The Kings & Queens Bowling League consists of up to 20 teams with the playing strength of up to four members per team. The league bowls on Thursday nights for 15 weeks beginning on January 8, 2025, and ending on April 23 (subject to change due to weather cancellations or bowling-alley events). We will bowl the week of Easter. Practice automatically starts at 6:30 p.m. with competition beginning at 6:40 p.m. The league bowls a 15-week straight season with a position-round on week 15. Final standings will be based on win/loss record across all 15 games.
The management of the league is vested in the Board of Directors, which consists of the League Officers and the Team Captains. League Officers are voted in at the end of each bowling season for the upcoming season. A general member vote will adopt the league rules on the first night of bowling. A majority of those present constitutes a quorum. Once the rules are adopted, League Officers can interpret them to specific situations, but any exceptions or amendments will require a vote of the Board of Directors.
The Kings & Queens Bowling League is sanctioned as an Adult League with the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) and membership is open to bowlers 18 years of age or older. The league is also sanctioned with the International Gay Bowling Organization (IGBO).
The IGBO annual league membership fee of $3/bowler is paid from the league account.
All bowlers must fill out a USBC membership application card on their first night of bowling in this league, even if they have registered/paid online or in another league. Sanction Fees can be paid online with credit card at bowl.com (click Join/Renew, and make sure to select "Capital Area USBC" as the local association). We can also accept cash or check (made out to Capital Area USBCA) in-person on your first night of bowling.
The USBC sanction fee for a full year, running August 1st through July 31st of the following year, is made up of:
| Entity | Amount |
|---|---|
| National | 15.00 |
| Local (Capital Area USBC) | 9.00 |
| State | 1.00 |
| Total | 25.00 |
Weekly fees, to be paid by each bowler per night, are:
| Designation | Amount |
|---|---|
| Lineage | 14.00 |
| Prize Fund | 6.00 |
| Total | 20.00 |
Fees can be paid by cash, check, or credit card. All weekly league fee checks must be made payable to Bowlero Raleigh.
Payment with credit card can be done at the counter at the discretion of Bowlero. Usually they require a $80 minimum charge. If paying by card, make sure to:
A league account is open at Bowlero Raleigh in the name of Kings & Queens Bowling League where funds will be deposited weekly. Withdrawals from the account can only be made with the joint signatures of two officers. A copy of the bank statement is available, upon request, to any member of the league. The lineage for the league is paid to Bowlero Raleigh on a weekly basis. USBC sanctioning fees are collected by the league and paid to Capital Area USBC Association. IGBO sanctioning dues are paid from the league account.
The President appoints a Prize Fund Committee of at least three bowlers by the third week. The Prize Fund Committee submits prize fund proposals which the league votes on during the fourth week of bowling. The winning prize fund proposal determines the allocation of awards for the season and is announced to the league bowlers during the fifth week of bowling. To qualify for individual awards, a bowler must have bowled 30 games during the season. A bowler may qualify for only one individual award and must accept the highest monetary award. If monetary awards are equal, the precedence goes (Average, Scratch Series, Scratch Game, Handicap Series, Handicap Game). A team or bowler who joins late will owe only the prize fund portion of nightly dues for the weeks they missed. Individual awards may be divided equally in cases of ties. Pre-bowled scores are not recognized for high scores or other awards. All individual awards are finalized at the end of the 14th week of bowling.
The handicap is 90% of the difference between 225 and the bowler’s average. All bowlers will establish an average the first night they bowl in the league. The corresponding handicap will be retroactively applied to those three games. Thereafter, the handicap is based on the bowler’s current cumulative average for all games bowled in previous nights. After a bowler bowls 12 games in the league, subsequent games become eligible for High Handicap Game and High Handicap Series awards. The Most Improved award will be based on the difference between the average after 12 games, and the ending (week 14) average.
Team Captains will submit a roster of team members to the Secretary on the first night of bowling. The roster limit will be six bowlers. Any roster changes must be reported to the Secretary prior to the time the new team member bowls. Substitutes and new bowlers may not be added to a team roster in the final week of each half without prior approval from the Board of Directors. No team may use a substitute or new bowler during the final week (15th week).
A substitute may not bowl for the same team for more than three consecutive weeks (but can be added to the roster if there is room). Our league is a guaranteed league, meaning all fees must be paid whether or not you are present to bowl. A two weeks’ notice must be given to leave the league. If a bowler does not give notice and the Team Captain fails to notify the Secretary and Treasurer that the member has dropped, that team is responsible for the full payment of the bowler while his or her absentee score is being used. When a bowler leaves the league without a replacement, a vacancy score is used.
A minimum legal line-up consists of two team members from the current team roster. Bowlers who have pre-bowled are counted as being present for a legal line-up. If a team only has two bowlers, then the minimum legal lineup will be one team member from the current team roster.
When a game is declared a forfeit, the opposing team bowls as though the games were contested. They must bowl within 40 pins of their current team average to win points by forfeiture. Points not won by failing to bowl the prescribed score will not be credited to either team.
Absentee scores are used when a team has a legal line-up but less than a full line-up at the start of any game in a series. The absentee score is the bowler’s current average minus 10 pins. No team may use an absent bowler’s average for more than three consecutive weeks. Thereafter, the absent bowler must bowl three games in competition before his or her absentee score may be used again. Exceptions are made in cases of health/injury reasons on a case-by-case basis by the Board of Directors. The vacancy score is a game of 125 and handicap of 90. If a team roster consists of more than four members, you must use the absentee scores of the roster member(s) with the most games bowled in the season.
Individuals or teams may pre-bowl after notifying the league officers at kingsqueensbowling@gmail.com. All pre-bowl games must be completed prior to the next week’s regularly scheduled match date. A League Officer is not required to be present; however, a signature from AMF personnel verifying the scores bowled must appear on the recap sheet. If the opposing team is not present at the pre-bowl, they will bowl on the regularly scheduled night. Scores from the team that pre-bowled will be revealed by the scoring system at the end of each game. Pre-bowled scores are not eligible for prizes. Pre-bowling is not allowed for the week 15 position round night. Post-bowling is not allowed.
A bowler who arrives late may enter the game provided the first three frames have not been completed. A frame is considered complete when the bowler in the anchor position on each team has completed the frame. Frames missed due to tardiness may be made-up in this case. A bowler who arrives after the completion of the third frame may only enter the game with the approval of the opposing Team Captain. An absentee score will be used when a bowler is unable to compete. The bowler can bowl the second and third games if they have an established handicap.
Standings shall be determined on a point basis with two points awarded for each game won with handicap and one point awarded for the high team series won with handicap.
PLAY-OFF (FINAL WEEK): All team matchups are determined by the position round format based on the number of points earned throughout the season. Total points earned AFTER the play-off are used to determine final team standings.
Final Standings (TIE-BREAKER): If at the end of the season teams are tied in the standings, prize funds for the tied places will be added together and divided equally among the tied teams.
In cases not covered by these league rules, USBC rules shall apply.
