The Tenpintour Story
THE BEGINNINGS
The first Tenpintour event was the Berkshire Senior Open which took place in 2011. Matchpoint Tours had run the tour with expertise and professionalism ever since Angie Brown and Robert Marchant won that first event. The tour was a profit-making sanctioned private tour, which provided significant prize money. Over six years Matchpoint had built up a very popular and exciting tour, enjoyed by a large pool of senior bowlers who met, made good friends and were able to enjoy good healthy competitive bowling.
In 2016 Matchpoint Tours decided that they could no longer support the tour because of a decline in numbers and other issues. The BTBA Chairman, Ron Griffin got together with Chris Skudder and put together a small team of people to take over the running of the tour under the direct control of the office of the Chairman of The BTBA with Liz Griffin and Chris Taaffe making up the other two. Ron and Liz took responsibility for the finances, processing bookings and squadding. Chris Taaffe and Chris Skudder shared tournament management duties with Ron and Liz. Chris Skudder also took on the responsibility of seeking out and booking bowling centres. Chris Taaffe took control of The Order Of Merit, TPT averages and built the website that we use today.
The new BTBA Tenpintour team wanted the tour to continue and not lose its spot on the BTBA calendar which was a very real possibility. We wanted a more open management style to be more inclusive and more reactive to the comments and suggestions made by the bowlers. All the people running the tour are competitors bowling in these events with us. A tour run by bowlers for bowlers under the umbrella of the BTBA on a tried and trusted format.
The first Tenpintour event was the Berkshire Senior Open which took place in 2011. Matchpoint Tours had run the tour with expertise and professionalism ever since Angie Brown and Robert Marchant won that first event. The tour was a profit-making sanctioned private tour, which provided significant prize money. Over six years Matchpoint had built up a very popular and exciting tour, enjoyed by a large pool of senior bowlers who met, made good friends and were able to enjoy good healthy competitive bowling.
In 2016 Matchpoint Tours decided that they could no longer support the tour because of a decline in numbers and other issues. The BTBA Chairman, Ron Griffin got together with Chris Skudder and put together a small team of people to take over the running of the tour under the direct control of the office of the Chairman of The BTBA with Liz Griffin and Chris Taaffe making up the other two. Ron and Liz took responsibility for the finances, processing bookings and squadding. Chris Taaffe and Chris Skudder shared tournament management duties with Ron and Liz. Chris Skudder also took on the responsibility of seeking out and booking bowling centres. Chris Taaffe took control of The Order Of Merit, TPT averages and built the website that we use today.
The new BTBA Tenpintour team wanted the tour to continue and not lose its spot on the BTBA calendar which was a very real possibility. We wanted a more open management style to be more inclusive and more reactive to the comments and suggestions made by the bowlers. All the people running the tour are competitors bowling in these events with us. A tour run by bowlers for bowlers under the umbrella of the BTBA on a tried and trusted format.
TPT TEAM HISTORY
In 2016 when the future of the tour was in jeopardy Ron and Liz Griffin together with Chris’ Skudder and Taaffe got together and were able to get the 2017 season up and running. There were some changes during the covid years as Ron and Liz stepped back from event to event background organisation and Dave Steiner, BTBA Secretary took up the reins. His wealth of experience and expertise over the years proved invaluable for the two years he was running things. Our most recent recruit is Kevin Rose who is BTBA Treasurer. He oversees finances, bookings, squads, prize money and averages. Kevins involvement has greatly improved the smooth running of the tour.
In 2016 when the future of the tour was in jeopardy Ron and Liz Griffin together with Chris’ Skudder and Taaffe got together and were able to get the 2017 season up and running. There were some changes during the covid years as Ron and Liz stepped back from event to event background organisation and Dave Steiner, BTBA Secretary took up the reins. His wealth of experience and expertise over the years proved invaluable for the two years he was running things. Our most recent recruit is Kevin Rose who is BTBA Treasurer. He oversees finances, bookings, squads, prize money and averages. Kevins involvement has greatly improved the smooth running of the tour.
THE FUTURE
The future of the tour is in the hands of us, the bowlers, and we anticipate that after seven years of the new regime the atmosphere of friendly competition continues to build year on year. The six game block format will remain the same, and looking forward, the direction of the tour will be driven by its bowlers. Every time a new member registers we add to the pool of people with ideas to improve the tour. There is a contact box where ideas, suggestions and criticisms are welcomed. Your positive feedback will be used as fuel to drive the tour in the right direction ensuring that we remain current and vibrant. All Criticisms and complaints will be acted upon, with the objective of keeping bowlers satisfied and to prevent any oversights or errors recurring.
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES
There is no central full time staffed office to oversee the tour, each tournament will be run as an individual event by The Tenpintour Team. The records of each tournament, Averages, OOM and future dates will all be kept up to date on this website. The 2025 season will see some changes to the rules brought about after consultation with the members of the tour
ENTRY FEES
The entry fees have been pegged to £50 per event and there is no additional membership or joining fee.
