Hi Folks, New Bowler Here!

[J Daisy]

Not to turn this into a sexist debate...but:

1) Men MUST have an advantage (of some kind) in the sport of bowling...or there wouldn't be separate leagues for men and women. I'm not an expert...but the logic is that in most activities that factor in strength...men are going to have an advantage due to inherent physiological differences between males and females in the human species. It's not sexism...well, maybe it is...but IF it is...it's really a beef to take up with God...or whomever you pray to...given He/She/It was responsible for the design phase of this experiment.

2) That being SAID...some sports require less strength and put an added value on other aspects...some of which females have an advantage. Bowling, especially at the non-pro level...puts more of an emphasis on accuracy, consistency, and a relaxed shot...all of which females are equal or better at than the average man.

Could the female Team USA beat the male Team USA most of the time? No.
Could the female Team win once out of 10 times? Absolutely.
Could a female team of amateurs outscore a male team of amateurs? Absolutely.

In my summer league, there is an all female team that is in second place and has a chance of finishing in first place. Their team average is a 192.33. They have the bowler with the highest average in the league at 206 and the bowlers with the 5th and 7th highest averages (of bowlers with 9 or more games) out of 17 bowlers. These ladies are probably 3x your age...in their 60s...and can't do nearly the things a younger female player can do (physically).

But, they do the right things to win at bowling. They get coaching...from the highest quality coach in the area. They practice...a lot! I know they practice every Sunday morning and I just saw them at a different center practicing THIS morning. They rely on consistent shot making and good accuracy. And, because they are willing to seek out coaching...they learn the things you can't get from just practicing. They learn about ball technology and lane play strategies.

And, they're WILLING to learn. Most higher average bowlers think they're experts...so they don't need to know anything. They shot a handful of 300 games...won a tournament or two...they average 200+ on a THS (typical house shot)...so they don't need to know anything else. And thats their achilles heel.

One of the greatest coaches in the World once told me that, for the most part, the bowlers that seek coaching average between like 135 and 170. Bowlers that average < 135 don't know they can get better with coaching. Bowlers averaging > 170 think they know all there is to know.

The good thing about bowling is that you can sort of 'decide' how good you're going to be. Barring injury, you can decide whether you want to be a league player, just havin fun and averaging 99-135. You can decide you want to be better...but not great...average about 136-169. Or, you can decide you want to be a high level bowler and average 170 or higher. Most sports, you don't get to 'decide'...it's decided for you based on your height and athletic ability. You can weigh 78-325 pounds and be any height...with any amount of (or lack there of) athletic ability...and you can be a great bowler. You just need to decide how good you want to be and commit to taking the steps to getting there.

It 'helps' if you're athletic...have above average eyesight...have good balance...are flexible...have no lingering back/arm/elbow/wrist/knee injuries...and have an ample bank account. It also 'helps' if you live in New York state or California or Nevada or Detroit or Chicago, or St. Louis, or Texas...areas where the better professionals are situated (for coaching purposes). But...those aren't necessities as much as they are in other sports.

Thank you for the tips here. I understand the value of coaching; my current coach has had sixteen perfect games. I doubt my ability to ever be that good, but I know my scores will improve if I keep at it (which I plan on doing).

I don't disagree that men as a rule are better. I've seen it. The high scores on the wall at my local bowling alley are divided by men and women. The men's side started overflowing onto the women's side, and the women's side isn't even half full.

[J Daisy]

<Face palm> Ehhh....<POKE... whispering to Aslan....> I was trying to elicit self confidence in the young lady. There is a time and place for the cold hard facts.....this wasn't one of them. LMAO I'm guessing motivational speeches aren't one of your prerequisites? All good man, just giving you a hard time. =)

Psst... I can hear you...

Thanks, Phonetek.

[J Daisy]

I think women can be as good as men at bowling, just most don't choose to for whatever reason. My summer league is mixed and there are a few very good female bowlers. Our summer league is very competitive as it is a higher money league. There are currently 84 bowlers in our league with at least 12 games (the minimum to carry a league average). My average is currently 185.43 58 of the 84 have higher averages than mine. Of those 58 5 of them are female. The top one having a 205 average. The highest average in our league is 229 and there are 8 over 220.

Hi, I'm so sorry that I didn't reply to your post earlier. Somehow, I missed it. Thanks for posting.

I agree that women can be good bowers if they are dedicated and focused, and want to bad enough. Unfortunately, you just don't see it quite that often. Not as frequently as you do with men, anyway.

[JasonNJ]

A little late to the party myself but welcome Daisy. In bowling women can definitely compete with the men, no doubt. You watch professional women bowlers and they are so fundamentally sound and such great shot makers. They for the most part lack the speed and power of male pros, so male will probably carry better but I'm waiting for a women two handed bowler to start dominating and then we'll have a really interesting debate.

[Phonetek]

Hi, I'm so sorry that I didn't reply to your post earlier. Somehow, I missed it. Thanks for posting.

I agree that women can be good bowers if they are dedicated and focused, and want to bad enough. Unfortunately, you just don't see it quite that often. Not as frequently as you do with men, anyway.

I think marketing is part to blame. As a whole I don't feel that there is much along the way that really creates much of a buzz to draw in the women. I mean yeah, you see the foo foo pink balls and the girly colored gear. Seriously though, what was the last thing that you seen about bowling that screams "Ladies, this sport is for YOU! If you don't get involved you're an idiot." Mostly it's more about the guys and only until recent it's starting to target the youth.

As far as the pro's there is a larger female presence than recent years (I think). At least you see them on TV now a days. I just don't see anything that makes typical "20's mom" wanna say "Hey, I'd like to go shoot some practice so I can get into some high stakes pots games tonight with my lady friends"

Personally I think they are missing the boat.

[J Daisy]

I think marketing is part to blame. As a whole I don't feel that there is much along the way that really creates much of a buzz to draw in the women. I mean yeah, you see the foo foo pink balls and the girly colored gear. Seriously though, what was the last thing that you seen about bowling that screams "Ladies, this sport is for YOU! If you don't get involved you're an idiot." Mostly it's more about the guys and only until recent it's starting to target the youth.

As far as the pro's there is a larger female presence than recent years (I think). At least you see them on TV now a days. I just don't see anything that makes typical "20's mom" wanna say "Hey, I'd like to go shoot some practice so I can get into some high stakes pots games tonight with my lady friends"

Personally I think they are missing the boat.

Aren't they, though? Although, I have seen some really cute women's tee-shirts about bowling recently. I have one myself that's awesome. It has a girly picture of a ball and pins, and says on it, "I know I bowl like a girl. (Try to keep up.)"