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Introduction

MassBowling was created in 1978 by physical educator David Marsh at the William Seely School in Groton, Connecticut. Known originally as "Team Bowling", MassBowling has been identified as an activity that allows the inclusion of physically and visually impaired populations. In 2003, Sportime joined with Coach Marsh to coin the term MassBowling and to develop products to enhance the game's use.

MassBowling Rules

Game Basics
MassBowling is played on a basketball court. The number of players needed to play the game ranges from 18 to 60. For smaller groups, try the MassBowling Half-Court Game. The number of balls used (14 to 30) may vary depending on the number of players.

MassBowling is played by two teams separated by the centerline. A bowling pin is placed six or seven feet away from the midpoint of each end line. All players must stand on or behind the end line and sidelines that mark the boundaries of their side of the court. The object of the game is to knock down the other teams pin with a ball and to prevent the other team from knocking down their pin. The ball must be rolled subject to the restrictions detailed in the following rules.

The Players
Each team shall designate one or two players to be a "ball retriever". The ball retrievers are responsible for retrieving balls located on the playing court and to reset the pin after it is knocked down.

• direct a ball towards the opponents pin.
• deflect or interfere with any ball rolling toward his/her own pin.
• touch the floor beyond the end line, sidelines and centerline with any part of his/her body.
• delay in resetting the pin.
• use his/her feet to retrieve the ball.
• enter the pin area, except to reset the pin. The pin area is defined as the basketball court free throw lane. This is a safety rule intended to keep the ball retriever from getting hit by the pin as it is knocked down.

• MUST roll or bowl the ball with an underhand motion when directing a ball towards the opponents pin.
• may attempt to deflect any ball on their side of the court that is rolling towards their pin by rolling or throwing another ball at it.
• may pass a ball to a teammate by rolling the ball.

• throw a ball overhand at their opponents pin.
• touch the floor beyond the end line, sidelines and centerline with any part of his/her body.
• have in his/her possession more than one ball for a time period of three seconds or more.
• use his/her feet to propel the ball.

The Game
Before the game is started, the pins must be in place, game balls located within the center circle, and all players in position on their own side of the playing court (see Figure 1). The retrievers should be standing near the center circle ready to retrieve the game balls. The referee will blow the whistle to start the game. He will blow the whistle again to end the game when one of the teams has been awarded fifteen points. If play is interrupted because of an emergency or for instructional purposes, the players in possession of a ball may retain possession. The referee will restart the game by blowing the whistle. The referee should be positioned off court at the midline to monitor the action. If a separate scorekeeper is used, that person should be situated off court directly opposite the referee. Points are awarded to a team when their opponents pin is knocked down. Points may also be awarded when the opposing team persistently violates the rules.

Game Strategies

Offense and Defense
Separating offensive and defensive responsibilities is an important strategy in MassBowling. Players standing nearest their own pin should concentrate on trying to stop their opponents from scoring. Conversely, players who are standing nearest to their opponents pin should be primarily concerned with the offensive attack. As players become familiar with the game, more complex offensive and defensive strategies will develop. When playing more than one game, it is good to rotate the sideline and endline people to give all players a chance to play offense and defense.

The role of the ball retriever is an important one. Not only is this person responsible for resetting the pin and retrieving the loose balls, the ball retriever should be instructed to distribute balls primarily to the offensive players on the sidelines as most of the balls rolled at a pin go directly to the defensive players standing behind the end lines. Additionally, the ball retriever should not linger near the pin area. This action may obstruct the vision of teammates or inadvertently deflect balls rolling towards the pin. The ball retriever must also be aware of the potential danger of being struck by the pin as his own team may accidentally knock down their own pin in their attempt to play defense.

Pin Placement and Handicapping
Placement of the pin can dictate the flow of the game. Moving the pin closer to the end line makes it easier to play defense. Moving it farther away is to the advantage of the offensive attack. Therefore, a standard fifteen point game may last three minutes or thirty minutes depending on where the pins are placed. Pin placement is normally six or seven feet away from the midpoint of each end line. If the group playing the game has lower physical ability, moving the pin closer to the end line will help to equalize offensive and defensive opportunities. The opposite is true when the players are highly skilled.

The handicapping system utilizing pin placement can be very effective. If one team has an obvious edge in ability, moving the weaker teams pin closer to the end line will help equalize play. For example, an eighth grade team could compete against a sixth grade team equally by moving the sixth grade team's pin one or two feet closer to their end line. A piece of tape works well in marking the spot for pin placement. An indoor throw down base or a poly spot marker works as well and allows for easy adjustment when handicapping is desired. Refer to the section titled, "How to Determine Your Team's Handicap Rating" for more information on the handicapping system.

Ball Retrievers - Using One or Two
The Ball Retrievers work very hard during the game and should be watched for fatigue and replaced when appropriate. When there are more than 24 players in the game, a second Ball Retriever may be used. Place one Retriever near center court to retrieve balls in that area. The second Retriever should be near the pin and made responsible for resetting the pin when it is knocked down.

Adding Another Pin To Each Team
When playing MassBowling with more than 36 players, you may consider using a second bowling pin for each team. Place the pins 6 or 7 feet from the endline and about 12 feet apart. This forces the larger number of defenders to cover two targets.

