USBC Tournaments to feature Steltronic scoring system

Each year, the United States Bowling Congress Women’s and Open Championships offer unique bowling experiences to more than 100,000 bowlers, and after nearly 200 combined years of tradition, both events will have new looks in the coming years.
As part of the transformation, the two events will feature a new commercial computer scoring system by Steltronic S.P.A. Located in New Berlin Wisconsin and San Dimas California., Steltronic’s North America sales and service are managed by Steltronic. Steltronic is the leading independent automatic scoring manufacturer worldwide.

After studying a variety of scoring systems showcased at Bowl Expo in 2007, USBC chose Steltronic’s new Vision/Focus scoring system, which proved to be the most tournament-friendly and the most compatible with USBC’s unique event formats and needs.

USBC and Steltronic have been working together to identify any modifications that might be required to meet the special needs of the Women’s and Open Championships as well as discuss any potential enhancements as the events continue to evolve.

“Our events are entering a new era, and we are excited about being able to update the look and feel of both the Women’s and Open Championships,” said Jack Mordini, USBC Vice President of Membership and Tournament Services in 2008. “By purchasing the Steltronic system, we are confident they will provide us with a great scoring system that will help enhance the tournament experience and create additional uniformity among the USBC events.”

While it currently is conducted in traditional bowling centers when not at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev., (every third year since in 1997) the USBC Women’s Championships will move into the convention center setting that has made the Open Championships a popular destination since 1901.

The Vision/Focus scoring system will be used for the first time when the Women’s Championships makes its arena debut for the 2010 event in El Paso, Texas. And because the Open Championships will be held at the National Bowling Stadium that year, the milestone Women’s Championships also will feature USBC’s new state-of-the-art LED scoreboards that will be used for the first time at the 2009 Open Championships in Las Vegas.

The new scoreboards, a product of Daktronics, are comparable to the over sized screens often found in sports venues and arenas across the country, but will offer a clearer picture thanks to the latest display technology. They will feature enhanced graphics with 4.4 trillion colors and streaming video capabilities and will be tagged as the world’s largest mobile scoreboard of its kind.

The flip-dot scoreboards currently being used at the Open Championships were introduced in 1979, the first year of automatic scoring on the tournament lanes, while the current scoring system was implemented in 1996.

“Our main goal is to provide our bowlers with a one-of-a-kind tournament experience, and we try to do that by showcasing the latest and greatest technology and features that the industry has to offer,” Mordini said. “We have confidence in the new Vision/Focus scoring system and feel that these upcoming changes are important to the evolution of our events.”