World Championships are underway

I met up with fellow Brits, Angie Thompson and Bob Penny off their flight at the arrivals hall after a great deep sleep on Saturday night. After a leisurely drive down from Brisbane Airport on Sunday morning we dumped our luggage at the accommodation as we couldn’t check in until 2pm and then headed off to the Broadbeach Bowls Club to get our bearings.

One of the greens at Broadbeach Bowls Club

Sunday was spent relaxing and checking in our apartments and meeting old and new friends. It was great to be back after 5 years.

ITO Meeting 

Day -1 on Monday and all the ITOs met at Broadbeach for our meeting and introduction. We were welcomed by World Bowls President Daryl Clout and CEO Neil Dalrymple before our detailed introduction from CTO, John Roberts and TD, Mark Cowan. It was an opportunity for us to run through the finer details for the event and to ask any questions on the Conditions of Play.

Time for a quick bite of lunch before getting changed into our new uniforms and returning back to Broadbeach. At this event we are trialling the use of Laser measures for the first time. They are not in general use yet and so it was an opportunity for us all to run through their operation form those that are proficient with them. There were other discussions around equipment as there always is at these World gatherings. It was then all on the bus to Helensvale Bowls Club for the Opening Ceremony

A bit of practice with the laser measures

As I said in my previous post, there are 44 countries represented and it was great to see all the players and officials together and mingling in one venue. There was a great atmosphere. After the formalities of the ceremony we were treated to drinks and canapes in the excellent club.

Not quite enough food for us growing chaps so a few of us headed into town when we got back to Broadbeach for a meal and a good old catchup.

44 Nations at the Opening Ceremony

Day 1 and here we go. I am based at Helensvale as Deputy CTO for the duration and with the first session of games starting at 8:30 we had to leave our accommodation as the sun was rising at 6:15am. Thankfully everyone made it to the bus on time and after dropping the team at Musgrave Hill we arrived at Helensvale and got into full organisation mode.

First jobs – check the umpires kits. Ideally, we would have done this a couple days before and unfortunately there were some items missing but most ITOs had bought some of their own equipment. Next, on to checking the rinks and in particular the 25 metre side markers. It is common in Australia for the minimum length jack to be 21 metres with a 23 metre side marker so we had to check they were amended. Then on to timing the greens. This is something we do every morning to record the pace of the green and announce that at the start of play. It involves 2 ITOs timing the delivery of a bowl to a distance of 27 metres. Taking the average of 3 timings gives us the pace and they worked out to be 14 and 15 seconds for Green 1 and 3 respectively.

The new canopy at Helensvale Bowls Club

Helensvale has 3 greens, the centre one is now a synthetic surface with an impressive canopy and clubhouse extension being built. It is a huge investment. Green 1 is nearest the road and green 3 is on a higher level and surround by seating. Both superb greens as you would expect. From previous photos I have posted, some have commented on how brown the rinks are and indeed they do look a bit like chipboard and are really solid. These are tiff dwarf grass which lays dormant this time of year so don’t need much cutting. They go a little greener in the summer months but are still rock hard. Also many have commented on the many lines on the greens. Because the grass doesn’t get cut very often they can mark the centre lines with chalk and they last for around 3-4 weeks. It’s a quick and simple way of ensuring mat and jack are centred and certainly speeds up the games. There are no such things as 2 metre sticks here, they just think that is hilarious, and to be quite honest when you see all the 2 metre positions marked, I can understand why.

Duties for an ITO include, umpires x 2 per green, markers for singles, rovers which are like spare umpires for the 2 greens and timekeepers should there be any slow play challenges. As the schedules are so busy for the first few days of sectional play we are working with just 2 umpires and the markers as we do not have enough ITOs to cover everything. I covered an umpire duty in the first session followed by a marking duty and then again umpiring in the last session.

At each venue each day, 3 rounds of the first 3 disciplines of Women’s Singles, Mens Pairs and Womens Fours are being played. We also have the Para athletes competing alongside these disciplines. Each session starts with an announcement to commence trial ends 15 minutes before the game start time. After completing the trial ends the players wait for the timekeeper to sound the airhorn for the start of the session – you know its coming but it still makes you jump!

