Rhode Island Scratch Classic

Rhode Island Scratch Classic The league will be contested on a challenge 4:1 oil pattern and be in a doubles format.

The Rhode Island Scratch Classic is a fall/winter doubles league featuring top bowling talent from around the area competing in a unique format unlike other leagues in the region. As the only fall/winter scratch league in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts, the Rhode Island Scratch Classic, which will commence in September 2022, will offer competitive bowlers the opportunity to challenge

and better themselves on the lanes against some of the best talent in the region. Additionally, the 24-week league will be contested in 8-week 'thirds', with each third being a different format. Along with regular-season money prizes being awarded, there will also be a playoff format to determine the overall league champion at season's end. Side action and sponsorship opportunities for the league are also available. For additional information about the league, please contact James Bessette either through this page, in a direct Facebook message or by email at [email protected].

09/11/2023

Hello everyone and good morning!

Hope you all are well. A reminder, tonight at 7 p.m. at East Providence Lanes is the meeting for the Rhode Island Scratch Classic league.

We will go over the details of the league and discuss league matters. Hope to see you all there tonight!

-- James Bessette

09/02/2023

Hello everyone and good afternoon!

Hope your summer has been excellent and your Labor Day weekend has been enjoyable so far.

Just a friendly reminder, one week from Monday, we will have our league meeting of the Rhode Island Scratch Classic league at East Providence Lanes, starting at 7 p.m. At the meeting, we'll solidify teams or adjust the format, if necessary; go over the league rules and season formats and other matters.

If you're planning on bowling in the league, but have not notified me about the team you have created, or are looking to form a team, please reach out to me asap! Would like to get a good count before Sept. 11.

Also, apologies in advance as we were initially hoping to have a Tournament Series event this month, but unfortunately that will not come to fruition. Initially, we were planning to have the format be similar to a 40-frame game, but the score technology at the center cannot create that format.

I do have a new tournament format in place, but now it's a matter of getting a date and center. As soon as I have that confirmed, you'll receive invites of all the details of that next event.

Thanks again and hope to see everyone at least on Sept. 11 at 7 at EP Lanes. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Hey everyone, good afternoon!Hope you're enjoying the weekend. Figured I offer a quick post describing the oil pattern t...
08/13/2023

Hey everyone, good afternoon!

Hope you're enjoying the weekend. Figured I offer a quick post describing the oil pattern that will be used for the Scratch Classic league this year, mainly to offer up what to expect after practicing on it yesterday.

First and foremost: Put heavy emphasis on 'challenge' in 'challenge pattern.' This pattern will require strong shot-making to score, and it is scorable if you strategize correctly.

On fresh, what I saw was the need to use low-flaring equipment to control the backend. So, any low-flaring equipment - and yes, urethane included - up the track area would be best to start.

As the pattern transitions and when you need to move inside, higher-flaring equipment to have the ball bounce off the corner is suggested. Low-flaring will slow down too much the deeper you move inside the lane.

And, keep your breakpoints between 5 and 8. Hold on the pattern is at a premium.

Now, it was only me on the practice pair, bowling one-handed with decent rev rate. Bowling contains different strokes for different folks - two-handed, lefty vs. righty, higher rev rates, etc. Competition will have a different feel, but just wanted to offer up an idea of what you could expect this year.

And again, still plenty of room - and time - to form doubles teams for the league. Our meeting will be held Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. Any questions you have beforehand, send me a message or comment below.

Thanks and we'll talk soon!

-- James Bessette

Hey everyone, good evening!Hope you're doing well. Looking forward to the upcoming inaugural season of the Rhode Island ...
08/04/2023

Hey everyone, good evening!

Hope you're doing well. Looking forward to the upcoming inaugural season of the Rhode Island Scratch Classic.

Ok, we've gone over the regular season and playoff formats. Now, how do the standings work? Here's a formal breakdown.

In short, since there are three different formats, there will be three different standings, but funneled into the overall standings that will be based on a Team USA Trials point system. In each third, a team that finishes in 1st place will receive 1 point, 2nd place will get 2 points, 3rd will get 3 points, and so forth.

Then, the overall standings will be based on teams with the *least* amount of points accumulated over the regular season. For example, a team that finishes in 1st in the first eight weeks, 3rd in the second eight weeks and 4th in the final eight weeks, that will will receive 8 total points.

Top four teams with the lowest point totals in the overall standings will automatically qualify for the playoffs. The final two playoff spots in the six-team bracket will battle it out in the WildCard Desperado.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to reach out to me. Also, we're still calling for teams for the league.

Thanks again and we'll talk soon!

-- James Bessette

07/18/2023

Hey everyone, good morning!

Hope you're all doing good. We have some teams starting to form and below here is a roster list I'm going to be putting together for the league. There is a similar list on the league's event page as well.

