Crown Green Bowls
| Highest governing body | British Crown Green Bowling Association (BCGBA) |
|---|---|
| Nicknames | crown green |
| First played | 1907 |
| Registered players | 200,000 |
| Clubs | 3000 |
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | No |
| Team members | Single competitors or pairs. |
| Mixed gender | Yes, but usually in separate leagues/divisions |
| Type | Outdoor, Bowls |
| Venue | bowling green |
| Presence | |
| Country or region | Midlands and North of England, and North Wales. |
| Olympic | No |
| Paralympic | No |
Crown Green Bowls (or crown green) is a code of Bowls played outdoors on a grass or artificial turf surface known as a bowling green. The sport's name is derived from the intentionally convex or uneven nature of the bowling green which is traditionally formed with a raised centre known as the crown. Crown Green Bowls is played in the Midlands and Northern half of England, and North Wales.
The aim of crown green bowls is to roll a set of 2 bowls from the hand towards a smaller target bowl known as the jack. Rolling the bowl or jack is known as the delivery. When delivering a bowl or jack, the player must place one foot on a mat to ensure that all bowls and jack are sent from the same spot.
A full game comprises a number of ends. An end is where the jack is rolled first. The player sending the jack can choose to deliver it wherever they like on the bowling green. This ability to bowl an end in any direction is a unique feature of crown green bowls. Players then take it in turns to roll each of their bowls towards the jack. An end finishes when all Bowls have been delivered.
The aim of an end is for a player to finish with their own bowls closer to the jack than those of the opponent. For each bowl that is closer than those of the opponent, a player scores 1 point. Each player usually has 2 bowls allowing a maximum of 2 points on each end. The winner of the end delivers the Jack in the next end.
Competitive games are usually held between 2 people with the winner being the first person to accumulate 21 points. An unlimited number of ends are played until someone wins. Variations exist where players can have more than 2 bowls, games are played to 31 points or more, or players form teams of 2 or more players.
Crown Green Bowls is played on a specially prepared short-cut smooth grass surface known as a bowling green or simply the green. The green usually has a raised centre known as the crown which can often be as high as 30centimetres above the edge of the green. The green has a ditch around the edge. The green then slopes on all sides from the crown towards the ditch. Greens are usually rectangular or square, but L-shaped and circular greens also exist. The surfaces also often feature ridges, hollows and slopes to make the game more difficult. Due to this vast array of historical differences, no rules stipulating the shape, size of height of the crown are laid down by the British Crown Green Bowls Association.
In crown green bowls, players use 2 bowls each. Bowls are also commonly known as woods. There are no requirement for official markings on the bowls although manufacturers branding and the weight of the bowls is common. Players often have their initials marked on one side, or use stickers to identify their Bowls. One side of the bowl has an indent or dimple allowing the player to identify by touch which side of the bowl has the bias.
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