in the middle
Bowling is considered a dusty sport from another time – in many places in Germany bowling alleys are rotting away. A club from Hermaringen wants to inspire young people to play bowling again – with success.
One last cone still stands at the end of the olive-green track. Klaus takes a three-step run-up, guides his arm straight past his body and then sends the ball on its way. There is almost complete silence for three seconds, then the cone falls. “Yeah, there’s that thing!” Dancing, Klaus and his team give high fives and then write the new status on the blackboard with chalk. “Only 3:4, we’ll catch up!”
The eight pensioners have been bowling in this round for more than 20 years. On Fridays they meet at the bowling alley in the village of Hermaringen near Heidenheim. Some of them used to be bowlers, now it’s more about being together. “We do it as a hobby, which we entertain a bit, get out, stay fit. And then there’s also something good to eat and drink,” says Gaby.
The bowling alleys remain empty
Over a beer, a schnapps and lots of laughter, the pensioners discuss the important questions: how are the children doing, who will lead in football and what’s for dinner tomorrow. They have the track all to themselves that evening. Not unusual, because fewer and fewer people are still bowling. In the 2000s, the German Cone and Bowling Federation still had over 250,000 members. Now it’s just over 60,000.
The image seems to have fallen out of time. Bowling is considered old-fashioned by many. A hobby of old people who drink a beer and smoke on the track. The trains, often connected to a restaurant, are rotten in many places. Many clubs and restaurants have invested in the railways, some of which have not yet been paid off.
In the past, bowling was often a social glue, and it brought the community together in a village with 2,500 inhabitants like Hermaringen. Today the former national sport is about to end.
But in Hermaringen the turning point was successful. Young people have been coming again for a number of years. 20 children and young people are now bowling in Hermaringen, and the club has registered several youth teams.
How did Hermaringen manage the turnaround?
The club focuses specifically on the very young. The youth trainers are already courting the children in elementary schools, even before they all get caught up in football. And on the tracks they take a lot of time for every child and young person.
Stefanie Thierer plays an active role herself and is also a youth trainer in Hermaringen: “You simply can’t expect so much coordination from the little ones. We have to get them excited about the sport with games and fun. But it’s working really well now.”
This is also good for the children. Noah used to play football, but no coach really took care of him there. “All my friends are here and it’s always fun. It’s never been like that in football.”
There are no competitors in the area
In addition to promoting young talent, there is one other thing that is different in Hermaringen. Although the system is from the 1980s, the club has repeatedly spent money and modernized the tracks and electronics. Investments are also planned for the next few years. All the more important that more people bowl in the club again.
So is the former popular sport already saved? Not quite. Because hardly any club manages to raise a similarly good youth work. Therefore, the teams from Hermaringen often have to travel far to their competitions. Everything stands and falls with the commitment of the volunteer trainers. In Hermaringen they have revived bowling with a lot of commitment among the youngest. This gives hope that the former popular sport will survive the crisis.