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Short Mat Bowls 17
Short Mat Bowls
Through The Lens
Through The Lens

It was a pleasure to attend the Short Mat Bowls International
Championships in Llanelli this year. This was only my second time
photographing short mat bowls. I had not even heard of the sport
until I received a call asking me if I would like to photograph the
under 21’s International in Carmarthen. Huge numbers of people
take part in the game, people of all ages coming together to com-
pete but also as a large community sharing long-term friendships
and association.
I had to learn the rules and etiquette very quickly and get to
know where I could and couldn’t go. With so many players en-
gaged in competition at any one time it is hard to cover the whole
arena. I quickly learned that I should move between the games,
which were about to begin or the ones, which were partly under-
way.
That way I got to photograph most of the competitors. One of the obstacles is the sheer num-
bers of people at the jack end of the mat. To get a clean shot of the bowler one has to crouch
down behind several bottoms and hope nobody steps back and falls over you. Being so low on
the ground has its own hazards. Cameras are not built for such angles and there are also strains
on one’s back.
So it was that I travelled to Llanelli for the International Championships at the Selwyn Samuel
Bowls Centre. The Selwyn Samuel Centre has a 12,000 square feet floor area. It is name after
Selwyn Samuel O.B.E. who was Town Clerk of the former Llanelli Borough Council, and from
1974, Clerk to Llanelli Town Council. The centre is home to the Llanelli bowls team, which has
been very successful judging by their trophy cabinets.
I arrived at 7.45 on Saturday morning and unloaded the equipment into the centre. Within
minutes the teams were arriving, dressed in their team colours topped off with smart blazers.
Young and old trooped through the doors with kit bags and coffee cups. It was going to be a long
day.
My first job was to set up the lighting for the
team photographs. That done the teams began
assembling for the official photos.
People management is never easy but
most sports teams understand where they must
stand, sit or kneel. Without too much fuss, team
photos were taken and the day’s events began.
Team photos were printed out and I was free to
photograph competitors.
Until I get to know the game I am still
learning about what makes the best shots for
this sport. On day one I focused on the action
shots from the jack end but by day two I was
finding more interesting angles and alternating
between both ends. With football, the player scoring is usually within feet of the goal. In Short Mat
Bowls, the player is 45ft away from the goal at all times so a good zoom lens is essential. I look
forward to the next event.
Alan Williams

www.alanevansphotography.com www.facebook.com/themezzaninestclears