playing bowls

My OH plays all Summer long , I'd like to have a go but I don't think my O/A in hands and wrists would stand up to regular play. Its a nice past time for a sunny Sunday afternoon..

Yes, it is a bit hard on the hands and wrists, but you can get smallish woods which might help, but no doubt your OH knows about that It is however, a lovely peaceful game to sit and watch on a sunny afternoon, on a par with cricket as far as I am concerned.
I have played again today, not a good idea to play two days in a row, but I desperately need the practive we have our Opening Club competition on Saturday, and do not want to show myself up. The housework has just had to wait - it will no doubt still be there on Sunday.

Hi. Another lawn bowler here, but it's the end of the season in South Australia.

tanith, you might see if you can borrow some smaller bowls. One of the girls we bowl against is very petite with small hands and she uses a set of size 0 bowls. She was sick and tired of watching rather than playing (her hubby and the couple they're best friends with are all bowlers) so she took her kitchen scales to the bowls shop with her and found the lightest set of size zero bowls she could find! She was miffed that the nice coloured ones are heavier than the black ones, but she compromised and found a set she liked and now she's a keen bowler in our social night owls competition. The 0's are light and do get a bit blown about on a windy night but she's become a very competent bowler regardless.

Hello, to the other side of the world. Our season has just started, but of course our club has the all weather carpet so have played all winter, but not when there is frost there. I am unable to play on grass now, do not have the drive for some reason, might have something to do with living longer. We had our 'opening' drive yesterday, and do you know IT DID NOT RAIN! that must be an all time record, rain on open drive day is expected. Our competition lists are all up, I had no idea I had entered so many! Looks like I am going to be busy for the next few weeks taking part in the first round, which I think will be my lot! Nice 'taling' to you.

Do you use a smaller bowl on the indoor carpets?

I love bowls because when my husband goes sometimes three times a week I have a couple of hours to myself. We live within about 10 minute walk of a large indoor and two rink outdoor club where national competitions are held and DH is getting very good and enjoys it more than golf. For myself as I have a slipped disc I cant bend forwards in the motion required thank goodness really. Its like watching paint dry.

Hello PoppaRob, No I do not use smaller woods for indoor (short mat) bowls. Some folk have special short mat woods, but they are for the professionals, I think, and I really only play for the enjoyment. I use the same woods indoor and outdoor, the trouble is, if I play too much short mat, returning to outdoor bowls takes a time to adjust, and vice versa.
Susiecb. How lovely to live so near to a bowls club. Sorry you find it so uninteresting, I think the technicalities of it (oh! that sounds really grand!) are what makes it interesting to play. I find most of the time I am competing against myself, trying to do better.

Here in Oz the indoor bowlers use a 4" bowl and Henselite (we call them Expenselite here) list 3 7/8" bowls for "NZ and the UK" so I presumed that was what you'd use.

I used to be a ten pin bowler but the cost became a real issue. Being a social member at my lawn bowls club I only pay $30 a year membership and a 14 end game of Night Owls is $3, practice sessions are free. Much better than the $25 - $30 to play league 10 pin.

I only played ten pin bowling once, and strained my finger so badly I could not type for a couple of days, which made work quite difficult, so did not pursue the sport. Bowls I took up only about 12 years ago, and only played with friends socially. When we moved we sought out a bowls club, and found this really lovely one. We pay £98. a year subscription, which entitles us to play any time we wish free of charge - if it happens to be a nice morning, we phone a few friends, and say 'how about a roll-up' and off we trot. Otherwise, Tuesday and Thursday mornings are organised roll-up mornings and free, when everyone knows there will be someone at club for a few hours play. We pay to take part in club competitions, thats £1.50 per comp. and of course for any matches we take part in usually about £2.50 to include the tea. Altogether a very satisfying arrangement we think.
Sorry, don't know any of the technicalities of short mat bowls, it is just a side-line for us, something to do if the weather is not fine enough to play outside. We just roll out a couple of mats in the club-house, on either the Tuesday or Thursday - some folk play othere days, and we seem to be able to find other clubs who are happy to give us a game. We manage about 14 matches a season (7 home, 7 away). We have only just started the outdoor season, and a short mat club have been on the phone to arrange next seasons game!

