Junior Team USA selection process
Changes made to Junior Team USA selection process
By Kevin Hazaert
USBC Communications
Junior Team USA, the U.S. national junior bowling team and feeder program for Team USA, will expand to 20 players in 2009 – allowing more elite youth bowlers the opportunity to further develop their skills and represent their country.
The majority of Junior Team USA (comprised of 10 males and 10 females) will continue to be established at the previous year’s United States Bowling Congress Junior Gold Championships, which brings together over 1,500 of the country’s best youth bowlers vying for scholarships and U.S. Junior Amateur titles.
However, new for 2009, additional players will be selected through the USBC Team USA Trials (beginning with the 2009 event), which is held annually in January to help determine Team USA.
“Expanding Junior Team USA will give more of the top young athletes in our sport exposure to the elite coaching and training they will receive in the program,” USBC Team USA High-Performance Director David Garber said. “By adding individuals from the USBC Team USA Trials as well, we will be able strengthen Junior Team USA with even more promising talent.” Continue reading
Ball Motion Study Completed
By Patrick Brettingen
USBC Communications
The United States Bowling Congress has completed its pioneering two-year study of bowling ball motion and how advanced, high-tech equipment may influence lane conditions and scoring in the sport.
The USBC Bowling Ball Specifications Task Force – formed in 2005 and comprised of USBC research engineers and technical volunteers from several bowling ball manufacturing companies – is now analyzing the research data results. The task force plans to meet in February 2008 to discuss the data further. USBC expects to release complete research results to the public next spring.
The goal of the study is to better understand the motion of bowling balls using scientific research and data analysis. As the sport’s national governing body, USBC undertook the research working cooperatively with bowling manufacturers.
One impetus for the study is that over the past 20 years, bowling’s credibility has been compromised in part due to technological advancements that have greatly affected scoring in the sport. Continue reading
The truth about axis migration and core dynamics
By Nick Siefers, USBC Research Engineer
Many theories about why and how a bowling ball rolls down a lane have been discussion topics within the bowling industry in recent years, including at the United States Bowling Congress, where a ball motion study is a major research focus.
With key trends appearing in the data, the significant factors that affect bowling ball motion are becoming scientifically apparent. A separate study relating to how and why the ball rolls the way it does has been conducted. In the following discussion, an attempt will be made to explain the physics that govern bowling ball motion relating to core dynamics.
Of the many theories available to explain the motion of a bowling ball, different companies take a wide variety of stances on this subject. Several beliefs include the following:
- Core dominates cover
- Cover dominates core
- Core and cover have a delicate balance with each other
- Mass bias strength governs axis migration
- Asymmetrical vs. symmetrical cores determine bowling ball motion
- RG, differential and cover stock work together to affect the roll
- Other(s)
USBC Center of Gravity preliminary test
By Paul Ridenour, USBC research engineer
A hot topic on Internet forums recently has been the effect of center of gravity placement in symmetrical bowling balls. The two main pieces of evidence for this study are videos by Brunswick regional Professional Bowlers Association staffer Nick Smith, whose video can be found at brunsnick.com and Lane #1 president Richie Sposato, whose video is at lane1bowling.com.
Those videos are effective visual evidence. For a more in depth look, the USBC research staff decided to use robotic ball thrower Harry to roll the balls.
This article will discuss the theory behind center of gravity effect on ball motion and will give preliminary conclusions observed from C.A.T.S. data.
When bowling ball companies design bowling balls in CAD programs, they usually have a certain pin to center of gravity distance in mind. Because of variation in the manufacturer’s process, USBC receives pin out distances that vary from 1 inch to sometimes 6 inches. When bowling balls are marketed, the figures for total differential and radius of gyration are completed from the model of that particular ball on a CAD program. According the some ball manufacturers, the statistical numbers of a bowling ball can vary from the CAD numbers by about plus or minus 3 percent. The only way to truly measure those numbers once a ball is made is to use a radius of gyration swing such as the one USBC has to test bowling balls. Continue reading
