I agree, I don't see how almost 30 bowlers when all said and done, will have pulled out after initially saying they were bowling. A lot of last minute dropouts, everyone can't be washing their hair this weekend surely. You might expect a few dropouts due to last minute stuff, but 20-30 over the last week or so till now is almost laughable if so much wasn't at stake for these guys who have put so much hard work into this tournament.
Lets check off a few points but all seem positive in my eyes
- Biggest prize fund on current bowling circuit
- Tournament organisers who are interested in what we the bowlers want and listen (and unfortunately, have had to adapt in a not so positive way)
- Tournament organisers who are genuinely interested in just running a good tournament, showing the type of shot on offer via Youtube has rarely been done before
- Organising a truckload of sponsorship for this event, rare to get any sponsorship these days
Possible drawbacks
- Entry fee, although only marginally higher than most normal tournaments, 50-75 higher, or about 20-25%, but the payout over a normal tournament is approx 150-200% greater, so IMO this kind of makes up for it
- Its in Mildura, but my understanding there is a good local scene, Melbourne and Adelaide are a few hours or so away, so there shouldn't be any excuse for those especially in SA not turning up to play if they are interested in tournaments (and whinge about lack of tournaments) and for that matter, how can they constantly get 30-50 bowlers for most Victorian sports series, but barely more than that for a normal tournament forgetting the cost argument? So the only real bowlers with excessive travel expenses are those jetting in from Brisbane and Sydney, but I bet these guys make up more than a 1/3 to 1/2 of the field.
Real drawbacks or negatives
- Haven't really seen one yet. It is a new tournament, trying to find a format bowlers like, trying its hardest to succeed based on what the tournament bowlers want. There are always going to be teething problems with new things, but these are the tournaments we as tournament bowlers should be supporting.
