Current State of Bowling as a sport?

[Phonetek]

For a while there it seemed like it was dying but is it or is it just changing? I've been getting involved in a lot of the youth programs at work and have been speaking with a lot of people in the area. From my perspective a lot is going on, I could be wrong and maybe it's just around here.

Many of the schools in the area are now offering bowling for gym which I've talked about before. Now a lot of them are getting teams together to battle against other schools which I just found out when we enrolled my son for his last year of middle school. Of course he signed up. My daughter is just starting middle school and it's offered at her age but I have to see if I can talk her into it. The high schools have teams, colleges have teams. So middle school on up. Junior Gold applications have been on the rise the past few years. I think we're going to have a shortage of coaches if this keeps up.

I have heard a lot of chatter about the pro's mostly about the PWBA. I've recently been watching a lot of the ladies and I have to say some of them are VERY impressive and super exciting matches. Of course Liz Johnson but there are a lot of up and coming stars. Daria Pajak is amazing to watch, I predict a Hall of Famer there. With all the changes where thumbless and 2 handers are the norm it's brought a lot of diversity to the sport. I used to despise the sight of them but they've caught my attention now and think everything I've mention is bringing new life to bowling. Again from my perspective given everything I've seen, I believe bowling is here to stay and the popularity is going to start booming again very soon. I think it's exciting!

Am I just too optimistic because of my revived love for this sport since coming back to it and it really is dying?

[JasonNJ]

I think the overall numbers are down and the tough thing is most people don't view bowling as a sport. League participation is still down but I think High School Bowling and Collegiate bowling may be at an all time high. So I think there is hope but I don't think we'll ever see bowling as it was. I just hope league bowling never dies out, too many Bowlero type night club bowling alleys.

[mc_runner]

Dying no, undergoing a correction yes. It'll never be as high as it was, due to changing culture and time constraints. After centers close, I think you'll see a lot of the ones that remain busy, full of bowlers/leagues etc as the area will consolidate around what's left.

The PBA coming back to network TV is a big step too.

[LowDown]

If you haven't read Bowling Alone it's a pretty interesting read. It's not really the competitive bowling scene that is declining as much as the social bowling. As our sense of community changes it becomes more of a situation where people who like to bowl seek out leagues rather than most people in the community joining a league because it was the social thing to do. It sort of goes hand in hand with the decline in the old social clubs in general. Think about it in terms of mobility, back in the day your friends used to be in your own community because of physical limitations. Now a lot of you who have kids probably deal with trying to drag them off of Fortnite where they are playing with "friends" half way around the globe. As a side note I tried playing Fortnite only to discover that apparently every 12-14 year old in the western hemisphere has had sex with my mom, I never knew.

Near me there were 10 bowling centers scattered around the city in the 80's, some only a couple miles away from one another, and all of them did well. Of those there are now 5 and one was turned into more of a "Fun Center" with video games, laser tag and about 14 lanes.

[fordman1]

Bowling is in bad shape. You hear about another center closing every week. Reasons vary much of it is a sedentary society. Kids today are just interested in that little gadget in their hand.
Bowling in the past used to be a Blue collar sport. So many people worked in factories and there were always work leagues. Today the blue collar work force has dwindled and those who still work don't make enough to bowl and raise a family. Bowling cost went up and pay has been stagnant since the 70's. The factories were automated and workers disappeared. Unions are just about gone so no pay increases.
Talk about kids look at how many play soccer. I never see kids playing any thing outside at a park that isn't supervised by an adult anymore. The bar in the bowling alley is what keeps most open. if there are no Leagues they are doomed.

[Phonetek]

Such diverse answers, more than I expected. I can definitely agree that the economy has played a part. Video games and people being able to be entertained more without leaving their home does not help either. One thing I see that did re-occur is talk about "how it used to be or once was" aka the 80's/90's. I think in order for the sport to move forward the thinking has to change from "what it was" to "what it could be". The 80's are over, I can't think of too many things from then that were popular that are more popular today that haven't at least evolved with the times.

As far as leagues go, at my center they are all already nearly maxed out and they are still a couple weeks out from starting. The kids league went from a sorry 6 lane 3 man team last year to all 12 lanes 5 man teams. A second one is forming and it's filling fast. I don't know what's going on in Michigan Fordman, sounds like someone needs to get out there and get all those kids and former factory workers and get some leagues going! If they want to make them a little more affordable they don't HAVE to be certified leagues to bring the costs down.

[boatman37]

The 80's are over
Crap! Does that mean I can't keep my mullet, spandex, and parachute pants? Geez. Way to ruin my day! lol

Love the 80's though. Wish I could go back. Now where is that flux capacitor?

