If
you think that ten pin bowling is a competitive sport just to be played by
professionals then think again. It is a fun evening out for all the family
and is exciting for both professionals and amateurs. I started out playing
now and then for fun and since the summer of 1999 have tried my hand at league
bowling but I do not like to take it quite as seriously as the
real professionals do - and lately I have stopped playing in leagues because I
wasn't really all that good but still enjoy the odd friendly games with mates! I
did like the competition but also it was great to have fun at the same time. I have not had any lessons in bowling
and my average score is not as high as I might like but I still have fun
and it doesn't matter if you win or lose - although I find that some teams
tend to take it so seriously that they get big heads when they win and are
REALLY sore losers if things don't go their way! Now and then a league player
will get the maximum score of 300, most often get over 200 - I tend to average
between 140-150 but it means I get quite a high handicap, which is good -
and up until December 2000 I had yet to get a score over 200. Then I had
a good week, on the 8th of December I managed to get a score of 207 during
practice, which I was happy about and then, lo and behold, on the 10th I
took part in a local tournament called King Of The Hill, and I managed to
come 2nd in that which was truly amazing and also got my highest scratch
score to date of 212.
Below is the printed score sheet
so you can see how I got that score, plus the winners details pinned on the
noticeboard, and I have also been given a pin for achieving over 175 in a league
match - see scan on left. For those who are not sure about
how the scoring works, the X's
on the sheet denote STRIKES and the /'s denote SPARES. Briefly in each frame
you bowl upto 2 balls at the pins, if you knock them all down first time
it is a STRIKE, but if you leave some standing and knock those down on the
second ball it is a SPARE. You can see that I got a spare in the first frame
(knocking 9 down first, then the remaining 1 pin), then got 3 strikes in
a row (known as a "turkey"), then another spare (7pins, then the remaining
3 pins) and so on... You will see that in the 10th frame there is the possibility
to bowl 3 balls - the third being used when a strike or spare is acheived
in the first two of the frame. As for the scoring involved - I won't explain
it here but you can visit another website - see links below for detailed
scoring methods. The maximum score of 300 is achieved with strikes in every
frame (3 strikes in the last).
The picture at top right is of the front entrance to the Hollywood
Bowl at Avonmeads in Bristol - opposite the Showcase cinema complex
- this is where I play bowling most of the time (with my bowling pals Pete,
Gary and sometimes Shane - who you may recall are also my Chamonix and
Disneyland Paris pals - if you have visited those sections!). We all play in
leagues organised at the Hollywood Bowl by a chap called Steve Bolton who also
runs the small bowling shop located inside. Bowling is Steve's passion and he
deals with all aspects of the game - supplying and drilling bowling balls to fit
your hand perfectly - he supplies accessories for the game and even coaches
budding bowlers on how to bowl properly - he is a very pleasant chap to do
business with.
Hollywood Bowl is a chain of bowling
centres across the UK, there are other chains of bowling centres - including
Superbowl,
Megabowl and
Bowlplex - Bristol
has 3 bowling centres around the city - as well as playing at Hollywood Bowl
we have also started to play in a league in the new Bowlplex site in Longwell
Green, Bristol. The picture on the left is of the main reception desk at
the Avonmeads Hollywood Bowl.
All bowling centres also have bars to purchase drinks, and games areas with
the latest video games - some even have added attractions - such as mini
golfing games - planty to keep the kids occupied - and then of course there
is bowling itself which is enjoyed by all ages ranges - you find kids even
as young as 3 or 4 being helped by parents to lauch the ball down a special
ramp, and they certainly like it when the pins are knocked down - hooked
at an early age.
Ten pin bowling has increased in popularity over the past decade or two with
the introduction of automatic bowling systems that keep score and reset the
pins. In the old days scorekeeping was done with pen and paper which can
be quite mindboggling to the amateur bowler and pinsetting was done manually
by hand - thus the sport was only really popular with the professional league
bowlers of the time - plus there weren't very many bowling centres in the
UK so sometime people had to travel long distances to enjoy a game of bowling
which sort of took the fun out of the game. Now bowling centres are sprouting
up all over the UK so there is bound to be one near you.
The two
pictures here show league action at the Hollywood Bowl. you can see that
teams play in unique colured shirts and are oftened embroidered with the
names of sponsors. As I have said some of these teams like to take the sport
very seriously indeed and there is a lot more to the game than you may think.
For example, to play in sanctioned leagues it is necessary to be a member
of the BTBA
(British Tenpin Bowling Association) and the rules have to be adhered to
- an example is if the ball goes into the gutter but manages to bounce out
again and knock a pin down it doesn't count and the score has to be altered.
