Bowlers Journal International - March 2008 - (Page 72)

BPAA SUMMIT BY JIM DRESSEL AN UNEXPECTED TERN Myrtle Beach was cold even for the birds who stopped by BPAA's mid-winter show, but things heated up considerably in South Carolina when USBC announced it would move to Arlington, Texas. BPAA added its 'amen' to the idea. “I THINK PEOPLE WILL LOOK AT THIS Summit as the time the USBC and BPAA took a great step forward, a step that will protect competitive bowling, and — as proprietors — protect our very futures. It will be the step that will make this strategic partnership come alive.” It sounded almost like astronaut Neal Armstrong a quarter of a century earlier when he took ”a giant step for mankind.” But no, those were the words of Joe Schumacker, President of the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America, at the well-attended BPAA Summit in mid-January at the Marriott Grande Dunes Resort in unseasonably chilly Myrtle Beach, S.C. The initial step, however, wasn't taken by the BPAA — nor even by Neal Armstrong — but by the United States Bowling Congress. Its Board met the day the Summit officially opened, and decided to jump the gun on its April 1 deadline by announcing it would be relocating to Arlington, Texas, within the year assuming all the many details could be worked out. The next day, the BPAA Board met and unanimously decided that the USBC's idea was a good one, adding its own imprimatur to the decision. Thus were the basic foundations put into place to form what Schumacker called ”the core of a new World Bowling Campus. ”The future of our business is based on the integration of our groups,” he 72 bowlers journal international would clarify later to warm applause. Some of the reasons why the two groups wanted to move in together have already been discussed. Economies of a joint headquarters (discounting the actual costs of a move), labor-saving efficiences in terms of sharing common services, and last but not least, the value of the decision-making proximity of the two groups. There was also a meeting of the minds philosophically, which was a critical element. ”We have four different segments of bowling today,” said Schumacker, HERO NODA (2) Schumacker presided over the Summit show, but USBC and IBMHF made the big headlines. who generally defines the segments as the entertainment-casual, the recreational, the recreational-competitive and the competitive. ”In today’s business,” he continued, ”it is possible for a single center to have a strategy of being entertainment-casual even having an entire chain based on that kind of traffic. However, I firmly believe it is not possible as an industry to maintain bowling as a vital activity based on the entertainment-casual trade.” A parallel message resonated at last year's USBC Summit. Essentially, the Congress announced it had decided to emphasize the competitive message of bowling as a sport in order to have any long-term viability as an organization. Schumacker made it clear the ”M” word was still a no-no. ”We are merely integrating the service functions of USBC with the functions of BPAA,” he said, ”nothing more.” BPAA Executive Director John Berglund was left to meet the issue head on when he said, “We won’t be merging, but we can certainly merge departments and some services.“ As if it needed any further clarification, Schumacker said a merger just wasn't possible. ”[Under our charters], the mission of USBC will always be different than that of the BPAA.” Not that everybody bought into that logic, mind you (see this month's Bowlitically Incorrect column). MARCH 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Bowlers Journal International - March 2008

Bowlers Journal International - March 2008 Contents Leading Off Letters Bowlitically Incorrect Par Bowling The Coach Calendar Inside Line Tournaments The Truth Be Bowled Pro Bowling Back On Track Weber Tales Spares Do Matter Cover Story Up Close USBC Women's Time Capsule Flashback Strategy Session Guest Column Regional Roundup Team USA Trials Military Salute Global Guide No Holes Barred Marketplace Bowling Summit Museum Update Hall Marks Advertisers' Index Rememberance Classified Advertising Intelligencer Business Calendar Business People Strikes Me

Bowlers Journal International - March 2008

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