TOURNAMENT DESCRIPTION

(Pages 2 and 3 from Men's SW Div USLBA "New Lawn Bowlers Tournament Guide")

Following Is a brief description of the various types of tournaments that are played In the S.W. Division, the United States and internationally.

CLUB EVENTS : Club Tournaments are those events that are organized by Individual clubs and are usually restricted to club members. They generally commemorate some event or special person peculiar to the Club, are arranged to determine Club Champions (singles, pairs, triples etc.) or are played on special days such as the 4th of July.

CLUB INVITATIONALS : These tournaments are organized by Individual clubs and are open to other club members by invitation. Invitations are generally extended to all SW. Division Clubs but may be limited to certain clubs within a geographical area. An example of a limited event would be the 4th of July Tournament at Santa Barbara which Is generally open to only the four Clubs closest to it.

Club Invitationals are always open to both men and women In any combination but some are specifically designated as “Mixed” which means that an entered team cannot be all men or all women.

S. W. DIVISION SPONSORED : Both the S.W. Division men’s organization and women’s organization sponsor major tournaments during the year. These events are generally limited to men or to women, but both organizations have tournaments which permit or require “mixed” entries. No S.W. Division tournament will permit an entry with all players of the opposite sex except for the Veteran Novice Pairs. If mixed entries are permitted or required, the flyer sent to each Club will clearly define that fact.

With certain exceptions, all Division sponsored events are open to Club members from other divisions or countries as well as all S.W. Division members. The exceptions are the “Southwest Tournaments” (Triples and Rinks), the novice events and the U. S. Playdowns. The Southwest Tournaments exclude any player not a member of the S.W. Division and the U. S. Playdowns also exclude any member not a U.S. citizen.

Certain Southwest Division and Nationally sponsored tournaments have special significance because they are used to evaluate players that wish to be considered for the U.S. National Team Roster. Players that finish well In these events earn points which the Division and National Selection Committees use as one criteria In their selection process. These events are:

    MURRAY-ALLISON SINGLES
    STATE TRIPLES & RINKS
    CARY-MACDONALD PAIRS
    S.W. DIVISION OPEN
    U.S. PLAYDOWNS
    U.S. OPEN

NATIONAL EVENTS: The Southwest Division may sponsors two national tournaments: the U.S Open and the U.S. Championships. The U.S. Championships are contested by those who have won their respective Division Playdown (singles and pairs) and are not open to other players.

The U.S. Open is open to all USLBA and WBB (World Bowls Board) affiliated club members regardless of nationality. The men’s and women’s Opens are generally, but not necessarily, conducted concurrently and in the same geographical area.

INTERNATIONAL: There are any number of International tournaments but only five that are of general interest to most S.W. Division players. They are:
B.C. GAMES. Played In either Victoria or Vancouver and open to all. Bowls magazine usually carries an advertisement for this event giving all the debits for entry. Teams principally come from the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom and Pacific Rim countries.
PACIFIC RIM GAMES. The United States is represented by teams selected from the National Team Rosters which compete against similar national teams from the Pacific Rim countries.
ATLANTIC RIM GAMES. Similar to the Pacific Rim Games but played against Atlantic Rim countries
NORTH AMERICAN CHALLENGE. Played alternately each year in the United States and Canada.
WORLD BOWLS CHAMPIONSHIP. Played every four years at a site selected by WBB. The United States is represented by men’s and women’s teams selected from the USLBA National Team Rosters. This is the most prestigious tournament in the world community of bowling.

DEFINITIONS and DESCRIPTIONS
(Page 5 from Men's SW Div USLBA "New Lawn Bowlers Tournament Guide")

Types of Tournaments

 OPEN: As in the Southwest Division Open Players from any affiliated USLBA club in the United States may enter as well as any player worldwide that is a member of an accredited club in their country. All Southwest Division tournaments are "open" except for; 1. Veteran-Novice Pairs, 2. Novice Singles and Pairs, 3. U. S. Playdowns, 4. Southwest Triples and Rinks and the 5-Man All Star. All club invitational tournaments are "open".

MIXED: As in Fox Mixed Pairs.Team cannot be all men or all women.

2+2 Rinks: Tournament with a team of two men and two women.

AUSTRALIAN PAIRS: Pairs game where two players initially play two bowls each and are succeeded by the other two players who play four bowls each. The first two then return to the mat and play their two remaining bowls.

REGIONAL: Entries are restricted to clubs within a geographical region.

REGIONAL QUALIFYING: Teams may qualify at any of two or more locations.

A and B FLIGHTS: Some tournaments are divided into A and B flights to separate accomplished teams from those with less experience. Any team may enter the A flight but no team considered to be of A flight caliber is allowed to enter the B flight.

Team: Refers to one entry whether singles, pairs, triples, or fours.

Playdown: All games necessary to determine the team(s) that qualify for the final event.

Playoff: A contest between teams that have qualified in the playdowns.

Closed Tournament: A Tournament that is open to only bowlers who are members of the Southwest Division and USLBA.