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- Herausgeber: Crowood
- Kategorie: Lebensstil
- Sprache: Englisch
Featured in this book are: Valuable advice on practice, skills, techniques, team spirit, self-control and all aspects of playing bowls Photographs of top players in action Information boxes containing Key Points and Useful Tips Sequence photographs and detailed diagrams in colour Introduction to rules and equipment
Das E-Book können Sie in Legimi-Apps oder einer beliebigen App lesen, die das folgende Format unterstützen:
Seitenzahl: 193
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Dedication
Part 1: Introduction to Bowls
1 Development of the Game
2 Getting Started
3 Choosing Your Equipment
Part 2: Skills and Techniques
4 Grip and Delivery – The Absolute Essentials
5 Playing the Shots
Part 3: Playing the Game
6 The Four Playing Disciplines
7 Positional Play
8 Playing with Confidence
9 Playing on Different Surfaces
10 Top Tips
Part 4: Fitness and Well-Being
11 Exercise and Recovery
Epilogue
Appendix: The Game of Bowls – Other Popular Derivations
Glossary
Useful Contacts
Copyright
FOREWORD
Bowls is a fairly simple game with all participants having one primary aim: to get the bowl near to the jack. Whatever the degree of science applied, the objectives remain the same. In this guide, John Bell fully acknowledges this and reminds the reader that, whether one is a World Class performer or a raw beginner, the fundamental rules always apply. The greater the skill acquired, the easier the basic principles may be forgotten.
The author, in utilizing his vast experience of playing and managing bowls at the highest level, will assist every bowls coach and student of this sport to study carefully the recommendations, which adequately apply to all bowlers. With improved skill there must, automatically, come renewed enthusiasm from every bowler to play to their best ability and to ultimately achieve their goal.
Happy reading!
Tony Allcock MBE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Author and publishers would like to thank the following for their help and cooperation in the production of this book: Lynne Rowley, for her untiring typing services; Stuart Airey, for his classic demonstration skills; Paul Walker, for capturing them so well on camera; Cumbria Indoor Bowls Club, for kindly accommodating our photo sessions; Melvyn Beck and Bowls International magazine, for supplying the excellent archive photos and various invaluable pieces of information; Rex Hazeldine, for his warm-up routines; and the English Bowling Association, World Bowls Ltd and the English Bowls Coaching Scheme for their assistance.
DEDICATION
To my wife Jeanette, and our Emma and John – a massive thank you. From quality control to inspiring suggestions, they have contributed and supported me during the production of this book, as they have done throughout my bowling career. I have immense pleasure in dedicating this book to them, two of whom, I am delighted to report, are now accomplished bowlers in their own right.
The author, John Bell.
PART 1
INTRODUCTION TO BOWLS
CHAPTER 1
DEVELOPMENT OF THE GAME
Proud History
It is contended by certain chronicles that bowling is the oldest outdoor sport in the world – some form of bowling, that is, because the term has embraced games that are more allied to skittles than lawn bowls. Nevertheless, it is known that as early as 5200BC the Chinese rolled stones to a hole in the ground with the object of getting as near to the lip as possible. There is also a picture of bowls being played in Egypt around 300BC, from where the sport spread to Greece and Rome. It made its way to Northern Europe around the tenth century and onward into Britain. Could it be that our term ‘bowls’ is derived from the Latin word bulla, used for ball games in general? The Aztecs too indulged in a similar game.
The date of its introduction remains unknown, but a bowling green is mentioned in the records of Chichester Castle soon after 1066. Christchurch claims its bowling origins date back to 1100 and Bedford Priory to 1220, whilst Southampton Bowling Club was founded in 1299. We can be certain that a type of bowls as we know it, depicted in the earliest known drawing of bowls in the Royal Library at Windsor, was played in England during the thirteenth century.
Edward I (1272–1307) was the first English monarch to play bowls. Royalty and landed gentry had greens built on their own estates, but at large the game was played on areas of turf associated with taverns and inns. It became very popular, in fact too popular, and attracted severe criticism for creating serious social problems. One report describes the game as attracting ‘dissolute persons, betting, drunkenness, quarrelling and even duelling’. It was even seen to be undermining the country’s security as players were spending too much time bowling and not enough improving their archery skills, which were required for national defence. The monarchy was therefore called upon to suppress the game: Edward III, and later Richard II in 1388, passed laws forbidding bowls and other sports. Anyone caught in the act was liable to two years in prison and a fine of £10.
