Walking The Mat Intro 1/3

 When a bowl has been placed in your line to the jack , often called a "Block";  there seems to be nothing to do but to change your delivery. (go from forehand to backhand or otherwise).  An experience athletic will tell you that "no Bowl is really a Block" because of  tricks which good Lawn Bowl athletics use. When a new club member starts Lawn Bowls we tell them about the important to always have the same foot position on the mat and explain that if the player is changing their position on the mat; their bowl will not always be in the same position.  To gain an advantage around a "Block" a experience athlethic will often step around the mat. Often called  "Walking the Mat"; the experience athletic will move left or right from your original  position, and there by do a different delivery.. Ofcourse, One is required by the rules of always having a foot on the mat until the Bowl has been delivered and is rolling up the green. (In some countries, having a part of the foot on or over the mat is the rule).

(This Blog is rebuildon Sept 17 2017 because the original blog  of Walking the Mat, was lost shortly after it was published in April 2017, probably my fault and caused  by post-editing.)   I have attempt to keep the same ideas.

 

Video of Mat Walking

First, one of the few YouTube video on "Using the Mat" is shown in the Coaches Den where Brett Wilkie, Australian Queensland Coach ;suggests it as a trick for use on a  Windy  green. This shows the movement of  the feet on the mat to allow for a different final bowl result.

The photo (left) is a screen capture of the video and shows Australian Jackaroos team  member, Barrie Lester; taking his normal stance on the mat.  Immediately afterward, in the video, we see him position himself a bit to the  left (photo below) as he "walks the mat"..

  We can also see the result of such  a  movement on the mat as his bowls (photo below) has a different final resting position.  This video is build by Australia for windy conditions but, here, I hope to shows that there is a lot of advantage for moving "around" on the mat. Also, it is important that the bowler "Walking the Mat" know from experience where his bowl will finish. Later in the blog, I will give an exercise to allow you to know where your bowls will finish; but any change a player makes must be with expectation of the know results.

In all games of rolling, or throwing a ball or bowl to a target, there is the requirement that all players perform their delivery from the same position.  There are many games like Bowls (Petanque, Bocci, Curling) where as the play advances the previous bowls or Balls, stones; seem to block the delivery to the target. (Jack, Button, Cochon,etc). 

 These game have developed, over time with equipment and rules,  to allow the player to go around these  placed blocks.  Lawn Bowls now  have a bias or swing of several feet, Curling (the Canadian equivalent) has a stone which can by rotation and by sweeping be made to swing a couple of feet.  The French Game of Petanque, and it various modifications,  has developed to allow the player to throw the ball through the air and remove the blocking balls.  The exception is Bocci (the Italian game of Bowls) where the players do not stand tn the same position but must always stand behind what we call the Mat Line when doing their delivery.  Also the Bocci player can bounce their ball of the walls (rink wooden boundaries) to approach their target.

  However, even with the rules  developed  and modified to allow the delivery to get around a frontal bowl, the movement  on the mat (or in the petanque circle when playing French Bowls) has always been with certain limitations. The photo at the right is the movement of Brett Wilkie (above photo) as he moves to his far left.  The bowls final position can be seen  as they  have been delivered to the same distance apart as the step  "walking" on the mat.

The rules define the size of a traditional  “Mat” of lawn bowls , as ( Rule 7) “ is 600 mm long and 360 mm wide”. In Canada where we still often talk in the old imperial measurement, that is about  2 feet by 1.5 feet where the imperial foot is 304.8 mm. ( see note below) So in any size foot, there is plenty of space to move around the mat depending upon your normal delivery style. Delivery should always be done with the feet placement on the mat always the same for each delivery; unless you know and want to move from your normal strance position.

 If (as photo below of Ryan Bester) your style places you close to one side of the mat, then you only have movement away from that tight mat stance. Players use this strance because they want the laid down bowl to be directly on the center line.  The bowls bias out from it point of contact and then as it slow down come back to the center line at the jack. Of course you should  be easily able to move 3 shoe sizes around the mat. From side to side of the mat or front to back.

  In Bowls as the speed of the green increase, the bowler`s line of delivery seen to require a wider stance; which means you are not now square on the mat and  you therefore you will find it harder to move much on the mat. (as per the  photo below of Matthew Ayres who has a acute angle of delivery on a Australian (fast) Green).

A reader wrote recently "The foot fault rule has been changed so that only a part of a foot needs to be on or above the mat. Could you comment on how this change might be affecting how we are using the mat.". In reply

Matthew Ayres on a fast green

 Yes, there is a lot of place for you to place your feet on the mat: as an individual  with an average size foot, (Most feet are  about  6 inches wide by a 12 inches (foot) long). However, when the greens get really fast and you change your delivery angle to almost 40 degrees, (photo of Matthew Ayres, Australia) the advantage of the new rule can be seen. (Note how important the "a part of the foot" on or over the mat; becomes as we respect the rule of Foot faulting).

