* Bowling

Bowling is a game in which players attempt to score points by rolling a ball along a surface to knock down objects called pins. There are many forms of bowling, and the earliest known form has been dated back to ancient Egypt. Probably the best known form today is the American game of Ten-pin bowling. This form, in both amateur and professional versions, is played around the world, making it one of the largest participation sports available.


History

Historians have discovered forms of bowling as early as 3200 BC in Egypt, though some argue that it originated later in Germany in 300 A.D. The first written reference to bowling was in reference to King Edward III of England banning his troops from playing the game in the 14th century. European settlers brought forms of the game to the United States in the colonial era.

The first standardized rules were established in New York City, on September 9, 1895. In that year, the American Bowling Congress (ABC) was formed. The female equivalent, the Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) was founded later, in 1917. Later, the Young American Bowling Alliance (YABA) became the sanctioning body for junior bowling.

Originally, pinspotters manually set up pins. However, in 1952, the first automatic pinsetters were commercially produced, greatly speeding up the game and allowing its popularity to blossom.

Since bowling was an indoor sport without extreme movements, several early television shows featured bowling, including "Championship Bowling," "Make That Spare," "Bowling For Dollars," and "Celebrity Bowling."

The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) was founded in 1958 by Eddie Elias. While the first season only featured three events, the tour blossomed, especially after joining the ABC's Saturday afternoon time slot in 1961. Through the years, professional bowling on ABC typically outdrew college basketball, even in its final days on the network in the late 1990s. The PBA continues to showcase the best bowlers in the world, with telecasts currently on ESPN.

In 2005, the ABC, WIBC, and YABA merged to form the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) to serve as the single sanctioning body for all American bowling.


Forms

Most forms of bowling may be categorized as either indoor or outdoor. Most indoor forms are played on a "lane", a flat surface made of wood or a synthetic imitation, which is several times longer than it is wide.

Included in the indoor category:Ten-pin bowling, which evolved from ninepin bowling in the 19th Century.Five-pin bowling, played in Canada.Nine-pin skittlesCandlepin bowling, played in eastern Canada and northern New England, is a variation of ten-pin bowling.Duckpin bowling, commonly found in the mid-Atlantic and southern New England United States and eastern Canada, is a variation of ten-pin bowling involving small, squat pins, sometimes with rubber at their widest points (rubber band duckpin bowling).Feather Bowling (Belgian trough bowling) originated in Belgium and is played in Mount Clemens, Michigan.Cocked Hats, fluorescent pins and music to create a dazzling atmosphere.]]

For nearly a century, ten-pin bowling lanes had a surface made of wood. Beginning about 1980, most ten-pin lane surfaces have been converted to or built with a synthetic material imitating a wooden surface. In ten-pin bowling, a building containing many lanes has traditionally been called a bowling "alley" but in more recent times, to upgrade the image of the sport, bowling "center" is preferred.

The second category of bowling is usually played outdoors on a lawn. Here the players throw a ball, which is sometimes eccentrically weighted, in an attempt to put it closest to a designated point.

Included in the outdoor category: Lawn bowls Bocce Pétanque

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