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Section 1 - Definitions: control, players, play and bowls

 

1

Definitions
   
1.1
Control
 

Controlling Body: the body with immediate control over the Conditions of Play (see law 17.2) under which a game is played. The order is:

  • World Bowls (WB);
  • a National Bowling Authority that is a member of WB (‘Member National Authority’) or a group of Member National Authorities;
  • divisions within Member National Authorities; and
  • the club on whose green the game is being played.
   
1.2
Players
 
1 Side: any agreed number of teams or Singles players (or a combination of teams and Singles players) whose combined scores decide the result of a competition.
2 Skip: the player who is in charge of the team.
3

Team play
Team: a Pair, a Triple or a Four.
Pair: a team of two players whose positions, in order of play, are ‘lead’ and ‘skip’.
Triple: a team of three players whose positions, in order of play, are ‘lead’, ‘second’ and ‘skip’.
Four: a team of four players whose positions, in order of play, are ‘lead’, ‘second’, ‘third’ and ‘skip’.
   
1.3
Play
 
1 Centring the jack: placing the jack on the centre line of the rink, at the same distance from the mat line as it was when it came to rest.
2 Delivery: deliberately releasing a jack or a bowl from the hand using an underarm movement. If the jack or bowl accidentally slips from a player’s hand during delivery, the player can pick it up and start the delivery again.
3

Defaulting player, team or side: the player, team or side that does not meet the requirements of any specific law or laws.
4 Displaced jack or bowl: a jack or a bowl which is moved in a way that is not approved within the Laws of the Sport of Bowls.
5 Disturbing the head: altering the position of the jack or a bowl in the head.
6 Domestic play: any play under the direct control of a Member National Authority, a division within a Member National Authority or a club.
7 End: delivery of the jack, delivery of all the bowls required to be played by all of the opponents in the same direction on a rink, and deciding the number of shots scored.
8

End ditches
Front ditch: the ditch at the end of the green which is directly in front of a player when they stand on the mat.
Rear ditch: the ditch at the end of the green which is directly behind a player when they stand on the mat.
9 Face of the bank: the surface of the bank from the surface of the ditch up to the top of any surround or edging.
10 Forfeited game: a game that is awarded to an opponent as a penalty for the defaulting player, team or side not meeting the requirements of one or more laws.
11 Former position: the position of a jack or a bowl at rest within the rink of play immediately before it is displaced. If a law says that a jack or a bowl should be put back to its former position, the person replacing the jack or bowl in this way should decide where that position is. If this person cannot accurately identify the former position, they should put the jack or bowl as near as possible to its former position.
12 Groundsheet: a rectangular piece of canvas or other suitable fabric placed temporarily on the surface of the green to protect it from any damage caused as a result of a player delivering the jack or a bowl. The rear edge of the groundsheet should be placed at least 2 metres from the rear ditch and at least 25 metres from the front ditch (in line with the requirements for placing the mat described in laws 19.1.1 and 19.1.5).
13 Head: the jack and any bowls which have come to rest within the boundaries of the rink of play and are not dead. (Law 30.1 describes a dead jack and law 27.1 describes a dead bowl.)
14 Holding surface: a natural or synthetic material that will prevent the jack or a bowl from running along the ditch.
15 Jack or bowl in its original course: a jack or a bowl from its delivery until it comes to rest, no matter how many times (for a bowl) it comes into contact with the jack or other bowls before it comes to rest or becomes dead.
16 Jack or bowl in motion: a jack or a bowl which is moving during play after it has been at rest as part of the head.
17 Licensed Manufacturer: person or company licensed by WB to make bowls in line with the standards laid down in World Bowls Regulations.
18 Licensed Tester: person or company licensed by WB to test bowls to make sure they meet the standards laid down in World Bowls Regulations and the Laws of the Sport of Bowls.
19 Line jack or bowl: a jack or bowl which has come to rest partly inside and partly outside the side boundary of the rink of play.
20 Mat line: the edge of the mat nearest to the front ditch.  All measurements involving the mat and a jack or a bowl will be taken from the centre of the mat line.
21 Net total of set points: the total number of set points a player or team scores minus the total number of set points scored against them.
22 Net total of shots: the total number of shots a player, team or side scores minus the total number of shots scored against them.
23

Neutral
Neutral person: a person who is not a player on the rink of play. This includes the marker and the umpire.

Neutral object:

  • a jack, bowl or other object not belonging to any player on the rink of play;
  • a line jack or a line bowl belonging to a player on a neighbouring rink; or
  • a dead bowl that is at rest and has not been removed from the rink of play.
24 Open tournaments: competitions in which both members and non-members of the club hosting the event are eligible to take part, and in which more than one round can be played on the same day.
25 Pace of the green: the number of seconds taken by a bowl from its delivery to the moment it comes to rest at approximately 27 metres from the mat line. The higher the number of seconds taken, the faster the pace of the green.
26

Position of bowl in relation to jack

Jack high or jack level: the nearest part of a bowl is in line with and at the same distance from the mat line as the nearest part of the jack.
27

Rink and its boundaries
Rink: the section of the green on which a game is played.
Rink of play: the section of the green and the corresponding sections of the end ditches on which a game is played.
Side boundaries of the rink of play: the imaginary straight lines connecting the centres of the boundary pegs on opposite banks that show the limits of the rink of play.
End boundaries of the rink of play: the faces of the banks which are within the side boundaries of the rink of play.
28 Set: a pre-determined number of shots or ends forming part of a game.
29 Shot indicators (also known as lollipops or paddles): thin pieces of plastic or other suitable material, shaped, for example, like oars. The heads of the indicators match the colours of the adhesive markings on each player’s bowls (see law 8.1.8). During play, the marker holds up the appropriate number of indicators, in the appropriate colour, to signal to players and spectators which player’s bowl or bowls the marker considers to be shot.
30

Visiting skips: either:

  • the skips of teams other than those playing on their own green; or
  • the skips of the second-named team in each pair of competing teams when games are being played at a neutral venue.
   
1.4
Bowls
 
1 Bias: the curved path along which a bowl travels from delivery until it comes to rest. (The shape of the bowl gives it its bias.)
2 Bias side of a bowl: the side of the bowl that is the more rounded of the two sides, which is identified by the small grooved rings surrounding its centre. (The non-bias side is identified by the large grooved rings surrounding its centre.)
3

Set of bowls: four bowls, all of which are:

  • of a matched set;
  • of the same make and model; and
  • of the same size, weight, colour, bias, serial number and engraving.

In all games, each player should play with the appropriate number of bowls from the same set.
4

Working Reference Bowl: a bowl approved by WB as:

  • having the minimum bias required; and
  • in all other respects, following the Laws of the Sport of Bowls.

Each Working Reference Bowl is engraved with the words ‘Working Reference Bowl’ and WB makes sure that each Licensed Tester is given a Working Reference Bowl.
   

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