There are many sports that are a part of the Summer Olympic Games, but there is one major sport that is missing from the list: bowling.

Now you are probably thinking that bowling is not a sport, but that is definitely not the case. Bowling is a difficult sport that requires a lot more physical and mental strength than you would think, which makes it all the more reason to add this sport into the Olympics.

In the 1988 Summer Olympics, bowling was up for demonstration. At this time, there were only 20 countries represented for this sport. There were 24 competitors altogether with 12 men and 12 women. Bowling was not added into the Olympics after the demonstration for the reason that there was not enough participation from developing countries.

Now, that has all changed.

Over 80 countries all over the world compete in bowling, with over 10 million competitors worldwide. There is also a professional bowling tour in the United States that athletes from all over the world compete in known as the Professional Bowling Association, or the PBA.

Along with that, bowling is becoming one of the fastest-growing sports among youths today from all over the world. With the involvement of so many young people in the sport, it is continuing to grow and giving a real future for the sport.

Even with having all of these statistics about participation rates, there may still be the question how bowling is actually a sport. Well, one way that bowling is a sport is that it has an opponent, and it is not just the person you are actually bowling against.

The biggest opponent that a bowler has out on the lanes is the oil pattern. You might have seen a machine going up and down the lanes at your local bowling alley. That machine is actually putting oil down in different places that you cannot see, making your opponent invisible.

Along with that, you can treat bowling as either a team or individual sport. The Olympic Committee is considering another demonstration with bowling at the 2020 Summer Olympics in South Korea. In this demonstration, bowling will be an individual sport, which means that these athletes’ mental games will have to be top notch. If they make one mistake, they are the only ones that can pick themselves up.

With all of these different components making up bowling, how can it not be considered a sport at this level? With the huge increase in worldwide participation, the field for competition will be even more competitive with a wider range of athletes from so many different countries.

Now what are we waiting for? The sport has grown beyond belief and is now becoming a popular staple not only in the United States, but throughout the entire world. By adding bowling to the Olympics, we will not only be adding another sport to the Olympic Games, but we will also be giving a child the dream of representing their country on the biggest stage in the world while playing the sport they love.