Bowls (or Lawn Bowls) is a precision sport where the goal is to roll slightly radially asymmetrical balls (called bowls) closer to a smaller white ball (the "jack") than one's opponent is able to do. It is related to bocce and pétanque.
The game is usually played on a large, rectangular precisely levelled and manicured grass surface known as a bowling green, but an indoor variation on synthetic grass is also played. In the simplest competition, singles, one of the two opponents begins a segment of the competition (in bowling parlance, an "end"), by rolling a white ball (the jack) along the green. Once it has come to rest, the players take turns to roll slightly larger and unevenly weighted bowls from a fixed mat towards the jack. After each competitor has used up their allocated number of bowls (it varies depending on the specific competition), the distance of the closest bowls from the jack is determined (the jack may have been moved from being hit by various bowls) and points are awarded for each bowl a competitor has closer than the opponent's nearest to the jack - for instance, if a competitor has bowled two balls closer to the jack than their competitor's nearest, they are awarded two points. The process is then repeated for the next end. If the jack is knocked off the playing arena by a bowl, the end is declared "dead" and no points are awarded.
England's most famous bowler is, of course, Sir Francis Drake, who, in 1588, is said to have completed his game of bowls on Plymouth Hoe before setting sail to defeat the Spanish Armada.
Of course there are some rules
(it seems to be a very serious game!)
From the University of Glasgow Bowling Club...
Players should use the steps provided when going on and off the green.
Bowls should not be dropped on the green.
Do not stand on the verges.
Matches, cigarette ends, etc., should be placed in the litter baskets and not in the ditches.
Bowls should not be kicked in until after the head has been decided.
After delivering a bowl, a player should either retire behind the mat or advance to the head. He should not take up a position in between.
Don't delay the game.
Don't wander around or move about the head when a player is about to deliver a bowl.
In a fours game, the second keeps the score; in a pairs game the skip keeps the score.
Bowling is a friendly game and all players should show courtesy and good sportsmanship.
All bowlers should know the rules as laid down by the World Bowls Board
-- Edited by Webhamster at 21:49, 2005-04-29
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