2020-21 Open Extension and Changes

Tournament Extended One Weekend

There is higher than expected interest in the Open Championships so far, with 42 teams and 94 sets of minors already signed up to qualify.

Some of the shifts are starting to fill, so we will extend qualifying shifts by one weekend, adding four shifts over April 10 and April 11 – standard times of 10:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. each day. Hopefully this will add some options for you. These shifts are also available if you are already signed up and would prefer to move your date.

The squad options have been added to our online entry forms on the 2020-21 Open Championships Page. You can opt to pay online or pay at the tournament.

Qualifying Change

Due to how the scoring system works at Village Lanes, we will not be able to have Team bowling on a single lane. All Team qualifying will be done cross-alley, league style. The teams bowling on opening weekend are given notice at the tournament site and will bowl cross-alley.

PLEASE NOTE: For this tournament, the “unopposed” bowling rule will apply with one modification. The lead-off bowler must wait until the anchor bowler completes his/her frame before starting the next frame. This is in an effort to reduce the number of people at the approach at any given time.

A new Public Health Dane County order will go into effect on March 10. The biggest change in this order is the number of people allowed to be inside for an event – the “mass gathering” restriction. This restriction will be increased from 25 to 150 people (where food and drink are offered). This would allow us to address any tournament shift as one singular group, e.g. announcements, raffle winners, etc. Spectators will be allowed on the concourse provided they are not standing, are socially distanced, and the center is within capacity limits.

Since the tournament is already underway, any changes to State or County restrictions and mandates that affect tournament play will NOT be implemented to our tournament pandemic rules. For instance, if the Mask Order was rescinded, we would still require them for the duration of the event – in the interest of fairness. Qualifying restrictions would not change (one team per pair) in the event that social distancing rules were relaxed. Changes that do not affect tournament play may be implemented.