Pinning Down Bowling for Youngsters

Being a kid has just become more fun, at least at the bowling lanes. Now peewees can go bowling without suffering the frustration of throwing gutter balls.

“It’s like learning the game of baseball without experiencing the pain of striking out,” said Philip Kinzer, who is credited with developing bumper bowling in 1982 at his Jupiter Lanes Bowling Center in Dallas.

Kinzer’s wife, Marianne, recalled her husband’s primary motivation for creating the sport: “Phil couldn’t stand to see Phil Jr., (then 3) cry every time his ball ended up in the gutter. Daddy had to do something.”

First, Kinzer bought some cardboard tubing from a carpet manufacturer, which he placed along the gutters. Later, he replaced the tubing with inflatable plastic cushions or bumpers.

That the experiment worked is an understatement. In 1989, Kinzer’s two bowling alleys handled about 2,500 preschool and day-care children a week, not counting the regular bowlers.

“The tears of frustration have given way to smiles bigger than the state of Texas,” said Kinzer, whose 4-year-old twin boys Jamie and Kristopher provide him with regular weekly competition. “It continues to build their confidence until one day they won’t need the bumpers anymore.”

Kinzer also patented a new, retractable rail system that requires only three seconds to convert a regular lane to a bumper bowling lane.

“It was no longer practical for our mechanics to keep inflating all these tubes every day,” Kinzer said.

If Dallas is the cradle of bumper bowling, then the Los Angeles area is one of the game’s newest breeding grounds.

“Bumper bowling has taken off because smaller kids can knock down the pins just like mom and dad,” said Harry Wong, a Covina bowling supplier. “Instead of the ball ending up in the gutter, the ball ricochets off the bumper and knocks down the pins, and the kids just love it. They go crazy.”

Wong noted that he sells almost as many of the six-pound bowling balls used by small children as he does the heavier balls favored by adults.

Dick Steinbow, executive director of the Bowling Proprietors Assn. of Southern California, said some adults also are getting into the act.

“They treat it like fun and games,” Steinbow said. “They bank the ball off the bumpers the way a pool player might play eight-ball. The bumpers simply put a new spin on an old game.”

Of course, not everyone is a bumper bowling enthusiast. Jane Bayton, junior secretary of the San Gabriel Youth Bowling Assn., rolls a strike for the old guard.

“It’s a pain,” she said. “Instead of trying to throw the ball in the center of the lane, the kids rely on the bumpers to get the pins down.

“I know my view is in the minority, but I’ve got to be honest.”

Bayton’s opinion notwithstanding, small children genuinely seem more interested in having fun than showing the proper form or technique.

Mary Sweet, 7, who dressed up as a witch at a recent Halloween tournament at Santa Anita Bowl in Arcadia, summed up her reason for playing: “Your ball doesn’t roll in the gutter, and you get pins a whole bunch.”

Mary participates in the Saturday League at Santa Anita Bowl, while other youngsters play in the Monday and Friday leagues. There is a $2 registration fee for the year and a $3 charge for weekly play. Winners and losers alike receive trophies during tournament play.

Bumper bowling birthday parties and holiday tournaments are also popular at the facility. For more information, call youth bowling coordinator Cheryl Minyard at (818) 446-7191.

“These days, just about every bowling center includes a bumper bowling program,” Minyard said. “Finding a game or a league has become as easy as looking up your nearest bowling center in the Yellow Pages.”