This is one of the questions we hear most often: what is the difference between an entering average and a book average?
Book Average
Your book average is the average you finished with last year in that league. If you did not bowl in that league last year, it is your highest certified league average (USBC or CTF) from anywhere you bowled last year. Book averages are also used for local awards, such as a "100 over average" award, if a bowler earned that honor before finishing the minimum number of games the association requires.
Entering Average
Your entering average is used only for figuring handicaps during a set period. Leagues can decide their own rules for how this average is set.
Can Either Average Be Used for Handicaps at the Start of the Season?
Yes. But some leagues have their own special rules. For example, a league might say, "You must use your highest certified league average from the last three years."
Here is how that could play out: say a bowler finished last season with a 187 average in this league, but their highest certified average over the past three years was 202. In this case, the league must use 202 for handicap purposes, while the 187 still needs to be kept on record for association awards.
To handle this correctly in BLS-2027, the league should set its rules to use Entering Average, never Book Average. Then, for this bowler, you would enter 187 in the Book Average field and 202 in the Entering Average field.