Skittle alleys from 1933 from bankrupt Kegelkluis are looking for a new destination: “It would be a shame if they disappeared” (Antwerp)

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The Skittle Vault in Antwerp’s Leeuwenstraat has been empty since 2021. The corona crisis destroyed the city’s last skittle alley, which was founded in 1933 in the vaults of the Boerentoren. But the bowling alleys themselves, including the technology and all accessories, are still located in Leeuwenstraat, on the first floor.

In the meantime, the former bowling hall has been rented again to Escaping Antwerp, who want to use the spaces to expand their activities. So the bowling alleys have to go. They are even offered for free on 2dehands.be. And that has not escaped Bob Knors, secretary of the Flemish Kegelsports Federation and sports leader of the Mortsel skittles club Zun.

Piece by piece, Bob, together with other avid bowlers, is dismantling the bowling alleys and associated mechanisms. Also last Thursday again. “The tracks themselves are still authentic,” he says. “The more than 90-year-old beech wood was moved from the Boerentoren to here in 1958. It can certainly last for a few more years, but the question is how long.”

It is history, because it dates back to a time when the city of Antwerp had easily fifty to sixty bowling clubs. The Cone Vault was the very last and closed its doors in 2021. In the ‘nearby’ area, there are also bowling clubs in Mortsel, Schelle and Beveren.

It is not yet clear what will happen to the old bowling alleys of the Kegelkluis. “We want to do everything we can to preserve them, but then we have to find a location,” says Bob. “It takes up quite a lot of space. We are in discussions with the municipality of Borsbeek, where it might be given a place in the fort. We will know more about that next week. It would be a shame if it disappeared.”

Bob is also in negotiations with Fernand Huts to reopen bowling alleys under the Boerentoren. “Those discussions are still ongoing, but that will only be possible after the renovation work,” says Bob. “That is not a realistic alternative for now.”

Anyone who can help the bowlers further can contact Bob Knors via [email protected].

Skittles, what is that?

In skittles there are nine cones arranged in a diamond. This is in contrast to bowling, where there are ten pins in a triangle. A bowling alley has a y-shape and is also somewhat hollowed out.

The skittles and bowling lanes are the same length, but skittles are played with a smaller ball, without holes.

Skittles has different types of games. This also includes ‘clearing the table’, where the aim, just like in bowling, is to knock over all the pins. Another form of game is ‘löschen’, where different teams compete for victory. For each game, numbers from one to nine are written on a board. Depending on how many cones are knocked over, the numbers are wiped off the board. The first team to clear all the numbers wins.