In an interview with The Malta Independent, the President of the Malta Bowling Association (MBA), Edward Mifsud, discussed the current state of Maltese bowling along with the Association’s prospects and concerns. This discussion moved away from the community’s known successes, and instead ranged from membership numbers to the MBA’s relationship with Eden Superbowl to how attaching strings to the top of the pins could kill the local sport.

Mifsud said that two major issues linger over the national association: the community’s lack of its own premises, lanes, or training centre, and the threat of the potential introduction of string pins into Eden Superbowl’s incoming centre.

The Malta Bowling Association’s need for its own premises/facilities explained

Despite winning medals at all regional levels and in all age groups for Team Malta, Malta’s bowlers do not own their own bowling alley, facilities, or lanes and nor do they have a selection of venues to go to as most competing nations do. Anyone wishing to try out the sport of bowling can only visit one venue, namely, the Eden Superbowl Centre in St Julian’s.

For the past few decades, the MBA has always rented lanes from Eden Superbowl to host all its local training sessions, national leagues, and tournaments. Despite stating that both parties enjoy a positive relationship, the community’s growth has been stifled due to the lack of lane availability; this has hindered the association’s ability to meet the training needs of existing and potentially new members.

The Malta Bowling Association feels constrained in its efforts to boost membership numbers. With membership numbers dwindling over recent years for mainly these reasons, these trends are raising concerns towards the future of the sport through its modest community’s diminishing size. The association president admitted that despite wishing to attract more children to the sport, current circumstances do not permit it.

Mifsud said: “we are limited in terms of space and availability of lanes… From our end, it is therefore counter-productive for us to attract too many people”.

On this point, he made reference to a recent initiative whereby the association proposed to integrate bowling as part of a primary school’s after-school curriculum. He described the experiment as somewhat successful but limited in scope. He would have preferred to roll it out to more schools to gauge better overall interest. It was implied that little to none of these children pursued the sport after the scholastic year ended, despite the positive feedback.

Moreover, the commercial centre’s need to generate revenue naturally takes priority over the interests of the association. Mifsud disclosed several incidents whereby the MBA was forced to cancel some of its regular training sessions after Eden Superbowl received a large booking from an external private company at the very same timeslot normally taken up by the MBA. These overriding bookings were made to host team-building activities.

“Today, we are in no position to really pick and choose when we train. Our hands are tied based on limited time slots.”

Such training sessions were cancelled for local bowlers even though their sessions were booked in advance. However, Mifsud stressed that these incidents did not breach any signed agreement between both parties due to a clause that allows for these cancellations as long as they are requested 48 hours before the training session in question is set to begin.

“Bowling is not a cheap sport, most notably for those players looking to take the game seriously,” Mifsud explained. “The expenses can act as a deterrent for those that have limited spending power – particularly youths who are just starting to find their way and gain some level of independence.”

 

How implementing string pins could endanger bowling as a sport in the Maltese islands

As Eden Leisure Group builds its new bowling centre, fears amongst local bowlers are starting to kick in. There is an existential threat that string pin bowling could replace the traditional freefall bowling in the incoming bowling centre. If this were to materialise, the future of Maltese bowling as a national sport will take a major hit.

But why is this such a big deal?

Between each shot in bowling, the pins’ positions are reset using pinsetters built into the back of each lane. Freefall pinsetters are the traditional machines that re-spot the pins using mechanical claws, while string pinsetters are the newer controversial set-up that have heavy nylon cords permanently attached to the top of each pin.

String pinsetters have already been implemented in many commercial centres worldwide, despite altering the way the sport feels in the opinion of global bowling communities. Typically, a bowling centre will uniformly install either system of freefall or string pinsetters for the entirety of the bowling alley’s foreseeable future.

Mifsud told The Malta Independent on Sunday that the introduction of string pin systems would reduce running costs for a commercial bowling centre as opposed to a traditional freefall set-up.  String pin systems require less maintenance from lane mechanics, and as a result, fewer spare parts are needed in comparison.

However, string pin systems tend to produce “illegitimate” pinfall. In addition, string pin systems have not yet been sanctioned by any respected Bowling Congress or Federation in the world of competitive play, despite its commercial popularity. In a nutshell, the sport of competitive bowling is exclusively played on freefall pin systems.

In the context that Malta only has one bowling alley, the feared switch to string pins has brought about a unique scenario through which this idea is seriously threatening the existence and legitimacy of the sport of bowling in the country’s future due to the lack of alternatives available.

When queried on string pin bowling, Mifsud said that the attached strings can hinder the pins’ ability to interact naturally after being hit with the bowling ball during a routine shot. He stated that the pins are meant to move or stay put naturally, “attaching strings atop the pins changes the interactions between the pins with every shot in comparison to freefall bowling”.

The MBA president stated that elite bowlers have significant power behind their shots, most notably two-handed players, and that the illegitimate pinfall of string pins can be noted once these players take to these lanes; hobby bowlers – i.e., people who rarely go bowling in their leisure time – should barely notice any difference in the set-ups. He described that the strings, while restricting the pins’ natural movement, may also make some pins fall down through the entanglement of some strings rather than through the pins being knocked over as intended.

Making comparisons between the two pin systems, Mifsud talked in favour of the freefall systems that are suitable for competition, stating that “the dynamic of the game is more truthful than it would be if there was a string pin system”. He also stated that string pin systems cannot replicate the current freefall experience.

When questioned on the likelihood that Eden Superbowl’s incoming renovation shall incorporate string pins or not, Mifsud indicated that despite asking, he is yet to receive confirmation.

The themes of compromise and support were reiterated throughout this interview between the Malta Bowling Association and other partners. Aside from the ongoing relationship with Eden Superbowl, Mifsud highlighted the importance of engaging with government to ensure that it fully understands the risks at stake.

Mifsud stated that if string pin systems are installed, Malta’s young elite bowlers will no longer have a space to hone their crafts to continue their trajectories amongst Europe’s best. In such a scenario, he believes that the Association will get its own training premises one day where bowlers can practise the sport they love at a time slot of their choosing and of the highest level.

Having limited funds and a committee that functions on a voluntary basis, Mifsud believes that action must be taken as soon as possible by government authorities to support the local sport before dire consequences are faced.

He established that in the face of the potential introduction of string pins through the community’s relationship with the Eden Superbowl, support is required to guarantee the minimum standards athletes could ask for: a guarantee that they can practise their sport and in adequate conditions for respected competition.

“I think that if nothing is done by, again, government agencies to support our sport, then yes, it is a recognised fact that our sport is being softly killed”.

Mifsud concluded this interview by asking local bowlers, especially the elite, not to lose heart should string pins be implemented in the incoming centre and to test them out before doing anything drastic, despite any negative opinions local bowlers may have on them. He also said that youths should be given the necessary tools to excel in disciplines they enjoy, not see any future opportunities be taken away from them.

The association is currently in a race against time due to the current uncertainty. Yet to receive confirmation on the potential introduction of string pins by Eden Superbowl, local bowlers fear that they are on borrowed time before the sport they love is forced to be reduced to an unsanctioned hobby.