Commentary
The good, the bad and the future of Section VI bowling
PATRICK NAGY Sports Reporter
Section VI bowling has been leaving a 7-10 split the entire season. For every good act the section has done to help promote the sport, they have made a couple of bad ones that make you scratch your head.

+ Good - Gone are the days when bowling teams needed to win half of their league matches to qualify for the Section VI Championships. A new ranking system devised by section bowling chairs Ted Burdzik (boys) and John Zloty (girls) allowed 13 more boys teams (from 39 to 53 out of 67) and more than doubled the number of girls teams (from 25 to 52 out of 64) to compete in sectionals last week at Thruway Lanes. Both are sectional highs. The new system states that teams that did not have a .500 record could still qualify based on each team's top five averages. Berdzik said some teams opted not to appear while one team didn't because lanes were needed for bowlers competing in the individual competition. Thruway Lanes is a 60-lane bowling house.

"Every team that wanted to be here is here," said Berdzik. "I don't think anyone was slighted this year."

"It's a lot more headaches but it benefits the kids," added Zloty. "That's what it's all about."

+ Bad - While Section VI bowling has made positive steps, it appears it is taking some giant steps back, especially with communication. For instance, girls sectionals, originally an open tournament, was switched to a ranked system like the boys a week before sectionals because unbeknownst to Berdzik and Zloty, the Chautauqua and Cattaraugus leagues had five new teams - Chautauqua Lake, Hinsdale, Gowanda, Randolph and Westfield.

Berdzik said the addition resulted in not enough lanes for all girls teams because at least four lanes were needed for bowlers who qualified as individuals. A number of teams declined to enter anyway so it was still considered open, but isn't it strange that the section chairs were not notified sooner?

Granted when they were told of the additional teams, Berdzik sent an e-mail out that same day to all section coaches, but to do it a week before sectionals? Berdzik said he had no other choice but to seed the girls sectionals but I think he and Zloty are lucky some teams opted not to show up because it could have been a major disaster. You would have had teams showing up without a .500 record and probably been told to go home because there would not have been enough lanes.

Another black eye for the section came prior to the start of the 28th Roy Summers Memorial Invitational on Feb. 3. An anonymous caller informed the Section VI office that bowlers at the invitational in the past had been bowling more than the maximum of six games in one day and the original format, which included a baker (five team members follow each other in order, each bowling a complete frame until a complete 10-frame game is bowled), had to be switched.

+ Future - There are ways to improve Section VI bowling, although some of the suggestions seem impossible to achieve. Berdzik said he is thinking about a having a pre-qualifier or regional rolloff for teams who do have a .500 record but it could never happen because of time constraints and money. I agree with Berdzik's idea but know of a way to make it happen. Put a pre-qualifier in place of when rolloffs occur. Bowling rolloffs mean absolutely nothing other than getting your team more practice for sectionals. That way every team can bowl for something meaningful at the end of the year.