Many of you ask us what these "VIP Squads" are all about!
The February and July TAT in Las Vegas has these, but it's still relatively new at TAT regionals, so here's a quick explainer...
Included with your tournament fee are entries into TWO events... the main tournament qualifier (where you could win $5,000) and the VIP tournament (where you could win $500). Each event has its own squad times.
There are typically two to three VIP squads at our events. They are ALWAYS on a fresh-oil condition. You bowl TWO games in a VIP squad, and ONLY your HIGH GAME counts!
Most bowlers use it as a "glorified practice session" where you have a chance to try out the pattern with different balls and lines of attack, but at much lower risk. It can really hurt your chances in the main event if you bowl a bad first game because you don't know how to play the lanes yet, but the VIP Tournament gives you a low-risk way to try some things out and figure out how you want to play the lanes for the main event. And if you happen to throw a big number out there, you could win some cash!
The cashing ratio for the VIP tournament is 1 in 8. All divisions are combined, and your high game with handicap is the only one that counts. Maximum score is 300 with handicap. First place is guaranteed $500, and low-to-cash is $30.
We will run $5 brackets with the VIP squads as well! How do we do that with only two games? Games 1 and 2 are as usual... but the last "game" is actually your 2-game series total.