Both Being Polite and Getting Useful Practice Playing ‘Social’ Bowls: Delivering Short Jacks Near the Ditch

Successful lawn bowling clubs have regular roll ups where, because the teams are drawn randomly, players who only dabble at bowls can play with and against dedicated bowlers who most often compete in tournaments.

Some of these social-only bowlers may not be able to deliver a bowl with any kind of accuracy the full length of the rink. Indeed, it is only on the shortest jacks that they can usefully participate. Therefore more skilled bowlers who are also thoughtful and polite try to keep the jack length short; however, this means that this time, which could be practice time, is not well spent.

An answer for this situation is at hand but in my experience few avail it. Bring the mat up the rink to 2 meters short of the nearest hog line and deliver jacks to within 4 meters of the forward ditch. This will give jack lengths of between 23 and 25 meters. Furthermore, it will provide practice playing on a part of the rink and at a length that is used infrequently. Furthermore, the skilled player who practices for tournaments should play lead and thereby getting practice delivering the jack consistently over this shorter distance.

A useful skill is practiced while showing consideration for all the bowlers.

Place the Mat Carefully

 

One of my pet peeves is that most social lawn bowlers, not to mention a great many who play in small local tournaments, never move the mat. Real tyro bowlers may not even know that the mat is allowed to be moved! The result is that the area at the edge of the green near the ditches gets seriously worn, often to the point that the green slopes significantly towards the ditches; so much so that in some instances neither the jack nor any bowls can come to rest in that area. They may just roll off into the ditch. (This was true at the now defunct green of the Balaia Bowls Club in Portugal’s Algarve.)

Furthermore, positioning the mat with the mat line (the edge of the mat closest to the forward ditch) on the 2 metre line has a risk that you need to be aware of. If by accident the mat line is placed even a few millimetres short of that two metre distance and the jack is delivered and then the opposing side draws attention to this before the first bowl is delivered, then Rule 6.1.3 of The Laws of the Sport of Bowls Crystal Mark 4 states:

6.1.3 If, after the jack has been delivered but before the first bowl is delivered, a player or the marker finds that the mat line has not been positioned within the distances described in law 6.1.1, the opposing player must place the mat as described in law 6.1.1 and re-deliver the jack, making sure that it is centred, but the opposing player must not play first

That is to say, the side that is not in possession of the mat will get the mat and can deliver the jack that side’s preferred length!

What does this mean in practice for your own game? First thing- even if you, as a skip, strategically or tactically want long jacks, your lead should always place the mat line at least a few centimetres in front of the 2 metre mark on the rink. You don’t want to lose possession of the mat, precisely when you judge it most important to have it.

Second thing- when you are at the other end of the rink directing the play, you will not know the exact position of the mat. When the game is sufficiently important and the situation is sufficiently critical, you need to have taught another member of your team to call out the misplaced mat after the jack has been delivered but  before the first bowl has been delivered.

Notice that if your side draws attention to a mispositioned mat before the jack is delivered, all that happens is that the mat is placed properly and play continues. If attention to an improperly placed mat is only after the first bowl is rolled there is no penalty. It is only when the objection comes after the jack is rolled but before the first bowl is delivered that the other side gets to deliver the jack their chosen length.

WARNING: Do not exercise this rule in a social game or in any situation where there is no umpire. You will be correct calling upon this law but you will not be appreciated. Furthermore, in the absence of an experienced umpire your claim will just be ignored. 

Alternately, perhaps we could warn everyone about this rule. It might scare people into moving the mat up the green more often and give the grass a rest! 

 

Setting Up for Your First Bowl of an End at Lawn Bowls

 

Lawn Bowls is not like the winter sport of curling. The target is not a constant distance from the position one takes for each delivery. The target is not a bullseye painted on ice. The jack can be delivered any length between 23 and, on some rinks, 30 meters.

After you have delivered your first bowl in any end, your subsequent task is to correct line and weight based on that first result. Your first bowl in an end, however, has nothing to guide it except perhaps the fate of an opposition bowl played in front of you.

Of all the bowls you deliver this first bowl requires the most painstaking visualization of its contemplated path from your hand at the mat to the target position in the head. Because of this extra care visualizing, this first bowl of yours requires a bit more time preparation in your set up. 

Do not be rushed! I recommend at least twice tracing in your mind’s eye the contemplated path from hand to jack. The result, I predict, will be superior weight control.