Does it feel like you and your family have been cooped up in your home for months with no escape or relief? My suspicion is millions upon millions of us feel this way. I know I have felt this way multiple times this year. With options and activities limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have struggled to find activities for the family to do; you can only go to the park so many times. But what my family and I found is that bowling is the perfect way to escape to have a ton of fun in a safe environment.

There are a lot of loud and differing opinions out there, but it seems that two of the best things to do to keep safe – and keep others safe – from the coronavirus is to wear a mask and to social distance. It also seems to be a good idea to wash your hands often and to avoid touching things that other people may have been touching, or coughing or sneezing on. So, considering all of this, how could bowling be considered a safe activity for the family? That’s the purpose of this article, to show that an activity that almost everybody enjoys, can be perfectly safe for you and your family. Let’s get to discussing how.

Bowl with a Mask On

As with any time you are going to a public place, you should wear a mask when you go bowling. Masks can be quite cumbersome, particularly when you are moving around a lot, a.k.a. exerting yourself, or when you are trying to have a meaningful conversation. Luckily for you, there’s not a whole lot of moving around or deep conversations going on. In fact, bowling is primarily made up of sitting down while cheering on those you are bowling with. If ever there was an activity that was well-suited for mask wearing, bowling is it.

Bring Some Sanitizing Wipes

The elephant in the room, the item you can’t go without touching, and a lot at that, is the bowling ball. If you have your own bowling ball, you’re all set here. If you don’t have one yet, maybe it’s time to get one. Kidding aside, the bowling ball is actually a pretty easy thing to make safe. As long as you bring some sanitizer wipes, one for each ball that will be used, the ball won’t be the deliverer of any viruses to you or your family. Once you pick all of the balls you will be using, make sure you give each one a thorough wipe down using one wipe per ball. This should keep the ball safe during your time at the lanes. By the way, if you are looking to buy your own ball, check out BowlingLine.com for some great advice and the best option.

More Sanitizer for the Bowling Shoes

Chances are you don’t have your own bowling shoes. This means you will need to wear some shoes that many, many other people have worn. First of all, businesses are taking cleanliness and sanitation exponentially more seriously than pre-pandemic, so those shoes have probably already been sanitized in some way. At any rate, make sure you either wash your hands or use hand sanitizer after putting the shoes on and then after taking them off. Now, it’s probably best to put the shoes on, then pick your ball, wipe down your ball, then sanitize your hands. Then at the end, put your ball back, take off your shoes, and sanitize/wash your hands again.

That’s all there is to it! As mentioned, the bowling alley will be taking their own measures to make sure everybody is safe, including only assigning every other lane to maintain social distancing. This, combined with the measures discussed earlier in this article, will be more than enough to ensure you and your family are safe while you all enjoy an afternoon or evening out at the bowling alley. 

Final Word

If by chance you notice the bowling alley you are at is not taking measures to keep their patrons safe, such as leaving every other lane open (unless each lane and the seats on each lane are 6 feet apart) and regularly sanitizing balls and shoes, we suggest you pick another place to bowl. Even though the measures discussed earlier will be plenty to keep you safe, businesses that don’t take this pandemic seriously should be without customers until they are willing to act more responsibly.