Ten-pin Bowling
Ten-pin bowling is a game in which a player (called a "bowler") rolls a bowling ball down a wood-structure or synthetic (polyurethane) lane and towards ten pins positioned at the end of the lane. The objective is to score points by knocking down as many pins as possible. Three finger holes are drilled into a traditional bowling ball, and weights vary considerably to make the sport playable for all ages. Generally, the heavier the ball, the more pins that will topple on two equivalent shots. The pins are arranged in a triangular position by an automated machine. While professional ten-pin bowling tournaments are held in numerous countries, the sport is commonly played as a hobby by millions of people around the world.
In Canada, the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia, the game is commonly referred to as just "Bowling". In New England, "bowling" is usually referred to as "ten-pin bowling" or "big-ball bowling", because of the smaller diameter, lighter weight ball used in the Worcester, Massachusetts-conceived sport of candlepin bowling from 1880, and the similarly "small-ball" sport of duckpin bowling (conceived in 1895), popular in the Northeast United States, as well as Canada's own sport of five-pin bowling, all three of which use smaller diameter, lighter weight bowling balls when compared to tenpin bowling, without the necessity for finger holes in them.
Summary
The 41.5-inch-wide (105 cm), 60-foot-long (18 m) lane is bordered along its length by semicylindrical channels called "gutters", which are designed to collect errant balls. The overall width of the lane including the channels is 60 1⁄8 inches (153 cm). The narrow lane prevents bowling a straight line at the angle required to consistently carry (knock down) all ten pins for a strike. Most skillful bowlers will roll a side spinning (hook shape reaction) ball to overcome this. A foul line is marked at the seam of the start of the lane and end of the approach. If any part of a bowler's body touches the line itself or beyond (anywhere on the actual lane surface or any adjoining areas including walls and other lanes) after the ball is delivered, the bowl is a foul and any pins knocked over by that delivery are scored as zero (0). The bowler is allowed one shot at a new rack of ten pins if s/he fouled on the first roll of a frame, and if all ten pins are knocked down on this shot, it is scored as a spare. Behind the foul line is an "approach" approximately 15 feet (5 m) long used to gain speed and leverage on the ball before delivering it. 60 feet (18 m) from the foul line, where the lane terminates, it is joined to a roughly 36-inch (91 cm) deep by 41.5-inch (105 cm) wide surface of durable and impact-resistant material called the "pin deck", upon which each rack of pins is set.
Play
The bowler is allowed 10 frames in which to knock down pins, with frames one (1) through nine (9) being composed of up to two rolls. The tenth frame is 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 ball(s) used only to calculate the score of the mark rolled in the tenth. If neither a strike nor a spare is achieved in the tenth frame, no bonus roll is awarded.
Bowling has a unique scoring system which keeps track not only of the current pinfall in a frame, but also strikes and spares which allow for the value of subsequent pinfall. Effectively, there are three kinds of marks given in a score; a strike (all ten down in the first ball), a spare (all ten down by the second ball), and an open (one or more missed pins still standing after the second ball). A strike earns ten points plus the points for the next two balls thrown. (For example, if a player got a strike then followed with a 7 then 2, their value for the strike frame would be 10+7+2, or 19.) A spare earns ten points plus the points for the next ball thrown. (Again, if a player gets a spare then follows it with 7 pins down on the first ball of the next frame, their value for the spare frame would be 10+7, or 17.) Open frames count the value of the pinfall in that frame only. (Example: if a player knocks down 5 on their first ball and 3 on their second, the open frame would be worth 8 points.) The maximum score in ten-pin bowling is 300. This consists of getting 12 strikes in a row in one game (one strike each in frames 1–9, all three possible strikes in the tenth frame), and is also known as a perfect game.
Lining up a shot
There are systematic ways of using the lane arrow marks and approach dots to make it easier to line up a shot, increasing consistency of hitting the pins at the correct location every time. For beginners, it also helps eliminate fear of the channels, and places the focus solely on the lane. Most bowlers are taught to utilize the arrows, as the arrows are nearer to the point where a hooking ball starts to hook back towards the pins. Other bowlers utilize the dots if they find themselves pulling their body up at the foul line (the shoulders should stay level throughout the entire approach,) as this is usually caused by them thinking that the arrows are too far out at the lane. Advanced players often use the lane boards themselves to line up shots that require them to aim between arrows.
Footwork
The conventional bowling footwork styles use either a four- or five-step approach beginning 8 to 16 feet (2.4 to 4.8 meters) behind the foul line. In the typical four-step approach, the ball is pushed away from the body in step one; step two has the ball at the bottom of the backswing; in step three, the ball is at the top of the backswing; finally, the ball is swung forward and delivered in conjunction with the fourth and final slide-step. In a five-step approach, the bowler takes an initial timing step before pushing the ball away from the body.
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This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ten-pin bowling", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
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