THE FIRST OLYMPIC DEMONSTRATION

Bowling took the Olympic stage as a demonstration sport during the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, South Korea. Demonstration sports, sometimes called exhibition sports, promote the individual sport and do award medals, but the medals do not count toward the winning nation’s total. Bowling’s presence at the games was the result of years of negotiations and a collaborative effort of the American Bowling Congress, the Women’s International Bowling Congress, the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America and the Brunswick Corporation. Although bids have been made for its return, bowling has not become an official Olympic event.