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[[File:IntenseBowlingGlove.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A full-fledged bowling glove]]
[[File:IntenseBowlingGlove.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A full-fledged bowling glove]]


A bowling glove is a glove with a metal wrist support and a textured face that offers support in order to enhance grip. There are different glove styles, including those with a full metal finger design and ones with an uncovered portion for the middle and ring fingers. There are also wristguards. They allow a bowler to keep their wrist locked into place to generate revolutions on a ball.<ref>[http://www.bowling-forum.net/ Bowling Forum], 15 February 2010.</ref>
A bowling glove is a glove with a metal wrist support and a textured face that offers support in order to enhance grip. There are different glove styles, including those with a full metal finger design and ones with an uncovered portion for the middle and ring fingers. There are also wristguards. They allow a bowler to keep their wrist locked into place to generate revolutions on a ball or assist with position and/or weak wrists.<ref>[http://www.bowling-forum.net/ Bowling Forum], 15 February 2010.</ref>


==Outdoor variations==
==Outdoor variations==

Revision as of 03:44, 6 June 2012

For other uses, see Bowling (disambiguation).
A ten-pin bowler releases the ball.

Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule < Middle French < Latin bulla bubble, knob; compare boil1 , bola +ing)[1][2] is a sport in which players attempt to score points by rolling a bowling ball along a flat surface, usually a wooden or other synthetic surface, either into pins or to get close to a target ball.[3] The most common types include ten-pin, nine-pin, candlepin, duckpin and five-pin bowling, as well as multiple outdoor variations.

History

Peasants bowling in front of a tavern in the 17th century

There are many forms of bowling, with one of the most recent being ten-pin bowling, also known as the norm. The earliest most primitive forms of bowling can be dated back to Ancient Egypt[4] and the Roman Empire. Indeed, about 2,000 years ago a similar game evolved between Roman legionaries: it entailed tossing stone objects as close as possible to other stone objects (this game became popular with Roman Soldiers, and eventually evolved into Italian Bocce, or outdoor bowling).[5]

The first standardized rules were established in New York City, on September 9, 1895.[6] Today, bowling is enjoyed by 95 million people in more than ninety countries worldwide[7] and continues to grow through entertainment media such as video games for home consoles and handheld devices.[8]

Health benefits

Bowlers in San Antonio, Texas

Bowling is an anaerobic type of physical exercise, similar to walking with free weights. Bowling helps in burning calories and works muscle groups not usually exercised. The flexing and stretching in bowling works tendons, joints, ligaments, and muscles in the arms and promotes weight loss. While most sports are not for elderly people, it is possible to practice bowling very well at advanced ages.

Apart from the physical benefits, it also has psychosocial benefits, strengthening friendships or creating new ones in groups.[9]

Bowling safety

Like any other physical activity, warming up helps to prevent injuries. Bowling balls are heavy with varying weight ranges; to avoid back and wrist injury, they should be picked up with both hands. It’s also recommended to bend one’s knees while picking up bowling balls to avoid back injuries. The bowling ball return mechanism has a driven wheel, and bowlers should keep their hands clear of it. Bowlers should also warm up their fingers before inserting them into a bowling ball, to ensure that their fingers do not get stuck in the ball.[10][11]

Scoring

The most common bowling is ten pin bowling. In ten pin bowling, matches consist of each player bowling a "game". Each game is divided into ten "frames". A frame allows a bowler two chances to knock down all ten pins. The number of pins knocked over in each frame is recorded, a running total is made as each frame progresses, and the player with the highest score in his/her game wins the match. Scores can be greater than the actual number of pins knocked over if strikes or spares are bowled. A "strike" is scored when a player knocks down all pins on the first roll in the frame. Rather than a score of 10 for the frame, the player's score will be 10 plus the total pins knocked down on the next two rolls in the next frame(s). A "spare" is scored when all pins are knocked down using both rolls in the frame. The player's score for that frame will be 10 plus the number of pins knocked down on the first roll in the next frame. A player who rolls a spare or strike in the last frame is given one or two more rolls to score additional points, respectively.

Two consecutive strikes is known as a "double" (also known among older bowlers as a hambone, prior to Pro Bowling Association/ESPN announcers changing it). Three consecutive strikes is known as a "turkey." Four consecutive strikes is known as a "hambone" (PBA announcing in 2009/2010) or "four bagger". Five consecutive strikes is known as a "five bagger", "dropping the nickel", or "Yahtzee" (PBA). Six consecutive strikes is known as a "six-pack" or "Six bagger". Seven or more follow the "-pack"/"bagger" rule, or is simply called (number of strikes) in a row. A perfect game consists of 12 consecutive strikes, one for every frame and two more on the extra rolls in the 10th, and results in a score of 300. A clean game is filling every frame with either a spare or a strike.

