Bowling Glossary

ABC
The American Bowling Congress began in 1895 and governed the sport of bowling for over one hundred years. The United States Bowling Congress replaced the ABC on January 1, 2005.

Action
Bets placed by one bowler against another or several other bowlers is considered action. Bowlers entering into pot games, brackets, high game pot, high series pot and other bets outside of a formal league or tournament structure also qualify as getting into the action.

Actual Span
The distance measured from the inside edge of the thumb hole to the inside edge of the finger hole including the width of any inserts. A measurement is taken for each of the two fingers.

All Events
The bowler's combined total taken from singles, doubles, and team events. A city, state, or national tournament will usually hold all three events. These types of tournaments normally have 3 games for each event. The 9 game total is considered the all events score.

Alley
The lane that the ball rolls on top of towards the pins, the alley also may be considered to include all the areas used to play the game including the two gutters, approach, and pin deck areas. It's also the place you go to bowl as in "bowling alley".

Anchor Man
The last bowler on a team and the one under the most pressure at the end of play. Teams wisely give this position to their best bowler.

Approach
The approach of a typical bowler consists of a four or five step delivery, rarely more or less. Starting position is normally around the first or second set of dots on the floor area twelve to fifteen feet behind the foul line. The last step which can be a slide or plant step ends a few inches behind the foul line where the ball is released. This whole area behind the foul line where steps are taken to deliver the ball is also called the approach.

Arc
A ball reaction or ball path in the shape of an arc. Other reactions are the snapping back end reaction or L shape reaction and the straight ball reaction or frozen rope.

Area
What every bowler wants more of when bowling. A player generates area by taking advantage of the oil pattern applied to the lane. Area is another way of saying room for error which is the ability to miss left or right of target and still hit the pocket. Area can only be created by a bowler that puts spin on the ball and by doing so hooks it.

Arena Bowling
Some tournaments use convention centers or other large settings for the televised stepladder finals to increase spectator capacity. 2 to 8 lanes are temporarily installed for the event. The small field of the Tournament of Champions and some other special events have been bowled entirely in an arena setting. One of the biggest arena finals was held at Miller Park Baseball Stadium for the Masters tournament.

Armswing
It's desirable to have a loose one. All good bowlers have an armswing that is consistent and is relatively close to the body at the point of release missing the sliding legs ankle by less than a few inches.

Arrows
Seven markers seen fifteen feet from the foul line imbedded in the lane and spaced five boards apart. The arrows are used by most higher average bowlers as a guide for finding their target, but some of them do look at targets closer or farther down the lane.

Arsenal
All the bowling balls owned by a player used to adjust to different and changing lane conditions. Similar to a bag of golf clubs where each one does something different. Some pros utilize a dozen or more balls in their arsenal and will drill new balls throughout a tournament. When they feel they have too many bowling balls the old ones are sometimes given, donated, or auctioned away.

Automatic Foul Detector
An electronic eye sensor that sets off a buzzer if the bowler's foot crosses over the foul line which results in a score of zero for the shot.

Axis
Refers to the positive axis point or PAP. This is the point on the ball that it rotates around at the moment of release. In a ball that doesn't flare this point would remain relatively constant as the ball traveled down the lane. In a ball that flares the axis point migrates towards a stable position.

Axis Leverage
A ball drilling layout where the bowling balls center of gravity is located on the bowler's positive axis point and the pin is in the leverage position which is 3 3/8 inches from the positive axis point.

Axis of Rotation
This refers to the line running through the ball that does not move when it rotates. An example of axis of rotation using the earth would be the line running from the north to south pole. In a bowling ball it runs through the positive axis point through the center of the ball and to the opposite side. The line can be used to measure a bowlers axis tilt.

Axis Tilt
A bowlers axis tilt is a measurement of the relationship of the axis of rotation to a horizontal plane and a vertical plane running down the lane. The relationship of a horizontal plane and axis of rotation determines spin. The bigger the angle between the horizontal plane and axis of rotation means more spin and less grabbing of the lane. Maximum spin won't grab at all, like a basketball spinning on a finger it doesn't move. The bigger the angle between the axis of rotation and the vertical plane means more side roll and less forward roll. Maximum forward roll won't hook either, like a tire going straight ahead it won't turn.