Henry VIII gave the sport a little respite in 1541 by signing a statute, which stayed on the books until 1845, allowing ‘artificers, labourers, apprentices and servants to play bowls at Christmas – but only in their master’s house and presence’. The wealthier gentry could play within their own gardens and orchards but only under licence; if they played outside their own premises they were liable to a fine of six shillings and eight pence.
Henry himself enjoyed a game of bowls and had his own green at Hampton Court, where records show that large gambling bets were placed. This practice became so popular that a clause was added to the statute of 1541 to stop greens being established for gain. By that time he would probably have been playing with biased bowls, following an incident at Goole on 31 March 1522 that was to change the face of bowls and literally shape it to the game we know today. The Duke of Suffolk delivered his bowl with such force that it shattered into tiny pieces. Determined to continue, he went inside and espied a large wooden ornamental knob at the bottom of his banisters. He took a saw, removed it and returned to his game.
The new ‘bowl’, needless to say, took a curved line reflecting its sawn shape. The day of the biased bowl had dawned.
The more liberal attitude of Henry VIII and his son Edward VI was quickly replaced by a less tolerant Queen Mary in 1553. Two years after her succession she withdrew all bowling licences, deeming the game an excuse for ‘unlawful assemblies, conventions, seditions and conspiracies’. Indeed the game was considered to be of questionable repute for the rest of the sixteenth century, although things must have relaxed somewhat by 1588 when Drake played his much celebrated, and published, game on Plymouth Hoe.
The seventeenth century saw the game receive much greater royal patronage. Charles I enjoyed the sport and gambled heavily on his games. He even had a green laid for him while he was a prisoner in Carisbrooke Castle. His son Charles II was an even bigger bowling devotee, and the game’s first royal administrator. Together with his brother James, Duke of York, and the Duke of Birmingham he drew up a new set of rules in 1670 for the regulation and standardization of the game. Before his time the rules of play varied from green to green. Interestingly, one of these new laws was ‘always keep your temper’.
Early settlers to the new colonies also took their bowls with them. Bowling was a popular pastime in New York in the eighteenth century, where there is still a park in Manhattan called Bowling Green and a stained-glass window in a nearby building vividly depicts the art of bowls. Boston, too, was a popular venue for bowls, though the ‘Boston Tea Party’ and the subsequent war of independence ensured that the British game lost favour overnight. The game was also taken to Australia with the early fleets and the first reported bowls match was at Sandy Bay, Hobart, in 1845.
Nearer to home the game had been thriving in Scotland since early in the seventeenth century. It was the Scots who continued where Charles II had left off and produced the most comprehensive set of rules to date, courtesy of a Glasgow solicitor called William Mitchell. These were to come into general use and were adopted in many countries. By 1888 there were 364 clubs in Scotland and in 1892 the Scottish Bowling Association was formed.
Not to be left behind, this enthusiasm seems to have overflowed into England. Coupled with the interest that was now being expressed by the famous all-rounder Dr W. G. Grace, the climate was almost right for the inauguration of a national administrative body. In 1899 games were arranged with Australian bowlers who were accompanying an Aussie cricket team then touring England. A man called S.Yelland set to work on the feasibility of arranging formal games against Australia. This led to the formation of the Imperial Bowling Association specifically to undertake the task. The London County Bowling Club and Association played against Scotland in 1901, allowing W. G. Grace to learn more about the Scottish Association. The fixture was deemed a great success and Grace subsequently promoted the idea that international matches should be instituted for the home countries. The arrangements for them to be held in London on 13–15 July 1903 were concluded by the previous April. The hosting of this prestigious event was in no small part responsible for focusing attention on the formation of the English Bowling Association on 8 June 1903.
This was duly followed by national associations across the globe. Bowls today is truly an international sport with 52 member national authorities in 45 member nations. It is a core sport in the Commonwealth Games and holds its own outdoor World Championship event every four years.
Bowls Today
Welcome to our great game of bowls. It can be many things to very many people. It is enjoyed by young and old, male and female, and reaches out to members of the local community from all walks of life. It can be a competitive sport, a therapeutic recreation or a relaxing social pastime. Starting with the humble roll ups at my home club in Wigton, Cumbria, at the age of twelve, bowls has subsequently taken me round the world several times. En route I have had the pleasure and privilege of playing in and winning World, European and British championships.
Many thousands of bowlers, however, are just as happy to play social bowls at their own and neighbouring clubs. Our game is one that can satisfy the needs and aspirations of all that participate in it. The level at which the individual chooses to play is entirely his or her choice. It can be as competitive or as recreational as you want it to be.
