Bowling ball Bowling ball A bowling ball is a piece of sporting equipment used to hit bowling pins in the sport of bowling. Balls used in ten-pin bowling are typically hard spheres with three holes drilled in them, one each for the ring and middle fingers, and one for the thumb. Regulating bodies such as the USBC maintain requirements for the properties of bowling balls, including size, hardness, and number of holes, as well as maintaining a list of bowling balls approved for competitive play. Other bowling balls, such as those used in five-pin bowling, candlepin bowling, and duckpin bowling are smaller,
Bowling pin Canadian fivepins are between duckpins and tenpins in size, but have a thick, inch-wide rubber band around the widest part of the pin to increase pin action when struck. Candlepins are dissimilar to the others, being the tallest of all at 15-3/4 inches (40 cm), but only 2-15/16 inches wide and in weight, each pin nearly matching the maximum weight of a candlepin ball. They are nearly cylindrical in shape with a slight taper toward either end, making them vaguely resemble candles (hence the name). Unlike other bowling pins, because they are vertically symmetrical, candlepins may be set on either