As we turn ourself away from the Center Line for a wide stance and delivery Line; as ofteh happens when a moved jack is moved off centre line to the side of the head; or necessary for fast greens,  we must be careful of "Walking the Mat". (When talking about faster greens we are make reference to the extremely wide final bias swing on the last few inches as your bowl stops).

Remember, the "Center Line" goes up the center of the green and passes through the jack which is at end start in the center of this line. The back and front edge of the mat runs left to right parallel along the "Mat Line" . (You can not turn your mat toward the jack or have it moved off the center line) 

 If you place yourself too tight to the edge of the mat and the rules of your country does not allow your "mat foot" to be off the mat ( because some countries accepted if over the mat); you are very likely to be called for "Foot Faulting"(foot is not correctly over the mat when your bowl touches the green). 

A close look (front/back) of Ryan Bester's delivery stance

From the 2016 Men's Singles Final Canada v New Zealand and a look at Canadian Bowler Ryan Bester, we can see that his style of delivery is rather tight to the left side of the mat. Front and Back view show his "Mat foot" properly placed and the far right photo show his bowl arm at the "Mat Center Line". 

Game Rules state that “once the mat is placed”, at the beginning of play, Rule 20-A says “The mat shall not be moved”, and the center of the mat must be in a direct line with the Jack. This line is called the “Center Line”.  If the jack moves of  "Center Line" and the mat stays on "Center Line" you may find your style of delivery turning your body enough to create "Foot Faulting" problems.  When practicing your delivery from a tight foot-mat position; be sure to practice your delivery on a moved jack to be sure  that if it happens that  your new delivery line allows for your foot to be "over the mat". Photo right from Blog 2/2 shows how much a green can be damaged.

  "Walking the mat" is a tool intended to allow for fine adjustments when you know the previous line but you need a few inches (or centimeters) adjustment in order to arrive directly on the jack and to roll it. (as is explained in the example at the end of this blog) . However, each of us have our style of delivery, and it is usually recommend by  your teaching Bowls coaches that you always use the same foot location on the mat for each delivery. This principle of using the same stance on the mat is basic bowls, and  will always have a good result to the novice or student. Sometimes the experience competitive lawn bowler wants to use a slightly modified new “line  of roll”  and instead of finding a new  delivery line or point of aim finds a foot movement is all that is needed. Beginners should not be moving around on the mat as they learn to delivery.

Example of Damage to green

 Another aspect of "Walking the Mat" is to correct your "Receiving Area" for your bowl. Sometimes when the mat is placed by the lead, at the beginning of the end, their absence of "checking the green" in front of the mat and  the "receiving Area" of the bowls is over looked.

The location where the bowl first makes contact with the green, called "Receiving Area" usually changes from player to player.  Often a bad delivery by a player has caused a poor "bowl receiving area"  or debits for you and your bowl.  If when you are about to roll your bowl and  find that your placing of the bowl to the green, arrives in a bad or damaged area of the green; you need to have a way to avoid that damaged green. Ok. Not in competitive games but all greens eventually get damaged due to club games.  We all would like to place the bowl just in front of the mat so it will cross immediate the center line. If you move on the mat, it is good to know what happens to your bowl if you must change your "Receiving area" because of your new position on the mat.  

So let us take an example of "Walking the mat"  We have a photo from the net with bowls all deliver from the right side. (standing direction of bowls) and I have modified the photo to show a skip doing a delivery from the other side. (Photo right)

 As the skip rolls his bowl he finds he has passed the jack a few centimeters to the left of the jack and tapped back the black bowl (Photo 2). As he now sits on the black bowl and only has  the yellow bowl  in the count there is a  chance for a few points to be made. (photo 3 below)

Standing at the mat he notices a signal from the mate who is holding up two fingers a few centimeters apart, showing how much  he missed the jack. If he can adjust that  few centimeters he will touch the jack.  He does not want to

photo 2

 roll the jack very much but a short distance will add the back bowls to the count and maybe now make 4 points.

He walks the mat to the left and keeps the same line of delivery and passes the frontal block bowl tight he might  touches the jack and move it away from the yellow. If he drawn to his last bowl he still has two. Because he has moved left it is not likely that his bowls will touch the yellow.

 

photo 3

This is not something to try in a game.  It has been practice during club games and the skip and mate know what can happen and have worked to "walk the mat". Photo 4, the final bowl, is an example of a small change which has given a big gain.  A tool in the toolbox which may only be used once a year, but which has been practice and know the results of such a movement on the mat.

photo 4

 ( * Mat size mention above has a curious  fact. The English inch is 25.4 mm and  a French inch is 27.07 mm. Since the  French word for inch is “pouce”  and also the same word  in french for “Thumb” we could  say that  the French have bigger thumbs.)