The Next Event   Ashes

Summer Campaign 2002

 5200 B.C.
A primitive form of bowling is practiced by the ancient Egyptians.

200-300 A.D.
German monks introduce bowling to the masses as a religious ritual. Martin Luther standardizes the game, called "kegels," to nine pins.

1300's
Bowling greens appear in homes of wealthy European royalty.

1455
The first enclosed bowling center is built in London.

1465
Edward IV passes edict forbidding "hustling of stones" and other bowling-like sports.

1555
Bowling centres closed because they were being used as places of "unlawful assembly."

1611
Captain James Smith return to the colony in Jamestown, Virginia to find the colonists starving, but still happily bowling. The sport is quickly declared illegal and punishable by up to three weeks in the stocks.

1623
The Dutch enjoy nine-pins in their New York colony.

1670
King Charles of England, a compulsive gambler, standardizes bowling rules in order to even the odds.

1840
Bowling alleys are almost always associated with taverns, and are growing in popularity in the states.

1870
Nine-pin bowling banned due to associated gambling and crime. To get around the law, ten-pin bowling is invented and flourishes.

1895
The American Bowling Congress is formed. That same year, King C. Gillette invents the safety razor, allowing thousands of bowlers to get that clean, comfortable shave they could only have dreamed of in the past.

1909
Bowling's distant third cousin, Skee-Ball, invented and patented by J.D. Estes of Philadelphia.

1916
Women's International Bowling Congress established in America.

1927
World champion Jimmy Smith beaten in exhibition against local bowler Mrs. Floretta McCutcheon; the match paves way for the founding of the Mrs. McCutcheon School for Bowling Instructions.

1950's
With the advent of the automatic pinsetting machine, bowling starts to pick up mass appeal. An extensive P.R. campaign attempts to make bowling popular to the upper classes; Capezio introduces a line of bowling shoes with advertisements showing society ladies bowling.

1958
Brunswick "Bowling Ped" icon created; screaming rush of teenagers storm Brunswick HQ; logo designers escape out back door.

1959
Ed Lubanski from Detroit scores 700 pins for his five-men team in the ABC all-counts championship; later that year, Grock, the Swiss music clown, dies (b. 1880).

1961
The number of alleys in the U.S. jumps from 6500 to over 10,000; neck size of bowling pins increased, adding 7/10 oz. to total average weight.

1963
Americans spend $43.6 million on bowling balls.

1966
Dick Weber wins his fourth open U.S. Bowling championship in five years.

1984
The National Bowling Hall of Fame and Museum opens in St. Louis, Missouri. The $7 million complex contains four bowling lanes dating back to 1924 (human pinsetters; four frames for $3); Jim Webb breaks the bowling endurance record, toppling maples for a grueling 195 hours and 1 minute.

1990
The A.B.C. estimates 50 million bowlers nation-wide.

Rules and Object:

In the U.S. game contestants roll balls, which have two or, commonly, three finger holes for gripping, toward ten 15-in. wooden pins. The pins are arranged in triangular formation, with the headpin 60 ft. from a foul line. The balls, made of a variety of materials are 8.5-in. in diameter and must not weigh more than 16 lb. The bowler, who rolls the ball underhand, has a runway at least 15 ft. long from which the ball may be released.

A bowling game is divided into 10 frames: the object of the game is to knock down all of the pins on the first or, if necessary, the second of the 2 rolls allowed in each frame. Each pin that is knocked down counts as 1 point. Knocking down all the pins with the first ball is called a strike and is scored as 10 points plus a bonus determined by the total points gained in the next 2 rolls. If a bowler should continue to roll only strikes throughout the game (a total of 12 attempts, because 2 bonus tries are allowed in the tenth frame), the result would be a rare "prefect game" 300. If 2 deliveries are needed to knock down all of the pins in a frame, the outcome is called a spare. A bowler is then awarded 10 points plus a bonus of the score on the next roll. If a spare is made in the final frame, one extra roll is allowed and that is added to the score.

