Rules of the Game & Bowls Etiquette

For the official laws of the game, refer to the World Bowls website, but here are some points to remember.

• Respect for others:
  • Turn up on time and be ready to play at the agreed start time
  • Dress appropriately - usually whites or club shirts, for matches
  • Shake hands with your opponent(s) and introduce yourself at the start of the game
  • Shake hands at the end of the game
  • Do not distract any player in the process of delivering a bowl (on your own rink or on another)
  • Turn off any mobile phone for the duration of the game
  • Stand at least one metre behind the head, or behind the mat when it is not your turn to play
  • When walking between mat and head, keep well within your own rink
  • Give due acknowledgement of opponents' skill
• Respect for the rink:
  • Wear appropriate (flat-soled) footwear
  • Do not smoke on the green
  • Do not take food or drink onto the green
• Delivery of bowl:
  • Be ready as soon as the preceeding bowler has relinquished the mat
  • Do not deliver your wood before the previous bowl has come to rest
  • Before delivering, check whether your skip is indicating any particular shot
  • At the point of delivery, one foot must be on, or directly above, the mat
  • After delivery, wait to see your skip's signal about length
• Touchers:
  • A toucher must be marked (or nominated) before the next bowl delivered has come to rest. If it is not marked in time, it ceases to be considered a toucher
  • When marking a toucher, take care not to distract the next to bowl; either mark the wood immediately (before the next player takes the mat), or wait until the next bowl has been delivered
• Measurements - for reference, the following are some key measurements:
  • the playing rink must be between 4.3 and 5.8 metres wide
  • the green must be between 31 and 40 metres long
  • the front edge of the mat must be at least 2 metres from the rear ditch, and at least 25 metres from the front ditch
  • the delivered jack must be at least 23 metres from the front edge of the mat, and at least 2 metres from the front ditch
• Player roles; the usual convention is that:
  • measuring is done by the Marker (Singles, by the Lead (pairs), by the No.2 (triples) or the No.3 (rinks);
  • the scorecard is kept by the marker for singles, and by the skip for rinks, triples or pairs;
  • the scoreboard is kept updated by the marker (singles), by the Home Skip (pairs) and by the Home No.2 (triples and rinks);
• It is usual for each home player to offer hospitality to their respective opposite number