Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: Is bowling making a come back??

  1. #1
    High Roller Phonetek's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Location
    West Suburbs of Chicago, Illinois
    Posts
    1,840
    Chats: 0

    Default Is bowling making a come back??

    I've only been on this board for a very short time and back to bowling for just a couple weeks. I have read a ton of threads and comments that say "Ive just started bowling again after "X" amount of years usually +10". Am I reading too much into this or would the stats show that bowling popularity is on the rise?

    If your someone who just came back to the sport, comment below
    Last edited by Phonetek; 01-14-2018 at 10:05 PM.

  2. #2

    Default

    Hey Phonetek, I came back after guessing a 3 yr hiatus.. I know, not that long...

    The first thing I noticed were how busy the leagues are at my centre, I later discovered they closed down another centre 20 min away, so we picked up a fair percentage of their bowlers... To my eyes though, I see only a temporary reprieve here.. We have such few juniors/kids bowling leagues... In another 10-20 yrs a lot of leagues bowlers may be calling it a day... The 18-30 demographic doesn't seem interested in bowling (at least in Australia).. not sure in USA or other countries... We also have technology inc phones/Ipad, internet, playstation and bloody social media that directly competes against committing each week to league bowling!!!!

    I would be interested in reading about USA's stats here.. I have read that there was once something like 8 million bowling around mid to late 80's, that number was down (according to some posters on other bowling sites) to something like only 1.5 million, and dropping!

  3. #3
    High Roller Phonetek's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Location
    West Suburbs of Chicago, Illinois
    Posts
    1,840
    Chats: 0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Hobbit View Post
    I would be interested in reading about USA's stats here.. I have read that there was once something like 8 million bowling around mid to late 80's, that number was down (according to some posters on other bowling sites) to something like only 1.5 million, and dropping!
    I agree it's surely down from the 80's no doubt. Personal technology gizmo's are definitely part of it. I have 3 kids and they spend more time in the house playing with gizmo's than they do outside or even playing indoor sports. Heck, I was outside rain or shine. Rain was a great excuse to hit the lanes. Either way, sitting inside playing Atari was usually a late night thing not something I did the second I got home from school. My oldest is a perfect example, he complains he's out of shape and overweight. Well, he's a computer guru. I'm not up to date on the latest exercises you can do while sitting on a computer. Clicking a mouse and pounding on keys isn't gonna cut it. Bowling isn't exactly the most strenuous sport in the world but throw 30-40 games like I did on an average Saturday then wake up Sunday and tell me you don't feel like you got exercise LOL I'm happy my middle son has sparked interest in bowling. Sad thing is, he talks about it at school and he said out of everyone he talks to that there isn't one kid that he knows that bowls. It's very sad. When I made the post, I was just noticing how many adults were coming back to the game at least on here. I'm sure it's a very tiny percentage in the grand scheme of things. At this point every little bit will help.

    Hopefully my kid will continue to spread the word and MAYBE just MAYBE it will get some kids he knows to go try it. I will say that it did actually help him in one class talking about it. He disliked the teacher causing him to not do well in the class. The teacher overheard him talking about bowling and told him he's a bowler too. Now he looks forward to the class just so he can tell his teacher what he's learned everyday and consequently his grade has gone up. As far as US stats I don't have a clue but I'm sure there is stats somewhere about it. I'd hate to see a great sport fade away to nothingness by the time of my grandchildren would be old enough to bowl.

  4. #4

    Default

    Phonetek, I too have 3 boys.. Fortunately they are all into basketball.. So that can keep them all quite active, however the minute they aren't practicing in the driveway, at training or playing a competitive game, they can be found with their phone, Ipad or Ps4.. Think it's the nature of kids.. Downtime is technology...
    Today I actually played Connect 4 with a couple of them, just to break it up.. That was fun!

    Sadly my kids only bowl once every 6 months for fun, and don't really see bowling other than recreation..

    If bowling could attract kids back into the sport, I fear for my center's longevity in 10+ years....

  5. #5
    Cranker
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    924
    Chats: 0

    Default

    I think overall league bowling is still dying but I think there is some hope. I think high school and college bowling has really gained some momentum and there's a bunch of program like junior gold and stuff like that bringing high school kids into bowling. So hopefully when they get older they stick with it and bring back league bowling a little.

    Also companies like AMF Bowlmor has been ruining league bowling the last 5 years or so. They convert their centers to these "Family Fun Center" and kick out half their leagues.

  6. #6
    High Roller Phonetek's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Location
    West Suburbs of Chicago, Illinois
    Posts
    1,840
    Chats: 0

    Default

    I recently spoke to the owner of the local center. He told me that he approached the school district telling them that his bowling center would sponsor youth leagues from grades K-12 including scholarship programs for the 4 high schools. All the district would have to do is gather and put teams together and he'd do the rest. Sadly he was turned away, they said they weren't interested.

  7. #7

    Default

    Hobbit, I can relate. Both I and my son are computer geeks. However, I believe that physical activity is important. My son, not so much. But, because he has a physical education requirement to graduate high school, he was given options on what take. When he procrastinated, he had to sign up to be on the bowling team.

    He complains but, little by little, he's getting better.

    I will say, though, the school has a healthy-sized bowling team. Well, there are actually 4 teams (Varsity girls and boys, JV girls and boys).

    So, maybe there's hope. Also, from what I hear, there are very few concussions in bowling so, there a good reason to get the kids to look at this sport.
    Last edited by jaypeesmith; 01-23-2018 at 08:35 AM.

  8. #8
    Bowling Guru Amyers's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Charleston, WV
    Posts
    3,991
    Chats: 32

    Default

    Sport Youth bowling is doing ok it doesn't have the size it once did in the 80's but it seems to have some serious fans. Unfortunately a lot leave the sport after graduation and it takes years for them to come back wasn't any different from us takes time to get your life going. I do worry about the health of most centers as the boomers retire things don't look real good
    I am a proud member of Bowlingboards.com bowling forums and ball contest winner

    Current arsenal

    900 Global Badger Claw - Radical Ridiculous Pearl - Spare Ball Ebonite T Zone

  9. #9
    Pin Crusher
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Dearborn Mi
    Posts
    1,398
    Chats: 0

    Default

    When leagues die so do centers. Just look at all the centers in your area that closed. Most didn't have a strong league base. All those chain centers that ran off leagues will find out that fad bowling is only good for a short time. So where are all those youth bowlers going to bowl? Your good league base is where you get your profit. Not from lineage but from sales from food and the BAR. The profit comes from the Big Friday night league that shows up every week for 33 weeks and ends up with a large bar tab. Most of the moonlight bowling is kids who smoke pot or smuggle in drinks or are just too young to buy beer etc.

  10. #10
    Bowling Guru
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Connecticut
    Posts
    3,501
    Chats: 13

    Default

    The youth program at my local center was almost dead about 10 years ago. The PSO took over running the youth league, and has successfully brought it back.

    I think one of the reasons youth bowling is doing well, is that colleges and universities are looking at more than just G.P.A.s in deciding who to accept. The nerd with a 4.0 whose only extracurricular activity is Honor Society no longer has a lock for getting into the school of his or her choice. It has become the standard to have at least two extras, so a lot of kids look to bowling as a way to get a sport on their resume without having to sweat.
    John

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •