Page 12 - Kwasind June 2020 issue

JUNE 2020 SPORTS • 12
Lawn Bowling: Please Read this Important Notice Bill Brennan
Well, we have made it to June, and I hope all are well. I am writing this on the 13th of May, so you may have better information then I concerning our return to the Island or not. Lawn Bowling is needed by all of us, both experienced Lawn Bowlers and those who will rush to bowling as the only activity on the Island. We all need some socializing, exercise, vitamin D and a change from the four walls of our respective kitchens.
I do not know how we will bowl once we are allowed but let me say that of all the activities we do on the Island, Lawn Bowling will be the easiest to accommodate self- distancing, no touch and masks. Perhaps there will be an additional piece of equipment “The Glove” which will be used for placing the Jack. Let me repeat what I have been promoting since January or as we say now pre-pandemic. The most social of all sports, perhaps with the exception of curling, is Lawn Bowling. Let me quote from an old defunct magazine “Outing”. The author, James Hedley, describes the scene far better than I. This appeared in their May 1890 addition.
“A yachtsman from across the great lakes happened not long ago to witness a game of bowls on the picturesque grounds of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, and he was not more struck with the game than with the surroundings amid which it was played. “Why,” he exclaimed, “this is idyllic!” And truly the scene was a bright one. A spit of sodded land beside the club house with flowers and low trees — on one side the tumbling deep blue of Lake Ontario, on the other the smoother waters of Toronto Bay, alive with yachts and row boats — a group of tennis players in flannels and club colors ; too windy for the racquet they turn to bowling, and are
joined by some heavier, lazier members — it is ladies’ day and every trip of the club boat, the Esperanza, brings a bevy of the dear visitors ; the city’s smoke and roar are dimly distant ; flags are flying, white sails flapping, and the sound of music is borne over the water from the hotels on Hanlan’s Island not far away. Do you wonder that our yachtsman from the Empire State took a fancy to bowling?”
Now that I have convinced you that bowling is your
game lets start on the rules or etiquette of the game. First remember it is a game. Most, if not all the “rules” exist
due to the fact that we are playing with a great distance separating at least some of the players. While this is excellent for our current situation it is not conducive to giving information or instructions by voice. Unlike tennis there are no lines on the green, so your position is determined by the placing of the mat and the jack. The member of the team who is actually bowling stands on the mat and delivers their bowl without taking both feet off the mat. They then stand on the mat so as their skip can relay information from the other end of the rink. As long as the member stands on the mat it is their turn and are free to get information, once off the mat it is no longer their turn and they are not to disturb the next bowler.
Let me leave you with a taste of how good bowling and some players can get. Below you will find a YouTube video of the shot which defeated my friend Alex “Tattie” Marshall, MBE for the 2020 World Indoor Championship. Just click
on the picture of Nick Brett who sent the shot down the green and with his partner Greg Harlow won the world championship this past January.
Nick Brett