BOWLING'S POPULARITY SKYROCKETS.Byline: Lee Barnathan Daily News Staff Writer Not too many years ago, a glance of a league bowling sheet at either of the two Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, centers revealed a handful of bowlers rolling a 600 series. Now, 600 is common, and 700 series also are on the rise. And no one associated with bowling is surprised. They are, however, pleased as a someone who just rolled a perfect 300 game. ``It appears a lot more people are bowling,'' Santa Clarita Lanes owner Vince Calderon said. With 40 years in the bowling industry, he knows why: The industry has taken steps to bring the game to a more modern, family-oriented level. Gone are the dark, smoke-infested alleys in which the clientele favored beer. In place are bright lights, no smoke and crowds of people who come from all walks of life and various socioeconomic so·ci·o·ec·o·nom·ic adj. Of or involving both social and economic factors. socioeconomic Adjective of or involving economic and social factors Adj. 1. situations. You still see beer, but it's joined by water, soda and wine. Plus, Calderon said, the industry realizes if a bowler does well, he'll keep coming back. If they do well, then their scores rise and they return again and again. Then their scores rise some more. The two latest reasons for improved scores are new balls and new lane conditions. The ball causing the craze is a reactive reactive /re·ac·tive/ (re-ak´tiv) characterized by reaction; readily responsive to a stimulus. re·ac·tive adj. 1. Tending to be responsive or to react to a stimulus. 2. resin resin, any of a class of amorphous solids or semisolids. Resins are found in nature and are chiefly of vegetable origin. They are typically light yellow to dark brown in color; tasteless; odorless or faintly aromatic; translucent or transparent; brittle, fracturing ball. Simply put, this ball slides through the oily part of the lane and then hooks sharply on the dry parts, which are closest to the pins. ``Reactive resin (balls) just opened up the scores a lot,'' Santa Clarita Lanes mechanic Dan Comeaux said. ``I just switched last season, and my average went up 10 to 15 pins.'' The sport's governing bodies Noun 1. governing body - the persons (or committees or departments etc.) who make up a body for the purpose of administering something; "he claims that the present administration is corrupt"; "the governance of an association is responsible to its members"; "he , American Bowling For the championship game of the American Indoor Football League, see . The American Bowl is the name of a series of National Football League pre-season exhibition games that are held at international sites outside the United States. Congress and Women's International Bowling Congress The Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) was an organization for women bowlers formed in 1917 as a counterpart to the American Bowling Congress (ABC). In 2005, the WIBC merged with the ABC and the Young American Bowling Alliance (YABA) to form the United States , also approved requirements calling for new oil and less of it on the lanes. Bowlers know the less oil on the lane, the better they can control their ball, which equals higher scores. ``You can dictate TO DICTATE. To pronounce word for word what is destined to be at the same time written by another. Merlin Rep. mot Suggestion, p. 5 00; Toull. Dr. Civ. Fr. liv. 3, t. 2, c. 5, n. 410. scores by where you place the oil,'' Valencia Lanes owner Bill Mossontte said. ``It's made everybody a better bowler. The spirit of the rule is to make everyone have more fun.'' It also helps that the economy is strong. When bowlers have extra money, they come to the centers. When they don't, they stay away. Calderon estimates in 1989, there were eight million registered bowlers in the country. The recession earlier in this decade caused numbers to plummet, but they're rising again. |
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