When you joined the BLBC, you were given a copy of The Laws of the Sport of Bowls, which sets out the rules of the games as defined by World Bowls, the sport’s ruling body. Recently, a few changes to the rules have been promulgated by World Bowls and have been adopted by the US Lawn Bowling Association, which has also made a regulation change unique to the USA. Mostly, these will affect tournament play, but some will have implications for the everyday social game too. In the latter category, the most important one is that the “hog line” will be moved forward—i.e., closer to the bowler on the mat—so that there will be the possibility of rolling the jack a shorter distance and still have it be a legitimate jack. Among the other changes are: a reduction in the minimum distance the jack must be rolled, abolition of the so-called “hammer” rule, provision that the skip (not the second) keep the score in team games, and abolition of the one-minute rule. Each of these is explained and discussed in turn below.

Movement of the Hog Line

Under the previous rules, the hog line, which determines the minimum distance the jack must be rolled, was set at 25 meters from the rink edge. Under the new rule, the hog line will now be set at 23 meters from the edge. For the metrically-challenged, that equals 75 feet 5 ½ inches. This brings the hog line that the bowler rolls to nearer to the mat. It means that you can have a shorter jack, which might make it easier for some bowlers in a social game to reach the jack, but, more importantly, by providing a greater variety of jack length it will require tournament bowlers to have a diverse skill set—i.e., be competent at both long and very short jacks—to be a consistent winner. (Note that the “rink edge” begins at the outer edge of the plinth next to the ditch, not at the edge of the grass.) At Berkeley, we have not yet painted the new hog lines on the backboards, but the measuring has been done and, in the meantime, we are using the metal hog signs.

Minimum distance of the jack

Corresponding to the change above regarding the hog line, the minimum distance the jack must be rolled is now set at 21 meters (rather than 23) from the mat.

Giving Away the Mat

In some countries, the USA included, the player/team winning the end has until now had the option of what was popularly (or unpopularly!) known as “taking the hammer”—i.e., instead of being first on the mat at the next end, they had the option of giving the mat away and forcing the losing side to bowl first, thus retaining the advantage of having the last bowl. This rule was never enforced in BLBC’s social games, but was used in USLBA and PIMD tournaments (although some tournament directors chose on occasion not to require it). Now, the option of giving away the mat will no longer be available—the winning player/team must go first on the next end. The reasoning behind this change is fairly straightforward: it was viewed as too great of an advantage for a bowler to have the last bowl and was perceived to be the reason for many uneven (one-sided) results.

Duties of Skips/Seconds

Skips will now have the duty of marking the scorecards in all formats (pairs, triples and
fours). Previously, this responsibility fell to the second or vice in a team game. However, some national organizations apparently felt that the second/vice had sufficient other duties, for example, measuring, that he/she should not also have to keep the score. (One leaves aside the challenge of advising your skip what side to play and then having to rake the bowls afterwards when such excellent advice is ignored!) World Bowls took this one step further and made the skip responsible for keeping the score in all formats. This will not be enforced at BLBC for social games where a chalkboard is used—the losing lead in a pairs game or second in triples will still be responsible for marking the score on the board when they are at that end of the rink, which would invariably be an even-numbered end. The two skips will be next to the chalkboard on odd-numbered ends and, as now, the losing skip should mark the score on the board.

The One-Minute Rule

The USLBA had a rule that was not part of the LOTSOBs as they were promulgated in the rest of the world: namely, a player had to deliver his or her bowl within one minute of the prior bowl coming to rest. The purpose, clearly, was to keep the game moving at due speed. This rule, which rarely had to be enforced in practice, since most bowlers did not require that much time to plan and execute their shots, has now been abolished, thus bringing the USA into line with international practice. However, that does not mean that a bowler can spend as long as they like on the mat—tournament directors may still set a limit, and, if a bowler were to spend an inordinate amount of time on the mat to the point where it constituted unsportsmanlike conduct, they could be penalized by the umpire/tournament director.

Effective date of the Changes

These changes formally took effect on January 1, 2011. A new edition of The Laws of the Sports of Bowls is expected to be issued around the end of January/early February. However, so far neither the new Laws, nor the US domestic regulations are available on the official websites of World Bowls or the USLBA. The USA Head Umpire, Conrad Melton, would like to have all changes, including the changed hog lines, in effect by April 1st at the very latest. Club tournament directors are requested to notify E.B. Parkell, the PIMD chief umpire, when their hog lines have been adjusted to the required length.