Hypothesis
My hypothesis for this case study is: ‘tenpin bowling should be made an Olympic sport.’
For the purpose of the project I have surveyed ten people, with a survey of my own making. I have analysed the survey results statistically, as well as recognising relevant and significant quotes from survey answers.
I have also conducted two interviews. The first was with Kevin Fitzgerald, a well-respected Irish bowler who has represented his country numerous times at various levels. The second was with Greg Synott, a college student with no ties to the sport of tenpin bowling whatsoever. The purpose of the interviews was to gain both objective information and balanced opinion.
I have also researched relevant statistics in relation to the examination of my hypothesis, and conducted an analysis of these statistics.
Finally I examined the ethical and legal restraints which I had to work under while conducting my research.
The project is laid out in this fashion and order.
Survey Findings
For the purpose of my research on this hypothesis, I surveyed ten people; five of whom are associated with tenpin bowling, five of whom are not. The survey comprised of ten questions; one question being a yes or no answer, eight with answers ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree and encompassing all in between, and one open question which the party could write a full-length answer in an answer box.
The purpose of the survey was to gauge how people viewed tenpin bowling as a sport, including the differences which arise between those who are involved in the sport and those who are not, as well as examining how people feel about the fact that the sport is not represented in the Olympic Games and the effects which could arise for the popularity and funding for the sport if it were made part of the Olympics.
The stand-out statistics and points which arose from the survey are as follows:
· 90 per cent of those surveyed considered tenpin bowling a legitimate sport
· 70 per cent said that they would watch tenpin bowling on television
· An equal number of those surveyed said that they watch the Olympic Games as do not watch it (40 per cent for each response)
· 60 per cent believe that the Olympic Committee are wrong to snub tenpin bowling for the Olympics, of which 83.3 per cent strongly disagreed with the fact that the committee continue to ignore the sport
· 40 per cent said they would be more interested in the Olympics if tenpin bowling were a part of it, while 20 per cent said they would not
· 90 per cent believe that professional bowlers should be allowed to compete if the sport were made part of the Olympics
· 90 per cent believe that tenpin bowling should be made part of the Paralympic Games
· 100 per cent believe that tenpin bowling would become more popular if it became part of the Olympics (70 per cent strongly agreed with this point)
· 90 per cent believe that government funding would rise for the sport if it were included in the Olympics
When asked the open question of what they thought of tenpin bowling’s status as a sport (whether they would consider it as more of a leisure activity and whether they would be interested in taking up the sport) the answers ranged from the following:
‘It’s an interesting sport and, as with any sport, training and coaching are essential.’
‘I think that tenpin bowling isn’t given enough recognition for the skill that it involves. I think it is both a leisure and professional sport, like the way football can be.’
‘I think that it is considered a sport. I would only take part as a leisure activity.’
‘Highly diversified sport: for leisure or professional.’
‘More awareness of it as a sport needs to be created, more coaching programs set up and advertised. This would be helped by making it an Olympic sport.’
‘Tenpin bowling is a huge sport, with so many talented players. [Tenpin bowling] needs to be recognised in Ireland as a sport. It is a sport and is not only used for leisure.’
‘Yes I would like to take up bowling.’
‘More a leisure activity.’
‘If I took it up I would like to get coaching in it just as I would if I took up any other sport.’
Interview with Irish Bowler Kevin Fitzgerald
For the purpose of examining how the status of bowling is considered from within the sport in this country, as well as examining how its non-Olympic status is viewed and the effects which this has, I interviewed Irish international bowler Kevin Fitzgerald.
Mr Fitzgerald has represented Ireland
Mr Fitzgerald also has voiced his opinions openly in the past about the state of the sport in this country. In this interview I asked him why he thinks the sport has never gained mainstream status in this country, whether the sport needed to be recognised by the Olympic Committee, and what effects gaining Olympic status would have on the sport, both in general and In Ireland specifically.
The main points made by Mr Fitzgerald in response to my questions are listed below, as well as the questions which I asked him.
Tenpin bowling has never taken off as a mainstream sport “due to the domination of one business taking over the bulk of bowling centres in Dublin, which would have the greatest number, the densest population of bowlers. The commercial element has definitely come into it. Bowling alleys are about making money, they’re not about bowling. Back when I started bowling the bowling alleys were run by bowlers and you definitely saw the difference.”
“Bowlers and the Irish Tenpin Bowling Association really need to start working with younger people; getting them in, getting them bowling, getting Saturday leagues going again, getting the coaches back in. When I started there were 150 bowlers bowling on a Saturday morning. You would be lucky to get 10 or 15 now. That needs to turn around if we want to see the sport survive.”
“I think the government needs to realise that this is a serious sport. In other countries it’s taken very seriously; in South East Asia, it’s very prominent in America. It’s actually, game-for-game, the most played sport in the world, bar none. You can’t really argue with the facts, it needs to be taken more seriously, it needs more investment. With the right investment Ireland could be a dominating power in the sport.”
