Road Bowls News

The Australian version of road bowls evolved from the Irish game, but there are many important differences that can make it a very different activity.

The bowl

The Australian-standard bowl is a four pound scale weight rather than the Irish two pound cannon ball. However, in Australia other bowls have occasionally been used, including vegetables for a children’s game (for safety and fun).

The teams

Normally there are two teams of equal numbers of players. But if there are many people wishing to participate, there can be as many teams as required. While there is no rule limiting the number of players per team, it generally works best if the number of players per team is held to less than ten, otherwise it is a long time between bowls for each player.

Among some groups, the teams remain relatively unchanged, although in the games played at Nariel, Numeralla, the Fiddler’s Convention and other festivals, the teams are formed on the day. Sometimes teams are named after traditional Irish counties and at other times simply made up on the spot.

In central Victoria, particularly in the period of the late 1970s/ early 80s, the teams were named after the local towns where the captains and/ or players lived.

The course

The course may be either a dirt track or a quiet bitumen road, or a combination of the two. Sometimes the course may include a section through a festival camp site (very carefully of course!).

The length of the course is determined by the intended duration of the match. The course may be a one way point-to-point (for example starting at a pub and finishing at the gate of a local property) or it may be from a starting point to a half-way mark and then return via the same route.