A quick guide to short mat bowls

By Anna Davies

Short Mat Bowls is based on the outdoor sport of Lawn Bowls, with the basic aim to deliver as many bowls (woods) as possible nearer to the jack than any of the opposition’s bowls. The game is played by two teams of 1 (Singles), or 2 (Pairs), or 3 (Triplets) or 4 (Fours) players per team. Bowls are delivered alternately by each team.

Usually in Singles each player plays 4 bowls, while in a Fours game there are 2 bowls each. For Pairs or Triples there may be 2 or 3 bowls per player depending on the competition format.

Most of the bowls used by players will be part of a matched set of 4, all with the same bias and characteristics. However, the differences between one set of bowls and another can be huge, and it is important each player gets to know how their own bowls will behave and become able, with practice, to deliver a bowl where they want it to be on the mat.

Each mat in each venue, also, will have its own peculiarities which must be identified and overcome by players. Different mats can be ‘faster’ or ‘slower’ than others as a result of the texture and age of the mat. Speed and performance of the mat are also influenced by the surface the mat is laid on. Few venue floors are perfectly level,and imperfections in the underlying surface can cause bowls to run differently. Experienced players will hope to quickly identify the peculiarities of each mat and then adapt their play to overcome, or make use of, these characteristics.