About CTF

The CTF is a quality organization that has been around for many years (since 1968) and in 2004-2005 began offering services to members, Canadian tenpin bowlers. The CTF is a network of loyal supporters who not only enjoy the sport of tenpin bowling, but serve as national, provincial and local volunteers who help make organized bowling fair and enjoyable. They also work towards their goal of promoting the continued and sustainable development of bowling and the overall growth of our game across Canada.

CTF is anyone who bowls in a sanctioned league or tournament. It’s not just a small group of people who live in Lethbridge, Alberta that we send our money to. It’s volunteers who act as president, secretary and other officers of your bowling league. It’s members of your local bowling association and other local associations across Canada who volunteer their time and effort to make bowling a little better in your area. CTF also includes members of our provincial associations and all registered bowlers with the Canadian Tenpin Federation, as well as anyone else who volunteers on behalf of the sport.

As with all major sports, such as baseball, hockey or soccer, you must join the national governing body of the sport. Tenpin bowling fees are relatively low compared to other activities. The registration fee is divided into three parts: one part for the national headquarters (FCDQ), one part for the local association and one part for the provincial association. The national portion is $25. The remainder is split between the local and provincial associations (each region sets its own dues).

What does the FCDQ (national) do for you? This is not an exhaustive list, but a basic one.

• Provides league officers with the supplies and materials necessary for the proper operation of the league (manuals, rule books, registration cards, and more).
• They help resolve disputes that cannot be resolved at the local or provincial level.
• Provides rewards for scoring points in sanctioned leagues or tournaments (chevrons, pins, plaques, rings, etc.), for senior, adult and youth bowlers.
• Provides leagues with end of season rewards packages.
• The FCDQ sanctions tournaments, ensuring that rules and arrangements comply with FCDQ rules and policies, ensuring that the tournament is fair to all and that prize money is distributed fairly.
• As the governing body, the FCDQ establishes and maintains uniform and fair rules for the sport.
• Annually certifies bowling center lanes to ensure that the sport’s specifications are met, once again to ensure that everyone across the country competes under comparable and fair conditions.
• To maintain a website where our bowlers, volunteers and sport leaders can access appropriate information, forms, manuals and news about the tenpin bowling environment in Canada.
• Create and support a national coach development program to develop coaches across the country who, in turn, can help our bowlers, all of our bowlers, regardless of age, gender or skill level.
• Manage a National Team Program (part of our High Performance Program), which creates adult, youth and senior teams that compete internationally against other countries. It should be noted that none of the $25 registration fee that goes to CTF is used for Team Canada development, training, travel or direct competition expenses. These costs are funded by Sport Canada. As a note, starting with the 2014-15 bowling season, our delegates voted to allocate up to $1.00 of each registration fee to go directly to youth development.
• Organize three annual national tournaments – the Canadian Team Trials, the Canadian Mixed Championships and the Canadian Youth Championships.
• Provides an automatic bond for a league’s prize funds, should anything unfortunate happen to those funds.
• Produces a bi-monthly newsletter, called The FCDQ Connection.

As mentioned earlier, the portion of your registration fee over $25 goes to your local or provincial association. And what do they do for you?

• Provide local assistance to help you run your league or tournament, whether as part of its normal operations or to resolve issues or disputes.
• Organize local tournaments.
• Maintain a record of bowler averages in their jurisdiction, for each league in which they play.
• Most provincial associations hold an annual awards banquet.
• Some local associations have a free automatic accidental death and dismemberment insurance policy for every registered CTF bowler in their area.

The CTF is only as strong as its members, so it is important for bowlers to continue to support this organization and continue to register each year. If the CTF and indeed the rest of its network of provincial and local associations did not exist, bowling could no longer be a real sport. There would be no governing body, no one to represent the sport. There would be no one or no way to settle disputes within leagues or replace league funds if they disappeared. There would be no one to administer the rules of the game, to inspect bowling lanes and oiling habits, or to monitor and enforce standards. This would mean that there would be no guarantee of a “level playing field” for competitors from different centres. Comparisons and competitions on a city, province, country or even international scale would no longer make sense. And the dream of having tenpin bowling as an Olympic sport would be dashed.