Lawn Bowls Gala Day
Skill focus: Playing as a team
Session equipment
A rectangular area approximately 20m long
Balls (with Blu-tack© stuck on the side of each ball)
13 balls: 1 jack, 6 red and 6 blue (or similar)
Mat
Markers or cones
Gala day draw
Download Lawn Bowls - Gala day activity card to support teaching before and during the sport session.
Fast start - Student choice
Choose one of the Fast starts played in the Lawn Bowls unit to use as a warm-up for the Lawn Bowls gala day competition.
Lawn Bowls gala day
Organisation
In the week prior to the gala-day, students may be given time to create signs to support their team at the gala-day.
Explain the organisation of the matches being played using the gala day draw below. Each game will be approximately 20-30 minutes. Players continue playing (even if new games are started) within this time period.
Select a student from each team to be the team captain for the gala-day.
Give students 5 minutes to meet as a team to decide on starting positions and strategies for their first game.
Setup
Set-up green prior to session.
Bowling green between 15 to 20 metres.
Gala day draw
Use results in 'Lawn Bowls results spreadsheet' to determine the team who finishes the round games in 1st position, 2nd position, 3rd position and 4th position.
Student engagement
Teams that are not playing in a game can take on officiating roles and also be the spectators.
Officiating responsibilities may include:
time keeping
side line umpire
scoring
ground control
Rules and guidelines
Overview
Modified rules apply for the Lawn Bowls gala day.
Change the length of each end to between 15 and 20 metres.
Spot the jack rather than rolling it.
Reduce the number of ends per match.
Rotate positions within the team.
Rotate the team that bowls first, regardless of who wins the previous end.
Rules
The red team throws the target ball (called a ‘jack’) anywhere onto the ‘valid area’.
The side throwing the jack also plays the first coloured ball.
Players take it in turns to bowl a ball from their bowling mat towards a jack.
The opposite side then plays their first coloured ball into court, then the teams take turns for a nominated number of bowls or until everyone has had a bowl.
If the jack is thrown or knocked out of court, it is placed on the cross and play continues.
Use lawn bowls if possible. Use Blu-tack© on balls if lawn bowls are not available.
Scoring
The side with the most balls closest to the jack scores one point for each scoring ball (i.e. each ball closer than the opposing team’s closest ball). If two or more balls are equally close, they score one point each.
The winning team – highest total number of points.
Reflection
2 stars and a wish
Ask students - what are 2 things you feel you did well today?
What skills / strategies will you take away from lawn bowls that you can use for our next sport?
Students can answer reflection questions as a whole class, small group or in pairs.
Lawn Bowls certificates
Teachers may choose to award students with certificates for their involvement in the Lawn Bowls unit.
Certificates available for download include:
Sport education teaching resource feedback
The School Sport Unit values your feedback on the Lawn Bowls unit. It would be greatly appreciated if you could complete this short online form to provide us with information to inform future resources made for schools.
