64th Annual BVL/VA Bowling Tournament

Rules Information

   DATES: March 1 through March 26, 2010

DIVISIONS: The field will be broken into nine divisions.

Division	Patient/Entrant Type	Field Stations
I	Ambulatory	Up to 499 ADPL or ADML VAMCs
II	Ambulatory	500 or over ADPL or ADML VAMCs
III	Outpatient	VAMCs and Outpatient Clinics
IV	Vet Center	Readjustment & Counseling Centers
V	Seniors (60+)	ALL
VI	Wheelchair	ALL
VII	Blind	ALL
VIII*	Wii Gamers	ALL
IX*	Wii Gamers (60+)	ALL

*Note Section D. "Wii Gaming"

There is NO HANDICAP in this event. This competition will be based on the total score for 45 games bowled in open competition.

Rules:

A. Contestants

1. All contestants must, at the time of bowling, be receiving care at a competing medical center, outpatient clinic, domiciliary, or Vet Center.
2. All patients competing in the tournament must be cleared on VA Form 10-7008 or 10-7008A, by appropriate medical authority prior to participating. To locate this form, VA staff should log on to the VA Intranet, and click on VA Forms and Publications. Type in the form number(s), “Clearance Prescription for Recreation Activities” will appear.
3. Ambulatory participants will use alternate lanes for each successive frame.
4. Wheelchair participants will use alternate lanes for each successive game.

B. Teams

1. Hospitals, Outpatient Clinics and Vet Centers may enter as many teams as they choose based on their facility type (Divisions I, II, III, IV) as well as their team members (Divisions V, VI, VII, VIII, IX).
2. A team will be composed of five regular members and three alternates. The alternates may be substitutes for any of the five regular team members at any time. A player once removed from a game may not bowl again in the same game. However, only the games entered for the competition may appear on the submitted score sheet.

C. Technical Requirements

1. Unless otherwise specified herein:
a. Official rules and regulations for tenpin bowling as set forth in the current official United States Bowling Congress Rule Book will govern the conduct of the tenpin bowling competition.
2. Blind Division participants may use hand rails, but bumpers or gutter guards are prohibited.
3. Ramps, pushers, and handle balls may be used with wheelchairs. Bowlers will adjust their own ramps with no assistance from volunteers or officials. There will be no switching of lanes during a single game.
4. The official tournament days and games must be designated by the official scorer prior to rolling the first ball. Once an official game has begun, such designation shall be irrevocable except under emergency conditions.
5. Bowling pins used in official tournament games shall be reasonably new. The use of pins with battered, uneven or badly worn surfaces is prohibited.
6. The team winners in each division will be determined on the basis of the aggregate score of 45 games. PLEASE DO NOT RECORD ANY MORE THAN 45 GAMES ON THE SCORESHEET.
7. The station Chief of Recreation Therapy or Voluntary Service, or the Vet Center Team Leader or his/her designated staff representative, will officially supervise and personally score and certify every official game. An official representative of a local bowling association may also be present to observe and to certify the scores of all official games.
8. Original scoring sheet utilized in each game, showing scores by frames of each team member, dated and certified as indicated in paragraph C (4), should be maintained at the Medical Center or Outreach Center as they are subject to forwarding to BVL upon request.

D. Wii Gaming: BVL will continue two trial divisions for Wii bowling. This will be operated on the same format as the other divisions: Five person teams and up to three alternates, with a total of 45 games submitted for the final score. If your facility would like to enter a team in this division, please submit the scores on the scoresheet as usual, however, we ask that a digital photo be taken of the final score screen which will be maintained in your files until after the results are verified and announced. Please be prepared to forward that photo to BVL if necessary.

E. Reporting. Please complete the official score sheet. The results may be returned electronically, or print out the score sheet and mail or fax in the results to BVL.

1. For each division in which a field station competes, the following information should be submitted to BVL not later than April 10, 2010:
a. Identification of the division competition.
b. Rosters containing the last and first names, age, sex and individual total scores for all competing team members. PLEASE PRINT.
NOTE: In order to expedite the announcement of winners and awarding of plaques, all names should be cleared by medical authority for engraving purposes, and indicated at the time the roster is submitted.
c. The accumulated medical center team scores must be properly certified, including name and title, by the official scorer (see paragraph C (5)) and by the local bowling representative.

Contact provided on the score sheet MUST BE AVAILABLE for two weeks following the tournament in order to confirm scores. A team representative should check the BVL website www.BowlforVeterans.org/ no later than April 28 to ensure that their results have been properly posted.

ANNOUNCEMENTS OF RESULTS: The final tournament standings will be disseminated via a BVL News Release to all VA Field Stations in May, 2010.

AWARDS: All competitors in the tournament will receive a certificate of participation.
Teams that finish in the top three positions in each division will be granted a small cash award for an awards ceremony and refreshments. The grants are as follows: First Place $75.00, Second Place $50.00, Third Place $25.00. Additionally, each member of a placing team will receive an award.

HOWEVER, TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE CASH AWARDS, A PRESS RELEASE AND A TEAM PHOTO (PREFERRED) MUST BE SUBMITTED TO AREA MEDIA.