Bowling basics: perfecting your throwing technique

Bowling is a sport that for years has enjoyed unflagging popularity among bowling enthusiasts from all over the world. What is worth knowing when we start our adventure with this type of activity? How to improve your throwing technique?

Choice of bowling shoes and bowling ball

Let’s start from the beginning. Everyone who has been to the bowling alley at least once for sure knows that before starting to play it is necessary to put on special shoes with white leather sole, which effectively protects the floor from abrasions. The footwear also allows you to make a slide at the end of the throw.

An equally important element is the proper selection of the ball. Individual sports accessories of this type differ from each other in weight and in the spacing and size of the toe holes. They are divided into 3 main types: children’s (6-8), women’s (9-11) and men’s (12-16). Theoretically, the heavier the ball, the greater the chance of knocking down all the pins, but of course there’s no sense in going mad and using a ball you can barely lift.

How to adjust the appropriate weight of the ball? To do this, we stand in front of the person with whom we will play bowling, and we ask him to extend a slightly bent hand with an open palm (it must be directed upwards). Grab the ball of your choice and place it on the palm of your hand. When the person is able to hold it effortlessly, we take the next one, which is 1 number heavier. The ideal bowling ball is one that can only be held for a short time and that requires effort to hold. The heavier it is, the better.

How to properly grip a bowling ball? Slide your thumb and 2 middle fingers into it. The first of them should hide completely, the other 2 – to the second knuckle. The rest of the hand should be flush with the surface of the ball. If this has been done correctly, it will be possible to throw even a very heavy ball without squeezing it or worrying that the fingers will get blocked in the holes. Thanks to this, if we manage to hit the ball in the very center of the bowling pin, we will surely knock them all out!

Scoring in bowling

Bowling points are counted in the following way:

• Strike – it is a situation, when a player manages to hit all pins on the lane in the first throw. Then he does not need to make another throw and automatically passes to the next turn. Strike is equivalent to gaining 10 points, to which points for next 2 throws are added. A strike obtained in the last turn results in 2 additional throws.
• Spare – this term refers to all the pins knocked down during 1 collection in 2 throws. The player receives 10 points + the sum of pins thrown in the next collection. When the player manages to get the spare in the last turn, he is entitled to 1 additional throw.
• Miss – is when a certain number of pins has been dropped in 1 throw.
• Split – is when the pins are placed in 2 different points which are not adjacent to each other.
• Foul – it means that during the throw the player has crossed the burn line drawn on the floor. In spite of knocking down the pins, the points are not counted, regardless of their number.

Steps in bowling

In bowling – as in most sports – technique plays a key role. Without proper preparation you may be able to bowl all the pins once in a while, but you will miss just as often. Not everyone has to be a world champion, of course, but since we are already joining the game it is worth working on our skills. In this way bowling will become pure pleasure!

To improve your technique, remember that in bowling before the throw you take a small run, which consists of four steps. The first 3 are taken in an upright position. The last one, on the other hand, should be completed with a slide of the left leg for right-handers and the right leg for left-handers. The first step should be as short as possible, the last step should be as long as possible. The first step starts with the right leg. The bowling ball should be held in front of you at a distance of about 20-30 centimetres from your chest. Additionally, it should be supported by the left hand. Finally, we make a forward swing.

The second step is to make a downward swinging motion with the bowling ball. During the third step, the bowling ball performs a backward swinging motion. Note that it should not be above the shoulder. The fourth step is to swing the ball forward with the slide and release it from the hand. The bowling throw must be executed at the moment when the right leg responsible for the balance of the body stops at the back. During the first 3 steps, focus on giving the ball a sweep. During the last one we throw it forward strongly.

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