Thanks PoppaRob I might look into that.. PRINTMISS hubby says the same thing as to why he doesn't play indoors in the Winter it spoils his lawn bowls and as he's quite competitive it matters muchly lol..
Susiecb you should find that with time your slipped disc heals itself they usually do , mine took about 18mths to heal and now as long as I don't abuse my back its pretty good for most things now. Now as for the Sciatica thats a different story..
Its nice to read everyone's different take on things...

You have all inspired me to go along to the indoor bowls run within our local University of the Third Age. I'll let you know how I get on.

Well done dahlia! You may ache a little after the first game or two, but keep it up, the exercise is really good for you (I ache all over at the moment, having bowled outdoors yesterday against a strong wind). I am sure too you will enjoy the company.

I must admit the ground seems to be getting further away and I do get some back pain by the end of our 14 end games. They make "lifters" which are a contraption made of steel rod to pick up bowls but buying one is caving in to a mix of advancing years and my laziness in getting some exercise and losing weight!

Yes, PoppaRob, the ground is getting lower - with regard to the lifters, you might like to hear my story - I knew my husband was having trouble with picking up his woods so went to the howls shop and asked for a 'hooker' - only to be told with great glee they did not sell those, but provide me give me a lifter! (Hooker's are of course lady street walkers here).

Love your work PrintMiss! :-)

Thanks PoppaRob. I played bowls yesterday in what felt like a howling gale! We arrived at the green in pouring rain, and almost decided as a group to go home, but someone had opened up and put the kettle on, so coffee with friends was really enticing. After about 10 minutes in the club house, the sun came out and shone brilliantly throughout the morning (wished I had put the washing out!), so we all enjoyed a rather diffficult game.

Sadly Tanith my slipped disc wont now heal its out permanantly and I have spinal arthritis as well so bending forward is agony. Strangely I can still play golf with a modified swing as its a sideways motion but Zumba was a step too far.

Printmiss - sounds like you had a great day despite a wet start!

susiecb - have you seen a gizmo called a "bowling arm"? They retail for AUD$195 here in Oz, but Drakes Pride do them in the UK so they may be more affordable there.
www.drakespride.co.uk/accessories/bowling-aids/bowling-arm-(b6514).aspx#product

www.drakespride.com.au/18,DRAKES_PRIDE_BOWLING_ARMS.html

PoppaRob, not heard of the 'bowling arm' must look out for them here, as they might be useful to one or two of our members who are feeling the strain. Do you have trouble finding 'younger' people to play bowls. Here it is all the oldies who are getting older, who enjoy it, but getting young people to come along is becoming really difficult. I think it is mainly because we play during the day, when they are at work, but it would be good if some young folk would join just for the weekend. It is just getting them to the club which is the hard bit.

We have social Night Owls competitions at most clubs here in summer. Usually it's a 6pm or 7pm start and you play 14 or 16 ends so the night is over by around 9pm. To be honest the income from Night Owls keeps the clubs running so the old buggers can argue over the politics and push their purist barrows!

Some states have started night pennants competitions, and the latest is to break the competition into two 8 weeks blocks, one before Christmas and one after. It was going to a vote at state level to see if clubs were in favour and I asked out president how he was going to vote. Despite the fact that I said we would have probably a dozen to 20 Night Owl bowlers who would pay full membership and make a commitment to at least one of the 8 week seasons he'd already decided it was rubbish!

The two greens at my parents' old club are now waist deep in weeds waiting to be converted into a community garden. What was a thriving club with a waiting list in the 1960s dwindled to a dozen pennant payers and 60 or so Night Owl bowlers and last year the decision was made to merge with another struggling club and hand the facility back to the local council who owned the land. I have to wonder if things may have been different if the club had redefined its attitude a few years ago.

My husband plays plenty of evening competitions in the Summer, usually at least 2evenings plus Sunday PM.. they play from 6:30 till the light fades usually then a quick pint in the clubhouse and home . They have been getting a few younger members in the last year or so , they have an open evening regularly to encourage people to bring along friends or family members to have a 'roll up' and see if they like it.. He has found that once people get on 'the committee', they seem to lose track of the point of the game and get immersed in the politics of the thing.. he steers well clear of being coerced .

What a wise husband tanith! Committees seem to go to folks heads at time, and they forget that the roots of the club (and indeed anything) are with the people at ground root, i.e. the members who contribute toward the game itself. (OH! on my high horse there, sorry just fell off)

They say the amount of politics of a group is inversely proportionate to the importance of the activity, so where a group that achieves a lot has very little in the way of politics but the local pigeon club (or similar) is full of it!