Whatever level that may be, you can rest assured that the wonderful social environment and the high standard of behaviour and sportsmanship surrounding our game will enhance your valued leisure time.
Flat Green Bowls – Part of a Family
This book concentrates exclusively on the ‘flat green’ game of bowls as played throughout the world and administered by World Bowls Ltd and the World Indoor Bowls Council. There are, however, other derivations of the game that function successfully alongside that discipline.
Crown Green bowls, Federation bowls, Short Mat and Carpet bowls all have their own distinctive individual variations of play and governing bodies. Contact details and a brief explanation of their nature are set out in the Appendix.
Popular championship events are now worldwide. This is the Australian Open.(© John Bell)
CHAPTER 2
GETTING STARTED
Joining a Club
Whatever experience or motivation has sparked your interest in the noble art of bowls you are well advised to pursue that interest through joining a bowling club. There are more than 3,700 outdoor clubs and over 425 indoor bowls clubs throughout Great Britain. The vast majority have qualified coaches to assist you make a successful transition from novice to competent performer.
Clubs welcome new members. Many have facilities that provide for a very attractive social environment to run alongside the playing side. Entry fees and annual subscriptions are usually modest. Few other sports can offer so much playing time and social activity for so little outlay.
Should you wish to play bowls throughout the year you will probably need to join both an indoor club and an outdoor club. Some clubs have both indoor and outdoor playing facilities, but they are few in number, so it is more likely that you will join two clubs. Outdoor play ceases in September when remedial work is undertaken on the greens to enable them to recover from the intensive play of the summer season. They will reopen during the following April. Indoor play is normally undertaken during the time (September–April) when the outdoor greens are closed.
The club(s) you join will almost certainly come under the jurisdiction of a County Association, which in turn comes under the rules and auspices of its national association. Individual clubs organize their own domestic competitions and social bowls programmes, including matches against other clubs. These are for the exclusive benefit of its members. The formats involved with club competitions need not necessarily mirror those organized at national and county level. For the more competitive minded, each member of the club is affiliated to the national body and as such can enter the annual national competitions. These are normally played at county/area level as the first stage, with the winner/qualifiers going on to represent the county/area in the annual national championships.
A bowls club – the focal point for your enjoyment of both bowls action and the associated social activity.
Choosing a Club
The location of clubs can usually be found through information centres or by contacting the national governing bodies, who will be able to provide you with a contact number for County Associations, or even individual club contacts in your area. There are several factors you may wish to consider when choosing a club. These should include:
The spacious and picturesque Llandrindod Wells Outdoor Bowls Club. (Courtesyof Bowls International)
Club action at the Scarborough Indoor Bowls Club. (Courtesy of Bowls International)
Fig 1 The Green: divided into individual playing areas called rinks.
The Laws of the Sport
Players should familiarize themselves with the complete ‘Laws of the Sport of Bowls’ as a matter of course. These are published by the world governing bodies – World Bowls Ltd and World Indoor Bowls Council – in association with the individual national governing bodies. They are shown in full on the former’s websites and printed copies can also be purchased for a nominal sum from the latter. Contact details are all shown in Appendix 1.
This section contains a simplified description of what the game involves, and how it is played. The various terms and expressions commonly used in the game, and frequently quoted below, are explained in the Glossary, to which you should refer as you read this introductory section. It will help you to get a good initial understanding of the rudiments of the game of bowls.
The Basic Principles
Bowls games can be played between two people (2 × singles), four people (2 × pairs), six people (2 × triples) and eight people (2 × fours). Team games can also be played. These normally involve six fours per side, but other variations can also occur. These may involve a smaller number of fours, or triples instead, a combination of individual disciplines, or a smaller number of disciplines.
Fig 2 Minimum lengths and distances.
The Green
The game of bowls is played on a green, which can be indoors or outdoors. The length of the green in the direction of play should be between 34m (32m indoors) and 40m. The green must be surrounded by a ditch with a bank against its outer edge.
The green is divided into parallel sections to provide individual playing areas called ‘rinks’. Sometimes strings are used to demarcate the boundaries of the rinks. Individual games are played within the confines of each of these rinks (seeFig 1).
Each player will play with up to four bowls, depending on what type of game is being played: singles (4 bowls); pairs (4 bowls each); triples (3 bowls each) and fours (2 bowls each).