All sessions in the sectional play are 2 hours and 15 minute in duration. One of the duties of the umpire is to record the number of ends played at the half way time. If some are lagging behind the expected number of ends we have a quiet word to chivvy them along a bit. The majority of games so far have been completed on time.

Each ITO is undergoing a working assessment whilst officiating. 3 x Marker and 3 x Umpire duties are assessment by myself and the other DCTOs and CTO. It gives us a good indication of their performance and is used to develop them and guide us on future selection for final stages of competition and other World events.

End of day one came along and with sore feet and some burnt noses we staggered back to the coach to take us back to Broadbeach. The 4 DCTOs from each venue then met for a short debrief with the CTO and TD – we seem to have more acronyms than AC12 in Line of Duty!! There were no issues at Helensvale, a quiet word with a team manager about the number of coaches at the end of the rink and also a spot of rink possession and that was about it. There were a couple of issues a one venue that were handled very well by the DCTO. They also had a flooded green at one point as the heavens opened but it was all drained withing 20 minutes and play resumed. The great thing about sub-tropical rains showers is they rarely last long and you are all dried out within the hour.

Bed at 9:30 shattered. Up at 5:30 again for day 2

Stay tuned for more behind the scenes insights. If you get the chance to take a look at some of the live streaming, follow the Bowls Australia Facebook page, link below – the only official link so don’t fall foul of the many scammers out there.

https://www.facebook.com/BowlsAustralia

Meanwhile enjoy some of the photos from the first few days whilst I go and have a cup of tea and a TimTam.

Our amazing ITOs from India, Shubhra and Jitenda

Rita Shek from Hong Kong attentively Marking

Helensvale Bowls Club looking amazing on Day 1

Broadbeach Bowls Club

Some practice at Broadbeach

Trialing Laser measures

 

World Championships 2023 - Some Facts & Figures

The journey to the 2023 World Championships begins. 

A civilised lunchtime departure time from London Heathrow sees me on a Cathay Pacific flight to Brisbane via Hong Kong. I will arrive around midnight Aussie time on the 26th August and stay over at an airport hotel before making my way down to the beautiful Gold Coast and our accommodation in Broadbeach.

So whilst, I am soaring at 30,000 feet enjoying a glass of Vino or two, I thought I would give you a little insight into the facts and figures of what are going to be the largest World Bowls Championships ever staged.

I am honoured to be one of four Deputy Chief Technical Officials (DCTOs) working alongside Bob Carlson and Sue Hogg from Australia and Michael Johnson from New Zealand.

Our Chief Technical Official (CTO) is John Roberts and the Technical Delegate (TD), Mark Cowan, both from Australia.

There are a total of 50 International Technical Officials (ITOs) from 7 nations appointed to the Championships.

5 superb Gold Coast venues will be in use; Broadbeach Bowling Club, Club Musgrave Hill, Club Helensvale, Mudgeeraba Bowls Club and Paradise Point Bowls Club. Together they will provide 13 championship greens.

There will be 3 sessions of play per day each of 2 hours and 15 minutes duration. 

Medals will be awarded for 11 disciplines including para-disciplines.

Week One runs from Tuesday 29th August through Sunday 3rd September. Semi-finals and Finals will be held on the 2nd and 3rd September at Club Helensvale. The disciplines for the first week will be Womens Singles and Fours, Mens Pairs and Triples, Para Mens and Womens Pairs and Visually Impaired Mixed Pairs.

We have a day off on Monday 4th September - woohoo! time to explore the Hinterland.

Week Two runs from Tuesday 5th September through Sunday 10th September. Semi-finals and Finals will be held on 9th and 10th September at Broadbeach Bowls Club. The disciplines for the second week will be Womens Triples and Pairs and the Mens Fours and Singles.

44 countries and over 550 players, managers and coaches will be represented at the Championships making it one of the largest ever entries.

Live streaming will be available on Bowls Australia's Facebook page

I will try and post updates and experiences along the way so stay tuned. If you have any questions please pop them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them.

Wish us luck, its going to be a busy ride!!

World Bowls Laws Advisory Group decision on Laws 37.1.3 and 37.1.5.3

In August 2022, two new laws 37.1.3 and 37.1.5.3, were introduced to the Laws of the Sport Crystal Mark Fourth Edition. They were designed to penalise a player who deliberately displaced their own team’s bowl on its original course or lifted a bowl at rest to allow one of their own team’s bowls to pass.

