With winter and the inevitable change in the weather, bowlers must take extra care in using their bowling shoes. It is highly probable for a customer to come in unknowingly with snow on their shoes, which quickly melts into water. This water is a serious hazard for bowlers if they happen to mistakenly step in it. Water almost completely impedes a bowlers ability to slide on the approaches.
To use an old adage, "An ounce of prevention, is worth a pound of cure." Basically, what is meant by this is that bowlers should wipe off their street shoes on the mats that are placed by the doors in all bowling establishments. This is the first way of preventing any foreign material from entering the bowling concourse. Though wiping your feet does not eliminate all the risk, it does substantially reduce the possibility of contamination.
Bowlers themselves should also remove their street shoes outside the bowling circle. It does not hurt to walk a few steps in your socks considering that if water gets in the bowling circle you are endangering your own teammates and friends (not to mention yourself!). Then, the bowler should check to see if there is any standing water before placing their shoes on the ground and putting them on. If you see any standing water at all in the bowling circle or concourse, you should report it immediately to the front counter so they can clean up the hazard or place baracades around it to prevent the problem from spreading.
In almost every league and tournament, there is a short practice session, in which bowlers can warm up. Every bowler should take a practice slide before even throwing a ball at all, to make sure that everything is safe and they will not come to harm when throwing there first shot. There have been many accidents with people sticking and then sailing down the lane on their knees because they assumed that everything was ok. It is not a pretty sight and it is very painful.