Many leagues have written in to share their successful twists on
standard event ideas.
Designate a specific day or
week during leagues and ask bowlers to bring in their "spare" change to
help "strike" out breast cancer. Bring a large jar to your bowling
center to collect the change, and donate the change and any pledges you may also
get to Bowl for the Cure®.
—Thunderbelles, Mt. Prospect ,Ill.
Even though Bowl for the Cure® events usually are held in February, breast
cancer awareness is a year-round project. Organize a Christmas-themed
decoration sale. Personalize decorations with the names of victims and
survivors of breast cancer or with the donor’s name and display on a tree.
—Las Cruces (N.M.) Women’s Bowling Association
Collect used
bowling equipment from your members and hold a garage sale. Collect equipment
such as shirts, shoes, towels, balls and bags. All proceeds from the
garage sale are donated to Bowl for the Cure®.
—Tyler (Texas)
Women’s Bowling Association
A Bowl for the Cure® tournament makes a splash with league bowlers
and their friends, family, community and bowling center proprietors.
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Approach area businesses and organizations for prize donations, gifts in kind
(i.e. printing the entry form), and sponsorship of the event. Be sure to keep
track of donors so they can be properly recognized at the event.
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Give each bowler a free gift for bowling. Order Bowl for the Cure® t-shirts or
towels (link to merchandise page) to give to each entrant. Or, ask a local
business to sponsor a free gift for each bowler.
- Award
grand prizes to the top three fundraisers. Use items that have been donated or
purchase Bowl for the Cure® or Komen merchandise as prizes.
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Give awards for various bowling accomplishments such as high game, high series,
low game and low series. Present random gifts to bowlers for different bowling
scores, picking up splits, wearing pink, etc.
- Make it a
non-smoking event for the comfort of all involved.
- Conduct
a 50/50 raffle by selling tickets for $1 each or 6 for $5. Half of the money
raised goes to the Komen Foundation with the other half going back as prizes to
the winners of the raffle. (Make sure you comply with all applicable local and
state laws.)
- Sell tickets for door prizes and pull tickets
on a regular basis to keep the excitement alive! Of course the door prizes could
be items donated by the business community.
- Put a couple of
pink pins in the rack. When a bowler gets a strike with a pink headpin, he or
she receives a prize.
- Go glow or cosmic bowling! Designate
at least one game to be glow/cosmic bowling if your center is equipped for it.
If you do, we recommend the last game.
- Conduct a silent
auction to add some suspense and excitement to the event.
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Sell Bowl for the Cure® merchandise.
- Serve refreshments
such as cake and soda.
- Hold an opening ceremony to
celebrate breast cancer survivors and remember those that lost their battle with
breast cancer. It’s also a good time to recognize sponsors and donors.
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Ask the local media to bowl and cover the event.
Mix it up and get crazy on the lanes for a great time.
Glow bowlingMany bowling centers offer glow bowling or cosmic
bowling, which means the lights are dimmed and neon lights, fog and rock 'n'
roll prevail.
9-pin no-tap
A strike is recorded when a
bowler knocks down nine pins or 10 pins on the first delivery. For any other pin
count, the bowler receives the actual pin count (anything less than nine pins
knocked down) and a second ball is thrown.
3-6-9 game
In a 3-6-9 game, each bowler automatically receives a strike in the third, sixth
and ninth frames.
Best ball
A combination of any
two bowlers is allowed. Each bowler rolls one ball each frame. The better of the
two balls is the score entered for the team. There are no spares recorded since
the pins are reset after each ball thrown. The exception to this is the tenth
frame where scoring is regulation for each bowler; i.e., if a strike is bowled
on the first ball, the bowler would then roll two extra balls.
Baker systemA team consists of five bowlers. Each bowler rolls
two frames per game. The play is fast-paced and each game takes only about ten
minutes. All team members follow each other in regular order to bowl a single
game. The lead bowler rolls the first complete frame followed by the No. 2
bowler rolling the second frame; the No. 3 bowler, the third frame; the No. 4
bowler, the fourth frame; and the No. 5 bowler, the fifth frame. The lead bowler
then continues the game by bowling the sixth frame, and so on. The No. 5 bowler
rolls all balls in the tenth frame.
These bowlers think outside the box when it comes to fund-raising
event ideas.
"24-Frame Game" Tournament
We gave monetary prizes for first and second place in three "flights." We had
several door prizes donated by area businesses to raffle and a 50/50 drawing. In
addition we had "on-lane games" where bowlers (for a donation) could buy
mulligans and rebowl a frame, guess the number of pins they were going to knock
down and have "the pro" bowl a frame. We had a luncheon which included chicken
breasts and gave everyone a goody bag that included a Bowl for the Cure® towel.
We advertised this event by saying that everyone had a chance to win $6,000 — a
$1 lottery ticket given to each bowler in his/her goody bag. Unfortunately, no
one was lucky enough to win the big money, but it was well worth the chance.
—Vicki Goss, Ionia Women's Bowling Association
Yard Sale
at Bowling Center
On Oct. 9, 2004, our league held our inaugural
yard sale in the parking lot of our bowling center. All items were donated by
league members and a few others in the community. The event raised $719! We
turned some unwanted things into cash for a great cause and had a lot of fun as
well!
—Bill Scull, Pow Wow League
Recycle for the Cure
All during the year we have many members who
collect aluminum cans to be sold and the proceeds used in our donation to Bowl
for the Cure®. We also will take aluminum doors and window frames that people
are trying to get rid of.
The first week in February we ask all
league bowlers to participate in donating one cent for each pin knocked down in
their series. I am always surprised that no one turns in money for less than a
500 series!
—Shelba Greenlee, Morristown Women’s Bowling
Association
50/50 Drawing
Our league will
be holding a 50/50 ticket drawing on the first and third Mondays in January,
February and March.
—Catherine Wright, Ladies Night Out League
Tournament and Dinner
We will run a 9-pin-no-tap tournament and have a
buffet dinner afterwards. During the tournament we will have donations of gift
certificates to be given out as door prizes. Our bowling team is collecting
money every week until the end of February for all the strikes and spares we
make.
—Junita Davis, Little Egypt Women’s Bowling Association