Wheelchair Bowling News

bowling pins being knocked down by a red bowling ball

Great strides have been made in adaptive sports over the last few decades, with many of them being written about here in our blog. One sport that we haven’t covered recently was bowling.

The organization that has supported many of the advances in the sport of adaptive bowling is The American Wheelchair Bowling Association. The organization is comprised of over 500 members and growing. They’ve helped many people enjoy a sport that they love with the use of specialized adaptive equipment, including ball ramps, ball grip handles and ball pushers. Their most recent national event was the 56th Annual AWBA Tournament held at City View Lanes in Fort Worth, Texas. Visit the AWBA events page for more information.

Wheelchair Bowling Equipment

Many bowlers use the ball ramp which is intended for those with limited range of motion. The ramp is lightweight, and allows the user to easily control the ball’s release from their lap. Simply place it at the top of the ramp and release it down the lane. There are even some ramps that are operated by pressing a button to activate the ball release. The grip handle bowling ball allows for griping of a spring-loaded handle instead of using finger holes. Lastly, the ball pusher allows the bowler to grip a handle at one end and use a fork prong at other to simply push and angle the ball down the lane.

Make sure to check out your local bowling alley, since many alleys are beginning to have special tournaments and events for wheelchair bowlers! In fact, each year there is a National Veterans Wheelchair Games that features a bowling event. This year’s NVWG is being held in Cincinnati, Ohio, July 17-22.

Click here to see a clip from last year’s National Veteran’s Wheelchair Games’ Event for Bowling.