Philippa Stevenson: Inventor's quickfire lawn bowls roll out in twilight

COMMENT

Henry VIII was on to something when in 1511 he banned lawn bowls for all but the wealthy, apparently because productivity and accuracy in the making and firing of arrows was on a downward spiral.

Bowyers, fletchers, stringers and arrowhead makers were, it seems, spending far too much time bowling. I can see how they got addicted to the game.

There I was on a sunny day among a friendly bunch of people who were happily explaining to me the rudiments of bowling and, what's more, letting me loose on their Astroturf with the club president's bowls.

So pleasant was the experience I can see that in no time at all I'd completely forget about stringing bows and firing arrows into fierce hordes intent on doing me in.

I could also see Henry's point. Life must go on and bowls takes so much time.

Enter John Smith. Just 492 years after the Tudor king's edict, Smith has come up with a way to get more bowls for your hour.

The committee member of the Te Rapa Bowling Club in Hamilton, who has been bowling for seven years, last night launched Speed Bowls.

For bowling babes in the wood, I need to explain that there is a lot of walking up and down and standing around on those green and pleasant bowling greens.

There is not as much as you'd think of stepping out from the mat, feeling the weight of the bowl in your hand, letting it run off your fingers, watching it hit the grass (or Astroturf) and roll gently in an arc towards the target (the kitty), that little white ball at the end of the green.

That's the real fun bit, the part you want to repeat because you may not have got that bowl quite in the right place, but you're pretty sure you'll get it sussed with the next one, or the one after that.

Playing in a foursome in regular bowls you might have to wait quite a while to have a bowl. Everybody bowls from the same end, which means some players have to be at the target end to keep score, then they have to walk back to bowl, then everybody has to walk back to get their bowls.

It makes you realise just how much time Sir Francis Drake took in 1588 when, warned that the Spanish Armada was approaching, he said he still had time to "finish the game and to thrash the Spaniards, too."

It's a wonder we aren't all speaking Spanish.

Smith's solution has been to eliminate all the walking up and down by basing half the competitors at either end of the green and having them bowl from both ends.

Partners use the same four bowls and the traditional team hierarchy is gone.

Also to save time, the kitty's position is marked on the green. If it is knocked out of play it is replaced in its original position instead of the game being restarted.

Smith's scoring system gives a bonus point for every end in which a team scores four, and another if a team wins the game by four or more shots.

Smith and fellow Te Rapa club members have timed themselves playing Speed Bowls, and pairs bowling four bowls can play 10 ends in 30 minutes. Traditional play could take more than 70 minutes.

A player at a two-hour twilight meeting could get in four games, including plenty of bowling.

Club president Len Knapp thinks Speed Bowls could have appeal at both ends of the player spectrum. For those new to bowls and wanting practice, and those who are getting on a bit and can't manage all the walking or long hot days in the sun.

The fiercely competitive or those at the top of their game get in plenty of green time with the traditional game, Knapp suspects.

Also checking out the Te Rapa club was nearby resident Eric Hook, who has played bowls for 55 years.

He was quite taken with Speed Bowls, as were his former playing mates at his old club at Shannon, Horowhenua, when he told them about it.

Others who have responded to Smith's promotion of his idea include wheelchair-bound players who like the idea of not having to trundle up and down the greens (as do protective greenkeepers), some young folk and people who don't like to be out in the heat of the day.

Last night's launch at the club's home at the Te Rapa Sportsdrome was the first of four consecutive Monday evenings dedicated to trials of Speed Bowls.

Smith hopes that the quickfire game will do for bowls what one-day matches did for cricket.

Howzat.

* Email Philippa Stevenson