Bowling becoming an Olympic sport is something which would excite Mr Fitzgerald. He believes this would “turn things on its head” in terms of the decline of the sport and its lack of mainstream popularity here. “When governments see an Olympic Sport they see that it’s clearly an important sport worth investing in, investment which will attract more people into the sport, a new life into the sport, which it so desperately needs.”
“I think when people think about bowling at the moment they see it as a leisure activity; they don’t really see it as a sport. Getting Olympic status would definitely turn that on its head.”
- Why do you feel that bowling has never really taken off and gained recognition as more than a leisure activity in
Ireland - Do you think that more could be done to inform people about bowling in
Ireland - Could more be done to get people involved in bowling at a younger age?
- Do you think bowling should be given more funding by the government?
- Bowling has been considered recently for Olympic status. Would you like to see bowling become an Olympic sport?
- Do you think this would help the sport gain recognition in
Ireland - Do you think the sport would receive more funding if it became an Olympic sport?
Interview with Greg Synott
For the purpose of balance I also interviewed somebody who has no ties whatsoever with tenpin bowling.
The interviewee, Greg Synott, is in no way affiliated with the sport, and has no alterior motives in terms of promoting the sport or promoting any push for the sport to be included in the Olympic Games. The sole purpose of this interview was to gain some opinion on the hypothesis from somebody who could not, consciously or subconsciously, be in any way biased in his responses and opinions.
The main points from his interview are listed below.
“I didn’t know you could really get involved in tenpin bowling in Ireland. I didn’t know you could take it up as a sport at all.”
“I just considered it a leisure activity, because what I know of bowling is kind of just drinking and bowling.” Greg was referring here to bowling companies’ new initiatives to bring in customers, where you can now bring alcoholic drinks to a bowling alley while you play.
“I wouldn’t have known it [tenpin bowling] was on television, I didn’t realise it was taken that seriously as a sport, especially in Ireland. I know it’s played worldwide but I didn’t know how well.”
When asking him if he would watch the Olympics on television, he said “personally I wouldn’t really have time, to be honest.” I also asked him if bowling were made a part of the Olympics would it make him more interested in watching the games. “I think it would make it a bit more interesting. I think a lot of the sports in the Olympics right now are redundant and bowling might be more interesting for it.”
In terms of popularity which might stem from the sport being instated into the Olympics, Greg commented “Of course it would get a lot more viewers; it would get a lot of people involved in it at a competitive level.”
Q.1. Are you in any way involved in tenpin bowling?
Q.2. Do you consider tenpin bowling as a sport or a leisure activity?
Q.3. Do you watch any bowling on television?
Q.4. Do you watch any of the Olympic Games on television?
Q.5. Would you watch more of the Olympics if tenpin bowling were given Olympic status?
Q.6. Do you think the sport would gain more recognition and popularity if it were made an Olympic Sport?
Q.7. Do you think the sport would be likely to gain more government funding if it were made an Olympic Sport?
Statistics/Points to consider
• Tenpin bowling is now the biggest sport in the world which is not yet part of the Olympic Games
· Tenpin bowling is played by over 100 million people worldwide
· Over 10 million people worldwide compete at either amateur or professional level
· The number of bowling lanes worldwide is now up to 250,000
· Two major petitions have been set up on the internet for the inclusion of tenpin bowling in the Olympic Games.
· One of these petitions has been set up in the form of a Facebook page, and it currently has over 9,000 members.
· The other was set up in the form of a print document for anybody interested to print off and distribute in their area
· In 1979, the International Olympic Committee officially recognised the Fédération Internationale des Qulleurs as the governing body of bowling
· The sport has been used as a demonstration sport in the Olympics, in the Seoul Games of 1988
· The sport is also officially recognised as a Paralympic discipline, and it features at numerous disability games throughout the world
· However, as with the Olympics, ten pin bowling has never featured at Paralympic Games level
· Tenpin bowling has a long and illustrious history in the Special Olympics, on which it is now one of the biggest events.
Analysis of Statistics/Points
It is hard to see how 100 million people could all be wrong. Although tenpin bowling does not have a huge television viewership worldwide (only in the United States has the sport been regularly televised), the fact that so many people are involved in the sport makes it hard to see this as a genuine argument against inclusion.
The fact that petitions have now begun to circulate on this matter, especially the large number of members who have joined the Facebook petition, is very important. Clearly there is a demand for the sport to become part of the Olympic Games. Some people may argue that this demand is coming from inside the bowling world and not necessarily from fans of the Olympics in general. However, this does not mean that the sport should be excluded any longer. Plenty of events in the Olympics, even some of the most stall-worth events, have a narrow following. Events such as Pole Vault, in the Track and Field disciplines, and other events such as Archery are specific events with a specific fan base. Tenpin bowling has no more specific a fan base.
