Travel, arrival and check-in

USBC Travel From flights to hotel accommodations, USBC Travel can help you and your teammates with all of your travel needs.

As a USBC member, you are entitled to the best deals and rates, which now include a 5-percent discount to this year’s host cities on American Airlines. (For the Open Championships, use the promotion code 3421BQ. For the Women’s Championships, use 8241BP).

For help with your travel accom- modations, visit www.BOWL.com/ travel.

Prior to your trip In the weeks leading up to your trip, remember to review the tournament rules and dress code, and familiarize yourself with the latest airport and travel regulations.

Check the weather report for your destination city to make sure you pack accordingly, and always allow some extra time for unexpected delays when heading to the airport.

Utilize Bowling Ball Express Forget about airline baggage fees or lugging your bowling balls through the airport. Ship your equipment right to the National Bowling Stadium or Oncenter with Bowling Ball Express.

USBC continues to work with UPS to provide this premium service at reasonable rates so your equipment will be waiting for you when you arrive. Remember, if your team ships four cases, the fifth is free.

For a complete list of shipping guidelines and answers to all of your questions, visit www.BOWL.com/bbe or e-mail BBE@bowl.com.

2011 USBC WOMEN’S AND OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS: Click on the play button (above) to watch video about the championships.

When to arrive Though the team captains are responsible for the paperwork and checking in the team, it is a good idea for all bowlers to arrive early and make sure everything is in order. Arriving well before your scheduled squad time gives you a chance to get a feel for the venue and layout and what the day will entail. Then, you simply can focus on having an enjoyable time on the lanes.

For the team event, captains should check in no later than two hours before their scheduled squad times. For doubles and singles squads, you should arrive no later than one hour before your scheduled squad time. You don’t have to wait until the day you bowl to check in and get all of your paperwork in order. Feel free to come by any time.

• Squad times for the Open Champion- ships: Team squads at 2:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Doubles and singles squads at 7 a.m., 9:20 a.m., 11:40 a.m., 5:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.

• Squad times for the Women’s Champion- ships: Team squads at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Doubles and singles squads at 7 a.m., 2 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Getting checked in

and other roles of the team captain One of the first stops for your team captain after arriving at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno or Syracuse’s

Oncenter will be the Check-in/ Registration counter.

Team captains should bring all materials when checking in, including the average history questionnaire sheet (green for the Open Championships, pink for the Women’s Championships), USBC membership cards (or copies) for each team member, average verification sheet and other information needed or requested by the entries department.

Again, feel free to stop by and check in any time after you arrive and get settled. The counters are staffed most days from 6 a.m. to midnight. Just remember, the peak times for check-in are the two hours before each team event.

Another important role of the team captain is verifying participation and accomplishments for each bowler on the team. We strive to recognize longtime participants, so knowing how many years of participation each bowler has, or if anyone has a tournament-related accomplishment such as honor scores, titles, etc., helps ensure the accuracy of the daily announcements. We don’t want anyone to be left out!

An early arrival also makes sure everyone has plenty of time to get their bowling balls checked for weight and balance (Open Championships only), have their team photo taken, sign up for brackets and other side events,