| "Let's go bowling!" That's become the | | | | of do's and don'ts that must be followed |
| rallying cry of almost thirty million | | | | so that all can enjoy the game. The |
| Americans throughout the United States | | | | rules are based on common sense, and |
| who take their exercise in extremely | | | | express courtesy and good sportsmanship. |
| palatable form: rolling a hard rubber | | | | Here are ten of the most important ones: |
| ball down sixty feet of maple and pine | | | | DO yield the "right of way." When two |
| toward ten standing pins. Today nearly | | | | bowlers are on adjacent lanes, and |
| everybody bowls - mother, dad, the kids | | | | simultaneously ready to bowl, the bowler |
| - the whole family. | | | | on the right delivers first. The other |
| Though bowling can trace its beginnings | | | | bowler ought to remain off or to the |
| in this country to the time of the | | | | rear of the approach area. This rule |
| earliest colonists in Massachusetts, it | | | | doesn't apply if the bowler on the left |
| wasn't until the last decade that the | | | | is shooting for a spare. |
| sport began to boom. A number of events | | | | DON'T take a practice swing with your |
| triggered its rebirth. The first was the | | | | bowling ball on the concourse or behind |
| introduction, in 1952, of the American | | | | the approach. Wait until you are up on |
| Machine & Foundry Company's Automatic | | | | the approach itself before doing any |
| Pinspotter - the remarkable device that | | | | practice exercises. |
| resets the pins, announces which ones | | | | DO be ready when it's your turn to bowl. |
| are knocked down and returns the ball - | | | | Remain in your lane area while your |
| all automatically. | | | | teammates are bowling; don't wander off. |
| By replacing the often unreliable | | | | DON'T use an excessive amount of body |
| pinboy, it thereby made bowling an | | | | gyrations at the foul line after |
| attractive investment for the | | | | delivering the ball. Confine your body |
| entrepreneur. Million dollar bowling | | | | "English" to your own lane. |
| centers began to spring up in every | | | | DO bowl immediately when it is your |
| section of the country. | | | | turn. Once you have your ball, assume |
| And people were waiting for these | | | | your stance and start your delivery; it |
| centers because another factor had | | | | isn't necessary to wait for lanes on |
| whetted their appetite for the sport. | | | | either side of you to be cleared before |
| That was television. The type of | | | | you bowl - just observe the "right of |
| competition bowling offers lends itself | | | | way" rule. |
| remarkably well to TV. Scores and scores | | | | DON'T bring food or drink into the |
| of locally originated television | | | | settee or bowlers' area. A drop of |
| programs as well as several full network | | | | liquid or any type of foreign substance |
| productions introduced bowling to | | | | spilled on the approach could cause a |
| millions upon millions of Americans who | | | | slip and serious injury. |
| had never been exposed to the fun of | | | | DO wait until you have completed the |
| knocking down the stubborn tenpins. | | | | frame before checking your score. Don't |
| Today, nearly thirty million Americans | | | | come back to the scorekeeper after the |
| bowl regularly. Of these, approximately | | | | first ball has been rolled. |
| ten million are women; one and a half | | | | DON'T bench jockey while others are |
| million are children. And there are more | | | | bowling. Friendly bantering is an |
| than a million new bowlers who take up | | | | accepted part of the sport, but don't |
| the sport each year. | | | | overdo it. Be a good competitor. |
| Bowling knows no bounds; anyone, at any | | | | DO return your bowling shoes to the |
| stage of life, can become its devotee. | | | | counter control desk after bowling, and |
| The handicapped, sometimes even the | | | | if you've borrowed a "house ball," |
| blind, find fun in the sport. It can be | | | | return it to the storage rack. |
| played at any time of the day or night, | | | | DON'T linger at the foul line after |
| at any time of the year, and in every | | | | releasing the ball. As soon as your ball |
| section of the country. No other sport | | | | hits the pins return to your seat. |
| qualifies as well for a claim to the | | | | Now you know the etiquette, you will be |
| title of "national pastime." | | | | welcome in any game. |
| Bowling, like any other sport, has a set | | | | |