The fact that tenpin bowling has been officially recognised by both the Olympic and Paralympic Committees but has yet to be included as anything more than a demonstration sport at one Olympics is hard to understand. It is little wonder that the FIQ, the governing body of tenpin bowling, has been lobbying tirelessly since the late 1970’s for the sport to be included. How the Olympic Committee has continued to ignore this lobbying for so long is also hard to understand.
It seems clear that there is a much stronger argument for the inclusion of tenpin bowling in the Olympic Games than there is against it.
Legal and Ethical Restraints
In the process of conducting this research I came across various ethical constraints. Principally the fact that I am personally involved in tenpin bowling called for significant restraint. It would have been very easy for me to become biased in the way I focused my research and in the examination of statistics and information which resulted from that research.
Not only have I played tenpin bowling for the ten years now, during which I have played not only in Ireland but in other countries in Europe and at international level for Ireland, but I also have undertaken to begin writing on the sport in the last six months, after setting up a blog site dedicated solely to tenpin bowling. The fact that I have been writing about the sport for some time now has been a significant aid in restraining myself from losing objectivity in in this research project. I have had to remain objective throughout all of my writings since I began to write about the sport, especially since I began to be published by major tenpin bowling websites in the UK. Not only would objectivity have held me back in this sense, with website creators possibly being unwilling to take my work, it could also have seen websites in trouble if they were not vigilant enough to pull me up on any possible bias in my work.
Thus the months of practice remaining objective and restraining my personal feelings towards any issues raised by myself in writing about tenpin bowling has held me in good stead when it came to conducting research for this particular research. Specifically I have been recently published on the UK’s biggest tenpin bowling website on the very issue of tenpin bowling’s lack of Olympic status, and admittedly this could have been an issue when it came to my objectivity in this research. However, I am extremely satisfied that I have remained objective throughout all research conducted, and I have not let any personal opinions that I have in relation to the issue at hand influence the way in which I approached the conduction this project. The important thing which I had to remember throughout the conduction of this project was that this project was not to express how I felt, but merely to examine the hypothesis of the project in a balanced, objective manner. I feel that I have been successful in doing just this.
Other ethical issues which have arisen in the conduction of this research, although intrinsically linked to issues raised above, posed separate problems. It would have been wrong of me to write questions, either for the survey or for the interviews conducted, which would lead those involved to any one answer or to form particular statistics which were not wholly those of the people involved. To angle any of the research in such a way that one answer was fabricated in place of another would have been ethically irresponsible and I am satisfied that I allowed for all possible opinions to be expressed equally.
The issue of leading questions to certain answers and the manipulation of statistics and answers towards any one opinion or conclusion also brought in a significant legal issue. If in my research I acted in any way to fabricate statistics and opinions against what was actually true or what was actually said I would possibly have been subject to libel action and this was of principal importance in my mind while I undertook all research for this project. Any instance in which it may have been possible for me to stray from the truth in this research would have again been both legally and ethically irresponsible of me and could quite easily have seen me end up in a lot of trouble as a result. Due to this responsibility I was vigilant in my objectivity and in the absolute need for me to report the truth in everything which I researched and conducted for the project.
Overall it may seem to many that the status of tenpin bowling as an Olympic sport would not be an issue which would be considered serious enough to get somebody into legal trouble for anything reported which was not true. Not only do I not agree with this but I also believe that to think this way is to completely miss the point. Ethical and legal responsibilities transcend the importance of the issue, in my opinion; no matter whether you are researching or reporting the most serious incident or merely examining the most insignificant of matters, there is always a the same high level of ethical and legal responsibility on you to I undertook all of the research which went into the examination of the hypothesis of this project.
Hypothesis Evaluation
The purpose of this project was to examine my hypothesis that ‘tenpin bowling should be made an Olympic sport.’ It was not essential that the hypothesis be entirely proved one way or the other, but to consider all the arguments for and against the hypothesis.
From my research it seems to me that there is a stronger case for tenpin bowling to be made an Olympic sport than there is against it. Logically it seems almost a no-brainer, when you consider how huge the sport is worldwide, the number of people who play it, and the simple nature of the game, which makes it easy to understand, follow, and enjoy.
And when you look deeper into the issue, it becomes hard to understand how the Olympic Committee have continued to ignore the sport. It may not be a huge sport in this country, but even here there is enough of a strong popularity base for it to be conceived that people would watch the sport in the Olympics. And we are only one small country. It seems certain that the sport would be a popular Olympic event worldwide.
One extra note which needs to be made concerns the state of the sport in this country. It became very clear through my research that the sport has suffered severely in this country in the last decade. My interview with Kevin Fitzgerald opened my eyes to the possibility that the sport could be extremely popular here, if only action was taken by both the bowling alleys and the Irish Tenpin Bowling Association to ensure that the general public are being informed of the sport and its appeals. The sport was becoming very popular in the 1990’s, before the lack of funding and effort began to rot away this popularity again. It is important for the future of the sport that this is not allowed to continue.
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