Rain and Wind Bowls Play 2/2 (NMem)

Under development 2/2 March 14,2026 

As mention in the first of these two blogs, the  similarity between condition of play for rain and for days of a strong wind address the same problems a Lawn Bowls athletic must work to overcome.  As often said in these blogs. There are three aspects of Lawn Bowls perfection. Delivery development ( Line, Weight and Bowls), Mental Development (Focus, Muscle Memory and Game strategy) and last  Condition of Play (what nature give us as a new day)

Condition of play involves the speed of the green, the equipment used (type of bowls) and the difficulty which the environment offers. All of these will influence the game as we develop our perfect delivery, choose the various type of bowls and equipment and build through practice an instinctive performance. But what we can not control is  the weather unless we decide to alway do indoor bowls. 

 We would all love to go to the club on a nice sunny day and roll bowls, but when a competition of major level of players is scheduled; we often find the conditions of play very demanding as we can not order the weather as we would like for that important game.

As  I would like to finish an important aspect of Bowls in the rain by bring forward a previous August 2012 blog and  for a bit discuss some problems or nightmare of Lawn Bowls in the Rain. Before Covid (2020 to 2022) most Canadian club executives and green keepers were concern for the large size debits made in the greens by new members learning to bowl, but in money competitions players bowled an open green.

2024 photo of Club practice

The blog  was written 6 years before the Covid, and at a time when we saw "Protective Screens"being only used in Club games for Coaching. But with COVID and clubs losing volunteer, their Green Committees in trying to keep clubs with playable greens, continued to use the screens during major money competition.

 Even today in some parts of Canada, (Here in Montreal Quebec) ; the "Protective screens are still used. In the blog we see a reference to "Lonnie" size debits and suggestion that during rain condition of play; one should be concern for their best delivery style.  (Lonnie is the name of the Canadian dollar coin because the image a Canadian bird, called a Loon, on the coin face and "Lonnie Size Debits" is still a expression hear at clubs and competitions).

Updated Blog of August 2012 "Rain and Green Debits" deeply editted.

The nightmare of Lawn Bowls in the Rain is not the wet clothes but the wet greens and the "Lonnie" size Debits.  
There are two basic debits types   Those caused by the dropping of the bowl at the front of the mat, and those caused by not bending low enough and thus having a long throwing bounce at about 3 feet from the mat..  Both cause damage to the green because the bowl is not rolling as it hits the green and then the surface of the green is use to begin the bowl's rolling movement.

   A good delivery will have a finger flick or the bowl will roll of the finger. This  type delivery will make the bowl roll before it  hits the green.  Otherwise, the soft wet green will be one debit for each bowl delivered. (With 100 rolls per team even 20% bad delivery mean 20 or 30 debits at both end of the rink)

 On rainy days, the player's thought is, "I am short because of the rain" so we throw the bowl (not roll it) harder and  hear someone say "oh a debit" and we think "Oh  that happens because of the wet green". 

And because we know why, we easily forget that last bowl and it debit, as others are rolled and new debits made. Immediately instruct your self of the  need for a smooth rolling delivery, and be concern for the green.  Remember, when you need to catch your balance after a heavy delivery and a  "long stride" delivery that the side of your footwear may causes quite ugly debits. 

Henselite #5

WHAT CAN YOU DO ??  

 First, if you have more than one set of bowls, use the smaller bowls as you will find  a better grip and delivery easier when your hands are wet. If you Bowls  have "grips" it may help you to grip better, but also it may cause bad debits when you have one of those off-bias rolls because of forcing your delivery. (Update added) The photo right is a #5 by Henselite from the 1960's and the bowl's grip is less than you will find today on 2025 bowls (end)   

Use a different type of Gripoo.. (there is a sticky wet weather type)  If Gloves are allowed... try those Kitchen rubber gloves with grip ridges.  Maybe even change your grip... The Claw grip requires your finger grip the bowl where cradle grip requires a  rolling bowl movement.

Second, Move the mat a lot. It does not need to be always at the same placement. When the mat stays at the 2 meter mark and end after end replaced to the same spot it can cause damage.  A lead, when laying down the mat, should look at the delivery area of the green where the bowls will be deposited.  Remember, you may have left handed team member.

 And Third, although, we do not want to tell an opponent that they have made a bad debit; we can still before rolling our bowl, walk forward and repair that last debit. (Just a light foot push back of that crescent moon shape grass rolled out) This will show the player their debit and eventually the repaired debits will recover.  Rather than close our eyes to opponents marking debits, if we repairs that last debit made by the opponent; it shows and tell them to be careful. 

  Strange, in Petanque, the french sport of throwing and rolling the metal balls to the jack, rules prevent a player from arranging the receiving area of their delivery but a players is allowed to fixing the last debit made. (The game is play in sand or gravel so the full moon indent is best fixed before your ball rolls over it).

 Interesting fact of Boccie, kthe Italian bowls game now being played in the 2012 London Paralympics games  this week.(August 2012) Players can have different hardness of balls in their six balls team group. Soft balls for hard to remove when hit and once at the jack and hard balls for those throwing shots which will be a slam takeouts. That year British boccia player David Smith took Gold I believe.

End of 2012 Blog..

Returning to Bowls and condition of play with Wind.  The last month blog  Analysis 2026 Australia Classic Singles (Info) o has good video commentator about the choice of Bowls for windy conditions of play. The final is played by two of the best (World bowls Ranking ) players and Irish Gary Kelly as commenator is # 6 ranking. At the video 7-7 Gary explains why the choice of the narrow bias bowl by Corey Wedlock (# 2 ranking WB) is an advantage where there is a heavy cross wind.

Bowls with wind behind mat

In the Atlantic International Challenge which happen last summer in Windsor Canada and brought together Scotland, England, United States and Canada we see a strong wind behind the mat and bowlers bowling into that wind. The photo right show the  bowls placement in the head when the wind was face on or east to west (see the flags behind the players) and the photo below show the bowls in the head when the wind was  west to east (behind the bowlers)  A  completely different collection of bowls in the head at these two back to back ends. The players found with the wind behind them that the bowls were blown off line more than the bowling heavier bowls (into the wind) which stopped quickly without much bias.

When Bowling into the wind.

A May 2, 2021 blog titled "Bowls in New Zealand Wind (AMem) has a good insight into how the wind can change the bowl's bias. But as noted by the (AMem) classification this blog was intended for Advance players who have a good Muscle Memory and are still developing advance aspects of it. Some of these ideas expressed, may not be accepted as expressed in this manner and even may seem overly detailed to the lawn bowls reader with only a few years bowling experience. (More to come. 14/2026)

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