Bowling tournament side-action checklist

Everything that has to be decided, printed and reconciled to run bracket and side-pot action cleanly. Print it — this page is formatted to come out on paper without the navigation.

Written for tournament directors, bracket operators and bowling centers · last reviewed 2026-09-10

Weeks out

• Decide which side-action formats you are running
• Decide scratch, handicap, or both — and the basis and percentage if handicap
• Decide the rule for entrants with no established average
• Set entry fees per format
• Set the retain, and therefore the amount paid out per bracket or pot
• Decide how many places pay in each format
• Write the tie rule for every format on the card
• Decide the cut and split rules if you are running an eliminator
• Check local rules and your sanctioning body's requirements for the pots you plan to run
• Confirm who is working the desk and who can cover it

The day before

• Software installed, opens, and runs a test session end to end
• Printer tested with a real bracket sheet, not a test page
• Paper, toner and a spare printer cable
• Tablets charged and a test score entered if you are using tablet scoring
• Float counted into the drawer and written down
• Rules sheet printed for the desk — several copies

Before entries open

• Rules sheet visible where money changes hands, not filed behind the desk
• Entry fee, payout per bracket and retain stated in writing
• Tie rule stated in writing
• Sales cutoff stated in writing
• What happens to entries that do not fill a complete bracket, stated in writing
• Session created in the software with the right groups and fees

At the cutoff

• Stop selling. No exceptions — a late entry invalidates the counts
• Count the drawer against the entry list now, not at the end of the night
• Confirm every entry has a full name and a group
• Confirm ALL entries are recorded as ALL entries

Before game one

• Brackets built and the count checked against entries sold
• Over-buys capped and the refund list produced by name
• Refunds physically handed back
• Byes distributed across brackets, all in round one
• Bracket sheets printed
• Bowler list printed — which brackets each name is in
• Score sheets printed for the desk

During the squad

• Enter scores game by game, not in one batch at the end
• Post updated bracket sheets after each game
• Post alive lists after each game in cut formats
• Correct any wrong score immediately and re-post
• Answer “am I still in?” with a printed sheet, not from memory

At payout

• Payouts calculated from money actually collected
• Scratch and handicap payouts shown separately on the report
• Rounding applied the way you published it
• Individual payout slips available for anyone who asks
• Ties resolved by the posted rule, not by negotiation

Before you close the drawer

• Collected = paid out + retained + refunded. If not, find it now
• Session payout report printed and kept
• Refund column checked against the refunds you actually handed over
• Float removed and reconciled against what you started with
• Note anything that went wrong while it is still fresh — that note is next month's rules sheet

The walkthrough behind this checklist is how to run bowling brackets at a tournament, and the failure modes it is designed to prevent are in nine bracket operator mistakes.