Bowling Congress

United States Bowling Congress
By Mike Kolar

There are over 3 million bowlers in the United States. The United States Bowling Congress (USBC) is the governing body for bowling in the United States. It was launched Jan. 1, 2005 and fully adopted in the 2005-2006 winter bowling season. It has combined the organizations that oversaw bowling in the United States before its inception: the American Bowling Congress (ABC), the Women’s International Bowling Congress (WIBC), the Young American Bowling Alliance (YABA), and USA Bowling.

The ABC was considered the men’s bowling association (although women could join) and was the sanctioning (see below) body for “men’s” bowling, the WIBC was the women’s bowling association (men could not join) and sanctioning body and YABA was the youth’s sanctioning body. USA Bowling was the world-wide representative of the United States in international competition. Now there is just one governing body and international representative: USBC.

The USBC Mission statement states that they will ensure the integrity and protect the future of bowling by providing programs and services for the bowling industry and enhancing the bowling experience. Basically, they oversee and continue to improve the bowling industry as a whole in the United States.

What is sanctioning?

While it is not a requirement that any bowling league is sanctioned, it is highly recommended. Every league that is sanctioned does so through the USBC. Basically this is membership in the USBC; it includes a lot of benefits, a few of which are listed here:

• Awards (plaques, rings, watches, patches, etc…) for certain achievements based on your average (more on averages later)
• An Adult and a Youth magazine (included with your membership)
• A membership card
• Consistent game play
• League bowling – providing a certified average for each bowler
• Bonding protection – league money is protected in sanctioned leagues
• Tournaments
• Testing of Bowling Pins, Balls, and Products
• Rulebook and enforcement thereof