Bowls Glossary

At the start of a game a toss of a coin or bowl is held.

The winner of the toss has the option to play the first bowl, called keeping the mat, or letting the opposition have the first bowl, to “give away the mat”, thus reserving the last bowl of the end for themselves.

After the first end the winner of the end automatically get the mat and the first bowl of the next end.

Some controlling bodies have experimented with an additional rule allowing the winner of the end to decide if the keep the mat or give the mat away.

Having the last bowl of an end is seen as an advantage, particularly at the highest levels of competition.

A bowl delivered in such a way that results in the Jack falling outside the boundary of the rink Once killed, an end is normally replayed, either from the same direction, or from the opposite end by agreement with the opposition.

Some competitions require the jack to be spotted on a pre-arranged part of the green if the jack falls outside the rink boundaries, with play continuing with the remaining bowls after being spotted.

A bowl that glances either the Jack or another bowl, resulting in a slight movement of the jack or bowl involved.

(a.k.a. Jack) is the small white ball that defined the target, or mark, for all other bowls to be played towards. In outdoor bowls the kitty has no bias, but in Crown Green bowls, the kitty has a bias similar to the bowl itself.

In a competition game, the winner progresses to the next round, however the loser is eliminated, thus being “knocked out” of, the competition.