Bowling innovations and revisions at a local alley just made the game more fun and may even bump up the average score.
After hosting the bowling venue at last months B.C. Seniors Games, Glenmerry Bowl is ready to roll into another season.
Proprietors Ron and Carol Sandnes completely stripped and refinished the lanes and as an added bonus for the laser bowling fans, they varnished the new maple with a very special urethane compound.
“The finish now is a new urethane and it has the glow right in the finish so at night when all the lights are off and we have our laser bowling, all the lanes are going to glow,” he said.
On weekends, in addition to the music pumping and lasering lights, bowlers will now have glowing pins and lanes, adding a whole new dimension of fun to the game.
The refinements cost the alley about $16,000 but it’s a feature the proprietors wanted so people could enjoy it and hopefully attract new bowlers.
The refinished lanes will also help experienced and competitive bowlers.
“Having lanes that have that much work done on them will definitely improve scoring but there is another feature that our game has improved on.”
There haven’t been many changes to bowling in the last 100 years, says Sandnes, but in the past year, manufacturers introduced a flat-bottom pin that falls over easier than the traditional rounded bases.
They also have a tendency to fall back and knock over other pins rather than jump over them, he added.
“Based on good bowlers, their numbers are showing that a person’s individual average is going up by about 10 pins, so it’s a fairly significant thing for our game.”
The pins were approved this summer and Sandnes installed the whole set just before the Seniors Games.
“It helps the high-average bowler significantly but we also noticed that older people or kids that throw the ball slower, they’re getting good breaks too.”
Bowling organizations have looked for ways to improve its popularity and, like most sports, higher scoring may be the ticket.
The Glenmerry Bowling league is starting up Monday but individuals and teams have until the end of the month to sign up for the season or just drop in to view the improvements.
The Lanes are also open for functions such as birthdays, Christmas parties, and other events.
To join the bowling league or to book an event call Glenmerry Bowl at 368-6211.