“Bowling alley”, “Bowling Center”, “The Bowl”, and “House” are used interchangeably to describe the building where the bowling alley takes place. Bowling alleys are usually understood by many lanes (up to 100 or more), but may be understood by only a few lanes. Some people have a lane at their house, whereas I wouldn’t consider it a bowling alley, per se; it is in the most literal sense one. A single lane is sometimes known as a bowling alley. For the purposes of this book, a bowling alley or house will refer to a place where there are multiple lanes and games are purchased.
Where are the bowling alleys?
They are everywhere. Lately it seems like a lot more homes are closing down due to property and maintenance prices becoming too expensive or lack of use. By looking in the local phone book, you should be able to find quite a few houses in your area. Bowling is a very popular sport and therefore there are many bowling alleys in most areas. If you can’t find one where you live, check the nearest city or large town, there’s bound to be one just a short drive from where you live.
A large bowling arena was recently built in Reno, NV (United States). If you want to see a really big house, that’s the place to go. If you get a chance to bowl there, it’s really amazing! I have bowled there on several occasions and have enjoyed it very much. The PBA (Pro Bowlers Association, see Chapter 9) has tournaments there, as well as the USBC. Some of the tournaments I know of from that bowl are PBA, USBC Nationals, USBC Mixed, and High Roller. This stadium was built expressly for the purpose of hosting large bowling tournaments, and no leagues are allowed in it. It also has a very large Pro Shop (place to buy bowling supplies), which even has a bowling alley so you can see everything. They will videotape your gameplay and help you figure out what you need to improve. It’s pretty impressive.
bowling center design
Most bowling alleys will have a desk (where games are purchased), a bar, an arcade, at least one meeting room, a babysitting room, and of course, lanes! Many houses also have a professional shop.
The desk is usually located somewhere near the center of the house, and the bar is usually not far from it. For most bowlers, that’s all they need to know about a bowling alley right there! Drinking and bowling go hand in hand for many players (though not me). It is not a mistake that the bar is centralized in the bowling alley. The game room is usually centralized in the bowling alley as well, most often containing pool tables, video games, and pinball machines.
Meeting rooms can be anywhere in the bowling alley and hold anywhere from 25 to 100 people. The meeting rooms are used for league meetings, receptions, birthday parties, etc… Most of the time, one of the rooms will have toys and things for the kids. This room is generally used for the care of the bowlers’ children. Most bowling alleys offer free babysitting for children as young as 7 or 8 for league bowlers. This is very useful when you are bowling.
Pro shops are very popular in bowling alleys. Inside the pro shop you can find almost anything you need to bowl, from balls and bags to shoes, brushes and powder or resin. You can even get advice from a “pro”. Most pro shops are owned by a professional bowler or have a pro on staff. Be warned though, not all of the people who work in the pro shop are professionals, and not all of them necessarily have your best interest at heart. There are plenty of things to buy and if you’re shopping for gear, make sure you talk to someone who knows your game. Buying bowling equipment isn’t as simple as getting a ball and shoes (more on this in Chapter 3).
Who do I call?
The first person you are likely to run into at the bowling alley is the person at the desk. This is the person behind the desk who will take your money and assign you a lane. This is also the person who is your main contact at the bowling alley in case something happens. If you spill a drink, your ball gets stuck in the return, or whatever… you have to contact the receptionist and tell him what you need.
League bowlers usually go through the league secretary to get things done in the house. The league secretary usually has slightly more influence than the individual bowler, as he represents an entire league of bowlers (and thus a large amount of revenue for the bowling centre).
There are two other people you might run into at the bowling alley. The Porter is the person who cleans the lanes, recovers dead balls, dead wood, corrects scores, and just about anything else that needs to be done on the client side of the lanes. The mechanic is the other person you may run into. He probably won’t come into direct contact with them; they are the person who works in the back of the alley, restarting bowling alleys, fixing the machines and making sure everything runs smoothly. They are also usually the ones to grease the lanes (more on that later).
Keep bowling and having fun!