Benefits of Bowling

Bowling is the number one participation sport in the United States with more than 67 million people bowling annually. Bowling provides many benefits for youth including educational, social, psychological and health benefits. Bowling is an equal opportunity lifetime sport.

Education Benefits from Bowling

• Over 200 colleges offer collegiate bowling, with many of these schools providing scholarship opportunities.
• The bowling industry generates over $6 million in scholarships each year.
• Bowling meets the five standards for physical education set by SHAPE America.
• Bowling promotes learning of math skills by calculating scores, figuring averages and learning mathematical systems to adjust to lane conditions and spare shooting.
• Advanced bowling incorporates physics and science including understanding friction, ball motion and biomechanics to name a few.

Social Benefits

• Over 18.8 million youth bowl each year. Bowling centers across the country provide organized youth programs where kids can meet new friends and learn to compete together in individual and team environments.
• High school bowling is one of the fastest growing high school sports with 48 states providing high school bowling programs. Over 54,000 kids bowl in high school varsity bowling.
• Youth who participate in high school bowling programs, are more likely to go to college and bowl in a collegiate program and are more likely to finish a college degree. College bowling is one of the fastest growing collegiate sports.
• Over 10 million kids attend bowling birthday parties each year, making bowling the number one party destination for kids 12 and under.

Psychological Benefits of Bowling

• Organized bowling programs provide life skills such as time management, and understanding winning and losing.
• Leadership programs provide communicational, organizational, management skills. High school students can get involved in league, tournament and association organizations as well as become mentors and coaches to younger bowlers.
• Statistics show that kids that are involved in sports activities are less stressed and less likely to suffer from depression.

Health Benefits of Bowling

• Three games of bowling equal 1 mile of walking.
• Bowling uses 134 muscles.
• Competitive bowling promotes the concept of overall fitness and nutrition. Most college bowling programs focus on physical fitness and nutritional knowledge for peak performance.

Bowling is an Equal Opportunity Lifetime Sport

• There are no barriers to participation and no one sits on the bench in league bowling.
• The youngest person to bowl a 300 game was only 9 years old.
• The oldest person to bowl a 300 game was 89 years young.
• Norm Duke is 5 foot 6 inches tall, weighs 128 pounds and is third most winning player on the Professional Bowlers Association tour.
• Kelly Kulick became the first women to win a national title on the male dominant Professional Bowlers Association tour in 2010.