Striking Spotlight

Aaron Smith

Lane Mapping report

ARLINGTON, Texas – In one week, the Raising Cane’s River Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, will be the talk of the bowling world as the first of four major events scheduled for 2017 gets underway at the custom-built 44-lane venue.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Women’s Bowling Championship will kick things off April 13-15, followed by the Intercollegiate Team and Singles Championships, United States Bowling Congress Women’s Championships and USBC Queens.

The championship atmosphere will be second to none as the USBC Championships Production team has spent the last eight weeks constructing the venue from scratch, and the playing environment will be as fair as they come thanks to the teamwork of USBC and Brunswick.

“It’s difficult to imagine a better venue for these events,” said USBC Executive Director Chad Murphy. “The effort and dedication by USBC Championships Production and Brunswick have ensured a fair playing environment for each competitor that bowls in this facility. As the governing body for the sport of bowling, we will continue to keep tournament integrity at the forefront of our events.”

Brunswick is the official lane installation provider for USBC Championships builds.

USBC rules dictate the tolerance for crowns and depressions, plus cross-tilt, must be within forty-thousandths of an inch of flat to be certified by USBC. For USBC Championships events and convention-center builds, USBC tightens the tolerance to twenty-thousandths of an inch to further ensure the integrity of the playing field.

In all, each lane took an average of 175 man-hours to construct and adjust to fit within the specifications.

After a champion is crowned at the NCAA Women’s Bowling Championships, the ITC and ISC will head to Baton Rouge from April 18-22, and the 98th Women’s Championships will take place at the River Center from April 23-July 10. The Queens will be held at the convention center from May 17-23.

Kegel will be the official lane maintenance provider for these events and will work with USBC and its lane pattern development team to set the lane patterns for competition. Kegel also will provide the staff at the River Center with lane maintenance equipment and supplies as well as technical and on-site support.