What should you get for TBA membership?

[RobbieB]

Exactly what the title says. As a bowler, what would you like to see your TBA membership get you. Some points to consider:
Anything that actually costs TBA money is not going to happen (eg patches, awards etc) - the membership base is simply now too small to fund anything other than admin.
20 - 30k members is still a fair marketing group. It is also a marketable group in that bowlers actually do have excess disposable income (else they couldn't afford to bowl, lol).

To start things off, I'd like to be able to flash my TBA card and get:
Petrol discount - like the woolies 4c off deal;
Discount at national fast food chains, places like Subway, Maccas, Pizza Hut etc;
No application fee home/personal loans from a bank;
Discount on health insurance;
Discount from RACQ/NRMA etc;
Cheap movie tickets.

It surely can't be that difficult for a half decent marketer to arrange enough discounts 'on production of TBA card' to make registering with TBA a very attractive proposition for anyone, let alone league bowlers.

So, any other suggestions? Keep in mind we really want discounts that will either add up over the year (like petrol) or represent a biggish one-off cost (like the loan fee) that a decent portion of the client base will actually access.

Perhaps if we put forward some specific suggestions to the board, they might get followed up. (What can I say, I'm an optimist)

Cheers, Robbie.

 

[Potter]

Are there any other sports out there that give you discounts because of your membership? Maybe some of the bigger leagues clubs etc but Not for your regular sporting membership! Get a grip people this is a measly $12.50 A YEAR/ not a day or a week. i know it still costs us to bowl but we do that because we love the sport not because of what we can get out of TBA? There are many volunteers within our sporting structure that do a great job & they are the people that keep us going...$12.50 doesn't pay for much at all..i don't know about the rest of you but i have very little $$$ yet the $$ i spend on my TBA membership hardly count in the big picture. For my $12.50 + what my centre charges (another $20 - $60 depending on what level of membership you want ) I get cheap practice games anytime i want them (daily) and that is good value ..compare that to what joe citizen who walks in off the street pays & it is great! I don't understand what you are all complaining about... we have a great sport.. enjoy it... and don't undermine the structure that keeps us going!

 

[RobbieB]

Dean, you are missing the point. TBA has to do something to raise membership. The average league bowler now gets exactly nothing for their membership, AND they have the option (in many cses) to not pay it and simply bowl in unsanctioned leagues. To 90% of the bowlers in Australia, being sanctioned is completely irrelevant.
With the decline in membership, we are now getting to the stage where proprietors won't care, and will run unsanctioned unless the league specifically requests sanctioning. Running Kirwan unsanctioned would save me 6K per year and affect maybe 20 bowlers. If I wasn't one of them, I'd probably have done it already.
TBA will be dead in a few years unless it can reverse the decline in numbers. Value for money would be a start.
Hell, if the deal looked good we'd be signing up social players for it.

 

[PoITeR]

the biggest problem at present, is TBA dont really care anymore.

Robbie i agree they need to do something but i dont see the deals you wont ever happing

 

[Potter]

I see what you are getting at....the bowler in the centre that doesn't want to bowl even their local champs. I have been bowling since i was 13...5 years now but have always belonged to TBA because i have always bowled championships and tournaments...for this you need to belong to TBA. you will find that most junior bowlers are tba members.
My home centre pays $300 for the 1st 300 each individual bowls each calandar year if they have silver or gold membership as well as the cheaper practice games ...............this encourages some of the bowlers even though they don't do tournaments....i think they also have to be tba members to bowl country challenge & intercentre type events (?) as well BUT i guess you are looking for a reason for all league bowlers to pay the $12.50? even if there was a good reason would $12.50 be enough or would the price need to be increased again? I just feel we need to try to help tba by supporting them not try to bury them... so i guess anyone with the skills to point them in the right direction & with the right intentions would be appreciated. This website might be a good starting place.. i have heard that Jason P is doing a whole lot of good for bowling in sunny qld?

 

[The Insider]

For the $12.50, you can't expect that much really, but then again unless you bowl tournaments or make state representation, that is dead money. (I know, $12.50 won't break the bank, but it is the principle)

It is when you add up the costs of tournaments, airfares, accommodation etc that people get the idea that TBA does nothing for them.

Unless you do bowl tournaments, the TBA membership does mean nothing. It was good when years ago you would get chevrons and pins for high games, series etc... The sport of tenpin bowling has dwindled in recent years but maybe that is due to the league bowlers who are ignored by TBA.

Leagues were more productive when there was recognition from the national body - now it is up to the centre. Perhaps if the benefits ie. chevrons, pins were reintroduced, leagues may fill up again like they did in the mid 80's.

I know quite a few people who would be happy to pay more to TBA if they showed a bit of recognition for their loyal supporters...

 

[Easy Tiger]

Unless you do bowl tournaments, the TBA membership does mean nothing. It was good when years ago you would get chevrons and pins for high games, series etc... The sport of tenpin bowling has dwindled in recent years but maybe that is due to the league bowlers who are ignored by TBA.

OK let's look at it another way.

1) What does the average bowler get for their TBA membership? - nothing.. except recognised honour scores which to many nowdays mean nothing because TBA won't regulate house conditions.

2) What does the more serious tournament bowler get for their membership? - The ability to bowl in TBA events.

