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Rules of Bowling | How it is Played?

If you have been to entertainment and sport arenas, you must have seen the Bowling area. A bowling area is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It contains long and narrow synthetic or wooden lanes.

Rules of Bowling

The game of bowling developed in New York in the 1840s and the first indoor bowling area was opened in New York city. By the end of 1850, there were more than 400 bowling alleys in New York, that’s how quickly the game made progress.

Object of Playing Bowling

The object of the game is to hit down as many pins as you can with your bowling ball – all 10 in best cases – to win the maximum number of points.In the end, the player with the most number of points wins the game.

General Rules of Bowling

  • You cannot throw or loft the bowling ball.
  • To do bowling, you put your fingers in a small given area in the bowling ball and carefully bowl it in under arm style.
  • A typical bowling game consists of 10 frames and in each the bowler gets two chances to bowl.
  • In the end the player with the most points is declared the winner.
  • When a player knocks down all the pins in first roll it is called strike.
  • After the strike, a player gets two more attempts to hit the pins. If in those two pins, he strikes down all the pins, he gets 30 points for that frame. Or, if he manages to hit down a few of the pins, then points will be given as per the number of pins struck down.
  • If a player manages to knock down all pins but in two attempts then it is called spare.
  • And when a player is unable to knock down all the pins in two attempts then it is called an open frame.
  • A shot that lands into gutter is also known as gutter shot.
  • A player gets 1 point each for every pin taken down.
  • Players must not step across the foul line while bowling, otherwise it would be considered as a foul, and no points will be given for this attempt.

Time Duration of Bowling

Generally there are no time restrictions for a bowling game. It depends on the time taken by players for each roll and how many players are competing in a bowling game.

Bowling Playing Field

The game of bowling is played on a surface called Lane. This lane is 42 inches wide and 60 ft long.

Gutter: The trench on either side of a bowling lane is considered gutter. Any bowl going into the gutter side is called gutter ball.

Playing Equipment

For bowling, you need a bowling ball and pins to get things started. The ball is used to strike the pins while every pin taken down gives you a point.

Ball: Generally, a bowling ball is 8½ inches in diameter and can weigh up to 16 pounds.

Pins: As per the World Tenpin Bowling Association, the pins are 4.75 inches wide and 15 inches tall. They can weigh up to 1.5 kilograms.

Safety Etiquettes

Although the game of bowling is a very safe sport, you still have to be careful how you bowl. It’s not a casual sport in terms of playing because slightest of negligence can result in a heavy financial loss. Usually, in competitive tournaments, only professional players can take part who are well-versed with the laws and etiquettes of the game.

Prior training is necessary regarding bowling because players can easily get frustrated when they are unable to score points and this frustration will push them to go for a wild bowling attempt that might send the bowl in the wrong direction, inflicting damage or injury to anything or person around.

Famous Bowling Tournaments

Undoubtedly Bowling is now a very famous sport in the world and is played in different regions. It is one of those popular sports that’s equally popular in Asia as it is in European countries, probably because of the fact it is a simple and indoor sport that serves more as entertainment in formal gatherings.

Some of the famous Bowling tournaments are:

  • World Bowling championship
  • Thailand Open
  • Kuwait Open
  • New Mexico Open

Governing Body

World Bowling is the governing body of bowling. It was founded in 1952 in Hamburg, Germany by officials with aim to foster interest worldwide.