My Thoughts on Bowling

I feel oftentimes that bowling is commonly looked down upon as a sport. There are many reasons for this, ranging from it being an indoor sport of little movement to the fact that most people don't even think about it except as an activity for a group of friends to spend some time together. Let's explore these two thoughts.

So it's easy to see bowling as a low effort sport, and it can really seem to not take much energy if you're doing it with friends and having fun. However, it is a good source of exercise. According to Nutristrategy.com, someone who weighs 155lbs and bowls for an hour burns approximately 211 calories. Considering it can take me anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half to finish three games of practice bowling, I'm burning anywhere from 250-300 calories (That's with the adjusted number of calories burned with relation to weight.)(Nutristrategy) That's roughly half the number of calories I burn after running on my elliptical for a half hour, and very much more enjoyable(though of course that's my personal opinion).

The other prevalent thought is that bowling isn't a serious sport. That it's a time for friends to get together to have a good time. However, it is fast becoming a widespread competitive sport in our nations schools. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), between 1997 and 2007 "the number of bowling programs grew from 1,423 to 4,101 and participation grew from 15,600 to 44,229"(NFHS) and is considered along with Lacrosse to be one of the fastest growing Varsity sports in high schools. And then in the Professional world, for the past 42 years there has been a world cup for bowling that brings together many countries best bowlers to compete against each other. The U.S. has the Pro Bowling Association(PBA) which has many immensely talented bowlers in very competitive competitions. The sport also has large payouts, with several bowlers having made several million dollars in their careers, and with weekly top payouts in tournaments of up to $40,000. Many of these bowlers carry averages of 220 or more, which anyone who has bowled recently should realize is a very good score, let alone average. The skill of these bowlers is amazing.

Hopefully these small bits of information I've provided you with has helped you appreciate that bowling is more than just throwing a ball down a lane and hoping it hits pins. I bowl in two leagues currently and have averages respectively of 174 and 180 as of this past week. In one league over the past five weeks I've averaged 205 a game. And I'm still a mediocre bowler, I've bowled for less than a year and still have a lot to work on and develop. However, the past almost year I've been bowling regularly has provided me with awesome experiences and a lot of fun. I'd encourage anyone who has never tried bowling seriously to give it a chance. It's healthy and fun.



Outside Sources
NFHS (http://www.nfhs.org/web/2008/02/lacrosse_bowling_among_nations.aspx)
Nutristrategy (http://www.nutristrategy.com/activitylist.htm)