6 days ago
Looking back on bowling: a game of speed, skill and special shoes
Bowling has always been a favourite pastime and with National Bowling Day this week, we're remembering how we loved to launch those balls down the alley.
The Rotary Club annual kids' day out to Aquarium of the Lakes and Barrow Superbowl (Image: Richard English) The day falls on the second Saturday in August and commemorates one of the nation's classic sports. People of all ages can play it, as well as those with disabilities, and more than 100 million people worldwide love the game. The purpose of this day is to get more of us interested in bowling.
Barrow's bowling alley was hit by a major blaze in 1972 (Image: Newsquest) In 1956 the Bowling Owners' Association of America organised the first National Bowling Day.
Steve Adair, owner of Eclipse bowling alley in Workington, sponsored the Katy Holmes Trust Fundraiser of the Year award at the North West Pride Awards 2015 (Image: Newsquest) Millions of bowlers got together, in hundreds of tournaments across 48 states, and helped raise money for the American Red Cross. The final of the National Bowling Day tournament was televised and was graced with the presence of famous bowlers.
Roose Primary School pupils set up projects to try and make money including a café, cake stall, toy store, bowling alley, bracelet stall and washing cars (Image: Newsquest) Even though this was a one-off event, the interest was so great that people kept celebrating the day. It is still tied to charity, and events such as the Million Pin Challenge have been held on National Bowling Day.
Work being carried out laying the bowling alley lanes, Hollywood Park (Image: Newsquest) We know that bowling derives from centuries-old sports as wall drawings and artifacts of a game with pins and balls have been found in tombs and excavations that date back to 5200 BC. In Roman times, there was a game that consisted of throwing stone objects as close as possible to other objects, which evolved into what we now know as Bocce.
Bride Lauren Jackson from Hull who had her wedding reception at the bowling alley on Currock Road, Carlisle (Image: Newsquest)
The modern game of bowling as we know it probably derives from a German game called Kegels. Players would roll stones trying to knock down the Kegels at the end of an alley, and believed that if they knocked them down their sins would be forgiven.
Carer Connor Morrison enjoys his prize day out to AMF Bowling in Carlisle as his dad, Christopher, looks on, after winning a News & Star competition (Image: Newsquest) Bowling was first played with nine pins, but laws were made against nine-pin bowling because of gambling, so people added one more pin to the game to bend the rules, in 1841.
Tynedale Indoor Bowls Club members with chairman Keith Henderson showing their anger at news that the bowling rink would be turned into a 10 pin bowling alley (Image: Newsquest) The game has remained with ten pins ever since. Bowling used to be played with wooden balls but in 1905 the rubber compound bowling balls that we know today were first introduced.
