Summary of talk by Peter Egleton on
The Laws and Etiquette of Lawn Bowls
This talk was given on 16th April 2011 at the
Clubhouse and summarises the laws of the sport of Bowls as of 1st
April 2011. The full version (Crystal Mark) is available from Bowls England or
the full text can be downloaded from http://www.worldbowlsltd.co.uk/laws
Interpretation
- ‘should’ and ‘will’ mean
the item is compulsory
- ‘can’ is optional
Bowls
Date stamp
- The World Bowls Stamp was
introduced in 2002 and incorporates a date which is 10 years after the
bowls are stamped. Finalists of County competitions and losing
semi-finalists are required to have bowls carrying a current World Bowls
Stamp.
- For domestic games, that
is, Club, District or County, Bowls must have a legible stamp dated 1985
or later.
Stickers
Bowls should only carry one set of stickers.
Damaged bowls
If a bowl is damaged during a match it should be replaced by
one from the same set. If this is not possible, then the whole set must be
replaced by another set.
The game
Start of the game
- The first end and any
extra end: a coin is tossed and the winner can either keep the mat or give
it away. The opposition cannot refuse to accept the mat.
- Every other end in the
game: the winner of the previous end has the mat. You can’t ‘give the mat
away’ See new LAW 18.4
- Trial ends – agreed by
captain. Usually one end in each direction; number of bowls agreed by
captains. Trial ends allow you to explore the run of the green both for
your own bowls and those of the rest of the team and the opposition.
- Position of the mat:
centrally placed with the front of the mat between 2m and 25m marks (from
the front ditch)
- Delivery of the jack; a
faulty delivery occurs if:
- The jack goes in the
front ditch (the ditch the bowler is facing)
- Bounces off the front
bank back onto the green
- Goes outside the rink
boundaries to the side
- Goes less than 23m. (That is why the side markers are at
25m (i.e. 2m + 23m)
- If both players make
faulty deliveries then the skip places the jack at the 2m mark and the
first player places the mat anywhere between the 2m and 25m mark (LAW
23.3)
- Position on the mat:
Before delivery the player should have one foot fully on the mat. At the
moment of delivery the player should have all or part of one foot on or over
the mat. For actions on foot faulting see LAW 21.
During the game
- Touchers:
- When a bowl on its
original course touches the jack; it stays ‘live’ even if it goes into
the ditch either on its original course or subsequently being knocked
into the ditch.
- If the bowl falls on the
jack after coming to rest, it is a toucher as long as the next bowl has
not been delivered. If the last bowl of the end, you can wait 30 secs to
see if it will fall before deciding the result of the end.
- Touchers should be marked
before the next bowl is delivered; if this is not possible, it should be
marked before the next bowl enters the head or nominated.
- A toucher or jack in the
ditch should be marked. This not only shows their position to the bowlers
but also enables them to be replaced accurately if they are disturbed by
subsequent non-touchers
- Dead end: when the jack
goes out of play to the sides. The usual rule is for the end to be
replayed. There are other incidences when dead ends occur. Please refer to
the Law book.
- Tied end: when it is
agreed that there is no winning bowl; no score is given but the end is
counted
- If a bowl is delivered but
does not go beyond 14m it is a dead bowl and should be removed. If a
bowler drops a bowl when preparing to deliver then this can be picked up
and delivered.
The role of the
players
- Skip
- Will have sole charge of
the team
- The team should follow
the skip’s instructions
- The skip decides all
disputed points with the opposing skip and there should be discussion
before calling the umpire
- Has responsibility for
the score card (LAW 37.1.7) and
this cannot be delegated LAW 31.1.9)
- Can delegate all
responsibilities except the responsibility for the score card.
- To build the head:
- The aim is to have the
head mostly built before the skip bowls
- The skips need to know
the abilities of their team players and their bowls
- To get the best from
their team the skip should encourage and guide in a positive manner
- Lead
- To place the mat, deliver
the jack as instructed by the skip, and get bowls as close as possible to
the jack so that the building of the head is started effectively
- A lead should be able to
bowl on both hands as there are occasions when a change of hands is
required
- Second
- To draw to any position
asked by the skip
- Third
- To be able to deliver all
types of shots: draw, running, firing
- To decide on the score of
the head, by measuring if necessary
- To clearly inform the
skip of the number of shots for/against
- To call the skip if there
is a dispute before calling the umpire
Etiquette
Possession of the Rink:
- Belongs to the player/
team whose bowl is being played and until it comes to rest. Then
possession is transferred to the opponent
- Players who follow their
bowl up the rink must be beyond the head before their bowl comes to rest
- The player in possession
of the mat should not be interfered with, annoyed or distracted in any
way.
Position of the
players
- Mat end: players not
delivering the bowl should stand at least 1 metre behind the mat
- Head end: the team in
possession of the rink should be behind the head; the team not in
possession should stand behind and away from the head
Movement off the
green
- Anyone moving around the
green should stop when in the line of players about to deliver their bowl.
- Spectators should not give
any advice to players or disturb the play