BowlingPedia™ - The Bowling Encyclopedia

Welcome to BowlingPedia™ -- The Bowling Encyclopedia

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Bowling:
A sport in which players attempt to score points by rolling a bowling ball along a flat surface in order to knock down objects called pins. There are many forms of bowling, with the earliest dating back to ancient Egypt; it is now known that the Egyptians had invented bowling. Origins can also be traced to ancient Finland and Yemen, and much later in 300 A.D. in Germany. In the US the best known form of bowling is probably the North 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 activities.

Indoor Variations:
1. Ten-pin Bowling, which evolved from ninepin bowling in the 19th century. A regulation pin for this type is 15 inches (38 cm) in height and about 4¾ inches (12 cm) in diameter at its widest part; it may not weigh more than 3 pounds 10 oz (1.7 kg). The standard ball has a maximum diameter of about 8½ inches (22 cm) and a weight of no more than 16 pounds (7.3 kg). Each has two or more drilled holes in which to insert fingers for gripping the ball.

2. Candlepin Bowling, played in eastern Canada and New England, is a variation of ten-pin bowling, with "double-ended" pins that are the tallest in any bowling sport.

3. 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). The official small pin is about 9 3/8 inches (24 cm) high and 4 1/8 inches (10 cm) in diameter at its widest part. It weighs no more than 1 pound 8½ ounces (0.7 kg). The standard small-pin ball has no finger holes. The maximum diameter is 5 inches (13 cm). For duckpins and candlepins, the maximum weight is 4 pounds 12 oz (1.7 kg).

4. Five-Pin Bowling is a bowling variant which is only played in Canada, where many bowling alleys offer it, either alone or in combination with ten-pin bowling. It was devised around 1909 by Thomas F. Ryan in Toronto, Ontario, at his Toronto Bowling Club, in response to customers who complained that the ten-pin game was too strenuous. He cut five tenpins down to about 75% of their size, and used hand-sized hard rubber balls, thus inventing the original version of five-pin bowling.

5. Nine-Pin Skittles, played in Europe. Skittles is an old European target sport, a variety of bowling, from which Ten-pin bowling, Duckpin bowling, and Candlepin bowling in the United States, and Five-pin bowling in Canada are descended. In the United Kingdom the game remains a very popular pub sport in England and Wales, though it tends to be found in particular regions, not nationwide. It is perhaps most common in the south west counties of Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. It is also popular in Worcestershire and South Wales. It is very popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In Australia, other varieties of bowling are more popular, but the similar game of kegel, based on German nine-pin games, is popular in some areas.

Outdoor Variations:
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.

1. Bowls (also known as Lawn Bowls) is a precision sport in which the goal is to roll slightly radially asymmetrical balls (called bowls) closer to a smaller white ball (the "jack" or "kitty" or "sweetie") than one's opponent does. It is played on a variety of surfaces,outdoors on grass or artificial surfaces and indoors on artificial surfaces.

Bowls is related to bocce and pétanque. This game is most popular in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and in other Commonwealth nations.

2. Bocce (or Bocci, or Boccie), is a precision sport closely related to bowls and pétanque with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire. Developed into its present form in Italy, it is played around Europe and also in overseas countries that have received Italian migrants, including Australia, North America and South America (where it is known as bochas), initially amongst the migrants themselves but slowly becoming more popular with their descendants and the wider community. The game is also well-known in former Yugoslavia (bocanje).

3. Pétanque (pronounced [pe.t?~k] in French) is a form of boules where the goal is to throw metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet (jack). The game is normally played on hard dirt or gravel, but can also be played on grass or other surfaces. Sandy beaches are not suitable. Similar games are bocce and bowls.

Pétanque is generally associated with southern France, particularly Provence, whence it originates. It is the most played sport in Marseille. The casual form of the game of Pétanque is played by about 17 million people in France (mostly during their summer vacations). There are about 375,000 players licensed with the Fédération Française de Pétanque et Jeu Provençal (FFPJP). The FFPJP is the 4th-largest sporting federation in France. These licensed players play a more competitive form of Pétanque known as Pétanque Sport.

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