by Katley Demetria Brown

Created on: August 31, 2009   Last Updated: September 01, 2009

Bowling is a sport for everyone, from preschoolers to seniors. You can bowl for fun, or if you're competitive, you can join a league. Bowling centers offer activities for all ages, including Friday and Saturday night Galactic Bowling (popular with teens and young adults), birthday parties for children, and daytime leagues for retired people. Even the disabled can bowl with the use of a ball ramp.

The best thing about the sport is its simplicity. All that's required is a pair of bowling shoes, a ball, and of course a place to bowl. No shoes? No ball? No problem. You can rent a pair of shoes at the front desk, and you can borrow a ball from one of many on racks along the wall of the bowling center. Once you've been bowling a while, you may want to buy your own gear. Using a custom drilled ball will help improve your score, and rental shoes never seem to fit properly.

Bowling balls range in weight from six to sixteen pounds, with a circumference of about 27 inches. The lighter balls (under ten pounds) are used mainly by children, whereas adults prefer a ball weighing between 10 and 16 pounds. Bowling balls have three holes, one for the thumb, the other two for the third and fourth fingers. Left-handers are at a disadvantage using a "house" ball (one that the bowling alley provides), as most of these are drilled for right-handed people.

The lane measures 60 feet from the foul line to the head pin, and is 41.5 inches wide. The area that leads to the foul line is called the approach. Pins are arranged in a triangle formation, with the head pin in the center, are set 12 inches apart, and weigh about 3 pounds 8 ounces each. Those new to bowling often roll the ball in the gutter, which is a trough on the left and right hand sides of each lane. Pins are automatically reset by machine every time a player throws a ball down the lane.

Bowling establishments, in order not to discourage young and/or inexperienced bowlers, provide retractable devices called bumpers, which prevent the balls from rolling into the gutters. During league play, bumpers are not allowed.

With electronic scoring, you don't have to know how to keep score, because the computer will do it for you. Many people find scorekeeping complicated and confusing, but basically here's how it works:

The goal of ten pin bowling is to knock down all the pins with the first ball, which is called a strike. A player must also not step on or past the foul line (the line which separates the approach from the lane). Each

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