Bowling the Canadian Way

Jeff, my Mom and I went bowling last weekend, but it was much unlike any bowling my Mom and I have ever encountered in our lives. "5-Pin Bowling" is a version of bowling that is exclusive to Canada. Apparently, most bowling alleys in Canada have it or have a combination of 5 pin and 10 pin lanes. Some crazy Canadian from Toronto created it in 1909 in response to some that complained that 10 pin bowling was "too strenuous." Jeff, Mom and I found the exact opposite to be true and didn't do incredibly well, but we still had fun (well, at least Jeff and I did anyway).

One might think that having only 5 pins to knock down would be much easier, but you would be sadly mistaken (at least we were, anyway). The pins are smaller than in 10 pin, stand 18" apart and the rubber ball is about the size of a grapefruit with no holes. Since the pins are so far apart and the ball is so small, the ball can easily slide between the pins without knocking any of them down, even with a full set. I think that having bigger hands is definitely an advantage; my small hand kept dropping the ball prematurely and it would bounce a few times before rolling smoothly down the lane (or maybe I just suck).

The scoring system is also different. The center pin (also known as the "headpin") is worth 5 points, the two next to it are worth 3, and the 2 on each end are worth 2. The point calculation for getting spares, strikes, doubles, triples (also called a "turkey," a picture of which comes on the scoring screen when you get one), etc. is also different, but I'll spare you those meticulous details. For each frame you get 3 tries to knock all the pins down instead of 2, which probably sounds like it makes things even easier, but it doesn't. It's a hard but fun way to bowl.

Just like 10 pin bowling, there are 5 pin bowling leagues, major tournaments, associations, etc. It seems to be relatively big here in Canada (as big as bowling gets anyway), but I'm not so sure it would catch on in the US. The longevity and exclusivity of the game in this country make it a unique and fun Canadian tradition.