Wednesday 28 April 2010

Shhhhhhhhhh, It's One of Britain's Best Kept Secrets.

For most people a spot of ten-pin bowling is a Friday nights entertainment or a mate's birthday party, but for over 200'000 people who compete at elite level, it is an obsession. More than 100 million people bowl around the world, including 10 million professionals who compete in organized events an average of 40 times a year, which takes them to exotic locations in all corners of the globe.

Bowling dates back at least 7'000 years, to a time when Egyptians left remnants of the earliest known form of the sport in their tombs.

The Dutch developed bowling and by 1650 the sport encompassed nine pins set in a diamond pattern toward the end of a 90-foot lane. Tenpin bowling, which features a 60-foot lane and pins set in a triangle pattern, is believed to have derived from the Dutch version.

Scoring for strikes and spares came about during the mid-century when heavier bottle-shaped pins replaced the earlier tall and slender version.

In this blog you will meet Zara Giles, one of the world's leading stars in the world of ten-pin bowling. Zara speaks exclusively about her rise into one of the world's finest players and tells how if it wasn't for her grandmother the ball may never have got rolling in the first place.

Zara has bowled all over the globe and you can find out where she has been to and what she has won all while representing Great Britain.

Bernice Bass from the British Tenpin Bowling Association also speaks about the lack of financial aid, one of the factors that is holding it back from being accepted as something more than just a 'game.'

Also in this blog you learn about what the state of play is for bowling in the UK, and with 2012 just around the corner does tenpin bowling have a serious chance of ever making the Olympic Games?

You will also learn once and for all exactly how the scoring system works in ten-pin bowling with the step to step guide. Then there is an opportunity for you to try it yourself in the online bowling game.

Just follow the links on the right hand side to direct you.

Finally there is a chance to vote on the hottest debate surrounding tenpin bowling at the moment all whilst watching some exciting video’s including how bowling balls are made and some classic past matches.