A CHANGE OF VENUE
There were some new issues facing the fledgling Xavier Alumni Bowling league entering its fourth season.
There had been growing unrest among some of the league participants in the previous years with the difficulty of playing at SM Megamall. Parking, is, of course, one of the inherent problems of playing at a large mall, and long queues for parking slots eventually resulted in many tardy players. Since there were rule penalties for being tardy, many teams found this a difficult burden, especially those teams which were in contention for the trophies. But parking would have been only a minor issue if not for some more fundamental problems.
For the more knowledgeable and serious bowlers, the
conditions and maintenance of the
SM Megamall lanes were noticeably deteriorating. Oil quality, sanding, and
resurfacing of the uneven lanes did not seem to be a priority then of the
bowling lane management, resulting in erratic ball reactions within the same
game, even among the better alumni bowlers. This led to poor scores, making each
throw down the lane a gamble and not a real test of bowling skill. Our
complaints about this matter to the SM Megamall Bowling Center management fell
on deaf ears. But the final nail on the coffin was the tendency of the
management to shut the air-conditioning of the center as the teams were just in
the middle of their fourth and final game of the evening. "To conserve
energy," we were told, because the fourth game usually ended just about the
time the bowling center ceases operations for the day. But what the management
disregarded was that the shutting of the air-conditioning affected not only the
lane conditions (drying up what oil remained on the lanes even faster than
normal), but led to a lot of humid, sweaty, and uncomfortable end-of-evenings
for the alumni. What a way to end what should have been a pleasurable night of
bowling! Here at Megamall was a prime example of a bowling center not very
concerned with the well-being of its customers.
So
Batch '72, the hosting batch for the fourth league, tried to do something
different for 1999: they decided to move the league from SM Megamall Bowling
Center in Mandaluyong to the more distant but better maintained Green Valley
Bowling Center in Pasig. Yet despite all the hassles that SM Megamall Bowling
Center had given us during the past years, there were surprisingly some
objectors. The hosting batch still had the final say, so the move to Green
Valley was made despite the objections; but at best it was a mixed reaction from
the participants, as half were happy with the move to Pasig, while the other
half begrudgingly had to comply. Perhaps the extra distance that had to be made
to Green Valley was not particularly welcome to these objectors, or maybe it was
the fact that SM Megamall provided other activities (like shopping, movies,
etc.) that made this venue more attractive. Whatever the reason, it is my
opinion that the bowling league was established not just for the camaraderie,
but also to give the players the best chance to bowl as well as their abilities
would let them, not to shop or watch a movie or to worry about the uneven lanes
and the discomfort of having no air-conditioning.
So the decision to move to Green Valley was made in
1999 – the correct choice, I must add, kudos to Batch '72 for making it -- and
in the end, it was a blessing in disguise for everyone.