Nine-pin bowling (also known as
ninepin bowling,
nine-pins,
9-pins,
kegel, etc.) is a
bowling game played primarily in
Europe. European championships are held each year. Over 90,000 members are on teams in
Germany, often playing in officially registered
Bundeskegelbahnen (federal bowling alleys) to be found in almost every sizable town. In Europe overall, there are some 130,000 players.
Austria,
Belgium,
Luxembourg,
Switzerland,
Serbia,
Slovenia,
Croatia,
Macedonia,
Hungary,
Brazil and
Liechtenstein are other countries in which nine-pin bowling lanes are often found. The
United States and
Canada, having a predominance of facilities for the modern
ten-pin sport which originated there, as well as regionally popular "small-ball" bowling sports of various types, do not have many facilities in existence for the nine-pin game in the 21st century.