Ten-pin bowling (as opposed to lawn bowling, bowls, or boules) was a demonstration sport in Seoul, at the 1988 Olympic Games, with men and women events. By then, the discipline had already débuted at the programme of the World Games at its inaugural 1981 edition, with men, women, and mixed events, and it would be continuously contested until 2022. Nine-pin bowling also had a sole appearance at the World Games, in 2005.
The sport’s governing body was originally founded in 1952, with 11 members, as the Fédération Internationale des Quilleurs (FIQ). The federation would be renamed to World Bowling (WB) in April 2014, and to its current name, the International Bowling Federation (IBF), in November 2020. It is currently one of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)-recognized international federations, with 114 affiliated members as of January 2026.
