As they walked through the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame during its grand opening in Arlington, Texas, in early 2010, Jim Goodwin, John Sommer, and a few others immediately noticed that something important was missing. It didn't take long to figure it out. There was nothing there to honor the long legacy of professional women bowlers. On June 29, 2011 as part of The Night at the Campus event during International Bowl Expo, 50 Years of Women's Pro Bowling was unveiled to the world.
Together they form one of the most famous couples on the bowling lanes. But for Del Ballard and Carolyn Dorin-Ballard (pictured), that pales to what they are doing off them. The Keller, Texas, twosome joined forces with family, friends and the North Texas business community Sept. 14 for a highly-successful second edition of their Ballards vs. The Big "C" charity event at AMF Euless. Thanks to participation by nearly 200 people on 48 teams the event raised more than $41,000.
When we last featured the United States Bowling Congress, it had changed its focus from overseeing the sport as the United States Olympic Committee-designated National Governing Body (NGB) to creating programs and services that enhance the membership experience and create lifelong bowlers. But just two years later, at the 2013 USBC Convention in Reno, Nev., the organization revealed "new" mission and vision statements similar to its original charge in 2005.
While the name changed slightly, the content still focuses on America's love affair with bowling and how changes in the country and the sport are related. All are captured in the new book "Bowling: America's Greatest Indoor Pastime" now available across the world. Authored by The Bowling Examiner, the 64-page paperback traces the sport from its ancient beginnings in Egypt to Europe and eventually to the United States during the 1800s when many people emigrated across the Atlantic Ocean bringing their popular game with them.
With more than nine million people competing in leagues and tournaments in the late 1970s, bowling was unquestionably the biggest participation sport in the United States and arguably in the world. Since then it has clearly lost such high status. Membership in the United States Bowling Congress now is below two million for the first time in 60 years. Meanwhile, there are more than 3.3 million competitive soccer participants and well above five million softball players in the U.S. alone.
Bowling first had a close encounter with the Olympics in 1936 when an international tournament in Berlin, Germany, was conducted at the same time as the Olympics. But it was not an official part of those Games or any others until 1988 when it was an exhibition sport in Seoul, South Korea. Efforts to even get to that stage began in 1963 when bowling first applied to the International Olympic Committee to be considered a sport something that took until 1979 to achieve.
To celebrate the start of another bowling season, National Bowling Day will be held on Saturday, Aug. 11 across America and anyone in the country can directly take part thanks to a free game of bowling. Valid at any participating bowling center, the free games are available by logging on to gobowling.com. Those who do so also will automatically entered into a drawing for a free ultra-fast 4G LTE iPad.
America's love affair with bowling and how changes in the country and the sport are related are the focus of a new book called Bowling: America's Greatest Game, slated to be available worldwide in late October. Authored by The Bowling Examiner, the 64-page paperback traces the sport from its ancient beginnings in Egypt to Europe and eventually to the United States during the 1800s when many people emigrated across the Atlantic Ocean bringing their popular game with them.
In conditions better suited for the beach than a bowling tournament, Kelly Kulick showed once again Wednesday night why she's among the world's best bowlers. The Union, N.J., right-hander found her way past the windy, dusty conditions of a Reno, Nev., night to capture the 2012 U.S. Women's Open and the $40,000 top prize. The event was conducted on four specially-installed lanes under the famous Reno Arch on Virginia Street in the city's downtown. 
Professional Bowlers Association and United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame member Norm Duke (pictured) is the latest addition to the BowlSole organization. The 48-year-old Clermont, Fla., resident will serve as the company's celebrity spokesperson beginning with appearances June 27-28 in the BowlSole booth at International Bowl Expo in Reno, Nev. BowlSole is the world's first disposable pad that directly adheres to
virtually all types of street shoes and slides the same as regular
bowling shoes. 
No matter who won Sunday's title match in the 69th U.S. Open, history was going to be made. Fortunately for Pete Weber, it was him. Weber's strike on the day's final shot at Brunswick Zone-Carolier in North Brunswick, N.J., gave him a 215-214 victory over Mike Fagan of Grapevine, Texas. It marked the PBA and USBC Hall of Famer's fifth U.S. Open title surpassing his legendary father Dick and the recently-deceased Don Carter for the most in the history of the U.S.Open and its predecessor, the All-Star.
Mark Kelly, the commander of the final Space Shuttle mission and husband of retiring U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., will be the keynote speaker at the 2012 International Bowling Expo in Reno, Nev. Kelly, will speak the morning of June 27 at the Silver Legacy Resort. He recently retired from the NASA and from the Navy as a captain and is helping his wife recuperate after being shot in the head in an assassination attempt in January 2011.
I only met Don Carter briefly a couple of times during my years with the American Bowling Congress and United States Bowling Congress but that was enough to know what he meant to the sport. One of the last true legends from bowling's peak of popularity of the 1950s and 60s, Carter died Thursday night at his Miami home. The 85-year-old had recently been released from the hospital after suffering from pneumonia complicated by emphysema. The sport will never be the same without him. 
After setting an attendance record in June and holding its finale at midfield of Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the next Bowling's U.S. Women's Open will feature another elaborate venue. The stepladder finals of the 2012 event will be held outdoors for the first time on legendary Virginia Street in downtown Reno, Nev.
It's no secret the number of league bowlers has dropped every year for more than three decades. It's also well-known the many ways the United States Bowling Congress and its predecessors have attempted to change that. Adding more awards, increasing youth scholarships, creating national promotions and asking people to join for the good of the sport have done nothing to stop the drop from nine million to two million registered league bowlers since 1980. 
President Barack Obama had another close encounter with bowling when he greeted industry leaders after a National Veterans Day breakfast Friday to honor the nation's military veterans. USBC Executive Director Stu Upson and BPAA Executive Director Steve Johnson attended a White House breakfast in Washington, D.C., as special guest of the Bowlers to Veterans Link, one of many veteran services organizations in attendance.
People like Jim Sturm admit they find it hard to sit back and watch things develop and not be able to directly help. Anyone like the South Charleston, W.Va., bowling proprietor always wants to be at the forefront of whatever they do. So it shouldn't be a surprise that the Dunbar Bowling Center owner decided to run for United States Bowling Congress president in July. What may have caught some off-guard was that he won. Sturm isn't one of them.
Bowling is the most popular participant sport in America according to research released by the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America. The survey of 24,000 American adults by Simmons Market Research showed that 22.2 percent took part in bowling in 2010. That beat out popular sports like basketball (15,.1 percent) and golf (13.7). Participation sports are defined as those that typically require more than one person to play.
Ever since bowling came to America in the 1800s, it has been synonymous with smoking. Smoking was considered an every day pastime for nearly 200 years as people partook in theaters, restaurants, airplanes and other public places. But attitudes started changing in 1964 with the famous U.S. surgeon general’s report that cigarette smoking was a health hazard.
To accommodate the new landscape, some public places, including bowling centers, began offering smoking and non-smoking accommodations.