If anyone has any questions about the league and/or willing to put together a team, send me a DM or comment below and let me know asap. I'll help with anything you need.

Thanks again and we'll talk soon!

1. James Bessette / Tony Jilek
2. Paulie Furtado / Chris Williams
3. Jon Matunas / Alexander Romano
4. Jon Van Hees / TBD
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

Hey everyone and good afternoon!Hope your week went well and looking forward to a nice weekend. Here is the latest info ...
07/14/2023

Hey everyone and good afternoon!

Hope your week went well and looking forward to a nice weekend.

Here is the latest info post on the Rhode Island Scratch Classic league. We've been asked what the requirements are for forming teams and here's a friendly recap of the breakdown:

Minimum 190 house average to join the league and bowlers must be declared as 'adult' bowlers. No exceptions.

Bowlers must use the highest sanctioned average from either of the last two fall/winter league seasons. Summer league averages and UBA averages will not be accepted.

One bowler must have an average between 190 and 225. The other bowler can average whatever he/she wishes, provided that they are above the 190 average floor.

The reason for the large disparity in averages is we want to allow teams flexibility to put together the best possible teams and have the league be extremely competitive. Some scratch formats have guidelines that, for some, can be too restrictive. We want you to have the best opportunity to put together the best team you can.

And lastly, we're providing the graphic of what the oil pattern for the league will be. It's 41 feet, around 26.5 mL and about 3.5 to 1 ratio between the gutter and the oil's high point. The pattern is shaped like a stepladder from left to right, so it will welcome an array of angles to play.

The pattern data has been sent to East Providence Lanes management to be put into the machine. I will follow up to confirm if it's set for bowlers to try out.

And lastly, I'll further promote the league's event page both here and other social channels to further call for teams.

If anyone has any questions, or wish to confirm teams, send me a DM or comment below. Thanks again and have a great weekend!

-- James Bessette

Hello everyone and good afternoon again!Here's our latest rundown of the Rhode Island Scratch Classic, where we share th...
07/13/2023

Hello everyone and good afternoon again!

Here's our latest rundown of the Rhode Island Scratch Classic, where we share the very unique playoff format we will have at the end of the season.

The playoffs will run over a two-week period, starting with the 'WildCard Desperado.' The playoffs, overall, will involve six teams, with the top four in the overall standings automatically qualifying for the playoffs.

To get the final two teams, that's where the 'Desperado' comes into play. All the remaining teams in the league will compete for the final two spots. So, even if you finish in last place during the regular season, you still have a chance at the postseason.

Teams will bowl two baker games and the field will be cut in half. Then the cycle repeats until there are two teams left, and they will move onto the eliminator playoff the following week.

The Playoff week will have teams bowling two baker games in the first round. Then, the field gets cut from six to four, then from four to two after two more baker games.

The final two teams will bowl a best-of-three series, with the winner being declared league champion.

The way the league standings will work is the rankings will be based on an inverted point system. So, if your team finishes in first place in any particular third, you get 1 point; 2 points for second place; 3 points for third place; and so forth. The standings will reset each third. The top four teams with the *least amount* of points will automatically qualify for the playoffs - the remaining two teams will come out of the WildCard Desperado event.

Tomorrow, we will go over the official league eligibility, as well as announce what the league's oil pattern will be.

We're excited to have the league launch in September, so start forming your teams for what will be an awesome year.

Thanks again and we'll be in touch again tomorrow!

-- James Bessette

Hey everyone, good afternoon!We're back again in highlighting the upcoming Rhode Island Scratch Classic league. Here is ...
07/12/2023

Hey everyone, good afternoon!

We're back again in highlighting the upcoming Rhode Island Scratch Classic league. Here is the league's third and final regular-season format called "Mystery Matchup."

During this third, teams will be assigned their lanes, no different than other regular league week. But, at around 6:30 p.m., league officials will select the matchups for each team and those matchups will be announced across the league after practice.

In other words, you will not know which team you're bowling against until we tell you after practice each week. And, the team you will be matched up against will be on a different pair from your team.

So, shotmaking and breaking the pattern down properly will be factors in how teams will succeed - or fail - in this third of the season.

As far as a points system, teams will earn 2 points per game victory and 8 points for overall team total victory. Therefore, you can get as much as 16 points for a clean sweep.

Tomorrow, we'll announce the playoff format, which starts with a "WildCard Desperado" round. Be on the lookout for those details.

Also, a quick reminder, the call for teams is now open, so start formulating your teams now.

Thanks again and we'll see ya again tomorrow!

-- James Bessette

Hello everyone and good morning!Hope your Tuesday is going well. As part of the ongoing promotion of the Rhode Island Sc...
07/11/2023

Hello everyone and good morning!

Hope your Tuesday is going well. As part of the ongoing promotion of the Rhode Island Scratch Classic league, here is the second of three formats that will be part of the league - and one that will start to make things quite interesting.

