World Tenpin Bowling Association

World Ranking Masters Rules

Effective for the WRM 2008
 

Introduction

The World Ranking System was created by the WTBA Presidium at a meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, USA on 14 April 1999 to be in effect as of 1 January 2000.

The purpose of the World Ranking System is to attract top players, sponsors, television companies and other media to important tournaments and by publishing ranking lists to ensure that media all over the world are continuously familiar with the actual ranking of top players.

The World Ranking System is divided into three different ranking-systems, one for each of the three Zones: the American, the Asian and the European. The time period for each of the Zone ranking systems is identical to the calendar year.

Each Zone is administrating its own ranking system and the Zone is furthermore deciding which tournaments to include, how to award points and other basic criteria for their ranking system. The overall concept of each Zone ranking system must be approved by the WTBA Presidium.

After the conclusion of each tournament included in a Zone ranking system an updated ranking standing for women respectively men must be produced and published at the website of the Zone. The annual Zone rankings are the ranking standings for each sex at the end of the calendar year.

The World Ranking Masters (WRM) is the final of the World Ranking System. The WRM is conducted annually during the first half year following the conclusion of the three Zone ranking systems. The WRM will include the top ranked players (as specified in these rules) from each of the annual Zone rankings.

The WRM is owned and governed by WTBA. The WRM Rules are maintained by and can only be changed by the WTBA Presidium.

In addition to these rules, Chapters 2, 4, 10, 11 and 12 of the WTBA Rules shall apply.

1. WRM hosts and their obligations

1.1 WRM hosts

1. WRM hosts are appointed by the WTBA Presidium
2. Agreements with WRM hosts can be made for a number of years ahead
3. A WRM host can be a federation, a company or an investor as decided by the WTBA Presidium in each case

1.2 Financial commitments

1. Provide a part of the total prize pool (see 3.1)
2. Airport pick-up and return
3. Transportation between the designated hotel and the bowling centre
4. Bowling expenses for all official practise and competition
5. Tournament administration costs
6. Opening and closing ceremonies
7. Welcome reception and players party (both optional)

1.3 Media facilities and press relations

1. Media room with seats, tables and space for all accredited press officials
2. Necessary media equipment such as pc’s and Internet connections
3. Advertising material to be distributed in the local area
4. Press releases to be distributed to the local and national media

1.4 Results services

1. A computerised system for accurate recording of the results
2. A website dedicated to the event
3. Results and standings presented in the centre on screens and/or at paper issues after each game played
4. Results and standings presented at the event website after each game played
5. A completed electronically list of results presented on the event website at the conclusion of the event

1.5 Participant services

1. Players Information (content to be agreed upon with the WTBA Tournament Director) to be distributed in due time to all qualified players and their federations
2. Continuous day by day communication with players, officials and federations
3. Special invitations by demands, for visa and/or other purposes

1.6 Other arrangements

1. Agreements with hotels, bus company and other relevant parties
2. Provide food facilities or agreements with near by situated restaurants
3. Agreement for medical personnel on call

2. WTBA officials

2.1 WTBA Tournament Director

1. A WTBA Tournament Director will be appointed by the WTBA President
2. The WTBA Tournament Director will visit the tournament site at least half a year prior to the event for a pre-inspection visit
3. The WTBA Tournament Director will be present in due time before and during the event to assist the host Tournament Manager
4. All expenses related to activities for the WTBA Tournament Director will be paid by WTBA unless otherwise agreed with the host

2.2 WTBA Technical Delegate

1. A WTBA Technical Delegate will be appointed by the WTBA President
2. The WTBA Technical Delegate will visit the tournament site at least half a year prior to the event for technical inspection of lanes, pinsetters and other equipment
3. The WTBA Technical Delegate will be present in due time before and during the event to assist the technical staff of the host
4. All expenses related to activities for the WTBA Technical Delegate will be paid by WTBA unless otherwise agreed with the host

3. Prize money

3.1 Prize money pool

1. The prize money pool will be not less than USD 65.000
2. USD 5.000 will be provided by each Zone, invoiced by WTBA and transferred to the host in due time before the event
3. The remaining amount will be provided by the host
4. Prizes to be awarded to all winners during the event

3.2 Prize money distribution

1. The prize money pool will be split equally between women and men
2. The prize money distribution will be decided in cooperation between the host and the WTBA Tournament Director for a final approval by the WTBA President

4. Participants

4.1 Divisions

1. There will be a women division including a maximum of 25 players
2. There will be a men division including a maximum of 25 players
3. Both divisions will be conducted with the same format as presented in these rules

4.2 Qualified players

1. The top 8 from the annual Zone ranking in the American Zone
2. The top 8 from the annual Zone ranking in the Asian Bowling Federation
3. The top 8 from the annual Zone ranking in the European Tenpin Bowling Federation
4. One player picked by the host if none of the players qualified in a-c are from the country of the host

4.3 Withdrawals

1. If a qualified player withdraws, the next player on the list in the annual Zone ranking will be invited
2. If the player picked by the host withdraws, it is the obligation of the host to pick another player

4.4 Players expenses

1. There will be no entry fee for the players
2. The costs for participation is the responsibility of each player
3. The players can be subsidized by a national federation, by a Zone or by a sponsor

5. Competition

5.1 Format

1. There will be at least one hour of official practise prior to the qualification
2. There will be 24 games of qualification for all participants
3. The top 8 after the qualification will qualify for the quarter finals
4. The four winners of the quarter finals will qualify for the semi finals
5. The two winners of the semi finals will qualify for the final

5.2 Lane conditions

1. There will be two lane conditions in all stages of the tournament, a short oil condition and a long oil condition
2. In the official practise players are alternating between the two conditions shift by shift
3. In the qualification 12 games will be played on the short condition and 12 games will be played on the long condition
4. In matches in quarter finals, semi finals and the final the players are alternating between the two conditions game by game
5. All matches in the quarter finals, semi finals and the finals will be played on one pair of lanes with one lane being short and the other long.