League bowlers use their own bowling balls and bowling accessories, as opposed
to the "house balls" and shoes for the general public - bowling balls come
in a range of weights and finger hole sizes so everyone should be able to
find one that fits their hand - but league bowlers have their hand and finger
span measured and then the finger holes are drilled specially so it fits
perfectly. Also wrist supports can be used as quite a bit of strain can be
put on the wrist and arm when bowling - these vary from the simple to the
"full metal" type which even have adjustable sections to assist in the aim
of the ball - serious stuff! Other accessories include specialised bowling shoes
with soles that allow the shoes to slide on the wooden approach; powder to
reduce the slide if it is too much and to improve finger grips; cleaning
liquids to get oily marks and grime off of bowling balls; bags and cases
to carry bowling balls because professionals always have more than one bowling
ball when they play - generally a main ball and what is known as a "spares"
ball for dealing with certain situations. Generally amateurs and fun bowlers
just bowl straight and hope they knock the pins down but if you watch
professionals you will see that a certain amount of spin is placed on the
ball which makes the ball "hook" into the pins at the "pocket" and produces
some spectacular strikes - when all the pins are knocked down.
Some bowling centres often put on "moonlight"
bowling evenings where the normal lights go out and flourescent lights light
up the pins and lanes accompanied with disco music and lights - it is quite
spectacular and adds an unusual twist to a normal game of bowling. The picture
on the left and above were taken at Chamonix's Bowling Pub.
I managed to get an old pin signed by the staff at Chamonix and brought it
home as a souvenir - pictures of it can be seen at the bottom of this
page.
There is so much more to tell about bowling - especially when it comes
to competitive league bowling and how the scoring system works so rather
than mention it all it here why not visit some of the websites I have links
to below.
If you have not been ten pin bowling before why not give it a go - you may
find you have a great time - it is such a gratifying feeling to see all the
pins fall down. Look up your local bowling alley soon and play - it's
fun!
Below are some other pictures to do with bowling....
hover mouse pointer over pic for description.
If
you think that ten pin bowling is a competitive sport just to be played by
professionals then think again. It is a fun evening out for all the family
and is exciting for both professionals and amateurs. I started out playing
now and then for fun and since the summer of 1999 have tried my hand at league
bowling but I do not like to take it quite as seriously as the
real professionals do - and lately I have stopped playing in leagues because I
wasn't really all that good but still enjoy the odd friendly games with mates! I
did like the competition but also it was great to have fun at the same time. I have not had any lessons in bowling
and my average score is not as high as I might like but I still have fun
and it doesn't matter if you win or lose - although I find that some teams
tend to take it so seriously that they get big heads when they win and are
REALLY sore losers if things don't go their way! Now and then a league player
will get the maximum score of 300, most often get over 200 - I tend to average
between 140-150 but it means I get quite a high handicap, which is good -
and up until December 2000 I had yet to get a score over 200. Then I had
a good week, on the 8th of December I managed to get a score of 207 during
practice, which I was happy about and then, lo and behold, on the 10th I
took part in a local tournament called King Of The Hill, and I managed to
come 2nd in that which was truly amazing and also got my highest scratch
score to date of 212.
Below is the printed score sheet
so you can see how I got that score, plus the winners details pinned on the
noticeboard, and I have also been given a pin for achieving over 175 in a league
match - see scan on left. For those who are not sure about
how the scoring works, the X's
on the sheet denote STRIKES and the /'s denote SPARES. Briefly in each frame
you bowl upto 2 balls at the pins, if you knock them all down first time
it is a STRIKE, but if you leave some standing and knock those down on the
second ball it is a SPARE. You can see that I got a spare in the first frame
(knocking 9 down first, then the remaining 1 pin), then got 3 strikes in
a row (known as a "turkey"), then another spare (7pins, then the remaining
3 pins) and so on... You will see that in the 10th frame there is the possibility
to bowl 3 balls - the third being used when a strike or spare is acheived
in the first two of the frame. As for the scoring involved - I won't explain
it here but you can visit another website - see links below for detailed
scoring methods. The maximum score of 300 is achieved with strikes in every
frame (3 strikes in the last).
Hollywood Bowl is a chain of bowling
centres across the UK, there are other chains of bowling centres - including
The two
pictures here show league action at the Hollywood Bowl. you can see that
teams play in unique colured shirts and are oftened embroidered with the
names of sponsors. As I have said some of these teams like to take the sport
very seriously indeed and there is a lot more to the game than you may think.
For example, to play in sanctioned leagues it is necessary to be a member
of the 
Other accessories include specialised bowling shoes
with soles that allow the shoes to slide on the wooden approach; powder to
reduce the slide if it is too much and to improve finger grips; cleaning
liquids to get oily marks and grime off of bowling balls; bags and cases
to carry bowling balls because professionals always have more than one bowling
ball when they play - generally a main ball and what is known as a "spares"
ball for dealing with certain situations. Generally amateurs and fun bowlers
just bowl straight and hope they knock the pins down but if you watch
professionals you will see that a certain amount of spin is placed on the
ball which makes the ball "hook" into the pins at the "pocket" and produces
some spectacular strikes - when all the pins are knocked down.
Some bowling centres often put on "moonlight"
bowling evenings where the normal lights go out and flourescent lights light
up the pins and lanes accompanied with disco music and lights - it is quite
spectacular and adds an unusual twist to a normal game of bowling. The picture
on the left and above were taken at Chamonix's Bowling Pub.
