Hi Alec, when you say you have possession of the rink & you can communicate with your skip, is that communication a discussion with the player at the mat & the skip near the jack or can they meet half way up the rink. Apologies if it is a silly question but I am new to the game.
Hi Tom, It means you and your team can communicate with any questions, also, the person near the jack can stand near the head and study the position, then communicate that to his team member on the mat. The other team must stand back and not interfere in any way. So if you bowl, and you are not sure how your last bowl lies, for example how far away from the jack it is, you must wait until your team has possession of the rink again before you ask for that to be clarified. Hope that helps.
Hi Keith, yes, you are correct, rule 13.2. As soon as each bowl comes to rest, possession of the rink will transfer to the opposing player or team allowing time for marking a toucher as soon as it comes to rest. I should have added that point, although I see no reason to delay leaving the mat for that reason, it is more to ensure the toucher is marked before the next bowl is delivered. However, quite often markers delay marking the toucher so as not to put off the next player if he is ready to bowl, he then marks the toucher while the next bowl is on it’s way. A bit risky in my opinion, as I explain in my video on touchers, but you do see it quite often. I even do that myself if someone is about to bowl, although I always point out I will mark touches straight away, but sometimes the players are keen to get on with the game and forget. But it is a good point you raise. 👍
Gamesmanship you touch on here. Could we have a youtube on just Gamesmanship please, and when it crosses the line and when it does not, and what to do about those situations, like how to find and call the umpire. For example, to smile and congratulate my oppersite bowler coming off the mat when they do a great shot, it can put them right off.
Hi James, yes, a tough one to answer. I will try and do a vid covering the subject. Thankfully you rarely see gamesmanship, but I have have a few occasions where it happened. It's best dealt with firmly, but very politely, but it is something that many find difficult to deal with. However, once you point out that you feel it may be going on, it usually stops. Of course the other fact is that it may be quite innocent and so you must give them the benefit of doubt. Good question though.
@@LawnBowlsforFun Hi Alec, thanks for having a go at this tricky subject. For me, gamesmanship is a grey scale. At one end I could have two sets of bowls, one new set and one old in an old crappy bag.... wait to see what my opponent turns up with and if they have new bowls, I get out my old ones etc. My favourite one though is when my opponent does a good shot, I congratulate them. That can really put them off. But what I find difficult is when it goes more than this, and they leave rags on my mat or barge in while I am still on the mat or stand too close etc. How to handle that in a comp by calling the umpire etc.
It’s always good to have feedback. I must admit on some vids I have sometimes missed something out or not explained it very well. Looking back on some of my vids I wish I had done something differently but in the main I hope I cover most things. But happy to hear when I mess up, it makes me try harder next time. 😁
I’m sorry, Alec, but there is no Law in the game that states that the player must be behind the mat when the bowl comes to rest. World Bowls Law 13.2 states: Possession of the rink 13.2 As soon as each bowl comes to rest, possession of the rink will transfer to the opposing player or team after allowing time for marking a toucher as soon as it comes to rest. The key word here is TRANSFER. The person next to bowl must be at least 1metre behind the mat until the bowl come to rest, the person who has just bowled has the right to remain in front of the mat until the bowl comes to rest, then there is a TRANSFER of the possession of the rink. So there is time given in the rules for a sensible swap with no interference to either player. My reading of the rule says that a bowler has the right to watch their bowl to the very end of its path without worrying about being behind the mat!
Thanks for the reply Bob. As you say, 13.2 clearly states: As soon as each bowl comes to rest, possession of the rink will transfer to the opposing player or team after allowing time for marking a toucher as soon as it comes to rest. So, other than allowing time for a toucher to be marked, which happens at the jack end, not the mat end, there should be no delay in allowing the opposition player to take possession of the mat. Sadly, a few players do not do that, which causes delay, is off-putting, rude, unnecessary and sometimes, sadly, gamesmanship. It will happen of course, but hopefully, new players watching this video will set a good example. ;) I live in hope anyway.
Further to this Scott. Recently, I have noticed quite a few new bowlers like to watch their bowl until it stops. In fact their coaches suggest they do so. I do take the point, and if that works for them then of course it is good and as you say, within the laws of the game. I have maybe got into the habit of exiting the mat once my bowl is well in its way, although I still watch it until it has stopped. Maybe I am driven by the fact that sometimes slow play can mean playing in the dark on evening games, something I hate, possibly because I am rubbish when the light fades. 😬
I did watch a game a short while ago where a chap would trott down the rink after he bowled his ball, he would look at where his ball ended up, as the game went on, it became obvious that this was simply gamesmanship 😐
It's a shame this happens, but it does, although in most cases it is not done on purpose, it's just some players get excited and follow their bowl. If it happens too often it can slow the game down and be very annoying.
Funnily enough, I don’t ever recall a female player doing what I was talking about, it appears to be a male trait. So yes, I was referring to a male, not a female. Although, these days, you could argue that a chap could me either male of female otherwise you could be accused of being sexist. Too complex a subject for me I’m afraid.
