Kegel 9-Pin Bowling
Kegel 9-Pin Bowling is the original bowling game and the forerunner of Tenpin bowling. It’s a game for the whole family, friends or social groups. Kegel 9-Pin Bowling can be played just for fun, yet it offers the challenge of developing skills and competitive play that is suitable for league bowling. We can offer a wide range of customised solutions for pubs and licensed establishments as well as traditional bowling centres. Please talk to us about your particular circumstances and how we can help you build a business involving Kegel 9-pin bowling. The Vollmer automatic pinsetter ensures perfect hits and has a robust, sturdy design built to withstand nonstop use even under less than ideal working conditions. We can also offer advice for architects regarding installation dimensions, sound-proofing and damp-proofing. Heinz will be able to assist you at any stage of your planning or implementation.
Key Benefits
The sport of Kegel 9-Pin Bowling offers the public the following benefits. Some of these are general, and others reflect the advantages of Kegel 9-Pin bowling.
- Exceptional value for money
- Large variety of games
- No special shoes required
- Suitable for all ages
- Fully automatic pinsetters and bumpers
- Smaller and lighter balls
- Suitable for disabled players
- Ramps for the younger players
- For groups of up to 8 people
- Competition play
- Birthday parties for all ages
- Social functions
What makes Kegel Bowling unique, and how is it played?
Kegel 9-Pin Bowling is played on a lane that is 19.5 meters long and 1.3 meters wide. The pins are set in a diamond pattern, but much wider spaced than 10-pin bowling.
There are two types of balls, the most common one has two holes for the fingers and for the more advanced player, the ball has no finger holes. The balls only weigh 2.7kg (6lb) although there are smaller 1.8kg (4lb) balls for smaller children.
The Ball must be bowled on the centre strip in the run up area and travel under the rope which spans the width of the lane.
Kegel 9-Pin Bowling also boasts a large variety of games with the majority being played with one ball per player bowling into a full set of pins in each round. Most games have 9 rounds. See the Games Menu for more detailed descriptions on the various games.
A fully automatic machine resets the pins using string setters through a computerised control centre and the balls are automatically returned via a gravity fed ball return system.
Kegel 9-Pin Bowling is charged per lane as opposed to per person. The lanes can be hired from half hour time slots to as many hours as you wish to play depending on the availability of the lanes. The game can be played by all ages, with up to 8 players per lane. It is great for family groups, social get-togethers, competitions, holidaymakers, school sports, etc.
There is also an option for single player usage for anyone who wants to improve their score or personal best.
On average, a lane with six players will get at least 4 games and possibly 6 games in an hour.
How to hold the ball
Most players use the drilled balls which have 2 finger holes that are both 27mm in diameter.
Hold the ball using your thumb and middle finger while resting the weight of the ball in the palm of your hand.
Younger players have the option of using the ramps and/or the smaller 1.8kg (4lb) balls.
The Rules
- At any time, there is to be nobody other than the player whose turn it is to bowl on the run-up area.
- The Ball must be bowled on the centre delivery strip.
- The ball must travel under the rope, which is at the foul line.
- Only one ball is to be bowled down the lane at any time.
- Never attempt to pick up a ball that is travelling back on the ball return track at any time, even if a ball has stopped there. A member of staff will collect the balls from the track when needed.
- Do not take a ball from the ball return unless it is your turn to bowl.
- Never sit on any part of the ball return.
- Be respectful of other bowlers on adjoining lanes.
- Closed toed shoes must be worn. Ideally sneakers or joggers.
The History of 9-Pin Bowling
Kegel belongs to one of the oldest and most popular kinds of leisure sports. It had it’s origin in Egypt, where part of the game in today’s form was discovered in a child’s grave. Stone-throw-games can be seen as the forerunners of the modern Kegel. In Europe, the early version of today’s Kegel developed only in the 12th Century. It was played as a luck or betting game and large amounts were won and lost. It did not take long until violence and fraud entered the game and it was outlawed in Germany in 1335 with penalties of heavy fines and even jail. England followed and King Edward III outlawed it with the death penalty. The French also outlawed it, but not until 1454. Only in 1468 was Kegel again allowed, but under strict control and only at special events, such as yearly markets and special church celebrations. By the 17th Century, it was difficult to find any special events that did not have a Kegel competition. The first official mention of Kegel is in the chronicle of the German city of Rothenburg in the year 1157. In 1265, the citizens of the towns of Xanten and the monks of the monastery St Victor formed a “Kegelorum”, the first Kegelclub. The Kegel game lost it’s bad reputation at the end of the 16th Century and the game of luck was played purely as a “spare time activity”. This occured when the nobles and high society discovered the game. The first rules date back to 1786. The start of the 19th Century saw the registration of the first official Kegelclubs in Germany. Some German migrants introduced the game into the USA in 1840, but because of the associated gambling, drinking and cheating it was outlawed by the Governor of New York. With typical American ingenuity they added another pin to get around this law. As a result the American version of ten pin bowling (10-pin) was invented in 1868. A number of Kegelclubs united in Krefeld, Germany on the 9.11.1884 to establish the first Kegel association. This union was the beginning of the sport of Kegel and Bowling. Currently, about 21 million people kegeln for fun each year in Germany with more than 4 million on a regular basis. Because of this huge success, Kegel is now the biggest “people sport”. Also 276,000 players are registered with sporting clubs. There are now 18 organisations that regulate about 10,000 clubs. Kegel is played on three different track designs with the classic design being by far the most popular. We are promoting the classic design here in Australia. Classic (the discipline that we use here in Australia) 54.6% ( 9-pin bowling) - Bohle 24.0% ( 9-pin bowling) – Schere 12.4% ( 9-pin bowling) – Tenpin Bowling 9.0% (10-pin bowling).
