Bowling Rules & Regulations

Please ensure that you read and understand the Houston Sports & Social Club General Rules. They can be found here.

Houston Sports & Social Club General Bowling Rules

ROSTER/WAIVERS:

There is no maximum number of players allowed on a bowling team roster; however players must be registered with Houston Sports & Social Club and must sign the Houston Sports & Social Club waiver to be able to participate. Please refer to the Houston Sports & Social Club General Rules for rules regarding roster adjustments and additional details regarding waivers.

PLAYER ELIGIBILITY:

Please refer to the General Rules for details regarding player eligibility. Houston Sports & Social Club staff may require players to verify their eligibility at their discretion. If a player is ruled ineligible, the offending team will be assessed a loss for that game.

SPORTSMANSHIP:

Houston Sports & Social Club expects all participants to play with the highest level of sportsmanship. Rude or demeaning behavior to Houston SSC or venue staff, the opposing team, your own team members, and/or spectators will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Unsportsmanlike behavior may result in that player being ejected from the game. An ejection may result in further suspension from participation in current and/or future Houston Sports & Social Club sports. An ejected player is required to leave the premises immediately. Refusal to leave the premises may result in a team forfeit and/or suspension.

Any disputes or complaints regarding a sportsmanship or ejection can be addressed with the league after the day of play in which the incident took place. On the day of the incident, the decision made by Houston SSC or venue staff will be considered final and disputes will not be addressed by the league.

TEAMS/FORFEITS:

Only 5 can bowl in a game, however players on the roster can be switched out between games (not mid-game).

However, if a team notifies a league representative that they will be bowling more than 5 players and clearly specifies which player's score will not count PRIOR TO THE GAME BEGINNING, additional players can bowl as ineligible players (i.e. the specified player's score will not count toward the team's total score). If time expires prior to both game being completed, the scores for the 5 eligibile players will be recorded as they stand when time expires. If a team bowls more than 5 players in a game without notifying a league representative of whose score will not count, the highest score from that game will be automatically dropped.

The minimum number of players required to bowl a legal game is 2 players (no gender requirements). Teams are expected to sign in and complete the sign in sheet by 5 minutes before the start of the first game.  Teams should not start their first official game until an HSSC representative has reviewed their game roster with them and approved them to begin play. Teams will have until 2 hours after the stated start time of the first game to complete both of their games. Teams do NOT need to wait for their opponents to begin their games.  Teams may continue to bowl after their first 2 games are completed up until 2 hours after the stated start time, however only the first 2 games bowled will count toward their official scores.

Since teams will be able to bowl whether their opponents are present are not, there will be NO forfeit fines assessed for absences.

GAME EQUIPMENT:

All bowling equipment will be provided by the venue including balls, shoes, etc. The cost of this equipment is included in the cost of your registration.

SCORING:

The order of bowlers does not matter as long as it is consistent throughout each game. The scores of all 5 bowlers will be added together to determine their score for that game. If a team is short players, they will receive a vacant score of 75 for each missing player (provided they have at least 2 bowlers).

If a ghost team is needed due to an odd number of teams in the league, the ghost team score will be the average of all other scores for that game (excluding any scores of 0 for forfeits). For example, if your team plays the ghost team in the first game of the night, all the other scores for the first game of the night (excluding 0 scores) will be averaged to derive the ghost team score.

PLAYOFFS

SEEDING

Playoff seedings will be determined by the best overall records. In the event of ties, head-to-head matchups will determine higher seedings whenever possible. Tiebreakers will be determined in the following order:

1)    Head-to-head matchups

2)    Highest team total points for the season

3)    Win % vs like opponents

4)    Coin Flip