One of the few hazards in this game is when a team strikes their own pin when trying to deflect an offensive attack sending it forward with considerable force. It is very important to enforce the rule restricting the Ball Retrievers from the basketball key area while the pin is standing to protect them from being struck by the pin in this situation. When using two pins with larger groups, the basketball key area rule becomes ineffective. In this situation, it is safer to tell the ball retrievers to stay away from the pins and have the defenders cross the endlines to reset the pins.

Using Balls of Different Size or Color
Designating a different size or color of ball as a "bonus" ball can allow for the use of more complex strategies. The MassBowling set offered by Sportime includes 6 yellow and 6 violet Handgrip bowling balls. If the yellow team knocks down the violet team's pin with a yellow ball, they would receive two points instead of one point. A ball of a different size could also be used as the "bonus" ball. Try throwing a four foot cage ball into the game as a "bonus" ball. You can imagine how the focus of offense and defense would change in these situations creating a need for new strategies.

Your Team's Handicap
Determining your team's handicap rating is simply deciding how far away from the endline you wish to place the pin. A handicap rating of 6.0 means that the pin is placed 6 feet away from that team's endline. A regulation 15 point game should last between 8 and 12 minutes. Two teams that have accurate handicap ratings should play a competitive game within that time period. You need to adjust a team's handicap when:

1. A team wins or loses consistently.
2. Two teams play competitive games that end too quickly (8 minutes or less) or that take too long (12 minutes or more).
3. A team wins or loses by a large margin (ex., 15 - 4).

Groups that are new to the game may use the following guidelines to determine a starting handicap rating and adjust later as needed:

5 Handicap = below average size, strength and/or skill
6 Handicap = average size, strength and/or skill
7 Handicap = above average size, strength and/or skill

MassBowling™ Half-Court Game

The MassBowling Half-Court Game is a lead-up activity that uses one half of a basketball court (see Figure 2) and is useful with groups of 9 to 20 students. It uses one bowling pin placed in the center of the court about 6 feet away from the basketball court endline. Defensive players stand behind the endline and offensive players stand behind the half-court line. There are generally twice as many players on offense as there is on defense. As such, with a group of 12 players, 4 would play defense and 8 would play offense. All rules for this activity are the same as MassBowling with the following exceptions:

Retrievers: There are no retrievers in the MassBowling Half-Court Game. All players may cross lines and enter the court to retrieve balls and reset the pin. A good strategy is to have one of the offensive players go behind the defenders and retrieve loose balls for their teammates. However, all attempts to knock down the pin or to defend it must be made from behind the designated line.

Player Rotation: Divide the class into three groups: A, B, and C. To begin, Group A will play defense and groups B and C will play offense. After the offense has scored 10 points, Group B will rotate to play defense and Group A will rotate to play offense with Group C. Continue play for 10 more points and rotate groups so that Group C plays defense against Groups A and B. To make this activity competitive between the groups, standardize a period of time for play. Select a time period between 2 and 5 minutes and count the number of times the pin is knocked down during that time. This becomes the score for the team playing defense. All groups rotate until each has a score. The group with the lowest score wins.

Handicapping: The position of the pin relative to the endline is critical and dictates the flow of the activity. It is possible to equalize play between groups of unequal ability when playing the MassBowling Half-Court Game simply by moving the pin closer or further away from the endline. Refer to the "Game Strategies" section of the MassBowling Rules to get a more complete understanding of pin placement.

MassBowling™ Tournaments

Conducting a MassBowling Tournament with your organization is no different than any other team sport tournament. The format can be single elimination, double elimination, pool play, one game matches or best two out of three. The biggest difference between MassBowling Tournaments and other sports tournaments is that every team in a MassBowling Tournament has an equal chance of winning. The following paragraphs offer suggestions for MassBowling Competition.

Standard pool play style tournaments allow the top teams to advance to a championship game while the remaining teams are eliminated or play a consolation tournament. Because MassBowling teams are handicapped, adjustments can be made after pool play to help equalize the teams. After pool play is complete, handicaps should be adjusted. The top two teams will advance to the "A" Bracket with a .5 increase to their handicap rating. The bottom two teams advance to the "B" Bracket with a .5 decrease to their handicap rating. The winner of the "A" Bracket single or double elimination competition would play the winner of the "B" Bracket competition for the overall championship.

Physical educators who teach MassBowling in their regular classes can handicap each class and conduct a school wide tournament. Teachers and parents could challenge students. This has been done successfully during "Fun Nights" or "Back to School" nights.

MassBowling is best played in a best two out of three match. When a team lines up to play, you have a left sideline, a right sideline and the endline. Players who stand behind the sidelines are generally offensive players. The players behind the endline should primarily play defense and protect their own pin. After each game in a MassBowling two out of three match, the lines of players should rotate counterclockwise. Therefore, after game one, the players behind the right sideline move to play behind the left sideline. The left sideline players go behind the end line and the endline players move to play behind the right sideline.

Inclusion

MassBowling was created to teach and utilize bowling skills in a physical education setting. The game quickly became useful as a large group activity. As time went by, another benefit of the game became apparent. Children who were physically impaired and unable to participate in regular class activities, could participate in MassBowling games safely. MassBowling was featured in the Spring 2000 issue of Palaestra: Forum of Sport, Physical Education & Recreation For Those With Disabilities as "Team Bowling".