Bowls (also known as Lawn Bowls or Lawn Bowling) is a precision sport where the goal is to roll slightly radially asymmetrical balls (called bowls) closer to a smaller white ball (the "jack" or "kitty") than one's opponent is able to do. It is related to bocce and petanque. This game is most popular in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and in other UK territories.
The game is usually played on a large, rectangular, precisely levelled and manicured grass or synthetic surface known as a bowling green, but an indoor variation on carpet is also played.
In the simplest competition, singles, one of the two opponents begins a segment of the competition (in bowling parlance, an "end"), by placing the mat and rolling the jack to the other end of the green as a target. Once it has come to rest, the players take turns to roll their bowls from the mat towards the jack and thereby build up the "head". Bowls reaching the ditch are dead and removed from play, except in the event when one has "touched" the jack on its way. "Touchers" are marked with chalk and remain alive in play even though they are in the ditch. Similarly if the jack is knocked into the ditch it is still alive unless it is out of bounds to the side resulting in a "dead" end which is replayed.
After each competitor has delivered all their bowls (four each in singles), the distance of the closest bowls to the jack is determined (the jack may have been displaced) and points are awarded for each bowl which a competitor has closer than the opponent's nearest to the jack. For instance, if a competitor has bowled two bowls closer to the jack than their competitor's nearest, they are awarded two points. The exercise is then repeated for the next end.
Scoring systems vary from competition to competition, with some being the first to a specified number of points, say 21, or the highest scorer after say, 21 ends. Some competitions use a "set" scoring system, with the first to seven points awarded a set in a best-of-five set match. As well as singles competition, there can be pairs, triples and four-player teams. In these, teams take turns to bowl, with each player within a team bowling all their bowls, then handing over to the next player. The team captain or "skipper" always plays last and is instrumental in directing his team's shots and tactics.
Bowls are designed to travel a curved path, referred to as bias, and was originally produced by inserting weights to one side of the bowl. This is no longer permitted by the rules and bias is now produced entirely by the shape of the bowl. A bowler can recognise the bias direction of the bowl in his hand by a dimple or symbol on one side. Regulations determine minimum and maximum curvature characteristics allowed, but within these rules bowlers can and do choose bowls to suit their own preference. They were originally made from lignum vitae, a dense wood giving rise to the term "woods" for bowls, but are now more typically made of a hard plastic composite material. Usually coloured black, bowls are now available in a variety of colours including a range of flourescent colours. They have unique symbol markings to identify competitors' bowls, and by regulation have a diameter of about 15 centimetres.
When bowling there are several types of delivery. "Draw" shots are those where the bowl is rolled to a specific location without causing too much disturbance of bowls already in the head. For a right-handed bowler, "forehand draw" is initially aimed to the right of the jack, and curves in to the left. The same bowler can deliver a "backhand draw" by turning the bowl over in his hand and curving it the opposite way, from left to right. In both cases, the bowl is rolled as close to the jack as possible, unless tactics demand otherwise. A "drive" involves bowling with considerable force with the aim of knocking either the jack or a specific bowl out of play - and with the drive's speed, there is virtually no noticeable curve on the shot. An "upshot" or "yard on" shot involves delivering the bowl with an extra degree of weight; enough to displace the jack or disturb other bowls in the head without killing the end. The challenge in all these shots is to be able to adjust line and length accordingly, the faster the delivery, the narrower the line or "grass".
Particularly in team competition, there can be a large number of bowls on the green towards the conclusion of the end, and this gives rise to complex tactics. Teams "holding shot" with the closest bowl will often make their subsequent shots not with the goal of placing the bowl near the jack, but in positions to make it difficult for opponents to get their bowls into the head, or to places where the jack might be deflected to if the opponent attempts to disturb the head.
Bowls is popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of the United States. Because of its relaxed pace and comparatively light physical demands, it is a popular participant sport, particularly for the elderly. However, there is a considerable professional competition dominated by younger men and women.
England's most famous bowler is, of course, Sir Francis Drake, who, in 1588, is said to have completed his game of bowls on Plymouth Hoe before setting sail to defeat the Spanish Armada.
Crown green bowls is a variant of lawn bowls played in the north of England, in Wales, and on the Isle of Man. It is played on a lawn from 30 to 60 yards (27 to 55 m) square. The centre of the lawn is 8 to 18 inches (200 to 450 mm) higher than its edges.
