Lawn Bowls: the multi-generational sport that has been a part of the CWG since 1930

Rules & Scoring

The rules for the lawn bowls events are relatively straightforward. As the name suggests, competitors take turns rolling bowls – almost-spherical-ball-like objects with flattened sides and a weight bias, typically weighing 1.5kgs – across a bowling green in an attempt to get as close as possible to the target bowl, known as a ‘jack.’

The distance between the jack and the starting point is determined at the start of the match when one team rolls it towards the opposite end. At the start, a toss determines which team will bowl first, and the other team rolls the jack.

The match, which takes place between two competitors, is divided into separate rounds – known as ‘ends.’ There are singles, pairs, triples, and fours events in lawn bowls.

The number of bowls allotted to each competitor is separate for team events and individual events. Singles competitors get four bowls per end, and each member of a team gets two throws per end.

Points are awarded to whichever team is able to bowl more times closer to the target during each end. The number of times that a team bowls closer to the target than their opponent is the number of points awarded at the conclusion of an end. For example, if team X throws three bowls closer to the target than team Y, team X is awarded three points for that end.

Total scores are calculated at the conclusion of the match, and a winner is assigned, which is again determined separately for team and singles events. In singles, the first player to win 21 points wins the match. In team events, the team with the highest score at the end of 18 ends wins.

The rules may be intricate, but given the sport’s popularity as a recreational activity — particularly in the UK — some of the oldest athletes of the Games take part in it. Indian bowlers Pinki and Dinesh Kumar are both 45 and in their third consecutive CWG.

History

Lawn bowls has been a part of the Commonwealth Games since its inaugural edition in 1930. England (51 medals), Australia (50), and South Africa (44) have been the most dominant nations in the sport’s history at the CWG, while Scotland’s 20 gold medals equal England at the top of the list.

While Indian bowlers have regularly stepped on the podium at the Asian championships and Asia-Pacific championships in recent years, the CWG has been far from a happy hunting ground for them, making the women’s four team’s recent achievement all the more impressive. Having taken part in 2018, 2014, and 2010 editions, India’s best finish has been fourth, in the women’s triples event in Delhi in 2010, and the men’s fours event in Glasgow in 2014. Many of those bowlers, including Pinki, Dinesh Kumar, and Chandan Kumar Singh, are representing India in Birmingham.

Having sealed a medal in women’s fours, there are big events in both women’s triples and pairs, as well as men’s fours coming up, where India may have the opportunity to better their medal haul in the events