About NEBA

Any bowler with a USBC membership in good standing may bowl NEBA with the exceptions of any PBA or PWBA member that has won a PBA, PWBA or PBA50 national tournament in the past five (5) years (U.S. Open and USBC Masters are exempt) or is in the top 40 on the national PBA points list for the prior season. Any NEBA member in good standing who wins a national title and maintains their NEBA membership can continue to compete in NEBA.  Example: Anthony Pepe was a NEBA member before he won his national PBA title, maintains his membership, and therefore he can continue to compete in NEBA.

NEBA is run by and for its members.  Day-to-day NEBA operations are handled by a board of directors which includes a President, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President, the NEBA Manager and Tournament Director, Past Presidents in Good Standing, and Members-at-Large. Day of tournament operations are executed by the NEBA Manager and Tournament Director. By law decisions are discussed and voted on by the full membership. Quarterly meetings are held to discuss NEBA operations, with a full, open to all meeting held in the 4^th quarter of each calendar year.

New ideas are proposed and discussed at board meetings, which are open to all NEBA members.  Board meetings are held once per quarter, typically on Zoom, with the annual meeting being held at the end of the year.  You can also discuss any idea for NEBA tournaments with anyone on the Executive Committee or Board of Directors.

A typical NEBA tournament consists of a five-game qualifying squad, followed by a bracket-style one game elimination finals.  There are typically three squads, Saturday at 6 PM, and Sunday at 9:00 AM and 12:30 PM.  Reentries are permitted.  There is typically no reoil for the 12:30 squad, but there is a reoil for the finals.  Variations on this format include eliminator finals, and some special formats for majors, for example round robin match play for the Cambridge Credit Invitational, or double elimination finals for the NEBA Masters.  A complete list of NEBA tournament formats can be found in the Tournament Rules.

The large majority of sponsorship money each year is distributed directly to prize funds at each event, while the remaining money is used to offset NEBA expenses.  Each Board meeting, a complete financial analysis of the prior quarter is reviewed.

NEBA uses QuickBooks to track all of its finances.  A full tournament accounting is provided after each NEBA event, and more generalized financial statements such as profit and loss statements and balance sheets are reviewed at each board meeting and available to NEBA members upon request.

NEBA requires a shirt with a polo-type collar, mock neck collar, or crew neck collar with the bowler’s name visible on the back.  Only previous NEBA champions are permitted to wear white shirts.  Women may wear capris and skirts.  Shorts and jeans are allowed (if they present a neat appearance), but there are restrictions on gym/athletic wear, leggings and yoga pants.  The Tournament Director has complete discretion over acceptable dress for NEBA.  New bowlers to NEBA have until their 3rd tournament to obtain a proper jersey/shirt with their name on the back.  For a complete description of NEBA’s dress code, see the Tournament Rules.

Reservations can be made on the NEBA website by going to ‘Upcoming Tournaments’  and selecting the event found here.  To change or cancel a reservation, please contact the NEBA tournament director: neba.tdjustin@gmail.com

Any ball approved by USBC that has reached its worldwide release date can be used in NEBA.  The worldwide release date rule is so that all NEBA bowlers have access to the same equipment.  Bowlers using equipment that has not reached its worldwide release date will have their scores for that squad disqualified.

The schedule committee partners with representation from each bowling center in advance of their event to collectively select a pattern.

For regular doubles tournaments, only one previous champion is permitted per team unless the person has not won a NEBA, PBA, or PWBA title within the last ten (10) years. For over/under 50 doubles tournaments, only one previous NEBA champion is permitted per team unless the person has not won a NEBA, PBA, or PWBA title within the last five (5) years. 
For more details on NEBA doubles events and who can bowl together, see the Tournament Rules.

Trios teams must consist of a minimum of one (1) non-champion and a maximum of one (1) multi-time champion.  For more details on NEBA trios events and who can bowl together, see the Tournament Rules.

The first best way to engage with NEBA is to attend a quarterly board meeting, which is open to all NEBA members.  Look for the public announcement on Facebook.  There is also a Board of Directors which takes new applications each year.  There are also numerous committees that help NEBA run that you can apply to assist with - examples include the tournament committee, social media, sponsorship, and Hall of Fame.  There are many non-paid volunteers that contribute to NEBA’s success.