Carl and Paul,
Guys, what are you? Two years old? I am sorry, I feel I get on well with both of you guys, but some of your posts here are just over the top and highly aggressive, trying to call people out and come to a tournament so you can show them your rage,
.
The TBA made a decision to implement this for a year, at open national tournaments and give it a trial run. As has been stated, it is implemented in just about every other continent and believe me, the female bowlers there are equal to the guys if not better in some cases. I am not saying it is right or wrong either way, but I am happy to give it a chance and see if it works to boost open entries and give the women a crack. I am also happy enough for a female bowler to contribute fully to a prizefund as opposed to the guys generally propping up their prizefund in a dual gender tournament. And I also agree, I think the women support their own tournaments poorly, I have no idea why, probably the crappy payouts because they just don't have the entries.
And yes you might argue that some women can compete with the men, I disagree, at least in this country, as we have a current lack of skilled open female bowlers outside of the few that generally bowl anyway. And that doesn't mean others haven't got the will to improve, but we also have a lack of qualified coaches to help them take the next step. Sorry, you only have to compare and watch some of the European, American or Asian ladies to know what I mean.
The elite side of the sport takes up a very small percentage yet we are probably the biggest whingers. I think Carl made reference above to having to pay for membership, yes it is another topic and has been covered countless times, but wouldn't trying to make progress in unifying the sport and merging associations and trying to mend cracks and yes, everyone paying a membership like they used to less than a decade ago make sense?
Now getting onto reasons for having 8 pins, I disagree generally with a lot of what Rebecca says, but there are instances where women are disadvantaged in tournaments, and it can be due to a multitude of reasons, physically, they are rarely a match and yes a lot of bowling is timing and what not, but on average females can't generate the right roll to make a difference, I hear you say what about Trotts or George, fairly straight shot guys, they still however generate a release which allows the ball to get into a roll. Reference my above point about lack of coaching, not a lack of want. Hook in a box balls only take you so far. Lane patterns make a fair difference too, most of the WTBA patterns require a point starting right, (not so bad for the women), but once they start breaking down, require a move left and inside at some point. It all comes down to angles and generating carry percentages, plain and simple. Not saying this should be the reason, but it is a contributing factor.
Others have made mention of other sports saying we are the only sport where females get an advantage, not quite true, with the most comparable sport, golf changing tee lengths and pin locations for the women (why because most don't hit the distance of the guys), tennis playing less sets etc. But the main difference as to why its worth a trial, is that no other sport has so many contributing factors as to how a certain bowler can produce a score, variables, from lane topography, ball layouts, ball tech, physical ability (every golf or tennis player generally plays the game the same way, or any other sport for that matter), and lane conditions.
A question, I play regular mixed indoor soccer and the rule is if you kick the ball and it hits a female above the waist, it is their penalty, why do you suppose that is? Believe me some of the girls have a tonne of skill too, but do you agree they should get that advantage or not?
Answer me this also, its fine if you want to take a stand and not bowl any tournaments where the 8 pins is in play, but will you also take such a stand where a tournament doesn't use a sport pattern or WTBA pattern or anything that isn't a THS and just uses an easier pattern or THS, which in turns brings lower average bowlers up to your skill level by giving them a greater margin of error and allows them to compete with you, and possibly take your prize money away?