CDE Software: From the desk of Lance Rasmussen

Unless you have been out of bowling for a while, you know that the United States Bowling Congress is now the leading governing body for the sport of bowling in the USA.  Prior to USBC, the sport was governed by the ABC, WIBC and YABA. Are there alternatives or complementary options if you are looking to bowl in an organized league or looking for something different for your league?  I thought I would mention a couple organizations that you may not be aware of.

TNBA - The National Bowling Association, according to their website, organized in August 1939, in Detroit, Michigan, for the express purpose of encouraging Blacks to develop their skills in the game of Ten Pins. Originally known as the “National Negro Bowling Association” the organization was necessary due to ABC and WIBC restricted non-Caucasians from membership. As the membership grew to include a large number of Asians, Hispanics and people of color other than Black, the organization was renamed in 1944.  The organization was key in challenging ABC and WIBC for equality in the sport, to which in 1950, the non-Caucasian clauses were removed from ABC and WIBC constitutions. While a large percentage of TNBA’s membership is Black, the organization is open to all.

JANBA / JACL – The Japanese American Bowling Association is an organization that was formed for encouraging Americans of Japanese decent to hone their skills for the sport of bowling.  The Japanese American Citizens League has been around since 1929 and also found bowling as one if its organized sports.  In 1974, the National Advisory Board on Bowling voted to break away to form JANBA. Aside from leagues, JANBA hosts an annual tournament.

MAMBO – The Mexican-American Bowling Organization is an organization that also has an annual tournament and caters to Americans of Mexican descent.

ABBA – American Blind Bowling Association was formed in the 1940’s to enable blind and visually impaired youths and adults to bowl alongside sighted friends and family.

IGBO – International Gay Bowling Organization was formed in 1980 to provide a opportunity for organized league and tournament play in a completely non-discriminate manner.

There are several more organizations out there that I’ll follow up on in a later post.  With all of the mentioned organizations, they provide an opportunity to have an alternate means of organization within the sport of bowling as well as complementary with USBC as many leagues are “dual citizen” leagues.