Bowls Questions

The questions below will be answered by our "Wise Old Owl", giving the "Laws", "Competition Rules" or "Club" answers as appropriate.

If you wish to ask a question, then click here to go to the form.

Questions, and comments, will be edited and added as appropriate. Any changes to our original reply will be in red.

Remember to download you copy of "World Bowls - Laws of the Sport of Bowls" - here - or view them on this site - here

General

• A question from Facebook, photo below. The red in the ditch is a toucher. The black has just been ditched by the resting red bowl and is not a toucher. How many is red holding?

Dress Codes

• What is allowed? I have read the club rules and the "Laws of the Sport of Bowls" but still see - non-white socks, non-bowls England shorts, straw hats, blue caps, red waterproof jackets! Are people completely ignoring the rules or am I missing something? (Question 2)

During a Match

• When I started I was told that 1 gathered the bowls, 2 kept quiet, 3 gave advice to the skip and measured, and the skip did what he wanted. Things have changed slightly, or do people just not follow the rules? I can't find much of this in the rules, in fact the only thing I could find is that the skip must keep the score, what was regularly delegated! Is there anything stopping, especially in triples, the lead giving feedback and measuring? (Question 3)

• When the jack leaves the rink sideways, and the end is dead, in which direction should the game restart? (Question 4)

• I was told that only a string measure can be used, but recently I've seen the metal type, which seems more accurate in certain circumstances, being used. What is the situation? (Question 5)