By Hayleigh Gowans
Staff Writer
This week’s topic is based on the American pastime — bowling. While you might wonder if there really is etiquette for a recreational game like this, I assure you there is.
Growing up, I was never really too much into bowling but one of my jobs as a teenager was working at the concession stand of my local bowling alley, and the difference in etiquette between seasoned bowlers and open bowlers was an interesting thing to witness.
I have since participated in adult bowling leagues and watch my younger sisters during high school bowling matches, so I was inspired to look to see if there were bowling etiquette that I don’t know about.
Ball and pin games like the modern day 10-pin bowling have been around for centuries, and according to the International Bowling Museum website, the sport has likely been around as early as 300 A.D. There are many games that have developed in Western Europe, including Italian bocce ball, French petanque and British lawn bowling, and eventually these countries brought their games to the United States during colonialism.
The first permanent lawn bowling location was in New York City’s Battery area, which today sits as a small plot of land called the Bowling Green in the financial district. By the late 1800s, the game had spread to other areas in the U.S., though pin dimensions and ball weight varied by region. In 1895, in Beethoven Hall in New York City, the American Bowling Congress was created and in 1917 the Women’s International Bowling Congress was created in St. Louis. These institutions lead to a standardization of the sport and people from different areas could now hold competitions against each other.
Before the 1950s, bowlers had to rely on “pinboys” to set up the pins after each frame, but in 1952 American Machine and Foundry Company introduced model pinspotters. In 1993, the International Bowling Hall of Fame was opened in Arlington, Texas. The 10-pin game of bowling we know today is currently played by about 95 million people in more than 90 countries.
While not everyone competes in bowling, bowling is a fun recreational activity that people of all ages can play. The following are some rules and etiquette to keep in mind next time you take it to the lanes:
•Do not bowl in street shoes. Workers at bowling lanes work very hard to keep the lanes and approach areas clean so bowlers can maximize their scores. Wearing shoes from outside could lead to you tracking in dirt, dust or water that a bowler could easily slip on. Also, you do need to rent shoes for your child as they can slip in socks or drop a heavy ball on their toes.
•Be ready when it is your turn. You don’t want to be that person who is holding up the flow of the game.
•Remain behind another bowler as they are bowling, and do not distract anyone who is about to shoot.
•Wait for the bowler to the right of you to deliver their ball if you both step up at about the same time.
•Stay in your own lane, even after you throw your ball. If you move into someone else’s lane that could cause a collision.
•When you are waiting for your turn, wait in the area behind the approach so you are not distracting anyone else.
Overall, bowling can be a fun activity to do with friends, family or even acquaintances. Overall, be polite to others (including bowling lane workers) and it should be a fun time for everyone.
If you have an etiquette question or would like to submit a topic for discussion, please email me at [email protected]. Until next time, mind your modern manners.
