Avoiding a Short Blocking Bowl while Obeying the Skip

It’s happened to all of us. Skip calls for a draw shot on a particular hand but there is a bowl sitting on what you recognize as your path to the jack. You comply. You hit the blocking bowl. Was there no help for it? Actually you can comply with your skip’s order without feeling powerless to avoid that collision. It is called ‘using the mat’.

I am called a ‘center line bowler’. That means whether on forehand or backhand I release my bowl along an aim line that passes through the front midpoint of the mat. If I anticipate a collision with a short bowl, I can move that release point six inches either to the left or the right but keep this new aim line parallel to the old one. My bowl should pass that blocker six inches to the left or right according to my adjustment. Geometry predicts the final resting position of my bowl will only be changed by six inches, much less than my normal bowling error.

 If there is a collision it is my misjudgment, but I am in charge of my own fate. At the same time I have complied with a directive and maintained team discipline.

Note that the technique of ‘using the mat’ is much more flexible since the foot fault rule was changed in the Crystal Mark Third Edition. Now, because only a portion of a foot needs to be on the mat or over the mat, there is much more room to maneuver.