Bowled Over

At last Lusaka has been given the ultimate recreational facility targeted at the whole family Anyone from six to eighty years old can enjoy a game of Ten Pin Bowling?

"Lets Go Bowling" is situated in the new Arcades Centre and boasts a ten lane Bowling Alley fitted out with some of the latest equipment available - automatic scoring, automatic ball returns, bumper lanes for kids, and an Extreme Bowling facility.

Apart from the Bowling Alley, the centre comprises a Coffee bar, small Restaurant which will serve wholesome basic foods and a sweeties/novelty shop for the kiddies. The Mezzanine floor offers a great view of the proceedings below with glass walls that overlook the lanes, a Sports Bar with Slot machines and Big Screen entertainment covering all live sporting events, shows etc. Both floors have ample seating and are fully air-conditioned.

"EXTREME BOWLING" has to be the hi-lite of the Alley. The main lights are extinguished and UV lights are illuminated, joined by loud dance music, flashing lights, synthetic smoke and running lights on either side of the lanes. Everything glows in the dark from the graphics on the walls to the bowls and pins. This creates an exhilarating atmosphere which tempts all to try their hand at bowling.

The Alley will be open from 9 am till midnight, seven days a week, 365 days a year. An entrance fee of K5,000 per person will be charged on entrance, and a game will cost between K20,000 and K25,000 per player depending on the time of day. "Off peak" hours are from 9 am to 4 pm. During this period a game will cost K20, 000. "Peak" hours are from 4 pm to midnight, Monday to Friday, and all day Saturday and Sunday with the exception of group bookings of 12 or more who wish to play before noon on the weekend. Peak games cost K 25,000. An average game with four players should last about 40 minutes.

A requirement to bowl is that the correct shoes are worn and that no barefoot bowling will be allowed. House shoes will be rented to all players, which is included in the cost of the game. In the interests of hygiene bowlers are advised to either bring their own socks or buy themselves a pair of new socks available for sale at the alley. House shoes are disinfected each time a player returns the shoes to the front desk. Frequent players can purchase their own bowling shoes, which are available at the alley.

In the evenings on certain days of the week we will host Bingo nights, Darts Championship matches with electronic scoring, adult quiz nights, etc. These will be held in the function room on the mezzanine floor, and will only be accessible to persons over the age of 18. Alcohol will only be sold on the mezzanine floor, but will be available downstairs by waiter service.

To enjoy the game of ten pin bowling one does not have to be super fit although after a few games those muscles that are barely used begin to take their toll.

Ten-Pin Bowling is an internationally recognized sport, and is affiliated to a world body with world championship matches being played all over the world. The game can be likened to a game of Golf where corporate challenges/competitions, inter-school competitions, one-on-one challenges can be played, and can become very competitive.

Eventually Leagues will be formed and certain days/nights and times will be allocated to league players. An interesting statistic is that "there are more league players in the USA than the entire population of South Africa.

I recently held my daughter’s 14^th birthday party at the Alley – the best idea I had had all year. Seventeen teenagers and two hours later, I was still calm and relaxed for they did not stop bowling from the time we walked in until it was time to go. Nobody told me they were bored, nobody said ‘what can I do now’. And what’s more – all the snacks and drinks were included in the price so I didn’t even have to prepare food. Way to go!