It may sound silly to some people, but I always wondered how hard is to get a sponsorship from a bowling company. I'm 33, I'm a league bowler, I bowl 3 leagues a week, I just bowled in a couple of tournaments, my average is 210, I'm lefty, etc.

How hard is to be sponsored? Please don't laugh at me if it is a stupid question haha 

It's pretty difficult and it takes a while.  Also pretty hard to do without higher profile contacts.  As just a bowler, you REALLY have to be good to be on a staff.  If you're in the industry or could have a direct impact on increasing their sales, it's a bit of a different story but it's still pretty hard. 

You have to realize that ball companies are in the business of making money.  You have a limited number of staff spots, and thousands of applicants, so you need to do something to set yourself apart from the rest of the pack.  In order to get sponsored (be on staff) by a bowling company, you have to be able to do something for them.  Which is the ability to sell and market equipment for them.  The company needs to feel like they are getting some benefit out of providing you with free equipment.  Most times you either need to own or work in a pro shop just to be considered.  Most ball companies only have a set amount of staff members by region, so if there is someone already on staff with a specific company in your area, it will become increasingly less likely for them to select you.  Bowling in multiple leagues won't really help, because ball companies are looking for exposure.  League bowling typically limits you to one or two houses in a very small area.  Companies are looking for bowlers who not only bowl in a lot of tournaments, but bowl in them successfully.  To make an analogy, who is more likely to get a contract with some type of equipment outfitter in the MLB?  The major league all-star, or an average minor league player?  They typically look for high caliber bowlers.  Where a 210 average doesn't really fall into that category, you could potentially offset that with consistently bowling successfully in a lot of tournaments, and working in a proshop.  Good luck!

The only thing bowling companies want a 210 average league bowler for is a customer.

Unless you own/work at a pro shop or bowl on the regional level, save your time.  No company is impressed with your 220 house slop average.  Unless its Lordfield, they just want  people to buy their stuff.

Shoot from the hip.  Never mean anything malicious, its just the truth.  Everyone is so entitled these days, they think just because average 220 on a house shot and bowl in a king of the hill tournament 5 minutes from their house that they deserve to be on staff.

A person with a staff position is essentially a salesperson.  Consider what companies look for in their sales staff.  In this case a strong bowling resume, professionalism and most importantly the ability to drive sales of the company's products.

Thanks so much to everyone (well, everyone but one) for all your honest and extensive responses. I just been bowling for three years and all this stuff is relatively kind of new for me. I just got curious because I know a guy from a pro shop that he is sponsored by Columbia, he is lefty too and he averages like 215, 220. The difference is that he's bowling in a lot of tournaments and I don't. Next year I want to bowl at least a tournament per month, and I want to end this season with at least 215 in every league.

I know that I still have waaay to many things to improve and I have a lot of room to get better, so I'm pretty confident that I'll get there sooner than later. I'm really motivated (no bowling pun intended) and last week I started a bowling session with a great coach rated in the best 100 coaches in the US. He's great and I'll know he will help me in the medium/long term.

In the meantime, I'll keep reading you all and shooting more questions, regardless of some unhelpful people...

Thanks!