The United States Bowling Congress has revoked approval of two Motiv brand bowling balls and removed them from the list of balls approved for competition effective today, March 15, 2016. The revocation comes after USBC determined that the Jackal and Jackal Carnage balls do not comply with current specifications and requirements in the USBC Equipment Specifications and Certifications Manual.

USBC testing showed a significant percentage of the Jackal and Jackal Carnage, both produced by Motiv, exceeded the maximum 0.060" differential radius of gyration standard specification during spot checks of bowling balls in the field. Both balls were originally approved based on test balls submitted by Motiv. The Jackal had been approved for competition in Sept. 2014 while the Jackal Carnage was approved for use in late Dec. 2015.

The problem with this is that the Predator core in question has been approved 3 prior times with no issues from the USBC in the Motiv Raptor, Motiv Raptor Talon, and Motiv Raptor P7.  While the cover has changed on each ball in the Raptor and Jackal lines the Predator core has remained the same producing a legal RG Differential of .060 which falls within USBC standards.

The USBC has cited that the Jackal and Jackal Carnage have failed to meet these standards in a percentage of balls they have spot checked in the field producing a differential of 0.0604 however they have not released exactly how many balls were checked, date ranges they were checked from, or serial numbers/serial number ranges that were checked on both the Jackal and Jackal Carnage.

Furthermore, the Jackal Carnage has won two PBA titles in it's short lifespan and in both instances neither pieces of equipment were found to violate any PBA rules.

Without knowing exactly how many balls were tested, date ranges that balls were tested on, and serial numbers of the balls tested this this brings up the question of if the range of product tested by the USBC was large enough to determine if the Jackal and Jackal Carnage as whole does not comply with USBC rules.

We should also take into account the prior history of the Predator core not being in violation in Motiv's Raptor series and that ONLY A PERCENTAGE of balls tested by the USBC violated the USBC code and NOT ALL JACKALS AND/OR JACKAL CARNAGES tested by the USBC had violated the USBC standards. This means there is a possibility the USBC may have only had a chance to inspect a small range of manufactured that may have been subject to a defect in production as opposed to the entire line not meeting standards.

But lets look at who this is really effecting. You. The bowler.

Many of us who have invested in a Jackal or Jackal Carnage will be coming to leagues this week without the necessary gear or even be able to come out and enjoy the sport due to the sudden USBC ruling. At a time where the sport of bowling as a whole is considered to be in a decline can we really afford to be turning league bowlers away?

So, what am I asking for? As a bowler with zero affiliation with Motiv, I'm asking for a compromise. I'm asking for the USBC to reverse their decision on barring the Jackal and Jackal Carnage from USBC play AND for Motiv to suspend production and recall unsold product until both the USBC and Motiv can come to an agreement that either the Jackal and Jackal Carnage line as a WHOLE are non USBC compliant or just that small portion of the Jackal and Jackal Carnage need to be replaced due to a manufacturing defect.