CURLING , called the Canadian Game introduced from Bowls and played on ice. Although the Scot in the group would disagree. Here in Canada the TVs is all weekend. with the World Men's Championship in Victoria , BC, Canada's West Coast (for the Southern Hemisphere readers)
Does BOWLS, which may mean, attempting to draw to a jack distance that is changing every end: getting you down? Or the mat to jack distance and changes, just adds excitement to the game. Do you have your fine draw at your distance? In Canada, a lot of Bowls players are doing Curling in the winter months. Also clubs often find new members on the Summer Curling Circuit.
. Curling..would be like playing a Fix jack distance. The "Curling Head" is always about 21.9 meters from where the stone is released (after the slide delivery). There is a lot of similarity in the two games. Hog lines and Ice length is almost the same. The Hack (Mat position) to the center of the Head (12 inch circle) is 38 meters as to most Bowls greens are 35 to 38 meters. Although in Curling the actual ice is longer because of need for the space behind the Head for the hack (foot rest) and slide delivery of the Stones.
Like in Bowls, the delivery has body movement which added with the normal delivery adds that little extra delivery weight. In delivery of the Curling Stone. the basic force is the push off by the hack foot. However, like in Bowls the body movement is added to that delivery and the fine tuning draw. . By watching any videos on youtube, we will see that the movement of the player (curler)forward back and forward (as she moves her foot back and again ahead gives the stone extra weight. In the above photo Canadian Curling video (snaps) of Earle Morris, we are told that the pause at the back swing is the short soft draw or fast (no stop) heavy stone.
I mention this about Curling because in Bowls when we learn to delivery our bowls, we see that the Bowl weight from the delivery swingwill go so far (natural distance) and then we can add extra by the body movement.. As the speed of the body's forward movement is increase (for example when caused by a longer step)we get the longer jack draw weight. Small amount of weight to be added to our regular swing.
Imagine how easy it would be to Bowl with the Mat always at the same location as in Curling. But when practicing, why not??.. You have a natural distance, put the jack there, and keep it and practice that distance.If you spend all day at the same distance, so what ? If you remove the need to work on weight (jack always at the same) then you can work on delivery tools or improvements..
It is not "Practice makes perfect". but "A good Practice gives results ".
Why practice all those various distances.. get your natural draw down to where your bowls are within inches. Now another distance which will require you add weight. How do you add that weight?
If you want to continue to practice your natural weight. Make an exercise of the jack at natural distance but the mat moved out from the matline.(Thanks to NZ Bowls site photo which help show styles)
THE MAT. Bowls has it greatest challenge in that the use of the mat. Yes the draw to jack is important, but the game of Bowls allows for many different distances of jack and Mat placement. Do you try to keep the mat always at the same place with each end of play? Why ?
The first and most important use of the mat, should be to protect the green.. Simple but it is true. First, move the mat when you see damage to the green. Move the mat, even a few feet, to give you team members a good receiving area for their bowls. Do you know your skip and partners delivery style. Do they they delivery off the centre line of the mat or off the corner? Are their bowls making first contact with the green a foot in front of the mat or further? Are they left or right handed ?
Too often social and even competition players keep the mat at the same location because they know their line from that position. How will the mat movement change the Point of Aim or delivery of your opponents?
Can you quickly adjust to a new mat position? . Remember with 18 ends of play that means 18 mat positions. If you or your opponent loses one bowl to find the new line with each mat position ( using a spot on green, on back fence) you have removed 1 bowl per player from the head each end.. (3 bowls per team per end on a triples game so 18x3 or 54 less valuable bowls).
WALKING THE MAT In the previous Blog, I talked about tools in your Toolbox of Perfection. Does your method of using the mat apply as a tool in your usage.. Do you always put your foot at the same position on the mat. Below we see top Bowls athletic and their style..
First, all bowlers roll of the same part of the mat, before using a tool. Watch their bowls if it is laid down on the green at centre line, off the corner of the mat or even farther out.
Next Left hand bowlers and right hand bowlers, doing the same draw shot to jack, roll the bowls at least two feet apart on a different line.. (the width of the shoulders)
So a block for a right hand bowler will not be a block for a left hand bowler. Imagine how hard the boundary jack is for a bowler of the opposite hand.
.
Second, The mat is large and one can stand anywhere they wish as long as the foot stays over the mat during delivery. Yes, style is always having the same foot position on the mat. but "Tool" is something different you can do quite well. (The below photo could be an example of the delivery of a off-step bowl, Would you have been able to do that ? This may be the natural style for this athletic, but where most styles bowl of the corner of the mat; many would appreciate the opportunity to step out this far to the side for the delivery.
If your last bowl stopped short and your skip want the same bowl, how do you go just a bowl width outside your last bowl? Change line? or just move that one foot on the mat. You will be at a different position on the mat and the same delivery line will pass that last bowl of yours.This is call "Walking the mat" and can done either left to right or from front to back.
