In this world in which we live there are a lot of rude people. That's just something we need to learn to live with. But not at the bowling alley. One thing that can be said about bowling establishments is that they have zero tolerance for bad manners. If you're going to bowl in a league or even casually, there is certain etiquette that you better adhere to or you could find yourself tossed out of the alley on your ear. In this article we'll cover some of the basic things that all bowlers should be aware of, making sure they do, or don't do the following.



The first rule of etiquette in bowling is right of way. In a bowling alley, every lane is next to an adjoining lane on each side, right and left. In league play, most likely, the alley is packed and every lane is occupied. That means that more than one person is bowling at a time. While you may not think it's very important, it can be very distracting walking up to roll your shot and suddenly somebody comes darting up their lane from your right or left. The etiquette in all situations is that you yield to the bowler on your right. So if you and somebody else gets up to bowl at the same time, if the other person is on your right, you let him go first. Conversely, if you're on somebody else's right, they are to let you roll your shot first. This is probably the most important rule of etiquette in the game of bowling.

Another important rule is that when someone on the other team, or even your team is up there ready to roll their shot, you're not to make any remarks or loud noises to distract them or throw off their shot. This is considered poor sportsmanship against the other team and against your team is just plain stupid.

Another rule of etiquette is in regard to food and drink. In every bowling alley there is an area in the back of each lane for refreshments. No refreshments are allowed in the bowling area, period. If you're wondering why, the answer is very simple. Footwork is the most important thing in the game of bowling. You wear special shoes for a reason. The lanes are slippery enough as it is. If you were to spill something on them, you could either slip more or the substance could make you stick and send you flying to the floor. This is why all food and drink must be kept in the rear refreshment areas.

Another rule of etiquette for league play is that all spectators must stay in the spectator area. This is for two reasons. Reason number one is simply, with five bowlers on each team, there's just no room for spectators to sit down in the bowling area. The second reason is because spectators can be distracting. They're not really involved in the game so they don't care what they say or do. This can make concentrating very difficult.

There are other things, but these are the main ones. Follow these rules and you should be okay.