2004-2005 MHSAA Bowling

Questions regarding local school bowling programs should be directed to school athletic directors. General questions may be directed to Randy Allen of the MHSAA at the following e-mail address:

allen@mhsaa.com

Regular Season Regulations

Admission - Schools, leagues & conferences may establish their own admission policies and pricing for regular season competition. The MHSAA will set admission prices for regional & Finals competition.

Awards - MHSAA Regulation I, Sections 11 & 12 covering awards and amateur status applies. Symbolic awards to athletes may not exceed $25 in retail value.

Alcohol/Tobacco - Alcohol may not be sold to, or used by spectators during school competition. Smoking is not permitted during school competition. Coaches may not use alcohol or tobacco. It is preferred that bowling centers do not sell alcohol during school competition. The area of a bowling center where high school bowling competition is being held should be clearly defined in order to restrict the sale and use of alcohol and tobacco.

Coaching Restrictions - One school coach will be allowed in the bowlers seating area during competition. Coaches are not allowed on the approaches. Additional coaches must be in the spectator area. Coaching is allowed only between frames.

Competition Area - Only the bowlers who are in the lineup and are currently competing are allowed in the bowlers seating area. Substitute bowlers should be in a nearby area and ready to enter competition in a timely manner.

Bowling Ball Limits - Participants shall be limited to no more than two bowling balls at any one time on the ball return. Equipment changes will be allowed.

Equipment - Equipment specifications of the major bowling sanctioning organizations (ABC/WIBC) will be followed for bowling balls.

Forfeits - When teams do not show for scheduled competition, a forfeit is declared. A team may begin competition with less than five players, but no fewer than 3, with the missing bowlers receiving a zero score for the game. Absentee scores or pre-bowled scores are not allowed. Competition may be delayed for legitimate transportation problems that school teams experience at the discretion of the host school.

Noisemakers - Noisemakers are not allowed.

Music - Proprietors are asked to make every effort to refrain from playing loud music over house speakers or making PA announcements during bowling competition.

Playing Rules - General playing rules & definitions of the ABC/WIBC will be followed as they relate to equipment, fouls, illegal pinfall, improper sets, etc.

Practice/warm-up Policy - Teams and individuals shall be allowed a warm-up period not to exceed 10 minutes on each starting lane (20 minutes total).

Protests - There are no protests allowed for regular season and/or tournament competition. Scoring errors may be corrected before teams depart the competition.

Regular Season Competition Format - A combination of regular games and Baker games may be used for regular season competition as adopted by leagues & conferences or agreed to by participating teams.

Roster Size - A maximum roster of 10 bowlers will be allowed on the day of competition. The 10 bowlers may change between dates of competition.

Scorekeeping - It shall be the responsibility of coaches and host school management to verify scores. Should there be failure of automatic scoring, school coaches are responsible for manual scoring.

Season Dates - Start of practice is November 18, 2004. First allowed date of competition is December 4, 2004. The season ends with the MHSAA Finals, or when a school is eliminated from the tournament.

Season Competition Limits - Teams and individuals are limited to 20 dates of competition, not including the MHSAA regional tournament. No more than 3 meets are allowed per week. Individuals are limited to no more than 18 games per day (5 Baker games will constitute one game for purposes of this rule). During the school season, students are allowed to compete in two non-school events while not representing their school. (MHSAA Limited Team Membership Rule, Regulation I, Section 13 of the 2004-05 MHSAA Handbook) An event is defined as no more than three consecutive days. Other than the two events, students may not participate in non-school competition during the school season.

Spectators - No spectators are allowed in the bowling area where team members are seated. Spectators shall not taunt or jeer opposing players.

Sportsmanship/conduct - Good sportsmanship for players and coaches is a must. Taunting, profanity and intimidating conduct is not allowed. All MHSAA regulations regarding sportsmanship and disqualification penalties as stated in Regulation V, Section 3 will be followed. Players will not be allowed on the approach to congratulate or celebrate the accomplishment of a fellow team member during bowling. Bowlers will not be allowed to enter an adjacent lane approach to celebrate or "run-out" their delivery. Bowlers shall observe traditional bowling courtesy for bowlers on adjacent lanes.

