Sanctioning

1. The 2025 Palm Springs Desert Invitational Classic (PSDIC) is a USBC sanctioned tournament.  All participants are subject to the USBC rules and jurisdiction for the event.  The tournament is a mixed handicap competition and is by invitation only.
2. All participants must be a member of USBC and be able to provide proof of membership.
3. All participants must be a member of IGBO. Participants without a current membership may renew or become a new Associate member by going to the IGBO website.

Event Participation

4. Palm Springs Desert Invitational Classic welcomes all bowlers regardless of their gender identity. PSDIC will allow all bowlers to compete using the gender with which they identify.
5. The handicap tournament events shall be as follows: Singles, Doubles and Team. An optional Scratch Masters Event will also be offered.
6. Each participant shall bowl three (3) games per event and must enter all three events. Teams will consist of four (4) members.  Doubles partners must come from the same team.
7. Each Participant may bowl only once in each event.
8. Professional bowlers, defined as any person who has been a “card-carrying” member of a professional bowling organization within the past twelve months, shall be permitted to bowl the PSDIC tournament as follows:
   
   1. No more than one professional bowler in any four-player lineup.
   2. Professional bowlers must identify themselves at the time of registration.
   3. In the event that a professional bowler does not provide proper identification prior to bowling, they will be disqualified and forfeit all entry fees and prize winnings from this tournament.

Awards and Prizes

9. Awards will be given in the Handicap Tournament for the best Single, Doubles, Team, and Individual All-Events. Individual All-Events is defined as the nine (9) game total plus handicap of an individual bowler.
10. The award ratio for the Handicap Tournament shall be at a minimum of 1:10, except for Individual All Events, which shall be at least 1:25.
11. Prizes will be distributed by check within thirty (30) days of the completion of the tournament, barring any protests. A tie in any position will result in the sum of the prizes being aggregated for the tied positions and divided equally by the number of ties for that placing.

Entering Averages and Handicap

12. Any bowler entering PSDIC must have an established ten-pin average acceptable to USBC. The highest average of A or B below, if no A or B, then C or D.
    
    1. The 2024/2025 USBC STANDARD COMPOSITE AVERAGE, with a minimum of 21 total games bowled. The committees final check of the USBC website for updated composite average will be on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, prior to the tournament.
    2. IGBO TAD average with a minimum of 18 games (one year preceding October 15, 2025).
    3. 2023/2024 USBC STANDARD COMPOSITE AVERAGE, with a minimum of 21 total games
    4. If none of the above is available, an entering average of 230 or an average established by the tournament director(s) considering information available for the bowlers
13. PSDIC is opting out of USBC Rule 319A-2, which states if your current average is 10 pins higher than the above average, requires the bowler to use their current average.
14. USBC Rule (319c) permits a Tournament Director to assign a higher average prior to participation in each event. If the bowler is unwilling to accept the higher average, they are entitled to a full refund of their event entry.
15. Failure to provide proper documentation or providing the wrong average shall disqualify tournament scores if the submitted average is lower than the actual average. In this instance, the bowler will forfeit their entry fee and any other prizes and awards and will also be required to return all winnings from optional events. All prize winnings will be awarded on the submitted average if it’s higher than the actual average. Entries received whose average cannot be verified will be considered incomplete and not considered for tournament entry until verified.
16. It shall be the responsibility of each bowler to report their correct average, whether submitted by the bowler, team captain or others. Entering averages must be verified by either:
    • USBC Averages listed the USBC website.
    • IGBO TAD
    • Email PDF of League Standing Sheet(s) including league secretary’s name and phone number.
    • League sheet from League Secretary
17. Failure to provide proper documentation or providing the wrong average shall disqualify tournament scores if the submitted average is lower than the actual average. In this instance, the bowler will forfeit their entry fee and any other prizes and awards, and will also be required to return all winnings from optional events. All prize winnings will be awarded on the submitted average if it is higher than the actual average. Entries received whose average cannot be verified will be considered incomplete and not considered for tournament entry until verified.
18. PSDIC has waived USBC rule 319(d) and does not require bowlers to report winnings from prior tournaments.
19. The handicap for the tournament shall be based on 90% of the difference between the bowler’s entering average (as determined above) and a scratch of 230. Negative handicaps shall NOT apply.

