Lawn Bowls

Lawn bowls – a short history of….

It is believed that lawn bowls originated from the Egyptians and since then many famous names are associated with the game, including King Henry 8th and Sir Francis Drake. Sir Francis Drake is said to have wanted to complete his game of lawn bowls before setting sail against the Spanish Armada. The game of lawn bowls he was said to have lost where as the battle he won – but this is hearsay of course!

Lawn bowls is a popular game in England and the rest of the United Kingdom (UK) Australia, Canada, New Zealand and other commonwealth countries. In England, Southampton is the oldest lawn bowls green and games have been documented as far back as the 13th century. The south of England is still the region where lawn bowls is most popular. The English Bowling Association was formed in 1903, which led to regulations for the sport of lawn bowls.

Lawn bowls – play

The games can be played as “singles”, “pairs”, “triples” or “fours” (fours are also known as “rinks”) The game is played on a well kept, rectangular, levelled surface known as a “green”. A lawn bowls green is usually grass or a synthetic surface. The green is divided into parallel strips called “rinks”.

Lawn bowls – the bowls, the jack and the kitty

Bowls are designed to have a bias by being rounded on one side resulting in extra weight on one side of the bowl. In the past lawn bowls have had weights inserted into them to create the bias although this is not allowable now in lawn bowl regulations. Now, the regulations set determine the minimum bias allowed on a bowl and the player can decide which bowl suits their particular style of play.

Bowls used to be referred to as “woods” as they were made from a hard wood but now are more typically made from a hard plastic material.

The other type of ball used is a small, round, white ball known as a “jack” or “kitty”. This acts as a target for all lawn bowls to be directed at and does not have a bias.

Lawn bowls – “the rules and reg’s.”

Whether playing as a single, pair, triple or four, the aim of lawn bowls is to get your bowl or your team’s bowl the closest to the jack. In singles each player has 4 bowls and rolls alternatively for a lead in the game, also known as a “head”. In pairs there are 2 teams of 4 players and each player has 4 lawn bowls, rolled in sequence. In Triples, 3 players have 3 bowls each and in Fours there are 4 bowlers each with 2 lawn bowls.

If playing in a team, the team will have a “skip” who always bowls last and they are crucial for assisting and guiding the rest of the team with their shots and team tactics.

A coin is flipped to see who “wins the mat”. The mat is then placed and the jack is rolled to the other end of the green to act as a target. When the jack rests it will be placed in the centre of the rink. Players take turns rolling their bowls towards the jack.

A bowl may curve outside the rink whilst in motion but must lay to rest within the rink to remain in play. Bowls in the ditch (outside the rink) are classed as “dead” unless they have touched the Jack on the way out. These balls are known as “Touchers” and are chalked and remain in play.

In some circumstances if the bowl ends up in an out of bounds area, the bowl will be classed as “dead” and the game restarted.

Each game of bowls is called an “end”.

Lawn bowls – the shots

There are a variety of shots that can be played in bowls:-

• DRAW Shot – the bowl is rolled to a specific location without moving, at least too much, the other balls in play

• FOREHAND DRAW – for right handed bowlers, the bowl is rolled to the right of the jack to curve in to the left

•BACK HAND DRAW – for right handed bowlers, the bowl is rolled to the left of the jack to curve in to the right. (Both these shots are rolled as close to the jack as possible)

• A DRIVE or FIRE Shot – this uses considerable force to knock either another bowl or the jack out of the way. Due to the speed in which the lawn bowl is rolled, there is hardly any curve on the line of the bowl.

• AN UPSHOT or YARD ON shot – This shot uses added weight to the bowl to disturb other bowls, being careful not to kill the play

Lawn bowls is a tactical sport and is a challenge to adjust the length and weight appropriately for a successful game.

Lawn bowls – the scoring

After all bowls have been rolled, the distance between the jack and the bowls is determined. Points, also known as “shots” are then awarded for the number of bowls closer to the jack than the opponents.

There are several ways of scoring in lawn bowls. The winner is usually determined by either a fixed point system, for example, the first player to 21 points or it can be determined by the highest score after 21 ends.

A lawn bowls game can also be scored where the first bowler or team that reach 7 points are awarded a “set” and it is the best of 5 sets.

In the lawn bowls professional tour the game is scored by playing 7 ends (9 in the final) and 2 sets are played. If the score after 2 sets is 1 set each, then a third game is played to determine the winner. On the professional tour if an end results in a tie then the score is halved.

To find out more from fellow bowlers about tactics, rules, scoring, clubs etc visit the bowls forum