Bowling Revolution P★League
| Bowling Revolution P★League | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Sports |
| Presented by |
Play-by-play Mitsuaki Ogawa, Ryo Izuno, Daisuke Fujita Reporters Marie Ueda Color analysts Takashi Maruyama, Yoshimi Kitaoka, Kinta Yano Supporter Saki Nakajima |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| No. of series | 59 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | BS Nittele |
| Release | |
| Original network | BS Nittele (BS日テレ). |
| Original release | April 2, 2006 – present |
| External links | |
| Bowling Revolution P★League Official site | www |
Bowling Revolution P★League (ボウリング革命 P★League Bōringu Kakumei Pi-ri-gu) is a series of women-only bowling tournaments, developed solely for television. Entry into these tournaments is limited to selected members of the Japan Professional Bowling Association (JPBA), and amateurs who have qualified via open auditions. The show airs throughout Japan on BS Nittele (BS日テレ).
The "P" in P★League has five meanings: "Pretty", "Power", "Passion", "Performance" and "Perfect".
During the 1970s, bowling was very popular among the Japanese. Japan had as many as 3,697 bowling establishments during the 1970s, with more than 120,000 bowling lanes installed.
By the late 1990s, the number had shrunk to only 600. In 2008, there were 1,100 bowling establishments and 25.1 million people bowled in Japan: about one in five Japanese.
In the 1970s, the JPBA produced a series of televised bowling tournaments, such as Ladies Challenge Bowl ( 1969-1975) and The Star Bowling ( 1978-1998), in the attempt to further push the sport's appeal, as well as showcase the women who competed in the JPBA. Big names such as Ritsuko Nakayama and Kayoko Suda competed in these tournaments. The formula worked - as the show's concept is used in many other Japanese bowling promotions on television, leading up to the present day.
Nakayama, along with the JPBA, created P-League in 2006 in an attempt to revive bowling's popularity on television once enjoyed in the 1970s.
The P-League's television show premiered on BS Nittele on April 2, 2006, initially airing on Sunday nights at 7:30 p.m. JST. After Tournament 18 ended on March 29, 2009, the show was moved to the 5:30 p.m. timeslot beginning April 5, where it remained until the final episode of Tournament 36 aired on March 25, 2012. The show was then moved to Friday nights at 10:30 p.m., and it began airing in that time slot on April 6. On October 4, 2013, the show was moved one hour later to 11:30 p.m. After two years in that timeslot, the show was moved to 10:00 p.m. on October 4, 2015, where it remains to this day.
The women who compete in P-League have either been chosen by the JPBA, or qualified through a try-out. The bowlers who compete in P-League are among the best women bowlers in the world. Most of the competitors hold an average of 190 or better, and several have bowled 300 games and 800 series.
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