Lawn Bowls Rules

In lawn bowls rules, players must have one foot on the mat. The jack must travel at least 23 meters without crossing the rink boundaries.

Bowls, also known as lawn bowls, are a game in which balls – nearly-spherical objects with flattened sides and a weight bias – are rolled (bowled) towards each other on the bowling green. It’s typically played with two jacks on both ends of the pitch. You can play a worldwide game on grass or artificial surfaces and flat (flat-green bowls) or convex (crown-green bowls) pitches. The bowling sport has a long history that dates back at least to the 13th century and perhaps much earlier, with the world’s oldest surviving bowling green – the Southampton Old Bowling Green.

It has also had a colorful history as it was observed by British monarchs such as Edward III, Richard II, and Henry VIII, banning early versions of the sport for fear that it would interfere with the practice of archery of their soldiers.

The “Manual of Bowls Playing,” the first set of regulations, was published in 1864 by the Glasgow cotton merchant, whose name is William Wallace Mitchell, and served as the foundation for the modern game’s rules. As a result of Mitchell’s regulations, the modern game’s birthplace is still in Scotland, with the World Bowls Centre situated in Edinburgh.

An Object of the Game

The game’s goal is straightforward: roll your bowls as close to the jack as possible, and make sure one or more of your bowls are closer to the jack than any of your opponent’s bowls.

Players & Equipment

The equipment required to play bowls is also modest, starting with the level (or convex for crown-green) playing surface, foot mats, and jack. Players generally need a set of flat-soled shoes and bowls.

The bowls come in various sizes but typically weigh around 1.5kg and have a weight bias, so they roll in a curved path, the precise judgement of which is where most of the game’s challenge lies.

The bowling green is generally divided into separate “rinks” for single (one player against one other), paired (two players versus two others), triples (three players versus three others), and four (four players versus four others) games. The rinks are between 4.3 and 5.8 meters wide and 31 and 40 meters long. There is a ditch on each end of the green, which must be big enough for bowls to fall into if they reach it.

Scoring

At the end of a round, the player or team whose bowl is closest to the jack receives a point (or “end”). If a player or the team has more than one bowl closer to the jack than their opponents, they will score that amount of points.

Winning the Game

The number of points a team takes to win a game varies by competition, but the first player or the team to reach 21 points or have amassed more points at 18 or 21 ends is typically declared the winner.

The game could also be played in a set, which means the first to score seven points wins a set, and the overall winner is the first to five sets (or an agreed number).

Rules of Lawn Bowls

• The toss of a coin determines who will bowl first in the game. The first bowler (the lead) then sets up their mat and rolls the jack down the green.
• The jack must travel at least 23 meters to be “in play” and is moved to the rink’s center once it comes to rest.
• The players take turns to bowl, with each bowl closer to the jack than the opponent’s closest bowl earning points.
• If a player performs an end play and wins, the game restarts in the opposite direction (i.e., from where the jack previously sat).
• Bowls that fall into the ditch are ignored as long as the jack is close to the ditch, and they touch it before going into it. They are still considered in play if they contact the jack before going into the hole.
• In lawn bowls rules, the jack is knocked into the ditch within the rink’s side boundaries, it is still “alive” and in play. If it goes over the end line of the rink (whether in the ditch or not), a “dead end” is declared, and the game is replayed without scores being counted.
• It is permissible – and often quite amusing! – to hit other players’ bowls with your own to gain a strategic advantage.