Roll ups

 

Practice and informal 'roll up' competitions go on all year but more so in the early season. As the team leagues get running members tend to practise a bit less and concentrate on matches. The best thing to do is to get into 'roll ups' as soon as possible and get to know people. You can then arrange your own friendly games. However if no one is around it is still worth practising on your own to work on your technique. But please do not be shy about playing with the good players; it’s the best way to improve your game.

 

Get Together Sessions

 

These are informal bowling sessions but a little more organised than casual roll ups. The aim is to give new and improving players some practice in match conditions alongside a few experienced players.

 

Club Competitions

 

If you join at the start of the season it is recommended you enter some of the club competitions. OK you might get knocked out in the first round but it will be valuable experience and you may be surprised that you pick up more shots against your opponent than you would have expected. The best competitions for novices are the Challenge and the Handicap. Former competition winners are excluded from the Challenge competition and in the Handicap novices are given a big shot lead over the good bowlers. Games take approximately one and a half hours and you arrange them at a mutually acceptable time with your opponent. 

 

League Matches

 

League matches are the main activity of the club. We are currently in five local leagues. They are all mixed leagues so men and women play together in the same team. It is recommended that you try to get into the teams as soon as you have mastered the basics of the game. Let’s say you practise twice a week for a few weeks; you should then put your name down and try getting into one of the teams. You may be asked to play sooner if we are short of players.  Information about selection criteria is given in the FAQ section.  A match fee of £1 is charged. 

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Tuesday Development team

 

Our club designates our Tuesday team as our development team so that will be the easiest team to get into. We would like to do well on a Tuesdays but we think giving the opportunity for people to have a game and improve takes precedence over winning this league.

 

Saturday Rinks, Monday Triples, Wednesday Evening Triples and Knockout Competition Teams

 

These teams are chosen on merit so we do our best to finish as high up as possible by picking the best players. An exception can be made for the Wednesday evenings and Saturdays where a person works and is only available on these days. It is possible for a novice to make it into these teams on merit but it will require plenty of dedication in their first season.

 

Wednesday Afternoons

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The aim of these teams is to provide enjoyable bowling for members. The league requires us to call these two teams A and B. However the club has decided to pick balanced teams with no bias either way. Players picked for the B team should not consider they are playing for an inferior team. 

 

Friendly games

 

We play a few friendly games with clubs a little further afield. Selection criteria vary dependent on the strength of our opponents. New members are welcome to put their names down for selection.

 

Where would I play in a team?

 

In team matches novices are usually placed at position two in rinks (four players per rink); this is the position that has the least pressure on the player. You just do your best and don’t worry if it does not go well. This is a good position to learn the etiquette of the game by watching the role played by each member of your team.

 

Jumbles

 

These are fun friendly games usually held near the end of the season. You get to play with a number of different players in an afternoon.

 

Internal Leagues

 

If there is sufficient interest we may organise an internal league in the latter part of the season.

 

External competitions

 

As a member of Lanchester Bowling Club you will also be a member of Bowls England and will be eligible for a number of local and national competitions should you wish to enter.