Most novices know no more about signals than those indicating which hand to bowl on. This is because the single objective for beginner leads is to place at least one bowl close to the jack and preferably it should become the shot bowl. Leads are actually only rarely asked to change hands and niggling to obtain shot is seriously frowned upon. (Niggling is trying to knock away the other lead’s bowls.) They should leave the take out for the more experienced team members. When the opposing lead has clearly delivered a bowl that will almost certainly be shot, your skip is most likely to ask you to place receiving bowls or ‘catchers’. Your bowls should not be short, where they will obstruct your team’s effort to change the head. The saying is “when down be up.”
All team members should be able to read a variety of signs from the skip. Before stepping onto the mat, each person about to bowl should stand behind the mat and look down at the skip to receive signalled messages. The bowler can also signal questions for the skip, such as, “Are we up or down?” “Which hand do you recommend?”
Stop
At first your skip will need to start every communication with this signal. Otherwise, the person on the mat may deliver a bowl before information is exchanged. The skip places both hands in front of his/her chest palms facing towards the boiler on the mat. Like a traffic cop the message is STOP.
Catcher Bowls
A proposal for a signal to place receiving bowls and make a sustained effort not to be short could be cupped hands. The hand on which the bowl should be grassed can also be indicated or the lead can signal to be advised about the best side to bowl. Usually the skip will not ask for a change in hand when asking for a catcher bowl.
Put the Bowl in this Spot
Sometimes the skip will want to signal that a bowl should be delivered to a particular spot. The skip may be worried that the jack could be knocked in among a group of opposing bowls. This can be signalled by pointing the index finger towards the ground at the desired spot and rotating in an inward spiral motion.
Put another Bowl in the Head
This signal is delivered without fanfare. Unlike other signals, the object is to hide from the opponents what is being signalled. If the skip is concerned that a big count against is possible, if one of his team’s bowls is knocked out, the call will be for another close bowl in the head. The signal is to place the index finger on the side of the head as if scratching. The bowler should aim to draw to the jack, but not close to that single potential counter. In particular, the bowler should be especially cautious himself not to drive out that important bowl!
Cover the Back
A lead is unlikely to need to receive this instruction, but if the opposing lead delivers two or three bowls that are all good receiving bowls a skip might call for these to be ‘covered’ by placing a bowl in their midst to prevent the opposition from trailing the jack into the cluster. The signal for a covering bowl could be both hands cupped over the head like a hat. Most often covering will be required by the vice. Another form of cover asks for what is termed the ‘backest bowl’. This is the bowl closest to the ditch that is still in play. The signal to cover may be accompanied for a particular delivery location.
The signal has a special meaning when playing under conditions where there are no dead ends and the jack is respotted. Covering in this situation requires bowling to one of the re-spotting locations in anticipation of a drive to break up the head.
Jack or Bowl
When a bowl is jack high and there are 6 inches or less between the bowl and the jack, the pair present a most enticing target. A skip may want to go after this target early before the opponents can nudge either the jack or the bowl into a more protected orientation. The skip would signal jack or bowl meaning that a controlled weight shot should be directed at the head where hitting either the jack or the close sitting bowl would produce a great result. A possible signal for this would be for the skip to stand up close and directly behind the pair with both hands pointing down and with both palms away from the mat and alternately raise and lower each hand in turn while maintaining the palms open hidden from the mat.
Run-On through X Meters
Signalling this tactic is very frequently encountered by players who are vice skips. What is being requested is that the bowler should deliver a shot that will pass through the head and continue on for several meters after making contact. The skip points with his index finger at the side of his head and then indicates, by raising a number of fingers, how much more weight should be placed on the bowl. A run through can also be called from the lead or second if one of the team’s bowls can be promoted onto the jack. If the bowl misses it becomes a good catcher for future tries.
Drive or Up-Shot
Disrupting the head with sufficient force that the end is often killed or the jack respotted is the most frequent purpose of the drive shot. The drive is almost always played by the skip. Very occasionally when the vice is a better driver, a skip may call for a drive from him or her. When a drive is called for it is important that the opponents also know what is coming because the bowls on nearby rinks need to be protected and there can be a danger of the jack flying through the air. When a signal is needed it can be the person at the head holding an imaginary bowl with a straight arm above the head as high as he can reach. It is important that everyone in the head recognize that a runner is coming. Since most drives are delivered by the skip, signalling is rarely needed but the signal is used as a warning. The skip makes this decision.
Block
When a novice is playing skip there will be many occasions when he has the second last bowl still to deliver but the best course is not to go near the head but take one’s chance that the opponent cannot convert it to their advantage with their single remaining bowl. In this situation the novice skip may be called on to place a block shot to challenge the last bowler even more severely. This can be done by placing a short bowl that would interfere with either a drive or a run-through shot that could disrupt the head, whichever is most likely. A signal calling for a block shot could be the tracing a square figure in the air with the index fingers of both hands used simultaneously.
A block will be most effective if one hand and the center drive are completely blocked by rather short bowls that cannot be promoted. Then a very short blocker at about 14 meters in the path of the remaining draw shot would be most effective. It should be delivered inside out to keep it off the neighbouring rinks.
Do Not
Sometimes the skip wants to signal what (s)he does not want the bowler to do. The signal is forearms crossed in an X in front of the face. This signal, for best effect, should be preceded by the ‘stop’ signal because otherwise the partner on the mat may not give it the attention required.
STOP
The stop signal is sent by the skip waving two arms to get attention and then extending both arms horizontally in front, fingers together and palms facing the mat as if his/her hands were a traffic stop sign. The signal that is very important then follows once attention has been gained.
I would love….
Skip places hands one on top of the other over his/her heart. What follows this signal conveys what the skip wants the bowler to try. For example. I would love… followed by the sign for a blocker. Then followed by the signal Bowl to here.
Bowl to here
This signal is use by the skip to ask the bowler to place his bowl as close as possible to a particular spot which is different from trying to bowl to the jack.. This signal is used for placing blocker, placing a catching bowl or bowling to a ‘false jack’. The skip hangs his bowls towel down over the spot (s)he want to bowl to stop.
Chop & Lie on this Bowl
Sometimes your side would like to move an opposing bowl and take its position. This is called chop & Lie. The particular opposing bowl is the target and a little extra weight is needed. The skip can point close over the target and then make a repetitive sharp chopping motion with both hands.
If you regularly play with the same teammates, use these ortogether devise your own signals for what your team most often wants to communicate.
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