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Bowling dates back at least 7'000 years, to a time when Egyptians left remnants of the earliest known form of the sport in their tombs. Polynesians have enjoyed their version of the sport for several centuries.
The term 'kegler' may derive from the 3 rd century AD, when German peasants who enjoyed the sport carried a club known as the kegel, not unlike the Irish shillelagh, for protection. Over time, wooden balls replaced stones and pins were substituted for the kegel.
The Dutch developed bowling. By 1650 the sport encompassed nine pins set in a diamond pattern toward the end of a 90-foot lane (track). Tenpin bowling, which features a 60-foot lane and pins set in a triangle pattern, is believed to have derived from the Dutch version.
Scoring for strikes and spares came about during the mid-century when heavier bottle-shaped pins replaced the earlier tall and slender version.
There are more than 200'000 elite-level bowlers worldwide. More than 100 million people bowl in all corners of the globe, including 10 million who compete in organized events an average of 40 times a year.
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