A common variation of the game is no-tap, a form of bowling where a a specific number or more pins knocked down counts as a strike. Nine or eight pin no-tap is most often used.

Ball release techniques and delivery styles

Ball Release

There are typically two different ways to roll a ball down the lane.

  • Straight
Beginners commonly just bowl the ball straight down the lane, hoping to hit the 1 and 2 pocket or the 1 and 3 pocket. When bowling straight like this, people often hold the ball with their hand in a "W" shaped form. What you need to do is actually bowl with the fingers pointing vertically rather than horizontally.
  • Hook/Curve
The hook or curve ball is commonly used by more advanced players. As the bowler releases the ball, the ball starts out straight and then "hooks" because of the rotation the bowler puts on the ball during release. When curving, most people use two fingers and a thumb.

Delivery Styles

There are three different types of styles used when releasing the ball onto the lane. The three styles are the stroker, cranker and tweener styles.

  • Stroker
People who use the stroker style usually keep their feet square to the foul line. Stroking lessens the ball's spin rate and therefore decreases its hook/curve potential and hitting power. Strokers use finesse and accuracy.
  • Cranker
Crankers try to create as much spin as possible by using a cupped wrist. Bowlers that use the cranking method often cup their wrist, but open the wrist at the top of the swing. Crankers often use late timing, meaning the foot reaches the foul line before the ball does; this is called "plant and pull", hardly using any slide on their last step and pulling the ball upwards for leverage. Crankers rely on speed and power.
  • Tweener
Tweeners are bowlers that release the ball in a way that falls somewhere in between stroking and cranking. Tweeners often release the ball with a higher backswing than is normally used by a stroker or a less powerful wrist position than a cranker.
  • "'2 handed'"
2 handers are a new breed of bowlers where they use both the hands during the swing of their approach. They are able to create maximum revolutions and speed allowing them to have a much more powerful delivery. The most famous and best 2 handed bowler in the world is Jason Belmonte from Australia. He is currently on the PBA Tour.

Types of pins

Five main variations are found in North America, varying especially in New England and parts of Canada:

  • ten-pin bowling: largest and heaviest pins, bowled with a large ball with finger holes, and the most popular size in North America
  • nine-pin bowling: pins usually attached to strings at the tops, uses a ball without finger holes
  • candlepin: tallest pins, thin with matching ends, and bowled with a handheld ball
  • duckpin: short, squat, and bowled with a handheld ball
  • five-pin bowling: tall, between duckpins and candlepins in diameter with a rubber girdle, bowled with a handheld ball, mostly found in Canada

Equipment

Ball

Bowling balls vary, depending on the type of bowling game. Ten-pin balls are large, up to 27 inches in circumference (approximately 8.59 inches diameter), and have as many as twelve holes, typically three holes. The balls come in various weights from 6 to 16 lbs, with the size and spacing of the finger holes often smaller on lighter balls to accommodate smaller hands. Different kinds of balls are available for different styles of bowling. There are balls for hook shots and balls for bowling straight. Balls for other games vary, e.g., candlepin balls which fit in the palm of the hand need no holes. Unlike most sports, the ball can be different weights based upon the player.

Shoes

Bowling shoes are designed to mimic any style of flat shoe from regular dress shoes to athletic shoes. The sole of the non sliding foot is generally made of rubber to provide traction, while the sliding foot's sole is made of a smooth and flat material that allows a bowler to slide into his release with a rubber heel to allow for braking. Rental shoes are typically leather and rubber on both feet for durability. These shoes can be bought, but most casual players rent the shoes each visit to a facility. Players must be very careful while wearing them that the soft material does not get wet or excessively dirty; if it does get wet or dirty, it will not slide properly, and could damage the approach surface.[12]

Gloves

A full-fledged bowling glove

A bowling glove is a glove with a metal wrist support and a textured face that offers support in order to enhance grip. There are different glove styles, including those with a full metal finger design and ones with an uncovered portion for the middle and ring fingers. There are also wristguards. They allow a bowler to keep their wrist locked into place to generate revolutions on a ball or assist with position and/or weak wrists.[13]

Outdoor variations

A bowls tournament in Berrigan, New South Wales, Australia

Another form of bowling is usually played outdoors on a lawn. At outdoor bowling, the players throw a ball, which is sometimes eccentrically weighted, in an attempt to put it closest to a designated point or slot in the bowling arena. Included in the outdoor category:

Competitions

Four-lane candlepin bowling alley in Windsor, Vermont, USA, about 1910

Major tournaments

Multi-sport events

Onscreen

Bowling is often depicted as a group date, teen outing, and blue-collar activity.