Substitutions/Lineups - A starting lineup must be submitted 10 minutes prior to the start of each game. A standard starting lineup for team competition will consist of 5 bowlers. (regular season competition may involve formats where fewer than 5 bowlers constitute a team as adopted by leagues or conferences) Lineups may change in subsequent games.
Substitutions will be allowed as follows: Starting bowlers must bowl at least one frame before being substituted for. Once a substitute enters the game, he/she must finish that game. Substitutions in mid-frame are allowed. The bowler who is substituted for may return as a starter or substitute in subsequent games. The substitute must be on the 10 person roster at the start of competition. All five starting bowlers may be substituted for in any given game.

Note: The substitution rule will be applied as stated In MHSAA tournament competition. Modifications are allowed for regular season play, but it is recommended the MHSAA tournament substitution rule be used.

Tiebreaker Procedures - It is recommended that one Baker set (2 games) be used to break ties in team competition. In singles competition, ties may be broken with additional games or 9th & 10th frame tiebreakers as adopted by leagues & conferences.

Uniforms/Dress Code

Boys - Slacks are required. Jeans, cutoffs, shorts, sweatpants or warm-up pants will not be allowed. A collared shirt will be required. T-shirts will not be allowed.
Girls - Slacks, shorts or skirts will be allowed. Skirts must reach the top of the knee and shorts shall be an appropriate length. Jeans, cutoffs, sweatpants or warm-up pants will not be allowed. A collared shirt will be required. T-shirts will not be allowed.

Neither boys nor girls may wear hats, caps or any other type of headgear. Allowances will be made for religious dress with prior approval from the MHSAA.

A single patch or embroidered area not to exceed 2 inches X 3 inches in size will be allowed to identify a sponsor. The logo or type must be approved by the MHSAA. It may appear once on either sleeve, or the left or right front breast-pocket area. School name, logo or bowler name may also appear on the shirt.

MHSAA Regulations - All MHSAA regulations including academic requirements, eligibility and transfer rules, limited team membership, etc. apply to MHSAA schools with bowling teams and must be followed as in all other sports under MHSAA jurisdiction.

Competition will be conducted separately for boys and girls in the MHSAA Tournament. All competition will be on a scratch basis.

Tournament Classification - The MHSAA tournament will be conducted in three classes by enrollment. Class "A", Class "B" and Class "C" and "D" schools combined. Schools will be assigned by geography to one of four regional tournaments. There will be four boys regionals and four girls regionals in each of three classes.

Tournament Dates - Regionals will be Friday, February 25, 2005 (singles), and Saturday, February 26, 2005 (team). Finals will be Friday, March 4, 2005 (singles) and Saturday, March 5, 2005 (team). Time schedule will be announced in the tournament managers manual.

Tournament Eligibility/Entry - All MHSAA bowling schools with a minimum of four regular season meets against MHSAA school teams are eligible to be placed in a regional tournament. Schools may enter one boys team and one girls team in the MHSAA team competition. A maximum of five players from each school may be entered in the MHSAA singles competition.

Tournament Competition Format (team) - Regional - Team rosters will be limited to 10 eligible athletes, with 5 constituting a starting lineup for team play. Teams will bowl 6 Baker games and 3 regular games. Total pinfall will determine team score.

Tournament Competition Format (singles) - Regional - All singles entrants will bowl six regular games with total pinfall determining score.

Finals Qualifiers - From each regional the top four teams will advance to the MHSAA Team Finals. The top seven individuals from singles competition will advance to the MHSAA Singles Finals.

Finals Tournament Format (team) -The competition will be a 16-team bracketed match play format in each class, consisting of 2 Baker games and 2 regular games in which teams will advance to quarterfinal, semifinal and Finals matches.

Final Tournament Format (singles) - There will be a field of 28 bowlers in each of three classes for boys and girls (84 total for boys, 84 total for girls). Each individual will bowl a qualifying block, with the top 16 advancing to match play thru Finals matches.