It's called "Beat the Field." Teams will be assigned their pairs and will bowl all four games on their pairs, no different than any normal league setting.

But, you're not just rolling against the team that's on the pair with you. You're rolling against the entire league at the same time.

Teams will receive 10 bonus points for each team you beat per game, and 30 points for team total (I will update the flier to make the team total clear). For example, if there are 16 teams in the league and you have the top team score in a particular game, you will get 150 bonus pins added to that team score. Then, it goes to 140 bonus pins, 130, 120 and so forth.

If you earn the top team score, you'll get 450 bonus pins, then 420 for second, then 390 for third, etc.

Here's where it gets interesting. Teams will also receive additional bonus pins if they earn weekly top-five ranked team scores. The top-scoring team in a particular week will get an additional 500 bonus pins. The point totals for the remaining top-five teams in a week are noted in the flier.

And the ultimate incentive. If a team beats the entire field in each of the four games, that team will get the "Run the Table" bonus of 2,000 additional bonus pins.

So, if my math is correct (using calculator....), if a team runs the table, that team could earn 3,550 bonus pins in a single week on top of what they rolled for score. That's a big number and could be critical since we'll have a end-of-season playoff round.

Plus, this is a format that allows all teams in the league to have a chance at winning, therefore shotmaking will be critical.

Tomorrow, I'll discuss the third and final regular-season format called "Mystery Matchup."

Anyone with any questions, again comment below or send me a DM. Also, let me know about your teams and we'll get you on the roster. I plan on beginning to formulate a roster list in early August.

Thanks again and we'll chat tomorrow!

-- James Bessette

07/10/2023

Hi again everyone...

I've gotten a couple league-related questions as it pertains to allowing junior bowlers into the league.

Here's the answer: This league is adults only. If a junior bowler(s) who bowled as juniors last year, but declare to be as 'adult bowler(s)' before Aug. 1 - or whatever the USBC deadline date is to declare themselves either junior or adult - then they will be allowed to compete in the league in September.

A major reason for that is this. Some potential sponsors we're trying to attract are alcohol companies, and they under no circumstances will sponsor anything involving kids or anyone under the age of 21. That's a legal matter for them, and the companies make this very clear.

I understand that there are many strong junior bowlers in the area, and I at some point would love for them to compete in the league. But they have to be of legal age or be declared 'adult' in the eyes of USBC. No exceptions.

If anyone has any questions about this policy, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. Thanks again!

-- James Bessette

Hello everyone and good afternoon!Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Today, we're gonna start a series of announcements a...
07/10/2023

Hello everyone and good afternoon!

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Today, we're gonna start a series of announcements about the Rhode Island Scratch Classic league's format, and we'll announce the oil pattern for the league this weekend.

So, to start things off is the first format during weeks 1 through 8, simply titled 'Mano A Mano'. It's basically your typical league format based on the Peterson points system, going head to head with one another.

Essentially, it's to get everyone's legs underneath them at the start, particularly those who are bowling scratch for the first time. Then, the league gets interesting as the season progresses. I'll announce the next format tomorrow.

We have received some team interest since the first call for teams was announced last week. We're going to keep pushing forward on that as the summer progresses leading up to September.

Again, anyone interested in joining the league, please comment below or send me a DM, and I'll be happy to help get things set up. And this league will be USBC sanctioned.

Thanks again and I'll be back here tomorrow!

- James Bessette

Hello everyone and good morning!Hope your weekend is off to a good start. During this coming week, and starting today, ...
07/08/2023

Hello everyone and good morning!

Hope your weekend is off to a good start. During this coming week, and starting today, we will offer a full rundown of what the Rhode Island Scratch Classic fall/winter league will entail, including a full explanation of the league's various formats, playoff system and oil pattern.

To start, here is the basic overview of the league as a whole. Tomorrow, we will start giving detailed descriptions of the formats.

Also 📣📣📣📣 CALLING ALL TEAMS! 📣📣📣

We have opened the official call for doubles teams for the league.
A quick refreshed rundown on requirements for teams:

- Minimum house-shot average to join the league is 190; no exceptions. While the league will be on a challenge pattern, we're starting things out by using house-shot averages (this will be revisited after the league's inaugural year).

- One bowler must have an average between 190 and 225.

- The other bowler can average whatever he/she wants, provided that he/she is above the minimum 190 average requirement.

- Averages to be used are from the most-recent league year or the most-recent league year you bowled in. If you only have a challenge average, it will be re-rated to a house/standard average.

If anyone has any questions or plans on joining the league, please send me a DM or comment below. Also, over the next couple of weeks, I will stop by various other summer leagues to talk to players about the league, and you can feel free to ask me any questions about it.

Thanks again for everyone's support, and we'll talk again soon!

- James Bessette

Address

80 Newport Avenue
East Providence, RI
02916

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