Thought I could clarify some of the points mentioned in the posts related to tenpin bowling and add some further information re Commonwealth Games.
1. The sport was included as a full medal sport, not a demonstration sport, in the 1998 Commonwealth Games in KL, and as Philby pointed out, Australia fielded the champion team by medalling in each event, winning 3 Gold, a Silver and Bronze medal at those Games.
2. Since then, bowling has not been included on subsequent Commonwealth Games programmes but was one of 10 sports included in the II Commonwealth Youth Games (also held every 4 years) in 2004 in Bendigo, Australia. And, inspired by the addition of bowling to the programme of the 1998 Games even after the initial group of sports was announced, we will continue to endeavour to have our sport included on the programme for Gold Coast 2018.
3. The positive response and renewed popularity that resulted from the sport’s participation in the Commonwealth Games in 1998 prompted the formation of an association of national Federations representing numerous Commonwealth countries in 2002. This organisation is the Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Federation, and I was appointed as its Secretary-General and Media Director, honorary roles to which I have been re-elected every 4 years.
4. The CTBF was formed with the specific goal of staging biennial Commonwealth Championships that will ultimately meld into the official Commonwealth Games program. Since the inaugural Championship in Stirling, Scotland four further Championships have been staged in Paphos, Cyprus; Melbourne, Australia; Belfast, Northern Ireland; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The next Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Championship is scheduled from 24 February to 4 March 2013 in Auckland, New Zealand.
5. At Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Championships teams of 2 men and 2 women compete in Singles, Doubles, Mixed Doubles, Teams and Masters events. Australia has traditionally fielded teams representing its top-ranked Adult and Youth male and female bowlers, based on TBA’s previous year’s rankings.
6. 54 countries are members of the Commonwealth. This represents almost one-third of the world’s population and a fifth of all global trade. 23 nations have participated at least once in the previous CTBF championships and/or entered but withdrawn due to unforeseen circumstances :
Australia, Bahamas, Bermuda, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Cyprus, England, Gibraltar, Guernsey, India, Isle of Man, Jersey, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Wales.
Pakistan is a full member of the CTBF, but has withdrawn its team at the last moment due to political and economic problems.
7. Under the auspices of the international Commonwealth Games Federation, officially endorsed Gold, Silver and Bronze medals featuring the unique CGF ‘bar’ are awarded to the winners and placegetters of each event, (except the Masters which Commonwealth Games Federation regulations interpret as duplicating the Singles event) - trophies are awarded to the Masters winners at CTBF Championships. The medals awarded at Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Championships are the next highest achievement, within Commonwealth regions, to official Commonwealth Games medals.
8. The Championships held in Melbourne in 2006 were not part of the 2006 Commonwealth Games as a demonstration sport, but part of the cycle of CTBF Championships – our charter encourages Federations to host Championships that coincide with Commonwealth Games if tenpin bowling is not chosen as a Commonwealth Games sport in that year, but no sport is permitted to hold any international championship during the actual time-frame of the Games. Same rule applies to Olympics, I understand.
9. A points system was introduced in 2006 to determine the top-placed country at each Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Championship and the prize awarded is known as the Triple Diamond Perpetual Trophy, a perpetual plaque awarded to the highest aggregate Team pinfall in All Events. The triple-diamonds represent the three Zones of our sport – Asia, America and Europe. Australia was the inaugural winner of the Triple Diamond Perpetual Trophy, which has subsequently been won by England and Malaysia.
10. Each candidate city bidding to host a Commonwealth Games must include a minimum of 10 core sports on its programme. The core sports are Aquatics-Swimming, Athletics, Badminton, Boxing (currently Men only), Hockey, Lawn Bowls, Netball (Women only), Rugby 7s (Men only), Squash and Weightlifting.
11. An additional 7, from a list of optional sports/disciplines, can also be included. Tenpin bowling is classified by the CGF as an ‘optional’ sport, along with Archery, Aquatics-Diving, Aquatics-Synchronised Swimming, Basketball, Canoeing, Cycling-Road, Cycling-Mountain Bike, Cycling-Track, Gymnastics-Artistic, Gymnastic-Rhythmic, Judo, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting-Clay Target, Shooting-Pistol, Shooting-Small Bore, Shooting-Full Bore, Softball, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Triathlon and Wrestling
12. A maximum of 4 team sports can be included in any Commonwealth Games sports programme.
Hope this helps, and please continue to support every effort being made to regain a place on future Games’ programmes. Participation benefits not just the bowlers involved - all competitive bowlers share the pride of bowling being recognised as an elite sport, and the sponsorship opportunities that result from enhanced media attention are enormous. Increased government funding and access to Australian Commonwealth Games Association development programs are further invaluable benefits that flow from elevation to the Commonwealth Games sports programme.
I’m sure you understand why this goal is so dear to my heart and, in my opinion, worthy of relentless pursuit on behalf of bowlers of every age and level.
Lynne Clay
and I scored some of the international team shirts so I cleaned up too 