Despite a clarification document published on the World Bowls Website in September 2022, it had become very clear from communications that the two laws were causing a great deal of confusion and had resulted in games being forfeited incorrectly following players innocently stopping bowls from entering the ditch.

Furthermore, the management of a side game and the resulting scoring or penalties after a team had been disqualified also caused a great deal of confusion within Member Nations and domestic Controlling Bodies.

Concern was expressed about the severe penalty of forfeiting the game and clarity in the wording of the law itself. Taking the two clauses in isolation had led to much debate about scenarios that are quite adequately covered by other displacement laws.

Suggestions to reduce the severity of the forfeit to penalising with shot deductions were made. This approach would be inconsistent with any other law and was not felt to be a suitable solution. Penalties have always existed for the displacement of a bowl by its own team players but at the time of the 2021 Laws review these penalties were not felt to be severe enough for what is considered an act of “cheating”.

Having considered several options to improve the wording to express the intent of these two laws, the LAG concluded that they have created more issues than they were written to solve.   The LAG recommended to the Board of World Bowls to take the unprecedented step to rescind them with immediate effect.

The numbering of Law 37.1.4 will remain unchanged until the next review of the Laws.

Displacement Law 37.1 still exists which deals with a player moving, stopping or lifting either their own bowls or their opponents. Whilst the penalties are not as severe the opponent still has the option to  declare a bowl that is displaced, dead.

Communication has been sent to all member nations of World Bowls for dissemination to their regions and umpiring bodies. In addition, the statement from World Bowls has been published widely on their website and on social media.

37.1.3 If a bowl in its original course is deliberately displaced or stopped by a member of the team that delivered the bowl, the defaulting team will forfeit the game to their opponent.

37.1.4 Displacement of a bowl in motion.

37.1.4.1 If a bowl in motion is displaced by a player and it has not disturbed the head after it is displaced, the opposing skip or the opponent in Singles must choose whether to:

37.1.4.1.1 place the bowl where the player believes it would have come to rest; or

37.1.4.1.2 declare the end dead.

 37.1.4.2 If a bowl in motion is displaced by a player and it has disturbed the head after it is displaced, the opposing skip or the opponent in Singles must choose whether to:

37.1.4.2.1 place the bowl where the player believes it would have come to rest and replace any part of the head disturbed after the displacement; or

37.1.4.2.2 declare the end dead.

 37.1.5 Displacement of a bowl at rest.

37.1.5.1 If a bowl at rest or a toucher in the ditch is displaced by a player and it has not disturbed the head after it is displaced, the opponent must put the bowl back to its former position.

37.1.5.2 If a bowl at rest or a toucher in the ditch is displaced by a player and it has disturbed the head after it is displaced, the opponent must put the bowl back to its former position and replace any part of the head disturbed after the displacement.

37.1.5.3 If a player lifts a bowl at rest on their rink to allow their team’s bowl in its original course to pass, the defaulting team will forfeit the game to their opponent.

Laws of the Sport of Bowls Crystal Mark Fourth Edition - Summary of Changes.

In 2021, World Bowls started a process to review the Laws of the Sport. Aside from a couple of minor amendments this was the first major review since 2014 during which the Third Edition was born. The new Fourth Edition was approved at a World Bowls Meeting just after the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. In the grand scheme of things there are not that many practical changes that affect the playing of the sport.

The Crystal Mark Fourth Edition is now the current Laws of the Sport for Lawn Bowls and can be downloaded from the World Bowls website along with a summary overview of the changes. Most Members National Authorities (MNAs) will adopt the Fourth Edition from 1st April.

The Laws allow for MNAs to make Domestic Regulations. Most of these have now been approved by World Bowls and will appear in the Law books.

When people think of new laws and regulations, they tend to think the game will change dramatically, but these changes will have minimal impact on the everyday bowling and officiating experience. While there has been almost 70 revisions made, the majority are cosmetic and format changes. Some of the key additions/changes are as follows.

There have been slight adjustments to some of the definitions, in particular the definitions of a Rink and Rink of Play. This change tidies up any confusion on what is included within the boundaries of the rink of play and now includes the end ditches and face of the banks. As a results some further laws have been adjusted to deal with the change of wording.