THE SHOWPIECE EVENT
There used to be a two major events in the Tenpintour calendar, one of which was in Gibraltar, the otherra Masters event. The Gibraltar tournament was a stand alone event but was dropped a couple of years before we took over. We have continued with our Masters event which we like to describe as our three-day bowling extravaganza and gets more popular every year. It has a lovely grandiose title:
THE BTBA TENPINTOUR BRITISH MASTERS
The Masters event is open to anybody that has competed in a minimum of five Tenpintour events over the course of the season. Gentlemen who finish in the top five positions, and the top four Ladies on the OOM tables will have earned complimentary entry. There will be re-entry opportunities if there any spots available.
All the details of which will appear on the MASTERS button on the HOME page of the website.
COMMUNICATION
Because this tour will be run by competing bowlers and there is no full-time staff, your emails will be going to somebody who is bowling alongside you. If you are unhappy with anything during an event, speak to the Tournament Manager first, or any member of The TPT Team. If necessary, use the contact page to bring it to our attention. If we are not aware of problems, we cannot address them. All criticisms and complaints will be acted upon, with the objective of keeping the tour running smoothly and to prevent any oversights or errors recurring.
THE TPT TEAM
Ron Griffin – TPT Consultant and Masters Supremo
Liz Griffin – TPT Consultant and Masters Supremo
Chris Skudder – Tournament Management, Centre Bookings and Raffle
Kevin Rose – Finances, Squadding, Averages, Tournament Management
Chris Taaffe – Runs The website, compiles the OOM and Tournament Management
RULES OF PLAY
A button that takes you to the rules of play appears on the HOME page, and these are the general rules of play that apply to all the TPT tournaments. The rules are there to ensure that all competitors bowl on equal terms, and because we are all senior bowlers, we should all be familiar with them. The rules for The Masters event differ because of the different format. We need to respect our fellow bowlers by keeping to the rules of play that have been formulated over the years by The BTBA and The TPT Team for our benefit.
The future of the tour is in the hands of us, the bowlers, and we anticipate that after seven years of the new regime the atmosphere of friendly competition continues to build year on year. The six game block format will remain the same, and looking forward, the direction of the tour will be driven by its bowlers. Every time a new member registers we add to the pool of people with ideas to improve the tour. There is a contact box where ideas, suggestions and criticisms are welcomed. Your positive feedback will be used as fuel to drive the tour in the right direction ensuring that we remain current and vibrant. All Criticisms and complaints will be acted upon, with the objective of keeping bowlers satisfied and to prevent any oversights or errors recurring.
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES
There is no central full time staffed office to oversee the tour, each tournament will be run as an individual event by The Tenpintour Team. The records of each tournament, Averages, OOM and future dates will all be kept up to date on this website. The 2025 season will see some changes to the rules brought about after consultation with the members of the tour
ENTRY FEES
The entry fees have been pegged to £50 per event and there is no additional membership or joining fee.
THE SHOWPIECE EVENT
There used to be a two major events in the Tenpintour calendar, one of which was in Gibraltar, the otherra Masters event. The Gibraltar tournament was a stand alone event but was dropped a couple of years before we took over. We have continued with our Masters event which we like to describe as our three-day bowling extravaganza and gets more popular every year. It has a lovely grandiose title:
THE BTBA TENPINTOUR BRITISH MASTERS
The Masters event is open to anybody that has competed in a minimum of five Tenpintour events over the course of the season. Gentlemen who finish in the top five positions, and the top four Ladies on the OOM tables will have earned complimentary entry. There will be re-entry opportunities if there any spots available.
All the details of which will appear on the MASTERS button on the HOME page of the website.
COMMUNICATION
Because this tour will be run by competing bowlers and there is no full-time staff, your emails will be going to somebody who is bowling alongside you. If you are unhappy with anything during an event, speak to the Tournament Manager first, or any member of The TPT Team. If necessary, use the contact page to bring it to our attention. If we are not aware of problems, we cannot address them. All criticisms and complaints will be acted upon, with the objective of keeping the tour running smoothly and to prevent any oversights or errors recurring.
THE TPT TEAM
Ron Griffin – TPT Consultant and Masters Supremo
Liz Griffin – TPT Consultant and Masters Supremo
Chris Skudder – Tournament Management, Centre Bookings and Raffle
Kevin Rose – Finances, Squadding, Averages, Tournament Management
Chris Taaffe – Runs The website, compiles the OOM and Tournament Management
RULES OF PLAY
A button that takes you to the rules of play appears on the HOME page, and these are the general rules of play that apply to all the TPT tournaments. The rules are there to ensure that all competitors bowl on equal terms, and because we are all senior bowlers, we should all be familiar with them. The rules for The Masters event differ because of the different format. We need to respect our fellow bowlers by keeping to the rules of play that have been formulated over the years by The BTBA and The TPT Team for our benefit.
