10 Pin Bowling History and Scoring System

The ten-pin bowling or more commonly called bowling is one of the most favorite indoor games around the globe. It is also a very competition oriented sport. In this game the bowler or the player has to roll down a ball in certain track known called lane with the motive to strike down as many pins possible standing at the other side. The more pins get knocked down the more the player scores.

In the year 1930 a British anthropologist, named Sir Flinders Petrie with his team of archaeologists traced out bowling pins and bowling balls inside the grave of an Egyptian boy. Researches revealed that the grave belongs to 3200 BC. Till today this is known to be the earliest trace of bowling in history.

The lane is generally made up of wood. But nowadays some synthetic materials are also being used for making bowling lanes. The lane has some special measurement. Its width is 105cm and length is 60 feet. At the end of the lane there is a line close to the bowler. This line is called foul line. After rolling over a ball through the lane, if any body part of the bowler touches the foul line then the number of pins knocked by that particular delivery will not be counted. The bowler will be given no points for that particular delivery. Behind the foul line there is a space called approach. This approach is usually 15 feet in length. This space gives the bowler the required speed before rolling down the ball. At the end of the 60 feet lane there is wide surface called the pin deck. This pin deck is hard and shock resistant where the pins are set in racks.

The scoring system of bowling is a unique one. Multiple marks can be given in this sport depending not only on the recent scores but also from strikes and spares. If in the first delivery all ten pins are knocked down it is called a strike. When all the balls are down by the second delivery it is a spare. When some pins still remain standing while some are down with a delivery it is called open. The maximum points that can be scored in 10 pins bowling is 300.