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Bowling Awards Ideas to Elevate Your Event

Silver and gold bowling award with embossed bowling balls and pins with a bowler is apart of the list of bowling awards ideas

Hosting a bowling party or a more formal awards ceremony? Then, you need some great bowling awards ideas. Whether you’re recognizing a team or individual for an accomplishment, finding the right award can be challenging. Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered.

In this article, we’ll share some bowling awards ideas to make your event memorable and special.

Top Bowling Awards Ideas

There are a variety of bowling awards you can give, many of which you may never have heard of before. From formal awards based on skill to more casual and wacky awards, here are some ideas for your next event: high score award, best average, most improved, low score, perfect game, strike out, team spirit, best attitude, bowling swag, lifetime achievement, and best attendance.

Key Takeaways

  • Diverse Bowling Awards: Highlight awards like high score, best average, most improved, low score, perfect game, and strike out achievement for various skill levels and achievements in bowling.
  • Recognition for Team and Individual Efforts: Emphasize awards such as team spirit, best attitude, and lifetime achievement to acknowledge both individual and team contributions.
  • Fun and Unique Categories: Include lighthearted awards like funniest bowler and bowling swagger to add humor and personality to the event.
  • Engaging Party Ideas: Suggest themed parties, music playlists, side games, and themed snacks/drinks to enhance the bowling party experience.
  • Adult-Friendly Bowling Fun: Offer ideas for adult bowling parties, including competitive elements, karaoke, tournaments, skill-based betting, and trivia breaks.

High Score Award

Bowlers and teams that take scoring seriously will appreciate this award. Recognize the highest scoring individual or team with a high score award to commemorate their accomplishment. It’s up to you to decide the criteria for awarding this recognition, from the highest score in a game to the most cumulative points over a longer period of time.

Highest score certificate with black lettering, brown ribbon and tan banner

Best Average Award

A bowler’s bowling average is a widely recognized measure of their skill level, so it’s only fitting to recognize the individual or team with the best average at your event. Doing so not only honors their skills, but encourages others to strive for better averages.

Most Improved Bowler Award

This award honors the bowler who has shown the most improvement over time. It’s an excellent way to motivate and recognize bowlers who may not be getting the highest score, but have been diligently focused on perfecting their technique.

You may base this award on the bowlers’ average scores, points earned over several games in a specific time period, or go a different route entirely.

Low Score Award

Consider this award only if your group is lighthearted and ready for a laugh. The low score award recognizes the person who has hit the fewest bowling pins and has the lowest bowling average. You can also base the scoring criteria on a single game or a set of games played on a single night. This can also include the most gutter balls!

Though the winner of this award may not be the happiest person in the room, the fact that you’re awarding them is sure to cause a few chuckles.

Perfect Game Award

The perfect game award is a coveted award that goes to the bowler who achieves a score of 300, meaning they have bowled 12 consecutive strikes in one game without missing a pin! It’s incredibly uncommon for someone to achieve this feat, so when it happens, it’s a big deal.

The winner of this award is sure to be delighted.

Strike Out Achievement Award

Have you ever bowled three strikes in the last frame? That’s an incredible feat and worth rewarding. The strike out achievement award goes to the bowler who has successfully knocked down all ten pins with three consecutive strikes in the last frame of a game.

It takes skill, precision, and dedication to do this – so whoever accomplishes this deserves some serious shine.

Strike out award has a tan background, red ribbon and gold and red medallion with gold streamers

Team Spirit Award

The best bowling teams operate with a healthy dose of team spirit. That’s why the team spirit award exists. You can award this to a team member who is especially helpful, always encouraging and supportive, or just generally brightens the mood with their presence.

But you don’t have to limit it to just teammates, either- you can award the entire team if all of them exemplify team spirit.

Funniest Bowler Award

For awards that are a little less serious and honor the lighter side of bowling, you can give out the funniest bowler award to the person who always makes everyone laugh. Whether it’s their comments or their knack for cracking jokes in between games, there’s someone on every team who always finds a way to bring some levity into the situation.

Let them know how much you appreciate them with this award!

Funny bowling keeps everyone entertained and so will this colorful lighthearted certificate for multi color ribbon

Best Attitude Award

Sometimes, bowling can be grueling, especially when you’re not scoring as well as you’d like. This is when you need to keep a nice, even disposition and keep striving towards your goals. Some people have this down pat, and for them, you can offer the best attitude award.

Bowling Swagger Award

We all approach the lane a little bit differently, but some people have that little extra something that exudes confidence and evokes stares. They have swag. Though swag often comes naturally, we think it’s still worth acknowledging with an award – the bowling swagger award.

Bowling Pin Awards @Dream Machines Car Show 2016 #15

Lifetime Achievement Award

For someone who has been bowling for a long time and had substantial success in the game, you can offer them the lifetime achievement award. It’s a way to recognize all their hard work and dedication over the years. Be sure to give them a heartfelt speech to go along with the award.

Best Attendance Award

Perfecting your bowling game and skills takes time and commitment. A big part of that is showing up. To recognize a bowler who shows up for every practice session and game, give them the best attendance award.

They’re sure to feel appreciated.

How Can I Make My Bowling Party More Fun?

Do you want to make your bowling birthday party more fun? Start by setting a theme—think ’80s retro, cosmic bowling, or even a favorite movie. It amps up the excitement and gives folks a chance to dress up and go to the bowling alley.

Don’t forget to craft a killer playlist that aligns with your theme; music can really set the mood.

Adding side games can also keep the energy high; for example, have mini-challenges like “bowl backward” or “use your non-dominant hand” to roll the bowling ball and offer small prizes for those who succeed.

Lastly, make sure to have a selection of snacks and drinks that cater to different tastes, maybe even adding a creative cocktail or mocktail that fits the theme.

Note: A big part of what makes a bowling party more fun is tailoring it to your group of friends. This means understanding their preferences, humor, and interests, and incorporating those elements into the event. If you choice to customize your bowling awards ideas, Canva is a helpful resource.

How Can I Make Bowling Fun for Adults?

Making bowling a fun party for adults usually means adding super competitive elements to the game, like money, beer or a bowling trophy. You could make players pay a set amount of cash whenever they get a gutter ball and award the money to the winner.

You could also have each bowler sip from their beer, wine, or favorite cocktail after every frame – one sip for each pin left standing.

If you’re not into those, you could also incorporate some of the below ideas into your event: 

  • Karaoke Integration: Some bowling alleys are equipped with karaoke machines. Take turns belting out your favorite tunes in between turns. Nothing says “adult fun” like bowling and singing your heart out!
  • Tournaments: Organize a mini-tournament with brackets. This can make bowling more competitive and give everyone a chance to root for their favorites and receive bowling trophies.
  • Skill-Based Betting: Make friendly bets on outcomes. For instance, “I bet you can’t get a strike in this next frame!” To keep it light, maybe the loser owes the winner a compliment or has to do a fun dare.
  • Photo Booth: Set up a DIY photo booth area with props and a backdrop. Capture the fun moments and let everyone have goofy pictures to take home.
  • Trivia Breaks: Between frames, challenge your friends with some fun trivia questions. You could keep it general or tailor it to a theme everyone loves.

How Do You Say Good Luck to a Bowler?

You might also shout, “Knock ’em’ down,” or “Get that strike.” There’s no magic phrase that all bowlers use; choose whatever fits your personality. Wishing a bowler good luck should feel natural to you. The most common phrase for this is “Good luck!” .

Related Articles

So, there you have it – bowling awards ideas for parties, ceremonies, and other bowling-related get-togethers. We hope the award ideas in this article were helpful to you, and we wish you the best!