6. Official practise

6.1 Lanes to be used

1. The official practise will be played on the qualification lanes
2. During the official practise the players will be scheduled to practise on all qualification lanes
3. During the official practice the lanes will be conditioned with one lane of each pair being short and the other long

6.2 Lane assignments

1. The starting lane for each player will be decided by a draw
2. There will be a number of shifts, each on a pair of lanes, depending on the number of lanes to be used
3. The duration of each shift will depend on the number of lanes to be used and the duration of the official practise

7. Qualification Squads

7.1 Squads

1. There will be 10 minutes of practise on the starting pair of lanes before the first game in each squad
2. There will be 3 squads of 8 games
3. In squad 1 all lanes will be dressed with the short condition
4. In squad 2 all lanes will be dressed with the long condition
5. In squad 3, the left lane on the first pair will be dressed with the long condition and the right lane will be dressed with the short condition. On the second pair the left lane will be dressed with the short condition and the right with the long condition. Alternating across the pairs used in the squad.

7.2 Lanes to be used

1. The lanes to be used are decided by the Tournament Technical Committee
2. The same lanes will be used for all three qualification squads, unless spare lanes are temporarily used as a consequence of technical errors
3. The 8 games in a squad must be played on 8 different pair of lanes, unless the number of lanes in the centre is less than 16

7.3 Lane assignments

1. The number of players per pair of lanes can be from 2 to 6, depending on the number of lanes available in the centre
2. The starting lane for each player will be decided by draw
3. The method of lane movements will be decided by the Tournament Technical Committee

7.4 Squad rankings

1. In each squad the players will be ranked according the result after 8 games
2. In case of a tie in the squad the highest ranked player will be the player with the highest last game. If a tie still exists the highest ranked player will be the player with the highest second last game, then the player with the highest third last game etc.
3. Each squad ranking must be published separately from the qualification ranking

7.5 Qualification ranking

1. The players will be ranked according to the total after 24 games
2. In case of a tie in the qualification ranking the highest ranked player will be the player with the highest last game in the last squad. If a tie still exists the highest ranked player will be the player with the highest second last game in the last squad, then the player with the highest third last game in the last squad etc. If all 8 games in the last squad are tied, then the highest ranked player will be the player with the highest last game in the second last squad etc.
3. The top 8 players will be seeded 1-8 according to their positions in the qualification ranking
4. The qualification ranking must be published separately from the squad rankings

7.6 Withdrawals

1. In case of withdrawal from a qualification squad the player will be replaced by a pacer
2. If a player withdraws from a qualification squad as a consequence of illness or injury, the player might play the following qualification squads

8. Quarter finals, semi finals and final

8.1 Matches

1. There will be 7 matches (four quarter finals, two semi finals and one final)
2. There will be a maximum of three games in each match
3. A match will be combined as the highest seeded player vs. the lowest seeded player

8.2 Lanes to be used

1. The lanes to be used are decided by the Tournament Technical Committee
2. Each match will be played on one pair of lanes
3. The left lane will be dressed with short condition
4. The right lane will be dressed with long condition

8.3 Lane assignment

1. For the quarter finals and the semi finals the highest seeded player will draw for the pair of lanes for their match. The highest seeded player to draw first, then the second highest seeded player etc.
2. There will be 10 minutes of practise of the pair of lanes before each match
3. After the practise the highest seeded player will decide whether the first game will be played on the left lane or the right lane. The second game will be played on the opposite lane and the third game will be played on the same lane as the first game
4. The highest seeded player is deciding whom of the two players to begin the first game. In the second game the order of players will be opposite to the first game and in the third game the order of players will be as the first game

8.4 How to decide the winner of a match

1. If the same player is the winner of the first two games in a match, no third game will be played
2. In case of a tie in a game a one ball roll off on a full set of pins will be played, repeated until the tie is broken
3. For the first roll of shot the highest seeded player will choose the order of play. For a second roll of shot the order of players will be opposite to the first shot etc.
4. In case of withdrawal from a match, the player without opponent shall be declared the winner of the match

9. World Ranking

9.1 Positions

1. The winner of the final shall be positioned as number 1 in the ranking and the loser of the final as number 2 in the ranking
2. The losers of the semi finals shall be positioned as numbers 3 and 4 in the ranking according to their seeding after the qualification
3. The losers of the quarter finals shall be positioned as numbers 5, 6, 7 and 8 in the ranking according to their seeding after the qualification
4. The remaining players will be positioned 9-NN in the ranking according to their position at the end of the qualification

9.2 Ranking list

1. The final positions of the players shall form the World Ranking until the conclusion of the next World Ranking Masters
2. The World Ranking List will be published on the WTBA website and on all websites of the Zones