Why Do Bowling Alleys Make You Wear Bowling Shoes?
Most people know that bowling alleys require patrons to wear special shoes to bowl, but why do bowling alleys ask you to do this? As it turns out, there are several reasons bowling alleys make their customers wear bowling shoes. The special materials bowling shoes are made of allow people to bowl more easily and can actually prevent problems and injuries on the lanes. Here, we will look at what bowling shoes are made of, how they enhance the game of bowling, and why they are necessary to bowl.
Why Do You Need Bowling Shoes?
Bowling shoes are vital accessories for any bowler because they are made specifically for the game of bowling. Their special soles make it possible for the game to be played effectively. Thus, all bowling alleys and leagues formally require players to wear special bowling shoes as soon as they enter the playing area.
Additionally, bowling shoes can also prevent injuries that might be caused by a bowler wearing improper footwear. While wearing shoes that stick to the floor can harm a bowler’s game, it can also hurt them, as the abrupt stops brought on by the friction of normal shoes on the bowling floor can easily cause someone to twist their ankles or injure other parts of their legs or body.
Bowling shoes are also necessary because they protect the bowling lanes themselves. The lack of friction between bowling shoes and the bowling floor prevents scuff marks, which can easily be left on the floor by non-bowling shoes. Since bowling shoes are kept in the bowling alley and thoroughly cleaned after each use, they also do not get dirty and will not track anything from outside the bowling alley onto the lanes.
Though some people consider wearing bowling shoes an inconvenient task, it is, in fact, extremely important to wear bowling shoes whenever one plays bowling at an alley. Whether you bring your own bowling shoes or use those offered by the bowling alley, it is vital that all bowlers wear these special shoes whenever they step up to play, as they make the game safer and more enjoyable for everyone.
What Are Bowling Shoes Made From?
To understand why bowling alleys require bowling shoes, it is important to know what bowling shoes are and what they are made from. Most bowling shoes are typically made from a combination of leather and rubber, with leather sides covering the tops of the feet and rubber soles on the bottom. This may seem similar to most other shoes, like sneakers, but bowling shoes are made in a special way that other shoes are not.
Both the soles of bowling shoes and the bowling lanes themselves are made to be very smooth and relatively slippery, without much friction between them. This is important for the function of bowling shoes, which we will examine below, and these traits also make other types of shoes unfit for bowling.
What Do Bowling Shoes Do?
Due to the way they are made, bowling shoes are uniquely perfect for playing the sport of bowling. In bowling, one of the key elements of good performance is the ability to move smoothly over the floor before rolling the ball. Since bowlers have to get a moving start to generate power on the ball, it is vital for their feet to move smoothly and not stop abruptly because their shoes are sticking to the floor.
If a bowler was wearing normal shoes, such as sneakers, the rubber soles of their shoes would most likely catch on the floor as they stopped to release the ball, and the abrupt stop could easily cause them to lose control of the ball’s direction. Bowling shoes prevent this by reducing the friction between the floor of the bowling alley and the player’s feet, allowing the game to move smoothly.