That is my question. I do not mean to sound sexist at all, I just want to know what others think. You look at averages. Guys averages are almost always higher. You look at tournaments, the guys always have more total pinfall. In the YABA (which I am in), girls get rings for a 700 series, while guys have to bowl an 800 series for a ring. Sport shots even show the same results. I am not trying to rag on all females, I just think there is a difference, and wondering what everyone else thinks?
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Out of the 909, this was B-Car.

as good as the ladies are,  especially the ladies of the pwba, their best cannot match up with walter ray williams, jr., chris barnes, norm duke, brian voss, etc.

Ahem. A little semantic clarification here.
Women and men are equal in talent.
They are NOT equal in scoring ability.
Over the long format tournament, men will outscore women 90% of the time. That is why at the PWBARegional Players Championship this past August, when the "legends" were asked that question, they all said that although they can beat the men once in a while, they cannot compete day in and day out. This included bowlers like Tish Johnson, Dana Miller-Mackie, Virginia Norris, Leanne Barrette, etc...

Its hard to say whos better because i know of some girls that made jr team usa that will handle most of the scratch guys that i bowl with in local tournaments.
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Whoever said progress was a slow process what'nt talkin bout me. cuz im a
P.I.M.P.  And plus, I got the Majic Stick

Paul Murchison
reppin'the 916
WUT IT DOOOO!!!!!!!

I think there are a couple of reasons that conspire to create the average gap.

1) Girls learn early that there are many guys who can't stand to get beat by a woman. You either have to not care what they think, or if you let it get to you, you don't try so hard and therefore fail to progress.

2) Physical size and strength are issues. If you are tall enough you will generate a certain amount of speed and power without having to use real physical strength (I am blessed/cursed with being tall). Most successfull bowlers either use their physical strength to generate the speed and angle to the pocket to carry (crankers), or use a smooth clean stroke (strokers).

To have a powerful ball as a stroker it helps to be tall and have long arms. Needless to say the average woman is shorter than the average man and our bodies do not have the natural strength of a male. We can certainly work out and be physically stronger than many men though never all.

(BTW stamina isn't the issue unless you are straining to do the activity. Scientists have previously determined that the average women has more stamina than the average man, but the men are stronger so they are faster and complete a race in less time. If a marathon was a matter of running for the longest amount of time instead of running 26 miles in the least time, most marathons would probably be won by women)

3) I think most women are convinced they can't throw the ball the same as the guys before they ever even try. This is of course a self fulfilling prophecy.

In an aside there are a couple of junior girls here who throw the ball every bit as hard as the guys. There are still significantly fewer of them, but I think that in the future as more girls succeed, the younger ones will believe they can do it too, and as a result succeed. Of course if the PWBA isn't reincarnated it may result in a significant setback for competitive women's bowling.

If you define talent as having the motor and mental skills to repeat good shots time after time then yes the women are equal. Mumzie is correct that men and women are not equal in scoring ability. Mostly because women have weak wrist compared to men. I do believe that it is possible for some women to train in the gym and be able to match the men in most cases. Smaller women are handicapped somewhat because the ball's weight is a much higher percentage of their total weight.

Michelle Feldman is a good example. She has a very strong wrist which allows her to rev the ball enough to compete with the men. Her body weight is enough to offset the difference in mass. The only problem is too much of her body weight is "soft tissue" not lean muscle.

I think someone like Gabrielle Reece that played Pro Beach Volly ball would have a good chance at 6'3" and 160 pounds of muscle.

Bowl great!!
Ron Clifton



Edited on 10/9/2003 10:14 AM

sorry bjaardker, i beg to differ. the men and women used to compete in a tournament called the merit mixed doubles. the best of the pba and the pwba competed against each other in this tournament in doubles competition. however, the main draw of the tournament was pitting the reigning player of the year for the pba and pwba against each other. the women NEVER won----not once. in fact, walter ray williams, jr., won three( 3) times in a row( 1996, 1997, 1998 ) and SMASHED his opposition( wendy macpherson and carol gianotti-block )each time. i still think the ladies are great players----their fundamentals are better than most of the men. however the men are better.

michelle
You are right when it comes to coaching techniques but I at least try when I get a good lady candidate. I have found a few that may have a strong enough wrist to throw the revs but their wrist is lazy. I believe they can learn to do it right but they will not put the time in.  I am still waiting for the right lady to come along.

Kimbo is right about the number of competitive women out there....they are few and far between. I go out of my way to find them and try to help them because I want to see more women get into the sport. I love coaching women to a level where they can beat a lot of the local guys, but finding any that are dedicated  enough to get to the top of the game is rare.
I would love to see what Kimbo is capable of.
Ron Clifton