In the early years of the championships, men competed in four different categories: Doubles, 4-man team, 8-man team and masters. Up until 1963 women did not participate in the event. The first year that women did take part, they competed in 4 different categories, doubles, four-person team (European Style), four-person team (American Style) and masters.
This is the only time the 'European Style' has been used in the championships. In the following championships the European style four-person team was replaced with the five-person team event (American Style) and was used until 1979.
Singles, Doubles, Trios, Team of Five, All Events, and Masters have been the disciplines for both genders since 1979, with 6 women and 6 men on each team.
The medalists for these events except the Masters from 1979 to 2007 were determined by total pinfall.Īfter the conclusion of singles, doubles, trios, and five-person team events, the All Events medals are presented to the top three bowlers of both genders who have accumulated the most pinfall over the 24 games.