A new definition has been created from existing wording to define “measuring”

Another relocation of existing wording has created a new Law stating that in all games players must play with the appropriate number of bowls from the same set. Again this is a cosmetic change to define this in the Play Arrangement section rather that later on in the law book where it was harder to find.

A couple of changes have been introduced to allow Controlling Bodies to use their discretion when deciding when trial ends are necessary. In particular, in the event of a game being stopped due to inclement weather and moved from an outdoor green to an indoor green. Similarly, if moving a game from a grass to a synthetic surface or vice versa, trials ends may be permitted.

Throughout the Law book, there are many references to skips and decisions they must make especially when it come to displacement scenarios. It was clear that there were some inconsistencies and no mention of singles players in these situations. So, for clarification, several changes have been made to include singles players.

In the Third Edition a new penalty was introduced to deal with players that delivered their bowls before their opponents bowl had come to rest. In essence it was identical to a breach of Rink Possession. As such this scenario has now been incorporated into the Laws relating to Rink Possession. The penalty remains the same but it has tidied up a duplication in wording.

In respect of players playing their bowls out of turn, the laws have always dealt with the scenario where one bowl has been played out of turn but not two bowls. There is now a new law which states that if each team has played a bowl before it is discovered that one of them has played out of turn the end must continue in that order.

A logical approach has been taken when dealing with leaving the green and stopping a game. In the previous edition stopping the game was followed by leaving the green and substitutions. These two laws have now been switched as game stoppages are more likely to occur after a player leaves the green and a substitution may be necessary.

There has always been quite a discussion about how the score should be worked out when a player is missing from a side game. The assumption is that one quarter of the total score for the whole game is taken, regardless of whether a substitute is introduced. A wording change now clarifies that a fourth of the shots are deducted in each of the ends where a team is playing one player short.

Amongst the list of Marker duties, a new duty to ensure that the mat is on the centre line has been included. Whilst on the subject of Markers and Umpires, the Laws contain a list of equipment that may be used for measuring. As we all know there are many gadgets and items of measuring equipment used all over the World that may not appear on that list. Indeed there are now new technologies that are being used domestically such as lasers. A new Law now allows National bodies to approve types of measuring equipment for carrying out umpiring duties at a domestic level. From a World Bowls perspective the types of equipment generally classed as “First Choice” will be updated shortly.

There are a number of additional items listed in Appendix A which deals with Conditions of Play. Some competition rules can be lacking in detail and Appendix A gives guidance on what can be included in Conditions of Play. Guidance on the method for drawing rink numbers and opponents, dealing with players who leave the green on more than one occasion, arrangements for dealing with the scorecard and guidelines for playing in hot and cold weather conditions have all been added. It will be for governing bodies to introduce these into their competition rules should they be necessary.

And so to the change that is likely to be the most controversial and raise the most questions. There is a very clear intent in this change and whilst some will just enforce the law as written, we encourage all of you to understand the intent and application and the reasons for introducing this change. None of us like a cheat and cheats never prosper. It was with this in mind that a proposal was submitted to deal more robustly with those individuals that feel it necessary to cheat. To set the scene here are some scenarios to consider.

A team is holding 4 shots and the third in the team asks their skip to draw another on the backhand. The bowl is delivered but the third soon realises that it both narrow and heavy and heading straight for the jack. With no back bowls, hitting the jack would be disastrous and so the third steps out in front of the head and stops the skips bowl from disturbing the head. Until now the only resolution for this would be for the opposing skip to declare the bowl dead. Hardly a punishment when that bowl was proving to be too damaging to the head anyway and is probably better off sitting on the bank.

How about the skip that moves one of their own short bowls out of the way to allow their thirds bowl to pass as it was on a good line and length. Again the only punishment was for the opponent to replace the bowl that was moved. So a tougher stance has been taken on these blatant acts of cheating with the introduction of two laws that will deal with the above scenarios. In both the penalty being forfeiture of the game.

