Bowling

The crashing of pins, the suspense of the
shot, the smell of shoe cleaner... what’s not
to love about bowling? But just because we
love bowling, does that make it a sport? We
discuss the controversial issue: can bowling

n the topic of whether or not
() nit should be considered

a sport or not, few areas are more
contentious than bowling. The detractors will
tell you that of course bowling is not a sport.
After all, have you seen those guys on T.V.?
They raise the bar when it comes to beer guts.

When you think about it, it is easy to
see that point as a casual sports fan. After all,
while I don’t know any professional bowlers,
I think it’s safe to say that I can run faster
than most of them. I can probably shoot a
basketball better or hit a golf ball further as
well because physically, most bowlers aren’t
really the LeBron James or the Tiger Woods
of the sports world. For the most part they just
look like your average, middle-aged, out-of-
shape guy.

Despite this however, there are plenty of
aspects that qualify bowling as a sport; there
is a physical aspect to bowling for one thing.
You have to have exceptional accuracy and
be able to maintain that marksmanship for
ten full frames. You are competing against

16

 

(re

 

Many aspects of bowling make it a sport
By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor

other bowlers and there are bowling leagues
of varying degrees of competitiveness.
While bowling isn’t an Olympic event, and
is unlikely to ever become one, there is no
shortage of bowling teams with uniforms and
strategy. The pros have a television contract
with several networks, albeit not a great one.
You have to have a decent measure of
control over the ball in order to play well. The
ball is heavy and you have to be able to have
different shots depending on how the pins fall
and which are left standing. To be able to bowl
a 300 game or close to it is extremely hard and
requires a ton of skill and mental toughness.
Balance is always very important to be
successful in bowling. The weight of the ball
shifts constantly while you’re throwing it so
you have to be coordinated enough to still
throw the ball properly while that’s happening.

THE VERDICT:

So no, bowling doesn’t require nearly the
same level of endurance or stamina as
something like hockey or baseball. However, I
don’t think that should disqualify it as a sport.
Bowling is a sport.

 

What’s so “sporty” about throwing a ball down a lane?

By Stephanie Trembath

Canada is known for hockey, the U.S.
is big on baseball and basketball,
Europeans own the soccer World Cup
and Australia has their own football
league known as “footy” or the AFL.
In China tennis and badminton are the
top-watched sporting events, while in
India field hockey is the national sport.
In Russia gymnastics is one of the most
popular sports to compete in, and in
Africa rugby and cricket are the top
choices. Of all the different countries
and sporting events researched not once
did I come across bowling.

While bowling can be competitive
if it’s played in a league, and it does
require activity and skill, I am not
sure that holding a ball in one hand
and hurling it down a lane at a row of
still pins is sport-worthy. How exactly
would one train for bowling, and what
muscle groups would one work out?
There is certainly not a lot of movement
involved. I guess you could do hand
exercises to enhance the grip on the ball;
playing Nintendo works out the fingers

so that could be a good training program.

Bowlers should also workout the gluteus
so at least the spectators have something
decent to look at. Thanks to the lack of

    

really be considered a sport?

oe

cardio bowlers aren’t all that impressive
to look at from the front, unless you
consider beer bellies attractive.

But hey, LeBron James could
always trade in his signature Nike’s for
a pair of slip-free bowling shoes and
make bowling the next up-and-coming
sport to compete in. If the U.S. can re-
make Britney Spears into a pop-icon
then surely they can take bowling and
convince the rest of the world that it is,
indeed, a sport. Brittney Spears is really
talented, right?

If bowling is a sport, then Wayne
Gretzky should start professionally
playing darts, and Serena Williams
should hang up her tennis skirt and
pick up a ping pong racket instead.
Considering that poker is usually on
TSN, does that make poker players
athletes too? In that case, my advice
would be for all students to quit
competing for volleyball, lacrosse, or
basketball scholarships and take up
professional poker playing instead.

THE VERDICT:

The bottom line; even though bowling
can be competitive and requires
measures of precision, balance, and
stamina, it should be considered a
competitive game... not a sport.

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