For a good portion of the population, bowling is a social and recreational event.

Frequently done with friends and family and complemented by food and drink, for most the object is to hurl the ball as hard as possible down the lane and hope for the best. The shoes are rented for the occasion and there aren't any practice throws before the games get under way.

However, for the women student-athletes at the 47 member institutions currently sponsoring women's bowling as an NCAA varsity sport, there is much more to it.

Anyone with the good fortune to catch a glimpse of the Association's newest championship sport in action will see an extremely competitive game that is played with a five-person team, although up to eight may dress for competition. During the course of the 144-day regular season, or for Division III schools, a 19-week season as dictated by division bylaws, teams compete in conference tournaments, regional tournaments that can draw six to 10 teams, and sometimes national tournaments in which anywhere from 16 to 24 NCAA teams may compete. At stake is a chance to earn one of eight berths into the National Collegiate Women's Bowling Championship.

While the object of the game is the same regardless of the competitive level -- knock down as many pins as possible -- the line between bowling as a recreational activity and NCAA activity is distinct.

That notion, according to Ron Holmes, head coach at Central Missouri State University and a member of the NCAA Women's Bowling Committee, is one of the key concepts the general public needs to grasp in order to understand and follow NCAA women's bowling.

"This is not recreational bowling or league bowling or open bowling, where you go and socialize and have a good time. This is competitive bowling in every sense of what other sports do," he said.

Same as other student-athletes

Holmes points out that bowling student-athletes receive the same levels of benefit and they work under the same expectations and obligations that any other student-athlete in any other sport within an athletics department do, including upholding academic standards, attending practices and earning scholarships.

Shannon Pluhowsky, a senior at the University of Nebraska. Lincoln, and three-time U.S. Amateur national champion, believes another key concept that would promote a deeper understanding of the sport is realizing that bowling, like tennis or golf, relies on technique, leverage and timing, not overall strength and power. The three-time all-American also emphasized the importance of keeping emotions in check under pressure.

"There's no defense in our game, so trying to limit your mistakes is the only defense you can play," she said.

To be sure, skill is important to avoid mistakes, but it takes more than skill to rise to the level at which NCAA teams compete. It also takes practice, according to Amanda Burgoyne of the defending national champion Huskers.

"Some people think that with bowling you don't need to practice, but I know with my team, we practice Monday through Friday for three hours," said Burgoyne, who added that team members also are allowed two hours of one-on-one time per week to work with coaches on individual skill development.

Similarly, for Holmes' Jennies, if they aren't traveling, a typical week of training runs four to five days and includes a combination of cardiovascular fitness, weight training, work on individual players' individual games and work on team strategy. For some programs, a study hall or some other academic-support option also may be included.

Equipment nuances

Just as important as skill and practice is equipment. According to Jeanne Klescewski, collegiate director of United States Bowling Congress Collegiate, intercollegiate bowling's national governing body, shoes and balls top the list of must-haves. Competitive women's bowlers generally have their own shoes and, different from what one would find in a typical bowling alley, they may even use shoes with interchangeable soles to control the amount of slide in their approach.

As for bowling balls, Holmes compares them to golf clubs in that you wouldn't use a putter for every shot and expect success. Likewise, women's bowlers may bring anywhere from two to six balls, depending on how specific a student-athlete wants to get about what the ball does.

"Usually they have a couple options with one ball that hooks a lot and one that goes in between," said Holmes.

Having equipment options is especially critical in light of the fact that competitive women bowlers must adjust to different oil patterns, or conditions, on the lanes. In general there are two -- "house shot," which is what one might see recreationally, and the more challenging "sport condition," which makes it more difficult for bowlers to find an easy line into the pocket.

"You have to be able to adjust on a sport condition. Even that varies," said Klescewski. "It is units of oil and how far out on the lanes you place those units. As you go to the outer edges, the oil might be lighter or heavier. There are a lot of things you can do to test bowlers' ability to adjust to different conditions."

Opinions on what is the most challenging skill for competitive bowlers to master vary. For Nebraska's Pluhowsky, it is the ability to adjust for invisible variables such as differing oil patterns and different balls.

For others, like Klescewski, it is the art of rolling a spare.

"It is easy to crank a ball, put a lot of speed on it and carry 10 pins for a strike. It is more difficult when you are shooting at one or two pins," she said.

Still for others, like Novella Franklin, head coach at Florida A&M, learning the ability to focus is most challenging. Franklin believes bowling is a mind game and that a bowler's ability to focus not only on the shot, but to also keep her eye on the mark, remember where she's standing and how she's going to release the ball, are all key.

Advancement of the sport

Even as the NCAA bowling community works to educate the public about its competitive aspects, the general consensus among bowling insiders is that having an NCAA championship for women's bowling is helping to change the public's attitude.

"I think the perception of women's bowling is changing a great deal. I can use a specific example from our program. We have been a club program since the 1970s and we've done quite well," Holmes said. "But just that perception of being an NCAA program and the thought that these individuals are being thought highly enough of to be picked up by their athletics department made a huge difference."

Bowlers also agree that the sport's future is bright. Burgoyne, a marketing major who hopes to one day work for a bowling ball company and bowl professionally, believes more girls will see the sport's potential not only for the competition it offers, but also for the opportunity to earn scholarship money for college.

Pluhowsky also sees women's collegiate bowling continuing to grow and that Nebraska and other high-profile programs can help advance the sport.

"The better we do here at Nebraska, the more likely schools will see the opportunity they have and adopt bowling," she said.

Did you know?

Using a four-step approach, a bowler is exercising 130 muscles in the body.

Did you know?

Women's bowlers may bring anywhere from two to six balls for a competitive meet. Such a selection allows the bowler to adjust to various oil patterns and lane conditions.

Did you know?

During each three-game set, a bowler swings the equivalent of 864 pounds and walks six-tenths of a mile.