A "Side-step delivery" is when the normal style is so modified by stepping to the side, before or during the delivery, to allow a delivery off the normal center line of delivery.(I actually do a 4 foot left side step delivery if I need it. and the raison is that the finish of the bowl in the head is tighter. (comes across the head right to left)
Look at the cross-over sidestep of this great athlete's delivery. In this photo the bowl is set on the green at least two feet right of the normal delivery point..(corner of the mat) This is a type of walking the mat because the front foot would normally be on the center line, but also imagine keeping your balance as you cross step and lay down a good bowl. The back foot could also still has been moved a bit farther right and still be a legal delivery.. Moving too tight to the edge of the mat may cause a illegal delivery called a Foot Fault. (the foot must still be over the mat as the bowl touches the green.) Any modified normal delivery requires practice to make a useful tool of that ability, and of course requires that you stay within the rules of the game..
Next Blog.. Petanque,( the french game of Bowls) Boundary Jacks, and order of play Strategies for Skips.
 |
| The body movement is the left leg back and forward |
. Curling..would be like playing a Fix jack distance. The "Curling Head" is always about 21.9 meters from where the stone is released (after the slide delivery). There is a lot of similarity in the two games. Hog lines and Ice length is almost the same. The Hack (Mat position) to the center of the Head (12 inch circle) is 38 meters as to most Bowls greens are 35 to 38 meters. Although in Curling the actual ice is longer because of need for the space behind the Head for the hack (foot rest) and slide delivery of the Stones.
Like in Bowls, the delivery has body movement which added with the normal delivery adds that little extra delivery weight. In delivery of the Curling Stone. the basic force is the push off by the hack foot. However, like in Bowls the body movement is added to that delivery and the fine tuning draw. . By watching any videos on youtube, we will see that the movement of the player (curler)forward back and forward (as she moves her foot back and again ahead gives the stone extra weight. In the above photo Canadian Curling video (snaps) of Earle Morris, we are told that the pause at the back swing is the short soft draw or fast (no stop) heavy stone.
I mention this about Curling because in Bowls when we learn to delivery our bowls, we see that the Bowl weight from the delivery swingwill go so far (natural distance) and then we can add extra by the body movement.. As the speed of the body's forward movement is increase (for example when caused by a longer step)we get the longer jack draw weight. Small amount of weight to be added to our regular swing.
 |
| Delivery center Line Left hand bowler (P1) |
Imagine how easy it would be to Bowl with the Mat always at the same location as in Curling. But when practicing, why not??.. You have a natural distance, put the jack there, and keep it and practice that distance.If you spend all day at the same distance, so what ? If you remove the need to work on weight (jack always at the same) then you can work on delivery tools or improvements..
It is not "Practice makes perfect". but "A good Practice gives results ".
Why practice all those various distances.. get your natural draw down to where your bowls are within inches. Now another distance which will require you add weight. How do you add that weight?
 |
| Rolling on Center Line( P2) |
THE MAT. Bowls has it greatest challenge in that the use of the mat. Yes the draw to jack is important, but the game of Bowls allows for many different distances of jack and Mat placement. Do you try to keep the mat always at the same place with each end of play? Why ?
The first and most important use of the mat, should be to protect the green.. Simple but it is true. First, move the mat when you see damage to the green. Move the mat, even a few feet, to give you team members a good receiving area for their bowls. Do you know your skip and partners delivery style. Do they they delivery off the centre line of the mat or off the corner? Are their bowls making first contact with the green a foot in front of the mat or further? Are they left or right handed ?
Too often social and even competition players keep the mat at the same location because they know their line from that position. How will the mat movement change the Point of Aim or delivery of your opponents?
Can you quickly adjust to a new mat position? . Remember with 18 ends of play that means 18 mat positions. If you or your opponent loses one bowl to find the new line with each mat position ( using a spot on green, on back fence) you have removed 1 bowl per player from the head each end.. (3 bowls per team per end on a triples game so 18x3 or 54 less valuable bowls).
First, all bowlers roll of the same part of the mat, before using a tool. Watch their bowls if it is laid down on the green at centre line, off the corner of the mat or even farther out.
Next Left hand bowlers and right hand bowlers, doing the same draw shot to jack, roll the bowls at least two feet apart on a different line.. (the width of the shoulders)
.
Second, The mat is large and one can stand anywhere they wish as long as the foot stays over the mat during delivery. Yes, style is always having the same foot position on the mat. but "Tool" is something different you can do quite well. (The below photo could be an example of the delivery of a off-step bowl, Would you have been able to do that ? This may be the natural style for this athletic, but where most styles bowl of the corner of the mat; many would appreciate the opportunity to step out this far to the side for the delivery.
If your last bowl stopped short and your skip want the same bowl, how do you go just a bowl width outside your last bowl? Change line? or just move that one foot on the mat. You will be at a different position on the mat and the same delivery line will pass that last bowl of yours.This is call "Walking the mat" and can done either left to right or from front to back.
Look at the cross-over sidestep of this great athlete's delivery. In this photo the bowl is set on the green at least two feet right of the normal delivery point..(corner of the mat) This is a type of walking the mat because the front foot would normally be on the center line, but also imagine keeping your balance as you cross step and lay down a good bowl. The back foot could also still has been moved a bit farther right and still be a legal delivery.. Moving too tight to the edge of the mat may cause a illegal delivery called a Foot Fault. (the foot must still be over the mat as the bowl touches the green.) Any modified normal delivery requires practice to make a useful tool of that ability, and of course requires that you stay within the rules of the game..Next Blog.. Petanque,( the french game of Bowls) Boundary Jacks, and order of play Strategies for Skips.
No comments:
Post a Comment