Finland checking in!

[K3ntFIN]

Hi everyone,

I'm Kristian from Finland. Yup, that's right, that wee country in northern Europe, close to Russia.
I've been bowling for about 6 years now. This game really took me for a spin when I started to get serious about it. I went on a few training sessions and thought, 'I want to know more'. So here I am, an ETBF level III coach and I coach juniors and adults alike. I'm also chairman of the Finnish Bowling Coach Association with about 60 members, spread out across our small nation.
I have two other hobbies I'm passionate about, dogs and photography. You'll get to know those soon enough.
Looking forward to some good discussions about this great game, thanks for having me around.

[The Mayor]

Hi Kristian!

Welcome to the site! I've always wanted to visit Finland, seems like a great place. It's good to have someone with your knowledge joining the site. I know it will be a great help to everyone!

Dustin

[K3ntFIN]

Thanks for that. I shall do what I can. Finland is quite nice I guess. It's a bit hard to say since I live here and see it everyday. But then again, there are like a thousand places in the US I want to visit.

[bdpeters]

welcome to the site Kristian. it will be interesting to hear more about bowling in europe. I am a novice and am sure I can learn from your experience.

Bri

[littlelegs]

Hi Kristian. I originally hail from the UK so you're not though only European kicking around here even if Finalnd and England are totally different (amazing how many people over here seem to think that Europe is a single place and not just a very loose collection of very individual countries).

[MiggityMac]

Hi Kristian, Welcome aboard to the boards!
What kind of dog(s) do you have? How many bowling centers are in your area and do they have various surfaces? (Wood or Synthetic) Also, are the ladies as interested in bowling as the men? One more question, what kind of ball do you use?
Looking forward to your comments here.

[got_a_300]

Hi Kristian,
Welcome to the forums looking forward to hearing any advice you
are willing to share.

[K3ntFIN]

Thanks everyone. Good to see other Europeans around as well.
To answer a couple of questions that were posted. I have one Great Pyrenean, big, white fluffy thing, my princess, she's turning 7 this April. We even share the same birthday.
And there's the dynamic duo, our two Beaucerons (Mandi & Narnia, 5 and 3 years ols respectively). They are our sporting dogs. We go kickbiking, do canicross, messaging etc with them. They have batteries that never run out. The Great Pyrenean (Lumi) isn't too keen on fast moving sports, she likes tracking and using her nose, more of the contemplative type, but she's still the leader of the pack.

Finland has a total of 120 bowling centers, give or take 5 depending on which ones just opened and which ones just closed. Around where I live there's a bout 20 within 45minutes drive, the closest is about 15minutes away. All the lanes around here are now synthetic, there was one that had wooden lanes, but they also went synthetic in 2008. Now I know of only one bowling alley in the country that still has wooden lanes. As for variations, I think the division is 45% Brunswick, 45% AMF and the rest System300 surfaces.

Ladies tend to be quite interested in bowling, but not competitively, which means they love to go bowling and practise rigorously but competing isn't as much of a driver for them as it is for the men. That said, I think for registered bowlers that go competing in Finland the division is 65% to 35% maybe even 60-40.

Ooh, the ball question... what do I say to this? I use the ball that gives me the most strikes? I have a set of 10 and they are all VERY different but can be made quite similar with quick surface adjustments. I was going to say I don't think I have any Ebonite balls, but I was wrong, I have the Ebonite Skull Ball as a spare ball. My Brunswick C-System 3.5 is drilled for maximum skid-flip, whereas my Colombia 300 Orange Freeze is drilled to make a long smooth arc, my old but trusted Hammer Black Widow Venom is drilled for a laid-back skid flip, i.e not such crazy angles as the C-System one. I have a Storm Natural Pearl urethane for those old-skool flat lane profiles etc. I am fortunate in the sense that I do not favor any particular ball manufacturer, nor do I have 6 identical balls, I can easily switch to what suits the conditions and my throw that day.
Having said all that, for most competitions I go to I take 3 balls. I pre-check what the conditions are at the alley and select my gear according to that. If I was going to visit an alley where I've never been before, I'd probably beef out the arsenal to 6. But no more, if I can't find the right equipment from 6 balls, it's probably not going to happen from a 100.

[MiggityMac]

Nice bro, I enjoyed reading your comments and found them to be very informative.

[K3ntFIN]

We had a photosession yesterday of me coaching the juniors, and I also ended up in some shots. This is me: http://www.flickr.com/photos/takanen...faves-k3ntfin/

I love that picture. It is fantastic. As a coach there are a few things I like, and a few things I seem to need to work on.
a) the supporting leg and upper body angles are textbook stuff, which I'm kinda proud of. I didn't know I did it like that.
b) the free arm could be straighter, that would give me a little bit more speed. Not that I'm starved of it.
c) I seem to have forced the release a bit, therefore my hand ends up in a fist during the follow-through. Need to work on that, after all, this isn't a game of maximum strength.