Definition:
You often hear or read about bowlers participating in blocks. "I was 100 over for the block," a bowler might say. Or, "The leader after one block is Paul," someone else might say.
But what is a block? Most league bowlers think of each week as a three-game series. And that's the official definition of series, too. But technically, it could be thought of as a three-game block.
A block, in bowling, is a predetermined number of games to be bowled for qualifying rounds, match-play rounds or any type of round.
Basically, a number of games bowled at once, in succession.
In professional tournaments, as well as high-level amateur tournaments, the field almost always has to bowl a number of qualifying blocks before the field is cut for match play or another format of determining a winner.
For instance, in the PBA Summer Swing, four tournaments (Badger Open, Wolf Open, Bear Open and Milwaukee Open) were contested. For the Badger Open, every bowler bowled five games in the first block, then took a brief break before coming back in the evening to bowl another five-game block. Their scores after those 10 games (two five-game blocks) determined the top 24 who would advance to match play.
Match play then consisted of an eight-game block in the morning, followed by a break, and another eight-game block in the evening. This totaled 16 games, and once added to the 10 qualifying games, determined the top five bowlers who made it to the TV show.
The same rules applied to the Wolf Open and Bear Open.
The Milwaukee Open, however, was more complicated. Each of the six qualifying blocks (two five-game blocks for each of the Badger Open, Wolf Open and Bear Open) counted toward Milwaukee Open qualifying. This was 30 total games. The top 28 after 30 games advanced to one more five-game block, making the total number of qualifying games 35.
At that point, four more bowlers were eliminated, leaving the final 24 players who would compete in three more eight-game blocks, totaling 24 games. By the time the top five were determined, 59 games of bowling officially counted toward the Milwaukee Open.
This fairly convoluted example is appropriate, as the whole thing is simpler when merely referring to five-game sets as blocks. So, when someone tells you about some scores for a block, you know it consisted of a certain number of games, all bowled in one session.
Examples: Chet bowled well in his first block of qualifying, but failed miserably in his second block, resulting in barely missing the cut to match play.
You often hear or read about bowlers participating in blocks. "I was 100 over for the block," a bowler might say. Or, "The leader after one block is Paul," someone else might say.
But what is a block? Most league bowlers think of each week as a three-game series. And that's the official definition of series, too. But technically, it could be thought of as a three-game block.
A block, in bowling, is a predetermined number of games to be bowled for qualifying rounds, match-play rounds or any type of round.
Basically, a number of games bowled at once, in succession.
Qualifying and Match-Play Blocks
In professional tournaments, as well as high-level amateur tournaments, the field almost always has to bowl a number of qualifying blocks before the field is cut for match play or another format of determining a winner.
For instance, in the PBA Summer Swing, four tournaments (Badger Open, Wolf Open, Bear Open and Milwaukee Open) were contested. For the Badger Open, every bowler bowled five games in the first block, then took a brief break before coming back in the evening to bowl another five-game block. Their scores after those 10 games (two five-game blocks) determined the top 24 who would advance to match play.
Match play then consisted of an eight-game block in the morning, followed by a break, and another eight-game block in the evening. This totaled 16 games, and once added to the 10 qualifying games, determined the top five bowlers who made it to the TV show.
The same rules applied to the Wolf Open and Bear Open.
The Milwaukee Open, however, was more complicated. Each of the six qualifying blocks (two five-game blocks for each of the Badger Open, Wolf Open and Bear Open) counted toward Milwaukee Open qualifying. This was 30 total games. The top 28 after 30 games advanced to one more five-game block, making the total number of qualifying games 35.
At that point, four more bowlers were eliminated, leaving the final 24 players who would compete in three more eight-game blocks, totaling 24 games. By the time the top five were determined, 59 games of bowling officially counted toward the Milwaukee Open.
This fairly convoluted example is appropriate, as the whole thing is simpler when merely referring to five-game sets as blocks. So, when someone tells you about some scores for a block, you know it consisted of a certain number of games, all bowled in one session.
Examples: Chet bowled well in his first block of qualifying, but failed miserably in his second block, resulting in barely missing the cut to match play.
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