Las Vegas, Lubbock, Amarillo this weekend! A very busy weekend is in store for JBT bowlers as we continue to crisscross the western United States! First, the Mojave Conference wraps up its regular season with a doubleheader of action. Saturday, we'll be at Texas Station, with a Noon starting time. Then, on Sunday, we'll be at Strike Zone in Henderson, home of the 2009 Touring Players Championship, with a 9 AM starting time. This is a great chance to get familiar with the TPC center, and also your last chance to qualify for the Mojave Invitational tournament and its $1,000 first place scholarship prizes. To qualify, you must have finished in the top 5 of any 08-09 Mojave Conference event, or be in the top 32 in the season-long point standings. Once the points are updated from this weekend's events, we'll mail Invites to all eligible bowlers. You can also view the final list of qualifiers on the website, of course, as well as details about the Invitational. This is the same procedure we'll go through in the other four conferences as their regular seasons come to a close in the coming weeks as well, so stay tuned and stay updated! Also this weekend, we make our annual pilgrimage to northern Texas, for a great doubleheader. On Saturday, we visit Lubbock's South Plains Lanes, with a Noon start time. Then on Sunday, we head on up to Amarillo for a stop at Western Bowl, with a 10 AM starting time. Texas bowlers, this is your only opportunity for the JBT experience in your area, so we hope you'll help us spread the word for a great turnout at these two great centers.

Kellogg Bowl start time change At the request of the center, our start time for the May 9 Kellogg Bowl event is switching from 11 AM to Noon. Please make a note of it.

2009-10 Schedule Proposal! We are busy behind the scenes creating an awesome 2009-10 season! Below is our proposed schedule of dates for each conference. It's very important that you help us avoid conflicts (which we've tried to do) by checking these dates with any information you may have on other tournaments, etc. We have booked some of these dates and want to book the rest shortly, so please help us by looking over these dates for any potential issues, and drop us a line if so:

ARIZONA: September 5-6 September 26-27 October 24-25 November 14-15 November 28-29 December 12-13 December 29

CALIFORNIA: September 12-13 October 3 October 31 December 5-6 January 16

MOJAVE: September 19-20 October 10-11 November 7-8 December 19-20 December 29

NM-TX: September 12-13 October 17-18 November 21-22 January 2-3

NORTHWEST August 29-30 September 26-27 October 24-25 November 21-22 December 12-13

2009-10 JBT Eligibilty Rule discussion continues In response to the usbc's changing of its maximum age for youth bowlers from 22 to 20, JBT will NOT be changing its age-limit rule at all. JBT events will still be open to bowlers who are 21 and under as of August 25, 2009. We asked for your feedback, and it's clear that this is a decision that has been met with near unanimous approval. The more I think about it, the more I love the simplicity of the rule. While the rest of the bowling universe argues over the new usbc rule, and creates more loopholes, rules, and sub-rules as a result, JBT will make it simple: show an ID with your age, and come bowl a fun tournament. However, there has also been very valid feedback from folks with concerns over details of what that simplicity could mean, and I want those folks to know that we respect those concerns too. Specifically, what about bowlers who left JBT or juniors PRIOR to this change, and have been bowling adult events for cash? They'd be welcome to bowl, as long as they're 21 or under, starting next season. Now, how many of these 'returnees' will we have? Hard to say. Is it a bad thing? There are pros and cons. The point of keeping our age at 21 is so we don't 'orphan' our 19-21 year-olds, not to create a situation where someone who left juniors years ago can come back, but that is a consequence. I'm not too comfortable with the hypothetical (unlikely) case of a kid who at 13 'went adult', won 4 PBA titles, then comes back next season at 20 to bowl. But conversely, I'd also hate to not create the opportunity for a 20 year-old who never bowled juniors, walked in and joined an adult league because the center didn't even mention junior leagues at 16, and would love to try and win some scholarship money, to now be able to do so. But to have one, you have to allow the other too (unless you create a very convoluted rule, which we really want to avoid). So... what do you think? Below are two ways our age rule could look next season: which do you like better?

1) JBT events are open to all bowlers age 21 or under as of August 25, 2009.

OR

2) JBT events are open to all bowlers age 21 or under as of August 25,2009 who were ALSO JBT/usbc youth eligible bowlers PRIOR to that date.

or,more creatively, what about:

3) JBT events are open to all bowlers age 21 or under as of August 25,2009 who were ALSO JBT/usbc youth eligible bowlers PRIOR to that date. Bowlers who are age eligible BUT have bowled 'adult' events for cash prizes may 'reinstate' JBT eligibility by paying a $100 'reinstatement fee', 100% of which will be disbursed as scholarship awards.

We continue to be open to your feedback regarding this issue.

Please, please note that the 08-09 eligibility rule remains, of course, UNCHANGED. Bowling an adult event not in compliance with usbc rule 400 will still make you INELIGIBLE for the rest of the 08-09 JBT season, and nothing has been finalized as far as 09-10 yet. The next months are the heart of the JBT season, with our biggest events and scholarship prizes, so we really think that with rare exception, 'going adult' now is not the way to go. Who says usbc won't re-examine what they're doing, and make more changes, and you accidentally short-circuit your junior career? Eek. Wait it out, have fun being a kid for crying out loud, and see where the world stands in August.

See you soon! Sick of all the adults and directors yapping about rule changes and stuff like that? Me too! Then just come on out to some great JBT tournaments this weekend and have fun in the best, most competitive, professional-style junior events around! We'll see you in Nevada and Texas this weekend, or other JBT events in the very near future!