Bowl Sweden - History


Bowls som är en av världens äldsta samt en av de största breddsporterna i många länder ex. Storbritannien, Australien, Nya Zeeland och Sydafrika. Sporten växer numera mycket fort i ex. Malaysia, Japan, Kina och Canada . Sporten Bowls som från början spelades utomhus på gräs och kallas därför ibland Lawn Bowling. Numera utvecklas sporten inomhus med spel på filtmattor. Vi i Sverige har nu så här i början inriktat oss på en variant som kallas Short Mat Bowls.

The History of Bowls The oldest Bowls green still played on is in Southampton, England where records show that the green has been in operation since 1299 A.D. There are other claims of greens being in use before that time. Certainly the most famous story in lawn bowls is with Sir Frances Drake and the Spanish Armada. On July 18, 1588, Drake was involved in a game on the English southern coast at Plymouth Hoe when he was notified that the Spanish Armada were approaching. His immortalized response was that "We still have time to finish the game and to thrash the Spaniards, too." He then proceeded to finish the match which he lost before embarking on the fight with the Armada which he won. King Henry VIII was also a lawn bowler. However, he banned the game for those who were not wealthy or "well to do" because "Bowyers, Fletchers, Stringers and Arrowhead makers" were spending more time at recreational events such as bowls instead of practicing their trade. Henry VIII requested that anybody who wished to keep a green pay a fee of 100 pounds. However, the green could only be used for private play and he forbade anyone to "play at any bowle in open space out of his own garden or orchard". King James I issued a publication called "The Book of Sports" and, although he condemned football (soccer) and golf he encouraged the play of bowls. In 1845, the ban was lifted, and people were again allowed to play bowls and other games of skill. The earliest documented use of the word 'Jack' in Bowls is from 1611 "Was there euer man had such lucke? when I kist the Iacke vpon an vp-cast, to be hit away?". It appears that Jack in some contexts meant a slightly smaller version of something - in this case a 'Jack-Bowl', later shortened to 'Jack'. In 1697 R. Pierce wrote "He had not Strength to throw the Jack-Bowl half over the Green". Lawn Bowls The English Bowling Association (EBA) was founded in 1903 and bowls is a very well organised sport. The EBA hosts numerous competitions from club to national level. Because success doesn't require physical fitness, it is particularly favoured by older folk but there are a lot of younger players, too. As with many English sports, Lawn Bowls spread to the British colonies from the 1600s onwards. Lawn Bowls was first played in North America in the early 1600's in the United States. Records show that President George Washington played bowls on his estate. In Canada, the sport was introduced around 1730 at Port Royal in Nova Scotia. In Australia, bowls first was played in Sandy Bay, Tasmania in 1844. The game appeared in New Zealand sometime during the 30 years after that. World Bowls Ltd is responsible for the standardisation of rules across the world, and is charged with the task of encouraging the growth of the game world-wide. Bowls is usually played straight up and down a lawn. In "Singles", each player has four bowls called "woods" (although these days, bowls are made from a resin material) which are rolled alternately at a target ball called a Jack or Kitty. Other games are "Pairs" - four players in two teams, each player having two or four bowls, "Triples" - three players with two or three bowls each and "Rinks" or "Fours" - four players two bowls each. Each bowl is less rounded on one side which results in the bowl being "biased" in one direction due to the extra weight on one side. The bias of a correctly rolled bowl ensures that it follows a slightly curved path as it rolls which accentuates as the bowl comes to a halt. The Jack is a smaller white or yellow ball without a bias. Curling The sport of Lawn Bowls is the forerunner of Curling, a tremendously popular winter version played in northern countries (including Canada and Scotland) on ice. The Scots are said to have invented the game, the first written records are from the 1600's. At one time the stones that slide across the ice were pieces of granite weighing up to 56kg. Gradually they evolved into plump stone discs with a handle protruding from the top surface. The target is a circle 32 metres from the thrower and the game is played by 2 teams of 4 players, each player sliding 2 stones per go. The slightly bizarre final aspect of the game is that each player is equipped with a broom which is used to scrub the ice just ahead of the stone as it slides towards the target. The scrubbing warms the ice which creates a film of water that the stone slides over speeding it slightly. Skilful work with the broom will successfully deviate the direction of the stone or lengthen the distance it travels in such a way that it eventually comes to rest nearer to the target. Crown Green Bowls A Crown Green is a square lawn slightly higher in the middle than at the edges and play is conducted all over the lawn in any direction. The game has always been associated more with pubs and taverns than Lawn Green bowls and although it does not have the enormous popularity of the flat green game, it thrives very happily within its home base of Northern England and North West Midlands. Play is almost always singles and each player bowls just two bowls each end. The winner of each turn can play the jack in any direction and at any reasonable distance within the lawn boundary which is a ditch. Some players are best at bowling across the hump, others along the sloping side, some prefer short distances, others long and so many additional tactical complexities are introduced by the unusual lawn. Watching the multiple games occurring in all directions at once across a crown green bowling lawn is an experience worth seeking out. Somehow, the individual games manage to intersect and cross over each other without any adverse consequences! Short Bowls in Sweden The game of Short Bowls played indoors on carpet is now played regularly twice a week at the new Karlstad Racket Center, Tingvalla. In addition to this, corporate events have taken place and more are planned for the future. Bowls is proving popular. It is a social game for people of all ages which promotes team spirit, competitiveness and tactics. A Swedish couple from Grebbestad fell in love with the game of bowls whilst living and working in Spain. On their return home they spread the word amongst their neighbours, formed the Swedish Bowls Federation and now play Short Mat Bowls in Grebbestad’s Folkhuset. Sweden at the World Championships Sweden sent a team to the 2008 World Short Mat Bowls Championships which took part in Belgium in April 2008. In January 2009 a trip to England was organised when a team from Sweden played against the full England Short Mat team.
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