September 1998 Volume 79  Number 9 "serving the protectors"
BOWLS
By Peter Baehnk

From the Internet

Bowls has been stereotyped in North America as being an old person’s (sorry, seniors) sport. Old ladies and men, wearing white, playing a sedate summer pastime. A more accurate view is that it is a game for the young that older people can play. It is the only sport where people can compete equally, regardless of age or sex. In top international play, the players are getting progressively younger. This is because of the growing popularity of the sport among the young, and the rigorous demands of the sport.

You may ask what these demands may be. In a typical three-game tournament, a player must walk between two and five miles, do over 250 kneebends, lift and deliver a three-pound ball well over 1000 feet with great accuracy, during the course of a hot summer day. In major events one can do this for several consecutive days.

A good example of these demands is the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. With temperatures reaching over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, players will be competing every day for over two weeks.

Colour has also arrived in the game. Coloured shirts are now commonplace in the game. While white trousers, skirts or shorts are still the general rule for tournaments, club games are very much casual dress. Sponsorship is also making inroads into the game with more and more top competitors seeking support.

The Rules

During the recent Police Carnival at Moama I volunteered as a marker for a singles game. To my amazement, I saw one of the bowlers take up a most unusual stance on the mat. He took up a kneeling position, placing his right knee squarely in the centre of the mat with his right foot contacting the grass behind and outside the rear edge of the mat. His left foot rested flat on the grass, level with his right knee and just touching the left edge of the mat. Neither of his feet was entirely within the confines of the mat.

I was keen to point out to the bowler that he was “foot-faulting”. But his opponent’s comment was : “Don’t worry about it. He’s been doing it for years.”

Umpire Roy posed the question: “What constitutes a foot-fault?” The answer is contained in Law 21 and Law 1C (xi) of the new rules.

Foot-faulting (Law 21)

A player shall take the correct stance on the mat and at the moment of delivering the jack or bowl a player shall have one foot remaining entirely within the confines of the mat. The foot may either be in contact with, or over, the mat. Failure to...”

Stance on the mat (Law 1C (xi))

Means a player shall be stationary on the mat with both heels forward of the rear of the mat and the whole of one foot on the mat.

Impressive Invitation

A serving member, Rex Heins (Renmark Bowling Club) has been invited by the State selectors to trial with the State side on 28 and 29 August, 1998. Congratulations, Rex.

Opening Day

Our club has been invited to Kadina for two days of bowls on 19 and 20 September. If you are in town come and see us – and remember, our opening day has been set for Sunday, 18 October, 1998, at the Modbury Bowling Club, Jack High Lane, Ridgehaven.