Learn The Lingo

All sports have their technical terms. Do you know your jack from your ditch, and do you know what the difference between forehand and backhand is? Don't worry we've go you covered!

Bias - The Bias is the shape of the bowl which causes it to curl.

Ditch - The gully around the green.

Jack - The little sphere, yellow or white coloured, that you aim your woods / bowls for.

Mat - A rectangular-shaped mat where you bowl the jack and woods / bowls from.

Green - The total area where the game is played.

Rink - A rectangular strip of green, normally between 4 and 6 meters wide, where the game is played.

Forehand - When (if you are right handed) the curve goes from right to left.

Backhand - When (if you are right handed) the curve goes from left to right.

Shot - The wood / bowl that is closest to the jack at any one time.

Toucher - A bowl / wood that touches the jack, even if it ends in the ditch.

Dead Bowl - After a bowl has been delivered and comes to rest, if it finishes in the ditch, or outside the rink boundary, it is considered a dead bowl, and is removed from play.

Live Bowl - After a bowl has been delivered and comes to rest, if it stops within the confines of the rink it is considered live. If a bowl has touched the jack and goes into the ditch, it remains a live bowl.

Callipers - A piece of equipment used by an umpire or a player, to judge the relative distance between the jack and one or more bowls.

Holding - Indicates that your bowl is closest to the jack.

Shot - The bowl nearest the jack.

Jack High - It is a comparison of the position of a bowl in relation to the jack.

Heavy - A bowl delivered with more force than required to deliver it to a desired position on the rink.

Short - A bowl that has stopped short of its intended target.

Wrong Bias - A bowl delivered where the biased side of the bowl has been placed opposite to the desired position for a given delivery.

Singles - A game that is pkayed between two players.

Pairs - A team game where each team consists of two players, a lead, and a skip.

Triples - A team game where each team consists of three players, a lead, second, and skip.

Roll Up - A warm up end, without scoring, to enable players to test their bowls in the conditions before a game starts.