3) Is running an event dependent on gaining TBA accreditation? No, unless it's to be nationally ranked.

4) What do national rankings mean to 99.9% of bowlers? - nothing.

5) What do rankings lists mean to TBA? - Funding from ASC.

6) Therefore, who needs rankings and therefore event accreditation? - TBA.

7) So therefore, what does TBA mean to bowlers? Nothing.

8) What do bowlers mean to TBA? - Funding from ASC.


Let's use an example - If TBA were to threaten to strip accreditation and rankings from a current major tournament.. oh let's say the Melbourne Tenpin Cup.. would bowlers still support it next year if it was run without accreditation as long as the prizefund was decent? - Yes.

So who needs who now?

 

[JWhitty]

Tiger, that rocks

 

[The Insider]

Let's use an example - If TBA were to threaten to strip accreditation and rankings from a current major tournament.. oh let's say the Melbourne Tenpin Cup.. would bowlers still support it next year if it was run without accreditation as long as the prizefund was decent? - Yes.
So who needs who now?

True, I agree with you.

TBA has alienated a lot of league bowlers by stripping away their award systems. I know quite a few people who quit bowling because of this.

I only paid the TBA fee because I wanted to bowl at representative level. It sort of is holding bowlers to ransom by saying they need to be a member to bowl in these events but then again, how else would they get their money lol

I stand by my previous point - if TBA reintroduced reward systems at all levels - not just at the elite level, more people would pay those fees.

 

[Jase]

OK let's look at it another way.
1) What does the average bowler get for their TBA membership? - nothing.. except recognised honour scores which to many nowdays mean nothing because TBA won't regulate house conditions.
2) What does the more serious tournament bowler get for their membership? - The ability to bowl in TBA events.
3) Is running an event dependent on gaining TBA accreditation? No, unless it's to be nationally ranked.
4) What do national rankings mean to 99.9% of bowlers? - nothing.
5) What do rankings lists mean to TBA? - Funding from ASC.
6) Therefore, who needs rankings and therefore event accreditation? - TBA.
7) So therefore, what does TBA mean to bowlers? Nothing.
8) What do bowlers mean to TBA? - Funding from ASC.
Let's use an example - If TBA were to threaten to strip accreditation and rankings from a current major tournament.. oh let's say the Melbourne Tenpin Cup.. would bowlers still support it next year if it was run without accreditation as long as the prizefund was decent? - Yes.
So who needs who now?

Timmy i don't always agree with everything you post...But mate that gets my vote for POST OF THE YEAR...Take a Bow...:bb:

 

[Resurrection]

Quite personally i can't be bothered. If it wasn't for the fact that i had to be sanctioned to bowl dunn shield i probably wouldn't pay my sanctioning. There is no sanctioning body out there that offers anyone anything except for a major pain in the arse. But i have said in previous postthat there should be different levels of sanctioning where you would say sanction under league ($12.50), state ($30) or national membership ($50) per yeah of which each would entitle you to different things. These are the things i would expect and therefore wouldn't mind paying the extra per year just as long i saw something being done because this sport is dying and dying fast.

Matthew Lambrick

 

[Hooligan]

Tiger's post was absolutely fantastic. Bye bye TBA.

It was mentioned how much Jase does up here for bolwers in QLD. Jase does a lot for us who feel we are better than most and want to compete away from home, which is great, but he is not on the street encouraging new bowlers, or in centres encouraging once a week bowlers to strive for there 200 pin. This is where TBA should be. This is where TBA should be creating promotional tools for local associations/managers and educating them on how to get and keep new bowlers.

Do some of you remember when you averaged less than 150 and when you bowled a 200, 225 whatever, they gave you a pin and the whole league clapped and congragulated you? (Yes I bolwed in the 80's.)

I paid my TBA fee the day I bowled my first tournament (it was teams, I didn't want my team disqualified because of me). I know it's only 12.50 but I'd rather not pay it, and pay Jase $50 a year just to bowl the Total Circuit up here. I know what he looks like, I've seen him and Kellie busy running the show. Haven't seen anyone from TBA do jack .....

Prove me wrong TBA, what did you do with my $12.50????

 

[xpense]

noboday take this the wrong way, but for $12.50 per year, what more can we expect.

we are one of the cheapest yearly membership sports going around. A large number of other sports all charge in the hundreds per year, to be a member, and all they really get is the same as us. The right to play the sport at a competition level - and yes league is considered a competition level.

 

[JWhitty]

Capital Football charges a few hundred per year, through the team to the player.
Capital Football hold the competition (league)
Capital Football provides officials to the competition (referees, AR's, timekeepers)
Capital Football provides the paperwork to the matches (scoresheets etc)
Capital Football collates the match scores
Capital Football processes the scoresheets, compiles the league, and does the secretarial
Capital Football arranges, and pays for, venues where required

TBA charges a fee
A centre sets up a league
The league creates its own officials
The secretary (or the centre) provide the materials such as scoresheets
The secretary collects the scoresheets (or the centre processes it)
The secretary processes, collates, and compiles the scores into standings and points
The treasurer collects the money (the centre may be the treasurer) - this pays for a venue directly

Personally I'd be much happier paying 'the fee' to my league...