Mission
ABOUT US
What is the Canadian Tenpin Federation, and what does it do for me?
CTF is a quality organization that has been in existence for many years (since 1968), and in 2004-05 started to also provide Membership Services for Canadian tenpin bowlers. 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 to make organized bowling fair and enjoyable. They also work towards their goal - to promote continued and sustainable bowling and overall growth for our game throughout Canada.
CTF is anyone and everyone who bowls in a sanctioned league or tournament. It is not just a small group of people who live in Lethbridge, Alberta to whom we send our money. It is the volunteers who act as President, Secretary, and other officers of your bowling league. It is the 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 consists of the members of our Provincial associations and all registered participants of the Canadian Tenpin Federation, as well as everyone else who acts as a volunteer on behalf of the sport.
Just like all the major sports, such as baseball, hockey, or soccer, there is a requirement to join the national governing body for the sport. Tenpin bowling's fee is quite small, compared to some of the others. The registration fee is broken up into a national (CTF) portion, a Local Association portion, and a Provincial Association portion. The National portion is $20. The remainder is split between the Local and Provincial association (each region sets its own fees).
What does CTF (National) do for you? This is not an all-inclusive list, but covers the basics.
- Supplies league officers with supplies and materials to run a league efficiently (manuals, rule books, registration cards, and more).
- They help to settle disputes which cannot be resolved at a local or provincial level.
- Supplies awards for scoring achievements in sanctioned league or tournament pla (chevrons, pins, plaques, rings, etc.), for seniors, adults and youth bowlers.
- Supplies leagues with end-of-season league awards kits.
- CTF sanctions tournaments, ensuring that the rules and provisions comply with CTF rules and policies, ensuring that the tournament is fair to all, and that prize money is distributed fairly.
- As the governing body, CTF sets and maintains consistent and fair rules for the sport.
- Certifies bowling centre lanes annually, to ensure that the sport's specifications are being adhered to, once again to ensure that everyone across the country is competing on comparable and equitable conditions.
- 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.
- Creates and supports a national coaching development program to train coaches across the country, who in turn, can help our bowlers, all our bowlers, regardless of age, sex, or skill level.
- Manage a National Team Program (part of our High Performance Program), which creates adult, youth, and senior teams who compete internationally against other countries. It should be mentioned that none of the $20 registration fee that goes to CTF is used for Team Canada development, training, travelling, or any direct competition expenses. Those costs are funded through Sport Canada One note, as of the 2014-15 bowling season, our Delegates voted to allocate up to $1,00 of every registration fee to go directly towards Youth Development.
- Operate three national annual tournaments - The Canadian Team Trials, Canadian Mixed Championships, and the Canadian Youth Championships.
- Provides automatic bonding for a league's prize funds, should something untoward happen to those funds.
- Produces a semi-monthly newsletter, called the CTF Connection.
As mentioned earlier, the portion of your registration fee above $20 goes towards your Local and Provincial Associations. And what do they do for you?- Provide local assistance to help you run your league or tournament, whether it be in its normal operations, or to address problems or disputes.
- Run local tournaments
- Keep a record of bowler's averages in their jurisdiction, for every league they bowl in.
- Most Provincial Associations run an annual awards banquet.
- Some of the Local associations have an automatic free Accidental Death and Dismemberment insurance policy for every registered CTF bowler in their region.
CTF is only as strong as its membership, so it is important for bowlers to continue to support this organization, and to continue to register each year. If the CTF, and of course the rest of its network – the Provincial and Local Associations – did not exist, bowling could no longer be a real sport. There would be no governing body, noone to represent the sport. There would be noone, or no way, to settle disputes in leagues, or to replace league funds if they go missing. There would be noone to manage the rules of the game, or to check on the bowling lanes and oiling patterns, or to monitor and enforce any standards. This would mean that there would be no guarantee of having “level playing fields” for competitors from different centres. It would make comparisons, and competitions, across the city, province, country, or even internationally, completely meaningless. And the dream of having tenpin bowling as an Olympic sport, would be dead.