There is clearly some clarification needed here as well. Questions are already being raised about the innocence of stopping one of your bowls from going into the ditch when it has missed the head and is a little heavy, everyone does it. Let’s remember that other displacement laws still apply. There should be no reason or scenario where players have to touch, lift, stop or otherwise interfere with bowls from their own team or their opponents during the game. If they avoid this then they avoid any displacement penalty in the Laws.

The Laws Committee have pre-emptied some of these queries and have published clarification on the intent of these new laws. The clarification can be downloaded below:

World Bowls Laws Committee Clarification on Law 37.1

Gold Coast 2018 - The End

Apologies for the delay posting this final blog, I have been in the wilderness with little or no WI-FI.

The last couple of days competition on Thursday and Friday saw more medal matches being played in the Mens Fours, Womens Triples and Mens singles disciplines

History was made yet again as the incredible Alex Marshall became the most decorated Scottish Athlete, in any sport, following a win in the Fours over Australia. A truly incredible achievement as he surpassed Alan Wells previous record. 2018 has been the most successful games for Scotland with a medal tally of 2 Gold, 1 Silver for the Men, a silver and bronze for the ladies making a total of 5 coming second only to the hosts with 7.

In the Women’s Triples, England played in the Bronze medal match and came out on top 20-12 against Canada. The Gold was won by the Australian team defeating Scotland 21-12.

The following day, the last of the Lawn Bowls Competition, in the Womens pairs, Malaysia defeated South Africa by just 1 shot with Scotland taking the Bronze.  

A relaxed introduction before the Men's
Bronze match

The atmosphere for the finals of the mens singles was something I have never experienced before. Australias debutant, Aaron Wilson faced Broadbeach Bulls member and Canadian national, Ryan Bester. I was honoured to mark the Bronze medal match between Darren Burnett of Scotland and Robert Paxton of England. The noise from the packed stands was amazing and created a goose bump atmosphere. Robert was the eventual winner giving England a further medal. Thank you to my Laws Committee colleagues, Trevor Davies and Mark Cowan for their support umpiring the final. I did try to get them on the rink but in the end they were not needed.

At work in the Bronze match

In the close fought final the Australia machine continued to dominate as Aarron Wilson collected another Gold Medal for the host nation.

There has been a lot of discussion at the venue and in the media about the noise and atmosphere. Music was played in the background constantly for the duration of the games which, in my opinion, was a positive addition and didn’t seem to affect any players. This coupled with the volume of the supporting crowd it all helped to produce an incredible atmosphere. Yes there was some sledging and yes some of the shouts were perhaps a little inappropriate but there is a fine balance providing a great atmosphere and the effect of a few beers.

The 2018 Trashers Trophy

Following the last game of the 2018 Lawn Bowls competition it was time for the most important match of the whole event – The Trashers Trophy. This has been competed across the past three Commonwealth Games and World Bowls Championships. A hotly contested fours match between Australia and England Technical Officials. Only few ends but highly competitive with amble quantities of banter. It is a great was or us to bond and relax – and this year we had a new revamped trophy.  Unfortunately, with a little bit of match fixing and alleged bowl tampering, the Aussies came the eventual winners.

Meeting a Koala

On Saturday we had a free day as competition had finished. Dan Bluett and myself visited the excellent Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary where we were able to hold a Koala and stroke a Red Kangaroo. It’s an amazing place doing great work for Australias wildlife. The final evening for all ITO’s was spend at a lovely restaurant in Broadbeach as we enjoyed a meal and drink together as a whole team.

It has been an excellent games with great friendships rekindled and new friendships made with officials from around the world. I personally feel this was the best games for camaraderie in the team. Personally, I am extremely honoured and proud to have represented English Technical Officials at my fifth consecutive games. I am also very proud of my English colleagues, Dan, Ray and Angie who have excelled in their professionalism during these games.

One of the many falls in
Springbrook National Park

The majority of officials have now left the Gold Coast returning to their respective corners of the globe. I am staying on for four more days visiting the amazing Springbrook National Park and the Glass House Mountains before returning to blighty on Thursday.

Gold Coast 2018 has been the friendly, inclusive games that have united the Commonwealth hosted by the most amazing city. I will have memories that will last for ever.

Thanks to all of you that have taken the time to read my waffle and for your kind comments I hope it has given a bit of a closer insight into the Games.  Until next time G’Day!!

An amazing team of ITO's