Playing your Backhand and Forehand
You will deliver your bowls standing on a mat, which must be at least 2m from the edge of the ditch. You will deliver your bowls down either side of the rink. Assuming you are right-handed, if you deliver them down the left-hand side of the rink (as you look at the jack) this is known as playing the ‘backhand’. The other side of the rink – the right-hand side – is the forehand. If you are left-handed the opposite applies (the left-hand side of the rink is your forehand, and the right-hand side your backhand).
These are the two ‘hands’ you will have the choice of playing in both directions in all games.
The Jack
You will hope your bowls finish as near as possible to a white spherical ball (63/64mm in diameter). This is commonly known as the ‘jack’, ‘white’ or ‘kitty’. It must always be at least 23m away from the mat, at least 2m from the facing ditch edge, and positioned on the centre line of the rink.
The ‘jack’ always starts on the centreline of the rink at the commencement of each end. It may, of course, be subsequently knocked or trailed away from the centre line. This is all part and parcel of the game as long as it stays within the confines of the rink (seeFigs 2 and 3).
Fig 3 Illustration of common bowling terms.
The Head
The object of the game is simple – to get more of your bowls close to the ‘jack’ than your opponent over a specified period. The area around the ‘jack’, where the majority of bowls come to rest, is called the ‘head’. It is a commonly used, yet arbitrary, term describing an area with no finite boundaries. Its extent is open to individual interpretation.
Live and Dead Bowls and Jacks
A delivered bowl must travel at least 14m from the front of the mat for it to be considered a live bowl. The jack and bowls must also always remain within the confines of the ‘rink’ if they are to play any part in the game. If the jack is knocked outside the rink boundaries, or over the bank, it is considered ‘dead’ and the end must be replayed. (Certain competition rules allow the jack to be re-spotted on the rink instead of replaying the end, but such practice is not widespread. If it is re-spotted, it is normally placed 1m in from the rink boundary and 2m from the ditch.) If the jack is knocked into the ditch within the confines of the rink, it is still considered to be alive and play can continue. Likewise, a bowl that touches the jack and finishes in the ditch is also deemed to be ‘live’ and can remain in the ditch, after being ‘chalked’ to indicate that it is still live. Bowls entering the ditch without touching the jack are ‘dead’ and must be removed onto the bank. Bowls finishing outside the confines of the rink, whether they have touched the jack or not, are also ‘dead’. Such a bowl must be entirely outside the rink boundary. If any part of it, however small, is within or above the rink boundary it is still considered to be in play. This also applies to the jack. Optical devices are sometimes used to line up with the rink boundary markers in order to adjudge whether bowls and jacks are still in play. Alternatively a string can be laid along the line of the rink boundary to determine the exact position of a bowl or jack there.
Rebounding Bowls and Jacks
If the jack is driven against the bank and comes back onto the rink it remains in play as long as it is at least 20m from the front of the mat (and still within the confines of the rink). Similarly, if a bowl hits the jack and then rebounds off the bank onto the rink it is also still in play if it is within the confines of the rink and at least 14m from the front of the mat. A bowl that has not touched the jack and rebounds onto the green is deemed to be dead and must be removed from the rink, preferably before it can come into contact with any live bowls.
Scotland’s Colin Mitchell overseeing the ‘head’ during the British Isles Team Championships. (Courtesy of Bowls International)
Displaced Bowls and Jacks
If such a non-toucher does rebound and displaces a live bowl, then that live bowl must be restored as near as possible to its original position. This action is undertaken by the opponent (or one of the opponents) of the player whose bowl has rebounded onto the green.
If bowls and jacks are displaced or interfered with by a player whilst they are in motion, or at rest, this can result in various courses of action being undertaken. The action taken is dictated by the skip of the opposing side to the player who interfered with a live bowl or jack. The skip’s options include:
restoring the displaced bowl or jack as near to its original position as possible;leaving the displaced bowl or jack where it rests;declaring the end dead and replaying it;declaring the affected bowl dead.The above options largely apply to the various situations that may be experienced, but you will need to familiarize yourself with the exact Laws of the Sport relating to displaced bowls and jacks, since the specific circumstances involved dictate precisely which options can be considered.
Ends
When the players have delivered all their bowls in one direction down the rink, this constitutes an ‘end’ played. Playing all their bowls back up the rink in the opposite direction constitutes another ‘end’.
During each end players bowl alternately until all the bowls are delivered. Whoever wins the end – whoever’s bowl(s) are closest to the jack after all the bowls are delivered – has the choice of delivering the jack on the next end or giving it to his opponent. The latter tactic gives the winner of the end the advantage of delivering the last bowl on the next end, which can be played in the knowledge that his opponent cannot reply. We will deal with the pros and cons of this later.
