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Bowling Equipment
- Ball: The spherical object players roll down the lane; its weight, coverstock, and core design influence its performance.
- Bowling Bag: A specialized bag for carrying bowling balls, providing protection and convenience for transportation.
- Fingertip Grip: A grip technique where the fingers are inserted only up to the first joint, offering more control and power.
- House Ball: A bowling ball provided by the bowling alley for general use by players.
- Pin: One of the ten cylindrical objects arranged in a triangular formation at the end of the lane; the objective is to knock down as many as possible.
- Rack: The triangular setup of pins at the beginning of each frame.
- Rail: The side barriers of the lane that help guide the ball toward the pins.
- Shoes: Specialized footwear with sliding soles designed for the approach to the foul line.
Bowling Scoring
- 10-Pin Bowling: The most common form of bowling, featuring ten pins arranged in a triangular formation.
- Average: The average number of pins a bowler knocks down per game.
- Bucket: A spare leave consisting of two pins on one side of the lane and one pin on the other.
- Carry: Successfully knocking down all ten pins with a single delivery.
- Cherry: The front pin in a spare leave.
- Clean Game: A game in which a bowler records strikes or spares in all frames.
- Conversion: Successfully converting a spare or split into a strike.
- Count: The number of pins knocked down on a delivery.
- Cover: Knocking down remaining pins after the first delivery to complete a spare.
- Delivery: The act of releasing the ball toward the pins.
- Double: Achieving two consecutive strikes.
- Draw: A shot that curves toward the center of the lane.
- Eight-Count: Leaving two pins standing after the first delivery.
- Eleven-Count: Leaving three pins standing after the first delivery.
- Fall: The number of pins knocked down on a delivery.
- Frame: One of the ten divisions of a game, consisting of one or two deliveries.
- Full Count: Knocking down all ten pins with both deliveries in a frame.
- Game: A complete session of bowling, typically comprising ten frames.
- Gutter: The troughs on either side of the lane; landing the ball here results in no points.
- Headpin: The front and center pin in the triangular pin setup.
- Hook: The curve the ball takes as it travels down the lane.
- Leave: The pins that remain standing after the first delivery.
- Loft: Throwing the ball with a higher trajectory.
- Mark: Either a strike or a spare.
- Match: A competition between two individuals or teams.
- Messenger: A pin that bounces off the backboard to knock down other pins.
- Middle: The central pins in the triangular formation.
- Nine-Count: Leaving one pin standing after the first delivery.
- Open Frame: A frame in which a player fails to get a strike or spare.
- Overthrow: Throwing the ball too hard or fast.
- Pair: Two consecutive frames.
- Perfect Game: Achieving a score of 300 by recording strikes in all frames.
- Pin Deck: The area at the end of the lane where the pins are set up.
- Pocket: The ideal area between the 1 and 3 pins for a right-handed bowler (or 1 and 2 for a left-handed bowler).
- Pocket Seven-Ten: Leaving only the 7 and 10 pins standing after the first delivery.
- Pocket Hit: A shot that hits the pocket, increasing the chances of a strike.
- Score: The numerical representation of a bowler’s performance in a game.
- Seven-Ten Split: Leaving the 7 and 10 pins standing after the first delivery.
- Spare: Knocking down all remaining pins with the second delivery in a frame.
- Split: Leaving a gap of one or more pins after the first delivery.
- Strike: Knocking down all ten pins with the first delivery in a frame.
- Ten-Count: Leaving no pins standing after the first delivery.
- Three-Bagger: Three consecutive strikes.
- Turkey: Three consecutive strikes.
- Underthrow: Throwing the ball too softly.
- Washout: Leaving a difficult spare combination, usually involving pins on opposite sides of the lane.
Bowling Techniques
- Approach: The series of steps a bowler takes before delivering the ball.
- Backswing: The backward motion of the bowling arm during the delivery.
- Break: The point at which the ball starts to curve toward the pocket.
- Channel: The part of the lane between the gutter and the middle.
- Delivery: The act of releasing the ball toward the pins.
- Follow Through: The continuation of the arm’s motion after releasing the ball.
- Release: The moment when the bowler lets go of the ball.
- Wrist Snap: The sharp movement of the wrist during the release for added spin.
Bowling Terminology
- Alley: The lane where bowling is played.
- Foul Line: The boundary that separates the approach area from the lane; stepping over results in a foul.
- Interference: Any external factor affecting a bowler’s shot.
- Ringer: A lucky or unexpected strike.
- Roll: The motion of the ball down the lane.