The 2009 Avalonstar Bowling Extravaganza March 15, 2009

The 2009 Avalonstar Bowling Extravaganza is here. You ready? We're working on bringing you a great event, with a few changes.

For the sake of time on the lanes and frustration at registration, and for those that want to compete and are going to the Web Awards first, we're going to be doing a flat, "best-average-round" tournament. It'll be asynchronous as well, so you can come in at 7, bowl and leave. Or you can come in at 9, after the Web Awards, bowl and stay the rest of the time. The balls will be out, the pins will be up, all you have to do is come and enjoy yourself!

You can elect whether or not you and your peers wish to compete for prizes. If you do, you're held to the following rules:

- Six people per team.
- If you're competing for prizes, you MUST register with me on the Avalonstar Events site. We have to know who's scores we have to look at once the night ends.

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UPDATES!
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Hi everybody!

Bryan here. We're less than a week away from the 4th year of the Avalonstar Bowling Extravaganza! I wanted to take a moment to catch you guys up on what's been going on in case you haven't been keeping up with @theabx on Twitter as of late, and address some of the frequently asked questions.

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First and foremost, due to the unfortunate economic environment, many companies have opted to cut their sponsorship budgets for SXSW and we have come up short on dollars to secure The 300 this year. The sponsorships we have received from MailChimp, Electric Pulp and Butter Label are only enough to cover the two busses that will be getting you to and from the Convention Center. While it was our goal to keep the event free, as things stand right now, there are two options:

1) Bus you all there and have you rent your own shoes and pay for your own games.
2) Bus you all there and charge a $15 cover.

The first option won't work. First it's impersonal; we won't have the whole venue to ourselves. Second, it's expensive; shoes plus 5 hours worth of bowling can easily get out of hand. With that said, we're opting for the second option. We'll secure the venue and provide the event you have come to expect from us, but with a cover. The only expenses you'll have to worry about are food and the cover, since the nclud crew is sponsoring beer for a good amount of the event!

Again, right now the cover stands as $15, but that can go down depending on if we can get any more sponsors from now until the day of. On that note, if you have or are part of a company that would like to help sponsor the event, please contact me at [email protected]. I'll keep you up to date through blasts like this and @theabx on Twitter in case the amount does change. We hope that this doesn't discourage you from coming!

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Okay now to answer some questions:

Q: Do I need to be on a team to bowl?
A: No! You only need to be on a team if you're competing. If you just want to bowl, there'll be lanes for open bowling. If you're coming alone, we'll help you find some bowling buddies.

Q: Where can I register my team?
A: If you're competing, we'd love it if you register beforehand. While you're welcome to register at the event, it would make our jobs a lot easier. You can register using [this form](http://tr.im/hbVO).

Q: Does my team have to be there when the event starts?
A: Nope! We've chosen to forego the bracket style system to make the competition more flexible for all involved! Just let us know when you're coming using the registration form. We'll give you a few practice rounds, and then score one of them. You're then free to leave to keep partying or stay with us and keep bowling!

Q: Is there a hashtag we should be using when talking about it?
A: You can use "theabx" as a hashtag on Twitter and as a tag on any photos you post to Flickr.

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Remember you can read about the specifics of the event at the ABXs home at [Avalonstar Events](http://avalonstarevents.com). If you have any questions for me, email me at [email protected]!

Can't wait to see you all on Sunday! :)

Official Website: http://avalonstarevents.com/