We’re going to give it a go at Village Lanes. April 24 – May 9.
2020-21 Women’s Championship Tournament
Enter and Pay Online
Enter and Pay at the Tournament
Printable Entry Form
The pandemic has impacted bowling significantly, of course, and our tournament season is included. With Dane County indoor mass gathering restrictions, we couldn’t even have a “tournament” and instead had to conduct individual qualifying events … that were operated much like our traditional tournaments with a strict set of pandemic rules applied.
We did get four of five weekends of Senior Open bowling in last fall before Dane County prohibited indoor gatherings of any size between November 18 and December 16. For other events, we pushed back dates and pushed them back again. The Youth ultimately bowled in January, a month later than usual – post-health order and post-holidays. I wasn’t confident we would get the Open or Women’s Championship tournament in at all. The Masters, Queens, and Adult/Youth tournaments all ended up on the chopping block.
Even now, with the mass gathering restriction having increased from 10 to 25 to 150, we can have a “tournament” but are still faced with other pandemic related hurdles. Masks, capacity restrictions, social distancing, and traffic flow are still concerns.
We finally gave the go ahead for The Open Championships to run five weekends in March and Early April. The turnout was much better than anticipated, with 72 teams and 145 sets of minors competing. We ended up extending the event one weekend.
Tournament staffing was a big factor in moving ahead with the Open. We are responsibly not using scorekeepers on the lanes, bypassing physical check-in, and taking other measures to minimize contact and public exposure. Fortunately, we were able to utilize the help of Village Lanes manager Mary Conklin – who serves as your Association Vice President. Tournament Committee board members Amanda Reithmeyer and Lindsey Conklin are also in Village Lanes employ. I don’t know that we could have pulled this off anywhere else.
A more significant pandemic impact is the impending permanent closure of Village Lanes. In barely over one month, Village Lanes will be shuttered and the property sold – another victim of the pandemic. Owner Kevin Carey called the Association to break the news, and noted May 15 as the final day. Jeff Richgels of the 11th Frame reports on the closure in more detail.
With that, we’re going to run a Women’s Championship Tournament after all – and we’re going to have it at Village Lanes. We know we can staff the tournament, and we know that Village Lanes is vigilant with supporting our tournament pandemic rules. And, it’s really and truly our last chance.
13 squads are set up between April 24 and May 9, including a Friday night squad on April 30.
Aside from the Pandemic Rules, there are some changes for you to be aware of.
- While technically unchanged, entries MUST be received by Wednesday prior to the requested weekend. Due to the pandemic, minimal staffing and contact, and/or Friday night squads – we will need the time to prepare for the tournament.
- Online entry is now available! You can opt to pay the entry ahead of time with your PayPal account, credit, or debit card, OR choose to pay onsite.
Pandemic Bowling
The tournament will run under the same “Pandemic Rules” as the Open Championships. With the current restrictions by the State of Wisconsin and Public Health Madison Dane County (PHMDC) further restricting indoor gathering limits, this traditional tournament will be conducted differently in order to meet any and all mandate guidelines. The “Pandemic Rules” will not be altered over the course of the event and will be in effect to minimize risk and protect the health and safety of competitors, Village Lanes staff, and tournament staff.
If you are unwilling or unable to comply with these rules, do not participate.
Covid-19 Rules & Adjustments
The following rules and changes will be implemented this year to maximize the health and safety of competitors, Village Lanes staff, and tournament staff. We expect all competitors to abide by state, local, and tournament rules at all times. If you are unwilling or unable to comply with these rules, do not participate.
The short take is – wear masks, social distance, and minimize movement and contact. Tournament staff will be on hand to help remind everyone of the rules. Refusal to comply with state, county, or tournament rules will result in disqualification.
Please be respectful of staff, fellow competitors, and the host center. The host center is bound to comply with state and county mandates. This is not a political event. Your threshold of risk may be different than others. Nonetheless, the rules are not subject to interpretation or open to debate. Our goal is to maximize health and safety of all persons involved in the event, and to ensure we stay within the guidelines set on the host center by the state and county.
Again – if you are unwilling or unable to comply with these rules, do not participate.
- Masks are required at all times when not actively eating or drinking. This includes while bowling.
- Spectators. Due to occupancy restrictions, spectators may be limited in the tournament area.
- Maintain 6 feet of spacing between competitors at all times, including the approaches and ball returns.
- Traffic Flow – Minimize Standing
- Entry into the competition area is restricted to the South Doors (Lane 1).
- Competition staff will admit and direct you to the competition area after lane sanitizing is complete.
- Exit from the competition area ONLY through the North Doors (Lane 24).
- All bowlers should proceed directly to their assigned lanes.
- Team Captains will be notified of their assigned lanes prior to the competition.
- Standings will not be posted on-site. All standings will be available online.
- Contact-free entry fee collection.
- An envelope will be provided on your lanes and a drop box will be at the tournament staff table if there are fees due.
- Contact-free ball raffle.
- Prepared ticket bundles will be available for purchase.
- There will not be score markers.
- Scoring will be taken from the control counter.
- Blank recap sheets will be available for your personal use.
- Please contact the control counter for scoring corrections, ball calls, or lane problems.