2026-2027 Service League Rules
1. Service League membership will be restricted to male Kearney USBC adult members. Rules will be adopted at a meeting prior to the start of the league schedule by a representative of each team present at the meeting. All league members at the meeting will be allowed to voice their opinion and make motions.
2. The league will bowl on Thursday evening with warmup starting at 6:30 pm. The league shall begin bowling on the first Thursday in September and bowl a 30-week schedule. The league will not bowl on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, or New Year’s Eve.
3. All league members must be certified with Kearney USBC and pay the appropriate membership dues the FIRST NIGHT OF BOWLING ($15.00 national, $2.00 state, and $10.00 local). Each portion of the membership dues are paid only once during the bowling year no matter how many leagues a bowler bowls in, but each bowler must fill out a membership application card in each league they bowl in.
4. Cost of bowling shall be $20.00 per week per bowler. (Lineage $13.50, sec fee $.25, prize fund $6.25). Prize fund shall be distributed to each team at the end of the year based on total points won by a team divided by total points won by all teams (Draw/bye team wins are not included in the calculation).
5. Sponsor fee will be $50.00 due by the end of week 10, if not paid by week 10 the fee goes up to $60.00 which must be paid by week 20, if not paid by then the fee goes to $80.00 and will be taken out of the team’s prize fund. Team sponsor money shall be divided up between the teams involved in the playoff along with individual high scratch game, high scratch series, high average, and most individual points won. To be eligible for the individual awards a bowler must bowl 2/3 of the season. The breakdown shall be determined by the prize committee appointed by the President.
6. Each team captain will submit their league roster along with their official team name and team captain contact information within the first 3 weeks of bowling to the league secretary. Each team is allowed 8 members on their roster. The team captain may add or remove bowlers from their roster by telling the league secretary of the change to the roster. A bowler may withdraw from a team or league providing he gives two week notice and pays all weekly fees if a replacement is not found within that time frame. If a team captain fails to submit a league roster to the secretary, the first eight bowlers bowling with the team will be considered the official team roster. Any additional bowlers bowling with the team will be considered roving substitutes. A bowler on a team’s roster may bowl for another team except for the last two weeks of a segment providing he is not bowling with his own team that night and the team he is bowling with is not in direct competition with his own team.
7. Bowlers shall use their last year’s ending average (minimum of 21 games) from the Service league or, if they have no qualifying average from the Service league, the bowler shall use their highest Kearney USBC average (minimum of 21 games) from last year for the first 9 games they bowl. The average used for the first game of a session will be used for all games bowled during that session. If a bowler does not have a qualifying Kearney USBC average from last year, they will set their current season average the first night they bowl.
8. Individual bowler handicap shall be figured at 100% of 225. Team handicap will be the sum of the handicaps of the bowlers bowling each game.
9. Vacancy score’s handicap will be based from a 175 average. Absentee/vacancy score shall be 15 pins less the absent/vacant bowler’s average. A team may use any bowler from their roster for the absentee score providing the bowler has bowled at least three games in the league for the current season.
10. Late bowlers have until 7 pm to throw their first ball and makeup any missed frames.
11. The league will use a 40-point system. One point for each individual handicapped game and series (total 20), five points for each team handicap game and series (total of 20). Individual handicapped games will be capped at 300 in determining individual match game points only. Individual handicapped series will be capped at 900 in determining individual match series points only.
12. The bowling schedule will be split into three segments consisting of 10 weeks in each segment with a position round the last week of each segment. If the first-place team cannot drop in the standings during the position round, they will bowl the last place team with each team moving up one spot in position to determine the team matchups for the position round. The higher position team will bowl on the higher numbered lane that is being used with the next highest position team bowling on the next highest numbered lane continuing to the lowest position team bowling on the lowest numbered lane. To be eligible to bowl in position rounds, a bowler must have a three game or more current season average in the league.
13. The three segment winners will be in the championship playoff at the end of the season. In addition to the segment winners, the team with the most wins and not winning a segment will advance to the playoffs as a wildcard team. The teams in the playoff will bowl each other determined by random draw. Winners of this round will then advance to the championship round. If one team wins two segments, they will automatically advance to the championship round. If a team wins all three segments they will bowl the wildcard team. If the team winning all three segments loses in the playoff to the wildcard team, another playoff shall be bowled between the two teams to decide the champion. Each round will use normal league scoring for points won and lost and must be bowled head to head on the scheduled league night unless the two teams can agree to an alternate date and time or meets the USBC exemptions under USBC Rule #117. If the playoff ends in a tie, a complete game will be bowled consisting of 10 points (five individual points and five team points). If the teams are still tied after the completion of the additional game, each team will bowl an additional frame until the tie is broken in accordance with USBC Rule 118b(d). To bowl in the playoff (league championship matches), a bowler must have a 21 game average and be a member of the team’s roster or a bowler that has been on the substitute list for the entire season (cannot have been on any team’s roster anytime during the season). Bowlers bowling in the playoffs must use their highest established average (21 games or more) as of the end of any one segment.
14. In the event the league has an odd number of teams, the league will use the “draw system”. Teams bowling the vacant team will draw a team (before bowling begins-if possible) from the teams present and bowling that night to earn points. The scores bowled will be used as if bowling in direct competition with the drawn team. The draw/bye team can earn points during the session but will remain in last place. The draw/bye team and their opponent will be scheduled on the lowest numbered pair of lanes being used each week. All other teams will be scheduled according to USBC’s bowling schedule. The vacant team will be Team #1 with the remaining teams being ordered by random draw.
15. If teams in direct competition with each other, each have blind/vacant bowlers in their lineup for a session, they must have the blind/vacant bowlers in direct competition with each other and the points will be split between the bowlers (team on the odd numbered lane must put their roster in first). Once bowling begins for the session, teams may not make changes to the order of their lineup even if one or more bowlers are replaced or must leave during the competition (in this case, blind/vacant bowlers do not have to be in direct competition with each other). If a bowler replaces another bowler after the session has started, they must enter the lineup in the position of the bowler they are replacing.
16. If a team is not able to bowl as scheduled, they may pre-bowl or post-bowl providing they notify the league secretary. If they fail to notify the league secretary prior to the start of the scheduled session (except in the case of an emergency), the games will be declared forfeited. If a team pre-bowls, they may only pre-bowl for the next scheduled session. If the team post-bowls, the games must be completed prior to the start of the next scheduled session. A team may request an extension of time to make the games up with reasonable cause from the board of directors. They must notify the league secretary of the date and time of when they will be bowling their make-up games. Notifying the Big Apple DOES NOT meet the requirement of this rule.
17. The league’s officers will decide if to postpone a session of bowling due to weather conditions by 4:00 pm of the scheduled bowling date. If a team decides not to bowl due to bad weather, the games must be made up within two calendar weeks from the scheduled night of bowling. They must contact the league secretary with their decision not to bowl due to weather conditions in accordance with rule 16. The team must notify the league secretary of the date and time of when they will be bowling their make-up games. Notifying the Big Apple DOES NOT meet the requirement of this rule.
18. Any rules not covered shall be governed by the rules of the USBC.
