| Ten-pin Bowling |
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Ten-pin bowling is a Competitive Sport in which a player (the "bowler") Rolls a Bowling Ball down a wooden or "synthetic" ( Polyurethane ) "lane" with the objective of scoring points by knocking down as many Pins as possible. The wide, lane is bordered along its length by "gutters" - semicircular channels designed to collect errant balls which also pose an obstacle to advanced bowlers, because a straight ball cannot be rolled on a regulation lane at the angle required to consistently "carry" (knock down) all ten pins for a " (rolled), it is called a "foul" and no pins knocked over by that delivery are scored (The bowler is allowed a shot at a new "rack" of ten pins if he fouled on the first roll of a frame). Behind the foul line is an "approach" approximately long used to gain speed and leverage on the ball before delivering it. from the foul line, where the lane terminates, it is joined to a roughly , wide surface of durable and impact-resistant material called the "pin deck" where each rack of pins is set. The bowler is allowed ten frames in which to knock down pins, with each frame being composed of up to two rolls. The tenth frame may be composed of up to three rolls: the bonus roll(s) following a Strike or Spare in the tenth (sometimes referred to as the "eleventh" and "twelfth" frames) are "fill balls" used only to calculate the score of the mark rolled in the tenth. Bowling has a unique scoring system (see below) that is notoriously confusing to newcomers who attempt to score a game with multiple "marks" (strikes and spares). Bowling scores tend to be unintuitive: if a bowler was to knock down 9 pins with his first shot but miss his spare every frame, he would have a score of 90; if the same bowler were to make all of his spares and knock down 9 with the bonus ball, he would have a score of 190. If he were to carry all ten pins with each shot and strike with each of his bonus balls in the tenth frame, he would have shot a "perfect game" of 300. Since being brought to the United States from Europe , ten-pin bowling (thought to be descended from the game of Skittles ) has risen in popularity as its technology has improved. The sport is most popular in the United Kingdom and the United States . Both nations maintain national regulatory organizations that govern the sport's rules and conduct and many of those countries' best players participate in tournaments on both the national and international stage. Because of the rise in popularity, many companies are now making bowling balls and apparel for professionals as well as for recreational bowlers. Bowling has also become more prevalent in the media in recent years, with the continued popularity of bowling publications and the appearance of films centred around the culture of the sport. However, the sport continues to face challenges in garnering mainstream coverage of the athletic aspects of the game. HISTORY Origins In 1930, British anthropologist Sir Flinders Petrie along with a team of archaeologists, discovered various primitive Bowling Ball s, Bowling Pin s and other materials in the grave of an Egyptian boy dating to 5200 BC. Their discovery represents the earliest known historical trace of bowling. However, some dismiss these findings , arguing that bowling originated in Germany in AD 300. The first written reference to bowling dates to 1366, when King Edward III of England banned his troops from playing the game so that they would not be distracted from their archery practice.1 It is believed that King Henry VIII bowled using cannon balls. In Germany the game of Kegal (''Kegelspiel'') expanded. The Kegal game grew in Germany and around other parts of Europe with Keglars rolling balls at nine pins, or "skittles".23 Ninepin bowling was introduced to America from Europe during the colonial era, similar to the game of Skittles .4 It became very popular and was called "Bowl on the Green". The Dutch , English , and Germans all brought their own versions of the game to the new world, where it enjoyed continued popularity, although not without some controversy. In 1841 a law in Connecticut banned ninepin bowling lanes due to associated gambling and crime, and people were said to circumvent the letter of the prohibition by adding an extra pin, resulting in the game of ten-pin bowling.5 Modern American ten-pin bowling is most closely related to the German nine pin game '' Kegelspiel ''. Germans were instrumental in fostering the game's popularity as they formed their own bowling clubs both before and after the American Civil War . The first indoor bowling alley was Knickerbockers of New York City, built in 1840. The Brunswick Corporation's addition of bowling equipment to their product line also served to increase the sport's popularity. In 1914 Brunswick replaced their line of wooden bowling balls with hard rubber Mineralite bowling ball. The change was met with great approval.6 Organization and increased popularity Bowling has long been seen as a sport of the working classes. Accordingly, most bowling alleys at the turn of the century were small, private establishments, mainly frequented by men. This began to change as the sport became increasingly regulated and generally gained in prestige. Although it has not shed its working class image entirely, today bowling is no longer only a unisex sport, and is enjoyed by people the world over. In 1895 the American Bowling Congress was started in New York City . This was soon joined by similar organizations geared toward female bowlers. These groups began creating the standard rules for bowling that have survived to the modern day. At the same time, the sport's image among the upper classes was enhanced by the opening of more luxurious and elegant lanes like ''The White Elephant'' in New York City, opened by restaurateur Joe Thum , whom many consider to be the father of bowling, along with Dick Weber . Thum created the first bowling organization in the United States on September 9 , 1895 , when he pulled together representatives of various regional bowling clubs into an overarching organization, the American Bowling Congress (ABC). This spurred greater interest in the game, with the number of officially sanctioned lanes rising from 450 in 1920 to 2,000 in 1929. 1940 to 1960 The period from 1940 to 1960 is known as the golden age of bowling due to the sport's great popularity and advances in its play. Indeed, by 1945, bowling was a billion-dollar industry in the United States. Promotion by the U.S. Armed Forces and its image as a sport for the common man made bowling an enticing choice of activity for Americans. For this reason, racial integration was perhaps inevitable. The American Bowling Congress had been a White s-only organization throughout its existence, but lobbying by numerous labor organizations and individuals after the War quickly led to a reversal of this policy.7 This era also saw a great increase in bowling technology. Pins had previously been set by human Pinsetters or "pin boys", but with the invention of the semi-automatic pinsetter in 1936, the process became much easier. In 1946 AMF Bowling launched the first commercial fully automatic pinspotter to replace the earlier Brunswick semi-automatic and fully manual bowling establishments. Brunswick itself introduced its own automatic pinspotter design to bowling centers in 1955. The Television age of the 1950s also helped to increase the popularity of ten-pin bowling, as images of the sport began to enter the homes of millions across the United States. Eddie Elias founded the Professional Bowlers Association in 1958, and its Pro Bowlers Tour became a permanent part of ABC 's sports lineup. 1960 to the present Ten-pin bowling was introduced in the United Kingdom in 1960. This was driven by the opening of the Stamford Hill and Golders Green bowling alleys in London . Ten-pin bowling took the UK by storm, with alleys opening up one after the other. At its peak there were over 160 bowling alleys in the UK, but a lack of re-investment and waning interest left the fad in a sorry state. This led to a general deterioration of bowling alleys, with a commensurate decline in their image. In the 1970s a major chain operator pulled out of bowling and converted many of the more luxurious alleys into Bingo Halls . The industry nearly collapsed, with two thirds of the existing alleys closing over the next few years. Until the mid 1980s there was little, if any, new investment in the sport with the decline in interest being attributed to the complex scoring system, especially as it was a manual process then. However, this all changed with the introduction of computers and automated electronic scoring systems. This meant that the general public only had to enter their names into the computers and everything else was done automatically. This changed the face of bowling and was largely responsible for the new found interest in the sport. AMF carried this revitalization of the sport by embarking on a major refurbishment programme. This re-investment led to the construction of many bright, modern and attractive sites and began the second golden age of bowling. During the late 1980s and early 1990s the number of ten-pin bowling alleys across the country rose to over two hundred. This was higher than it had ever been in the sixties, then the peak of the sport's popularity. |
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