Due to the latest public health order from Public Health Dane County, qualifying for the Madison Area USBC Senior Open Championships is terminated.
All pre-paid entry fees for qualifying events scheduled November 21 or 22 will be refunded. Any bowlers who entered and paid for All Events and/or Scratch All Events and needed the weekend of November 21 or 22 to complete those events will be refunded.
Per tournament rules, “Premature termination of the competition brought on by war, national emergency, or other reasons beyond the control of the Madison Area USBC will cause the foregoing prize list to be prorated based on the number of entrants in each event at the time of termination”. Expect the final standings and prize list to be completed in a couple weeks.
The PHMDC public health order prohibits indoor gatherings of any size. “In-person games, sports, competitions, group exercise classes, meetings, trainings, movies, events, and conferences are all also considered gatherings.” The order is effective November 18 through December 16.
Previously, indoor gatherings were limited to 10 people or less. We were able to redefine our tournaments into individual qualifying events. That is, each team scheduled their qualifying event and each event was a separate gathering. Similarly, for doubles and singles. Multiple mass gatherings were allowed in a facility, provide there was spacing and we were under capacity limits.
Further, low-risk sports (which included bowling) were allowed – provided they complied with the indoor gathering limit. This worked out well for our events, since we had to limit participation on a pair of lanes to four people (for Senior Open Qualifying Events) to comply with distancing rules.
Now, however, all indoor gatherings are prohibited and even outdoor gatherings have been limited to 10 people (from 25).
Our Association set in place a higher than standard restriction on participants when they scheduled their qualifier. Masks, 100% on 100% of the time. Spacing required. Traffic flow controlled. No spectators. No contact check-in, no scorekeepers, no contact ball raffle.
Overall, the system worked pretty well. Bowl-A-Vard Lanes allowed us to schedule anywhere in the house, so no pair of lanes was used twice in a day. Nearly all participants complied with the rules, with few reminders. I thank everyone who participated and appreciate how you all conducted yourselves with respect and consideration for others.
It was nice to see you, unless you wore shorts, despite the masks and it was – for a few weekends – a little bit of normalcy.
The Madison Area USBC Tournament Committee is currently reviewing the rest of the season beyond the reach of this latest health order. I apologize for the continual delays and uncertainty in scheduling and shorter notice – these are ever changing times and the reach and strength of the pandemic is not waning.
The health and safety of our competitors, tournament staff, and host center personnel are our primary focus and concern with event planning this season. I hope to have more information for you regarding the Open and Women’s Championships and the Adult / Youth Qualifier as soon as possible.