About Lawn Bowls
The outdoor sport of lawn bowls is simple in concept, although once played, can involve many strategic and tactical decisions.
The game is played on a rectangular or square grass surface called a green. For the purposes of playing a game the green is divided into strips called rinks.
Each game is played between two teams, which can comprise one player (singles), two players (pairs), three players (triples) or four players (rinks). Some informal games can be played between more than two teams.
Each player bowls a specific number of bowls (sometimes referred to as woods), normally two, three or four, depending on the number of players in a team. The members of the team bowl in a particular order, according to their position and role in the team.
The game starts with a small yellow or white jack being rolled and placed in the centre of the rink at least 23 metres from the players. Each player in turn stands on a mat and rolls one of their bowls towards the jack, with the aim of getting closer to the jack than their opponent. However, one of the major skills in the game is that the bowl does not travel in a straight line. Each bowl incorporates a bias and about two thirds along its path, starts turning to one side, depending on the way it is delivered.
Some of the complexities of the game are outlined in other pages. However, for beginners playing the game for the first time, we strongly recommend arranging an introductory session with one of our registered coaches or instructors.