What is Short Mat Bowls?

The Short Mat Bowls game was first played in Wales by two South Africans who came to work in the area. They had played bowls outdoors in South Africa and, perhaps due to the poor climate and the long close season in this country, they began to play a simulation of the outdoor game on a strip of carpet in a church hall. Some time later, they moved to Northern Ireland and took the new game with them.

Rules and conditions of play were drawn up and the game soon became well established in the Province. It was introduced into England by Irish expatriates, but development was slow until the 1980's when its potential as a low cost sport for people of all ages was realised.

The English Short Mat Bowling Association (ESMBA) was formed in 1984, and is now the governing body of the sport in England.

The game is played in broadly the same way, and provides the same enjoyment and has the same attractions as lawn bowls and, indeed, many players participate in both games. The bowls themselves, and the smooth soled heel less footwear are the same as those used outdoors.

The object is for each player in a singles game or each team in a pairs, triples or fours to gain as many shots as possible by getting their bowls nearer to the jack than their opponents, an so outscore them.

The main differences in the playing conditions are the size of the playing area, the block which occupies the mid-position of the rink mat, and the ditch which is actually a defined area of the mat surface.

The intimidatory presence of the block, which prevents players from playing with force directly towards an opponents bowl in order to knock it out of a scoring position, and the narrow playing area, requires players to develop a skill in using the natural bias on the bowls to bowl round the block. Bowls which touch the block and those which come to rest in the dead area or in the ditch (other than those which touch the jack before going into the ditch) are declared "dead" and removed from the mat before the next bowl is delivered.

The Mat

Short Mat Bowls is played on a mat indoors. The mat is approximately 13.75 metres long and 1.83 wide. It has a centre block which is 0.38 metres long plus various taped markings at each end which govern:

1. The position of the delivery mat
2. The extent of the ditch
3. Two delivery lines
4. The jack (small yellow/white bowl) line
5. The dead line

The delivery mat: must be located between the top delivery mat lines and, when bowling, one foot must always be on or over this mat.

The ditch: as in green bowls, if a delivered bowl goes into the ditch it will be removed from play. If it strikes the jack during initial delivery then it is regarded as a 'toucher' and remains in play in the ditch.

Two delivery lines: these two lines govern the position of our other foot. When delivering the bowl, our second foot must be positioned between these lines.

The jack line: The jack is always placed along this line. Normally the jack is placed centrally along the line for the first game (end) but subsequently the winning captain from the previous end can place it anywhere along the line.

The dead line: a delivered bowl must completely pass this line or, if not, it will be removed from play.

The centre block: a delivered bowl must not touch the block in any way or, if it does, it will be removed from play.

The game is played using bowls as used in the more familiar game played on grass. We are trying to bowl as near to a jack placed at the other end as possible.