Definitions:

Pin

An object which is to be knocked down in order to increase the participant's score. In tenpins, the pin is 15 inches (38.1 cm) tall and weighs between 3 pounds 6 ounces (1.53 kg) and 3 pounds 10 ounces (1.64 kg).  The pins are made of wood or synthetic material and are covered with a protective plastic layer.

Ball

A round sphere, 27 inches (68.6 cm) in diameter, weighing between 6 and 16 pounds (2.72 - 7.26 kg).

Board

The lane is divided into one-inch (2.54 cm) wide sections which run the length of the playing surface. Each of these thirty-nine sections is referred to as a board. The total area under the pins and the distance from the foul line to the centre pin measures to be 19.16 meters in length and the lanes are 1.04 to 1.07 meters in width.

10 FACTS ABOUT BOWLING

1.        Bowling has more registered, dues-paying participants than any other sport in the world.

2.        More than 100 million people in 90 countries bowl at least one game a year.

3.        There are more than 130,000 lanes in 7,000 centers in the United States.

4.        There are more than 210,000 lanes in 11,600 centers around the world.

5.        Total annual bowling revenues around the world are over $5 billion.

6.        The basic rules for ten pin bowling are identical in every country around the world.

7.        The basic equipment for ten pin bowling is identical around the world.

8.        Bowlers donate far more money to charity than any other group of athletes.

9.        Seven million games are bowled every day around the world.

10.     Bowlers consume more food and beverages on site than participants in any other sport.

All right fellas!  Got all that?  Now that you are all full bottles on the history, rules, equipment and facts about ten pin bowling you are invited to show your skills and coordination (or lack thereof) in a non-affiliated, members only bowl-a-thon.

Date:                12th January, 2002

Event 1 Ten Pin Bowling

                        Craigie Bowl (9 Perilya Road, Craigie)

                        3pm (be on time) to 5pm-ish

Remember!      The Entertainment Book has a voucher for Craigie Bowl.

There are five bowlers at this stage so we will likely go 3 and 2 on adjacent lanes.  I figure we will play two full games with the total combined scores deciding the winner/s.  In the unlikely event of a draw the person with the most strikes wins.

To count towards the Ashes - $2 bet per person:

Prize money:     $5 winner

$3 second

$2 third

Event 2 The Ashes

                        Fravo’s House (15 Rae Place, Hillarys)

                        5pm onwards

                        BYO    Drinks (bring what you like, no more enforced scones)

                                    Money (gambling and food)

                                    Dinner will be pizzas but there’ll be a midnight ribs session

                                    Warm clothes (outdoor venue - who am I, your mother?

 Cards will start at 7pm

 New Game:

The charter calls for a new game to be introduced at each Ashes by whoever won the Bag O’ Award at the previous one.  It was Tim so he has been asked to provide a game.  If he doesn’t then I have one up my sleeve if people want to give it a go...

 Consumer Warning:

There were numerous animated discussions at the last event about betting limits etc.  Due to the workings of Nepalese Ass Gasket and it’s ability to encourage large bets (and to potentially win or lose card nights) it is fairer that no limits be set on any games (including Pack-a-poo) except where it is covered by a dealer (eg blackjack).  This means that if you decide to shoot for the moon and go the whole hog you must also be prepared to screw the pooch and buy the farm.  Please be warned that putting your balls on the line is a voluntary act and no correspondence will be entered into.

Ultimately it is still a stamina event.  Winning a big hand early in the evening (or losing one for that matter) still means you have to make it through to 4am to claim the prize...

 The Charter:

Be mindful that the winner of this event gets to add a new “rule” and/or remove an old one if they like.

Also don’t forget that “winnings” now go into a pool for future events.  If you are in profit you keep your original $10/$20 and the extra goes to a communal fund.  And if you don’t like it then win the damn event and change the rules!

 Cheers buccaneers
 Sir Mash of Crumpalot