[boatman37]

Not sure if this is indicative of the current state but last year we had 17 teams (5 man teams). I started back in January as a sub but the following week was permanent. We had 6 counting me but one guy was going to miss the following week then that same week another quit. When the first guy had to take an extended leave due to surgery the one that quit came back and finished the year. Now that 'quitter' was going to leave our team this year to join a different team but just found out that team isn't coming back at all. Our captain informed us 2 weeks ago that he wasn't coming back because he took on a 2nd full time job and wouldn't be able to bowl. We picked up one guy that was on a different team last year but still need one more. They texted the 'quitter' to see what he was doing now since the team he was going to leave for has dropped out but last I heard he has not responded. So we still need 1 more to fill our roster plus the one team left. I had heard that a few other bowlers left too but not sure how many.

Our summer league is strong. We have 40 2 man teams (most teams have at least 3 and rotate). I think we have about 120 or so total bowlers and they had to turn teams away. We only have 40 lanes so 40 teams was max.

Note: when I say 'quitter' it wasn't in a negative context, just to try to make it less confusing....lol. He is a good guy and we hope he comes back

[Florida Bowler]

Crap! Does that mean I can't keep my mullet, spandex, and parachute pants? Geez. Way to ruin my day! lol

Love the 80's though. Wish I could go back. Now where is that flux capacitor?

Don't get rid of your old stuff, it usually comes back every 20 years or so. And as for the flux capacitor:

https://www.oreillyauto.com/flux-capacitor

[boatman37]

Don't get rid of your old stuff, it usually comes back every 20 years or so. And as for the flux capacitor:

https://www.oreillyauto.com/flux-capacitor

lol...

[Phonetek]

Bowl1820, Rob? Any input? I'm curious on your guy's take on the OP.

[Timmyb]

We're getting a brand new bowling alley here in Milwaukee. one of those "Round 1" sports and entertainment thingies. Not sure what that is, but I bet it's the first new center round here in over 40 years....

[classygranny]

I think a lot of our decline here in the West is two-fold (or more). Younger people with careers, family, and such don't want to make the "commitment". When we try and solicit new bowlers they freak-out that it is going to be every week for 34-36 weeks. Same day, same time, same amount of money, each and every week is just more than they can handle. Also, the commitment to spend the money bowling - $15-$25 a week for that many weeks puts a dent in most budgets unless you're an avid bowler.

In addition to this, we are being serviced by a capitalist movement as 90%+ of our alleys are owned by Bowlmor. They don't care about the league bowlers so our membership keeps declining year after year. Only going to get worse as they remodel the alleys to be their "entertainment" centers.

[LowDown]

I know I am cautious about joining a team if I don't know if they have access to a number of possible subs. Unfortunately the last league I did I actually had to quit because my hours got switched to nights for 3 months.

[ALazySavage]

Speaking from my personal experience, I still bowl in two leagues during the fall (one of those being with my wife) but to do any more than that is in a sense maxing out my time. If you take a typical 8-5 employee and they bowl two nights out of the week that is pretty much two entire days that are committed every week for the 34-36 weeks of league. If you have young kids this leaves you with the option of bringing them to the alley where you are either giving them attention or giving your team attention - and that doesn't take into consideration potential school/homework requirements as well as their extra curricular activities. This doesn't include other things like gym time, spending nights out with friends who don't bowl, one-time events (concerts/sporting events), meet-ups, etc.

I would compare this to the issue that many cable television networks are facing. It isn't that the sport has necessarily changed, it is that the opportunity for other activities have spread out the participation pool to a certain degree.

Lastly, the mix of bowlers in a league can be an underrated deterrent as well. The league I bowl in with my wife has a few teams that are simply miserable to bowl against - a few have attitude issues which they will always try and shift onto others and some teams are just painfully slow (there are nights you are there until 10:30 pm simply because you are matched up with them).

[boatman37]

We lost 3 guys on our team (net 2 because I joined mid season). One left because of age and surgeries/injuries. One left because he was going to join a different team but now I hear that team won't be back and he hasn't responded to our texts and our captain is leaving because of work. We did pick up one new member that was on a different team last year but we are still short a member. Been asking around our summer league and everyone is either already bowling Tuesday nights or can't make it because of other obligations. We are going to keep our captain on the team as a backup because he said he could pre-bowl if we need him to but still need a 5th full time member.

[Albundy]

There is now only one summer league..mine. that has 4 per team...plus the adult child one. There used be 2 teen summer leagues 20 yrs ago. I don't see those now. There are definitely more options out there now but I also see girls getting inspired by there dads to take up bowling especially since there is more scholarship money possible. I only won $300 when I was a teenager. That paid for some books.