Attendance and Substitutes

20. It is solely and entirely the bowler’s responsibility to be present at the assigned lanes at the time of bowling. Each bowler shall have the total responsibility to arrive on time to bowl. Transportation failures, excessive traffic, improper directions and related reasons DO NOT alter the application of Rule 22 below (USBC rules will apply).
21. Complete doubles and team entrants must be present for bowling each event. If a team member is not present; the team may use an authorized substitute (Rule 23). If no substitute is available, a zero score will be used for the missing bowler or bowlers.
22. Late bowlers will begin bowling in the frame in which they are ready, with prior frames being scored as zero. No practice balls will be allowed for late bowlers.
23. Substitutes and replacement bowlers with an entering average of 230 or less are eligible to bowl at the discretion of the tournament director(s). Their entering average must comply with Rule 319. Substitutes must check in with tournament director prior to bowling.
24. Bowlers will be allowed 10 minutes of practice before the start of each event.

Entry Requirements

25. Entries must be submitted online. Entry fees may be paid at the same time as the entry is submitted or later. A team’s shift spot or participation in the tournament is not guaranteed until payment and requested information has been received for all bowlers on the team. Entries shall be limited to the maximum of 336 bowlers. Once the maximum has been reached, you will be placed on a waitlist. The entry deadline is September 30, 2025. Entry acceptance will be based solely on the order in which they are received as they are timestamped. Once an entry has been accepted, NO REFUNDS will be issued except as stated in Rule 14.
    Additional fees are required to enter Scratch Masters and other optional events. These fees may be paid with the entry fee or at the time of check-in at the tournament. Credit cards, debit cards and cash are accepted at check-in.

26. Partial team entries will be accepted; however, partial teams may not be assigned the requested squad. The registrar will make every effort to fill any vacancies.

Protests

27. Any claims of errors or disputes must be submitted in writing to the tournament director(s) within one (1) hour of the error/dispute or prior to tournament prizes being paid; whichever occurs first. The protesting bowler(s) or team and the tournament director(s) shall settle the dispute according to PSDIC and USBC Tournament rules. The decision of Tournament management shall be final unless a written appeal is filed with USBC Headquarters within the time limits defined in USBC Rule 329. If a protest or appeal is filed, tournament management will withhold all affected or potentially affected prizes until the protest or appeal is fully resolved.

General

28. All participants are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that is always courteous and respectful to others. Bowlers exhibiting any behavior that is disrespectful to anyone in the bowling house (e.g. verbal abuse, physical abuse, inappropriate language) will be disqualified from the competition and removed from the premises. Other possible consequences can be, but not limited to, reporting of any incidents to IGBO and/or USBC.

Optional Scratch Masters

29. The Optional Scratch Masters, in conjunction with PSDIC 2025, is a separate optional competition open to all bowlers entered in PSDIC 2025. Bowlers are assigned a division based on their entering average.
30. The nine (9) game scratch total from the handicap tournament is used to determine the eight (8) qualifiers and one (1) alternate for the competition. Scores from the handicap tournament do not carry over. In case of a tie for the 8th position, a 9th and 10th frame roll-off will determine the qualifier prior to start of bowling on Sunday morning.
31. The eight (8) qualifiers in ALL divisions will bowl a 3-game match game against one of the other seven (7) qualifiers as follows: #1 bowls #8, #2 bowls #7, #3 bowls #6, #4 bowls #5. The winners of each 3-game match will move on to the top four (4). The top four (4) will bowl a one-game head-to-head match play as follows: #1 bowls #4, #2 bowls #3. The winner of these two (2) matches will then go on to the Finals to determine the Scratch Masters Division winner.
32. Lane assignments for each Scratch Masters division will be determined on Sunday morning prior to bowling.
33. In the event of a tie during the matches, a 9th and 10th frame roll-off will determine the winner.
34. The competition will begin at 8:30 am on Sunday, October 19, 2025. ALL Scratch Masters divisions will bowl at the scheduled time at Palm Springs Lanes.
35. Bowlers must check in by 8:00am, but no later than 8:15am. Any bowlers not checked in by 8:15 am will be replaced with alternates, forfeiting participation rights. NO EXCEPTIONS and NO REFUNDS.
36. Bowlers will be allowed ten (10) minutes of practice prior to the 3-game match. Two (2) practice balls will be allowed for the Top 4 and Final competition. No open bowling will be allowed prior to the Scratch Masters event.
37. Any claims of error in the roll-off competition must be submitted before the start of the next match. In case of an error in the final match, any claims must be reported within ten (10) minutes after the end of the last match.
38. The Optional Scratch Masters payout will be 100% of the entry fees (lineage will be paid by PSDIC). The award ratio by division shall be at a minimum of 1 in 2 entries, with a maximum of eight (8) places paid in each division.
39. If fewer than eight (8) bowlers in any Division sign up for Optional Scratch Masters, the division may be cancelled and entrants will be given the option of having their fee refunded or moving up to the next higher division, except Division A.