In films

The sport has been the subject of a number of "bowling films", which prominently feature the sport of bowling. Examples include:

Bowling is an important theme in other films, as well.

In shorts

On television

  • In The Flintstones (which imitated and spoofed The Honeymooners and The Jackie Gleason Show),[14][15] "bronto" crane operator Fred Flintstone and his next-door neighbor and sidekick, Barney Rubble, often bowl. Fred is an avid bowler who has won championships based on his incredible bowling skills. A number of episodes address Fred and Barney's bowling adventures, such as:
    • In "Wilma's Vanishing Money" (1962-01-26), Fred steals Wilma's money to buy a bowling ball, while Wilma thinks it's a burglar who stole it. She, meanwhile, was planning to use the money to buy Fred that ball he wanted for his birthday.
    • In "Bowling Ballet (aka Rush-in Ballet)" (1962, 10-05), Fred goes so far as to take ballet lessons in order to improve his game, which leads to his nickname "Twinkletoes". The nickname of "Twinkletoes" stuck with him when Fred attended a local college and became eligible to play on their football team, and it became his call sign.
    • In "Seeing Doubles" (1965-12-17), Fred and Barney have a bowling game on Friday night, the night that they are to take Wilma and Betty out to dinner. After failing to convince the wives to let them go bowling, The Great Gazoo makes two robots that look like Fred and Barney. The robots can only say "yes" and "no" and they take the wives to dinner while Fred and Barney go bowling. The robotic doubles, however, take Wilma and Betty to the most expensive restaurant in town and cause havoc the entire night. It's up to Fred and Barney to round them up and bring them back to Gazoo in order for them to be snapped out.
  • In The Honeymooners and Jackie Gleason Show, bus driver Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason) and sewer worker Ed "Lillywhite" Norton (Art Carney) belonged to a fraternal organization called the Brooklyn Water Buffalo Lodge and regularly bowled on its team, "The Hurricanes", at the Acme Bowling Alley.
  • In episode 86-4.14 of Roseanne, titled "The Bowling Show", Dan Conner (John Goodman) and Arnie Thomas (Tom Arnold) try to bring their bowling team out of last place in their league.
  • Bowling featured prominently in Laverne & Shirley; Laverne (Penny Marshall)'s Italian-born father, Frank De Fazio (Phil Foster), runs the Pizza Bowl, a local hang out featuring pizza, beer, and bowling.
  • In episode 221 of "The Andy Griffith Show", titled "Howard the Bowler" (originally aired September 18, 1967), Howard Sprague (Jack Dodson) fills in on the bowling team and rolls a perfect game.[16]
  • Bowling is the main theme in the JDrama "The Golden Bowl".[17]

In gaming

Bowling Accessibility

Technological innovation has made bowling accessible to members of the disabled community. The IKAN Bowler, a device designed by a quadriplegic engineer named Bill Miller, attaches to a wheelchair and allows the user to control the speed, direction, and timing of the bowling ball's release. The name comes from the Greek work "ikano", which means "enable".[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ Random House Webster's college dictionary, Random House, New York, 1990, page 163
  2. ^ bowl. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. (accessed: September 03, 2011).
  3. ^ United States Bowling Conference
  4. ^ Help with Bowling: The History and Origins of Bowling
  5. ^ Bowling in ancient Rome
  6. ^ Springdale USBC Site
  7. ^ Fit4FunKids site
  8. ^ AMF Bowling Pinbusters! for Nokia N-Gage
  9. ^ Calorie-counter.net - How to Lose Weight by Bowling
  10. ^ BellaOnline - Personal Bowling Safety
  11. ^ Pinboy's Guide To Better Bowling
  12. ^ "Using bowling shoes". about.com. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
  13. ^ Bowling Forum, 15 February 2010.
  14. ^ Stinnett, Chuck. "Rango is latest reminder that animated films are thriving". Evansville Courier & Press, March 8, 2011
  15. ^ "The Flintstones Frequently Asked Questions List". Retrieved 2010-07-20.
  16. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0512500/
  17. ^ http://jdorama.com/drama.635.htm
  18. ^ "Ability Magazine: IKAN Bowler". Retrieved 2012-04-06.

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