We had a lane break down last week.

While the other lane was being repaired one of the bowlers decided to stay "warmed up" by bowling several frames on the lane that was still functioning properly.  No one asked him to stop.  When the other half of the pair was fixed, the bowler erased the scores that had been recorded during his extra "practice".

Is this legal?

I'm pretty sure it is not "legal", however there is nothing to be done at this late date. Someone should have had the presence of mind to tell him to stop doing it.

Agreed... someone should have said something.

The opposing team has filed a protest. 

 Our USBC rep says that he's never heard of anything like this - so we're going to set a precedent.

Dean,

There is no rule here.  Therefore it is legal.  This would be difficult to legislate.  This infringes on the rights of the proprietor.  Hey the lane broke down so I am going to allow my customers to stay warmed up. 

If it is this player's turn then the first frame that he bowls is legal, and all other frames come under the rule of bowling out of turn.

PrinceVince:

Dean,

 

There is no rule here.  Therefore it is legal.  This would be difficult to legislate.  This infringes on the rights of the proprietor.  Hey the lane broke down so I am going to allow my customers to stay warmed up. 

If it is this player's turn then the first frame that he bowls is legal, and all other frames come under the rule of bowling out of turn

ok, so i know this suggestion is completely out of line and obviously, i have no idea what i'm talking about, but...

how complicated would it have been for the player to ASK SOMEONE (preferably an employee of the center) if there was a way to switch their lanes back to practice mode in order to stay warmed up instead of screwing up all those frames? i'm thinking not so much. i know that the center i work in has a way to quickly switch lanes between practice mode and scoring mode (both open-play and lanes that are set for league play), and i would guess that most centers have that ability, whether they advertise it or not.

i know that most people don't see it this way, but asking questions usually saves a lot of time and energy in the long run.

You have to speak up.  Tell the person he can't do that.  If he persists kick him in the......