Every bowling lane, including the one in your neighborhood alley, is coated with an oil pattern to protect the wood.

To keep bowling competitive, some bowling alleys such as the NRV Superbowl change the lane oil patterns on a regular basis to give different bowling balls and rolling styles a shot.

The NCAA Women’s Bowling Committee proposed to change the parameters for oil ratio application for the 2016-17 season.

“It’s friction–how the bowling balls traveling through the lanes deplete the oil and changes the unseen oil pattern.