Pin Perspectives: How Slow Can You Go?

As leagues approach the halfway point of the season, I hope everyone has acclimated to all the new things they encountered to start the season: new bowling balls or shoes, new approaches or lanes, new teammates, or new leagues. Or maybe all of the above. Any one of these could be a source of trouble, and complaints—I’ve even seen bowling t-shirts on which these are printed!

One of these potential issues, which we will explore together this month, is slow bowling. This includes bowlers who are not present when it is their turn to bowl, bowlers who improperly give or don’t give courtesy, bowlers who turn into statues on the approach in their stance, and bowlers who stare at the lane long after the ball has disappeared into the pit. Let us look at some reasons bowlers might exhibit these behaviors, why these behaviors might annoy us, and what we can do about it.

Oh bowler, where art thou?

League bowling is certainly a different animal compared to tournament bowling. Most tournament bowlers are there because they understand that this is serious competition, and not a social outing. However, league bowling, even in a “serious” or “competitive” league, is still a social event. Personally, many of my friends are ones I have met while bowling league with them, for 34 to 37 weeks of every year!

While no one is suggesting that a league bowler must anchor themself to their team table, never to wander off and chat with friends who are in the same league, I’m sure we can all agree that nothing is more annoying than having to chase bowlers who become so engrossed in the social aspect of our sport that they are ...