Bowling, or tenpin bowling, was developed in 1820 to replace the nine-pin bowling in vogue. The international governing body is the International Bowling Federation.

The rules of tenpin bowling as we have them today were not completely developed until later in the 19th century. After then, the sport experienced several upgrades with advancements in technology.

After the development and acceptance of the automatic pinsetter in the 1940s, bowling started gaining popularity worldwide. That period in bowling history is the ‘golden age of bowling, between 1950 and 1980.

Tenpin bowling is played on a urethane platform about 15 feet long and 42 inches wide. A foul line marks off the playable area. Two-thirds of the platform is oiled to prevent friction on the ball. Ten maple pins are arranged at the end. The platform is surrounded by ‘gutters’ that are off-limits for playing.

Bowling is a very straightforward sport as a competitive sport or an enjoyable pastime. It follows a few easy-to-understand rules and can be played by people from any age group.

The rules of bowling are highlighted below:

1. Scoring

Points in bowling are gained by knocking down the pins. Each pin knocked down is a point. The points earned are null when the ball is released after the foul line. The points are also considered invalid if the ball enters the gutters and bounces out to hit the pins.

On scoring, there are 10 frames available to each player for shooting. A frame is open when the first shot doesn’t clear all the pins in the frame. Each frame allows for two rounds of shooting. There are two kinds of shots recognized by bowling, namely:

• Strikes: A player is said to strike when their first shot in a new frame clears the pins at once. The reward is that 10 points are added to their next two shots.
• Spares: If the first shot in an open frame doesn’t clear all the pins, a spare is awarded to the player. Ten points are added to only the next shot the player takes.

The highest total a player can get from a game of tenpin bowling is 300 points. If a player receives 300 points in a competition, they are given a golden ring from the US Bowling competition.

There are also different deliveries, depending on the kind of shots you want. Some of the commonly used deliveries in tenpin bowling include:

• Strokers which involve keeping your shoulders square and level with the foul line, with a moderate backswing. This delivery gives balanced power and rotation to the shot.
• Crankers, which involve opening up the shoulders and developing a high backswing. This supplies a lot of rotation and speed to the shot. They are usually less accurate than the stroker technique.
• Tweeners, which strike a balance between strokers and crankers.

2. Etiquette

The etiquette in bowling requires every player to allow others their turn to bowl after each round. There should be some allowance between the queue and the current bowler to avoid distractions. Also, the celebration should be reduced, bearing in mind that others are waiting to play.

The player is also not allowed to bowl when someone else is working on the pinsetter.

The basic rules and etiquette of bowling have been highlighted above for beginners. Also, some of the common delivery methods have been mentioned. You will find one of them that suits you perfectly.