowler's Association (PBA) has given each of them animal names. Each week you will find the pros on television bowling on the patterns named Chameleon, Cheetah, Scorpion, Viper and Shark. Each pattern has its own oiling characteristics and bowlers have to figure out the best way to play them. Sport bowling, a favorite of high-scoring amateurs, uses still another oiling pattern that is similar -- but not exactly like -- the ones used for the pros.

The new patterns

Despite the different oil patterns in existence today, the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) has decided the bowling world needs still more variations of oiling the lanes. They plan to introduce a new series of lane conditions for certified competition, i.e., league and tournament bowling. The new group of patterns is designed to provide bowlers a better description for the difficulty of traditional "house" shot.

As part of the plan, leagues and tournaments will have the option of using oil patterns falling into Red, White or Blue categories. The Red pattern will be the most forgiving condition, the White will be more challenging and the Blue will be the most difficult. Sport bowling conditions will not change and will con-tinue to be the most challenging level of oil patterns.

"We know that lane conditions have a tremendous impact on the sport," USBC Vice President Neil Stremmel said. "House shots can be very easy or reasonably challenging. Knowing the diffi-culty of the condition helps build credibility for the sport and adds a new fun element for bowl-ers."

Ready in 2010

The new condition categories are scheduled for testing later this year in cooperation with the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America (BPAA). The conditions should be available for spring 2010 tournaments and for the fall 2010 league season.

"This program can provide proprietors an excellent marketing tool to attract and maintain league bowlers," BPAA President Jim Sturm said. "Red, White and Blue can be used like stepping stones to progressively increase a bowler's interest in the competitive side of the sport. We are eager to test the program and hear feedback from customers and proprietors."

According to the USBC, use of the Red, White and Blue conditions will be completely optional.

"A primary goal of the project is to make the Red, White and Blue conditions easy for bowlers to understand and proprietors to utilize," Stremmel said. "The industry's lane machine manufacturers have been extremely supportive in making sure this program will work for nearly any bowl-ing center wanting to participate."

The unveiling

As part of the effort to gain attention for the Red, White and Blue patterns, USBC is sponsoring a tourna-ment stop on next season's Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour. The Red, White and Blue Open pre-sented by USBC will be held at Northrock Lanes Dec. 7-13 in Wichita, Kan. The finals telecast will air Jan. 3, 2010, on ESPN.

Gil Sanchez is a freelance bowling writer for the News & Messenger. He is a member of the Bowling Writ-ers Association of America and the USBC Advisory Council. Reach him at 703-587-6792 or at gsan-chez@insidenova.com.