Bowls Glossary

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. However, if the bowl has touched the jack, it remains a live bowl even if in the ditch, if it is within the boundary of the rink.

A bowl that becomes the shot bowl (closest to the jack) without touching any other bowl during its delivery.

A partially completed end that has to be replayed, by reason of the jack going outside the rink or green boundaries, or an umpire ruling that due to an action, the head cannot be returned to its previous state.

See slow green.

An expression advising that the last player on the mat is not going to deliver his last bowl. It is called for if the player or team is holding shot or that there is significant danger of changing the head to the detriment of the player/team if the last bowl were the change the current situation.

The action performed by a player to propel the bowl from the mat end of the rink to the head at the other end of the rink.

In team-based competitions, players on the same team will apply a unique ring-shaped decal to both sides of the bowl so that they are easily distinguishable from the opposition’s bowls.

Play a bowl with sufficient weight to alter the position of bowls and/or the jack in the head. A request of the skip called for usually when the team is not holding shot or is blocked from playing a preferred shot by bowls in the way of the objective (usually the jack).

The area surrounding a green, usually identifiable as a shallow trench at the edges of the green. Some ditches are a natural surround formed by mounds and trenches of soil, whilst other greens have a manmade ditch comprising wooden formwork, plinth, rubber sheets, and filled with a sand or artificial material.

A rink that runs parallel to the ditch along its length.

To play a bowl with sufficient weight to reach the ditch at the other end of the rink.

In Pennant games, associations may create tiered competition made up of separate divisions of teams. Often there are multiple sections to form part of a division. Section winners then play against other section winners in that division to determine the overall division champion.

Expression to confirm if your opponent has one or more bowls closest to the jack. If a marker is providing this information in a singles game, the marker can also indicate this status by holding a clenched fist downwards towards the ground.

Name of an England-based bowls manufacturer.

A bowl delivered to finishes closest to the jack, without the need to move or touch other bowls in the head. In a competition a draw is the schedule of matches showing the teams or players and their opponents in each round of the competition.

At the conclusion of an end if the closest bowl of each player or team is judged to be the same distance away from the jack, no score is recorded, but the end counts for games that are based on playing a number of ends.

A bowl delivered with the maximum force that a player can exert, the aim being to kill the end, disturb the head, or hit opposition bowls out of the head.

A player who belongs to two clubs.

On occasions, a player from one club may be needed to fill a team position in another club (or want to play with members of another club).

This player then becomes a dual member of the second club. However, his/her home club has preference on his/her services.

A bowl delivered from above the green so that it bounces on the turf when it first leaves the hand. Dumping a bowl is an indication of poor technique or may indicate the player has an injury or disability that does not enable the bowl to be let go of parallel to the ground.