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Lawn bowls · Basic · b4

Grip and the curve

At home 10 min 1 to 2 players Yard or lane, park

Ready when: Roll to a target (b1) started.

Start a session

What you are learning

How a bowl curves: the lopsided side (the bias) makes it bend as it slows, so a bowler aims wide of the jack and lets it curve in. A tennis ball with a lump of Blu-tack stuck on one side copies this at home. Also the two common grips.

Words on this card Bowl, Bias, Jack, Grip, Forehand, Line
Bowl
The heavy ball used in the game, slightly flatter on one side.
Bias
The lopsided shape that makes a bowl curve as it slows; the small mark on the bowl shows the inside of the curve.
Jack
The small white ball that is the target.
Grip
How the bowl is held: with the fingers spread under it and the thumb on top (claw), or resting in the palm with the thumb lower down (cradle).
Forehand
Rolling so the bowl curves in from the right, or from the left (for a right-hander).
Line
The direction the bowl is aimed, which is wide of the jack because the bowl curves.

Set up

A tennis ball with a lump of Blu-tack stuck on one side (the bias); a cone as the jack 4 to 5 m away; carpet or matting on a hard floor.

Weather: dry ground

The base setup for lawn bowls

Show it first for the one teaching

  1. Claw grip: fingers spread under the ball, thumb on top. Cradle grip: the ball resting in the palm, thumb lower down the side.
  2. Forehand: hold the lump on the left, aim right of the jack and watch it curve in.
  3. Backhand: hold the lump on the right, aim left of the jack.

Your part while they practise

Stand by the jack and say which way the ball curved.

Step by step

  1. Try the claw grip and the cradle grip.
  2. Forehand: bias on the left, aim right of the jack, let it curve in.
  3. Backhand: bias on the right, aim left of the jack.
  4. Face the line you aim along.

How much: 6 forehand and 6 backhand, 3 rounds 10 min a session 2 days a week

Say one thing Pick one line from "What you will see" for today and say only that.

The game: Round the wall

A cone "wall" in front of the jack; curve round it to score.

Who plays: the child against you, taking turns.

How to play, turn by turn
Turns
  1. Put two cones close together 1 m in front of the jack: the wall
  2. Roll round the wall, forehand or backhand, so the ball curves in to the jack
  3. 6 rolls each
Fair play
A grown-up must alternate forehand and backhand.
Points
2 points for a ball that curves round the wall and stops within a body length of the jack; 1 point for one that gets round the wall.
Fouls
No points for that roll
  • Knocking the wall
  • Aiming straight at the jack
  • The lump on the wrong side for the hand you called
Winning
More points after 6 rolls each.
Stars
  1. 4 points for 1 star
  2. 7 points for 2 stars
  3. 10 points for 3 stars

Easier or harder

Easier

Jack at 3 m.

Harder

Jack at 7 m; alternate hands each roll.

What you will see, and what to say

  • aims straight at the jack Aim wide, let it curveThe curve brings it in.
  • bias on the wrong side Lump on the inside of the curveCheck before rolling.
  • ball bounces Let go low, by the toesRelease near the floor.

Self-check

3of 6

3 of 6 forehands and 3 of 6 backhands finish within a body length of the jack.

Fitness for this

Warm up first: how to warm up, at workonfitness.com. For strength and stretching, its exercise library shows each exercise step by step, with an easier version.

This card trains grip, bias, line.

Basic is done when the child meets the self-checks on b1 to b3.

awiseathlete.com/sports/lawn-bowls/lawn-bowls-b4