Tenpin Bowling Terms
Tenpin Bowling Terms - Part 1
Action:
Motion of the pins caused by the bowler's technique; generally, the combination of accuracy, rotation, and other factors, causing pin motion which is horizontal, rather than vertical, since a horizontally spinning pin covers more of the lane.
Address:
Bowler's starting position. (stance)
Alley:
1) A group of lanes; 2) bowling establishment; 3) playing surface,usually made of maple and pine boards; urethane lanes may soon outnumber wood lanes.
All the way:
Finishing a game from any point with nothing but strikes.
American Bowling Congress (ABC):
The world's largest sports organization and the official rule-making body of tenpin bowling.
Anchor:
Last man to roll in team competition. Usually the best bowler; i.e., the bowler most likely to get a strike in the "foundation frame" (the ninth frame) and most likely to "strike out." The term originated in 1913 when a bowler (Hans Arfsparger) for the Anchor Brewing team in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, bowled in the fifth position and struck out 94 times in succession.
Angle:
The direction the ball travels when going into the 1-3 pocket (1-2 for lefties). Recent studies [see reference at end] have shown an optimum angle of 4-6 degrees; less or more angle tends to leave pins as the width of the pocket decreases.
Apple:
1) Bowling ball; 2) bowler who fails to come through in a clutch situation. (choke)
Approach:
1) Part of the lane from the very back of the ball return area to the foul line. Most approaches are 16' long; they are required by the ABC to be at least 15'. (platform, runway) 2) Start of the bowler¹s motion, ending with the start of the delivery, which is when the ball begins its final swing forward to the release.
Armswing:
The arc of the bowling arm and hand from the first move toward the line until the delivery of the ball over the line.
Arrows:
Aiming points embedded in the lane. These seven arrows (usually red or black, but may be other colors) are used for targeting. (darts)
Automatic foul detector:
Light beam at the foul line which sounds an alarm if the bowler's foot crosses it. Penalty for doing so is loss of pins for that ball; the bowler shoots at a new rack of ten pins (which counts as a spare if all are knocked down). (foul, foul line)
Automatic Pinsetter:
First used in the 1940s, the original editions took note of the pins left, swept the entire area, and reset the pins for the spare. This invention is credited for the great bowling boom of the 1950s; the inventor received $1 million from AMF.
Original version by:
J. C. Halstead
Updated and revised 7/31/1995 by:
Mike Thompson
Related: Torrevieja Tenpin Bowling - Bowling History - Builders
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