Bowling at the Summer Olympics

Bowling at the Summer Olympics
Events	1 (mixed)
Summer Olympics
1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 2028
Medalists

Bowling was featured in the Summer Olympic Games demonstration programme in 1988 in at the Seoul’s Royal Bowling Center on 18 September 1988. A a total of 20 nations competed in the men's and women's tournament. No bowling professionals competed in the demonstration events.

Post 1988 lobby

The bowling industry lobbied long and hard to get bowling recognized as a worthy demonstration sport for future Games. But the outcome was not successful in getting bowling a part of the regular Olympics curriculum for future Games. Plainly and simply, politics and money likely played a role in the outcome of bowling being excluded in subsequent Games after 1988. Also the fact that it is not a sport which provides inexpensive nor easy access to most youngsters in third world countries to develop skill and proficiency.

There was talk of bowling applying for inclusion in the winter Olympics, but those sports must be contested on snow or ice.

Sport for the 2020 Summer Olympics

On 22 June 2015 it was announced that bowling made the cut from the 28 sports to the last eight to become a new sport for the 2020 Summer Olympics. The shortlist of these sports for consideration was based on applications from 26 international sport federations, many of which have applied for inclusion in previous Olympic tournaments. However, in September 2015 it was announced that bowling, together with wushu and squash, were left out for 2020. The 2020 Olympic Committee wanted sports that appeal to youth and wouldn’t require building new facilities to reduce cost.