Bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

was a

demonstration sport A demonstration sport, or exhibition sport, is a sport which is played to promote it, rather than as part of standard medal competition. This occurs commonly during the Olympic Games, but may also occur at other sporting events. Demonstration spor ...

for the first, and so far only time. In all, a total 24

Ten-pin bowling Ten-pin bowling is a type of bowling in which a bowler rolls a bowling ball down a wood or synthetic lane toward ten pins positioned evenly in four rows in an equilateral triangle. The objective is to knock down all ten pins on the first roll ...

bowlers, 12 male and 12 female, from 21 nations competed in the exhibition, which was held on September 18 at the Seoul's Royal Bowling Center.

Preparations

The IOC Executive Board adopted bowling as an exhibition sport in January 1986, and the SLOOC created a bowling competition operation section in its secretariat in November 1987. The Bowling Operation was activated in March 1988. The organization hierarchy of the operation included the commissioner, secretary general, one director, two managers and nine officers. The operation headquarters moved its offices to the Royal Bowling Center (the venue), on June 24. It completed its staff of 137 shortly thereafter, including staff members of the SLOOC, volunteers, 91 support personnel, 55 specialized personnel and one temporary employee. A general rehearsal was held on September 9. The Royal Bowling Center, with 24 lanes (Brunswick20A-2), is located about 20 kilometers from the Olympic Village. No training site was designated separately. According to the specifications set for by the International Bowling Federation, 91 unit of 24 items, including 50 sets of pins, were secured to stage the competitions, while some implements used for the Seoul Asian Games were also used.

Competition

In the morning were the preliminaries. 12 competitors each for the men's and women's events competed in an 11-game full league. In the afternoon were the finals. The first three placers in the full league contested for the first place under a ladder method of competition. Three members of the IBF officiated the competitions as referees. No bowling professionals competed in the demonstration events. Carol Gianotti of Australia, a former multiple LPBA Champion, competed but did not win a medal. All 1000 event tickets for the event were sold (only within South Korea).

Men's event

Kwon Jongryul of the Republic of Korea, who placed second in the preliminary, edged Singapore's Loke Chinto to capture the gold, and the third place went to Tapani Peltola of Finland.

Women's event

Arianne Cerdena of the Philippines, who placed first in the preliminary, finished first again, followed by Asai Atsuko of Japan in second place, and Annikki Maattola of Finland in third place.

Results

Medal table

Aftermath

The bowling industry lobbied unsuccessfully to get bowling recognized as a sport for future Games. It is not easy for young people in third-world countries to develop skill in bowling.

Multi-national competition outside of the Olympics

At the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

-exclusive

1983 Pan American Games The 1983 Pan American Games were held in Caracas, Venezuela from August 14 to August 29, 1983. The games were the first major international competition to include relatively accurate steroid testing.Taylor, William N., ''Anabolic Steroids and the ...

tenpins were a demonstration sport, with the tournament held in a similar manner to how it was held five years later, for similar demonstration purposes, at the 1988 Seoul Games. As a direct result of the 1983 experience in Caracas, Venezuela, for the first time anywhere, on August 2, 1991, in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, the tenpin sport earned full "medal status" in an international multisport competition: the eleventh competition of the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

, at which all the nations of the

compete every four years. The medal-level competition has been held at every Pan American Games since then, and is a part of the 2019 Games to be held in

Lima, Peru Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

References

{{EventsAt1988SummerOlympics 1988 Summer Olympics events 1988 Olympics Discontinued sports at the Summer Olympics Olympic demonstration sports 1988 in bowling Men's events at the 1988 Summer Olympics Women's events at the 1988 Summer Olympics