History of UK Bowling - Part 1
1960 to the present
Ten-pin bowling was introduced in the United Kingdom in 1960. This was driven by the opening of the Stamford Hill and Golders Green bowling alleys in London.
Ten-pin bowling took the UK by storm, with alleys opening up one after
the other. At its peak there were over one hundred and sixty bowling
alleys in the UK, but a lack of re-investment and waning interest left
the fad in a sorry state. This led to a general deterioration of
bowling alleys, with a commensurate decline in their image. In the
1970's a major chain operator pulled out of bowling and converted many
of the more luxurious alleys into Bingo halls. The industry nearly collapsed, with two thirds of the existing alleys closing over the next few years.
Until the mid 1980's there was little, if any, new investment in the
sport with the decline in interest being attributed to the complex
scoring system, especially as it was a manual process then. However,
this all changed with the introduction of computers and automated
electronic scoring systems. This meant that the general public only had
to enter their names into the computers and everything else was done
automatically. This changed the face of bowling and was largely
responsible for the new found interest in the sport.
AMF carried this revitalization of the sport by embarking on a major
refurbishment programme. This re-investment led to the construction of
many bright, modern and attractive sites and began the second golden
age of bowling. During the late 1980's and early 1990's the number of
ten-pin bowling alleys across the country rose to over two hundred.
This was higher than it had ever been in the sixties, then the peak of
the sport's popularity.
Today, over 100 million bowlers play in over 90 different countries.
More men and women worldwide play bowling than any other sport, with
the possible exception of football (soccer
in the USA). Bowling has far more registered dues-paying participants
than any other sport. The bowling industry spends significantly more
money each year than any other sport on airlines, restaurants, hotels
and rental cars. [8] There is an active movement to make bowling an Olympic sport, especially by the Fédération Internationale des Quilleurs,
the world governing organization for nine and ten-pin bowling. The best
players regularly play in televised tournaments, and new bowlers
continue to delight in learning the game. [3].
In addition, modern bowling alleys have changed greatly. As people have
become exposed to a wider range of entertainment options, the trend has
shifted to building large entertainment centers that allow people to
enjoy many different activities. These developments often include
multi-screen cinemas, restaurants and night clubs. This has had a great
impact on the image of the sport among families.
From Wikipedia
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