On Tuesday, 21 September 1999 16:15:00, Dennis Grant tickled the keys thusly:
> The class: Bowling Shoe Unlimited (BSU)
> BSU.1.0 Vehicle Eligibility - All vehicles, of any name, brand or make. It's
> about the shoes, silly!
It was my understanding that there were no vehicles to be listed as eligible for
this class, since it's all about the shoes. If we are to have any hope of
having this accepted by the SEB and its BSCAC subgroup, we'll need to clean up
the wording to remove the "silly" part and the exclamation point.
> BSU.2.0 Competitor Clothing - All competitors must wear FIB (la Federation
> Internationale de Bowling) homoglated footwear. Shoes with a combined
> production level of less than 1000 pairs in less than 3 sizes will not be
> classed, and must compete in the appropriate Mod class. Shoes must not have
any
> appreciable tread depth, but 5 holes of no more than 1/8" in diameter (to
serve
> as wear indicators) are allowed.
What about the transition from heel to main sole? Doesn't that constitute a
lateral tread groove of sorts? Also, what about special rain soles for
inclement weather? After all, the SCCA isn't the Detroit area chapter of a
certain Italian marque club: the SCCA plays in the rain, too, and doesn't cancel
events if there's a greater than 30% chance of showers.
> Spec shoes, ranging from size 3 to size 17, will be provided by SCCA
Enterprises
> for a small rental fee at National Tours and ProSolos.
We need to clarify that this includes half sizes. I'd also be concerned about
the cost to the membership as shoes larger than size 14 are usually custom-made
at substantial extra cost over the "production" shoes. Also, remember the
initial investment cost in putting those little shoe bins in the SCCA's
equipment trailer. Maybe they can locate a used one at a Denver-area bowling
alley for a reasonable cost. At least they won't take up as much space in the
trailer as the karts did.
This also provides a new SCCA Solo Field Staff position: Mr. (or Ms.) Bowling
Shoe Giver-Outer. I can smell the Mountain Freshness of the sanitizing spray
already. I hope this position is eligible for the free weekend vacation in
Steamboat Springs with the rest of the Field Staff and Coreworker positions.
> Shoes may be torn down in Impound and inspected by the Chief Steward. Gel
> sections, cushions, air bladders, or any other form of comfort-improvement
> devices are strictly forbidden, with the exception of one set of 1/4" thick
> Odor Eaters (TM). Shoes must be of leather or Naugahyde (TM) construction,
with
> the exception of a safety toecap, which may be of metal or composite
> composition.
What about steel shanks or reinforced lasts?
> Special "R" compound soles are allowed, unless specifically placed on an
> exclusion list. There are currently no entries on this list. Regions may
decide
> to run separate classes for non-R-compound soles.
How will we determine R compound soles? With a durometer or will the
manufacturers self-certify with a solewear rating of 140 or better? Doesn't
self-certification open up a whole barrel of anacondas? I mean, the shoe guys
have already said they can build a stickier sole than the current Hoosier
Bowling Shoe and slap a 140 solewear rating on it if they want.
Also, what about traction-improving compounds. I'm sure Rocky has a bunch of
Formula V he'd love to sell to willing BSU participants. Imagine how long a
gallon of that would last if you had Paula Leverone-sized feet! (Imagine how
short a gallon of that would last if you had Size 13 feet like me...)
> The heel must form a separate part of the shoe, and must be attached with
nails
> or glue. Subsole connectors are forbidden.
Again, what about factory-installed steel shanks or other last reinforcement?
Would that bump the shoe into BS-Prepared or BSM? I think we need to make some
exception for factory-installed components.
We may need some sort of eligible shoe model listing to prevent grey-market and
Canadian-spec curling shoes from competing in BSU. The Canadian clubs can
create their own Curling Shoe classes if they wish, using their standard
"points" system for classification of modifications, but we don't want any of
those "cheater" curling shoes taking trophies away from hard-working US-spec
Bowling Shoe Unlimited competitors.
All-in-all, it sounds like a great idea, just a bit short of a "turkey", but it
needs a little detail work to get past that 7-10 split. Consulting with
experienced bowlers will help refine the rules package, lest we as SCCA again
write rules for a category without actually looking at what the intended
demographic has already done to their shoes.
Jim Crider
Size 13D, BSU
#65 ESP 1999 Mustang Cobra (still amazed at the number of people who should have
known little of '99 Cobras but asked me at Nats if I'd had the update done to
the car yet - it goes in next week)
Several places removed from DFL at Nats, and that's not bad for a 3460 lb.,
factory-as-delivered car with wider wheels, the "wrong" tires, and a steering
wheel spacer still purging 5 years of FWD poisoning from his system.
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