![\"Lawn](\"https:\/\/www.bhf.org.uk\/-\/media\/new-site-images\/informationsupport\/heart-matters\/heart-matters\/march-2017\/activity\/bowls_stockimage_620x400_exp0320.jpg?h=400&w=620&rev=41a66b3ceadf48dc962d7611a67803fc&hash=B2D4CFB9432B1022614FF7390056ED07\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n1. There\u2019s a club near you [in Seven Kings Park!]<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
First, you need a place to play. Many bowls players are members of clubs, which provide facilities and opponents. There\u2019s usually an annual fee (from \u00a340 to \u00a3150). A lot of clubs offer free beginner sessions so you can try before you join, and then a cheaper fee for your first year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith more than 2,500 clubs across England, there\u2019s bound to be one near to you,\u201d says Tony Allcock, Chief Executive of Bowls England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Visit the Bowls England<\/a> website or call 01926 334609 to find a club in England.<\/li>
- If you\u2019re in Scotland, visit Bowls Scotland<\/a> (01292 294623)<\/li>
- In Wales, visit the Welsh Bowling Association<\/a>.<\/li>
- In Northern Ireland, visit the Northern Ireland Bowling Association<\/a>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
You can also play indoors. Contact your local leisure centre to find out if they have an indoor green. Drop-in games cost around \u00a35.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. The rules are simple<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Next, you need to know the rules. Fortunately, they\u2019re easy to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can play singles, pairs or in teams<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Bowls is played on grass (the green). A game starts by throwing the jack (a small white ball) down the green. Each team has different colour bowls to roll towards the jack. \u201cThe person who gets nearest to the jack gets a point and wins what\u2019s called the \u2018end\u2019,\u201d explains Matt Wordingham from Bowls England. \u201cIt is added up over 18 or 21 ends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After each end, play is reversed and the teams bowl towards the other side of the green. Players can try to knock their opponents\u2019 bowls away from the jack or position a bowl to block opposition shots. You can play singles, pairs or in teams. In singles, scoring is a bit different \u2013 the first player to reach 21 points is the winner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. There are many varieties to try<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.bhf.org.uk\/-\/media\/new-site-images\/informationsupport\/heart-matters\/heart-matters\/march-2017\/activity\/lawn_bowls_260x170_noexp.jpg?rev=331b2265d8c44e57ba49196ff981cc91&hash=38824A7C465F6785CC3FF0F566731A55\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe most common type of bowls is flat green bowls (represented by Bowls England), which is played outdoors on a level grass surface. But that\u2019s not the only way to bowl. There is crown green, federation, indoor and carpet bowls. Crown green bowls is a regional variety, played on a grass surface, but with a hump in the middle of the green. Indoor and carpet are similar to flat green, but played inside. You can learn more about crown green, indoor or carpet bowls clubs at bowlsclub.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. It\u2019s a gentle way to get active<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think you realise how much walking you do until you actually play it,\u201d says Matt. \u201cYou can walk three miles while you\u2019re playing. You\u2019re only doing 30m stints at a time, but you\u2019re doing a lot of them.\u201d On top of the walking, your arms will get a workout as you perfect your bowling technique and your leg muscles will develop as you lunge into the throw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. There\u2019s a social side<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
On top of the walking, your arms will get a workout<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Many bowls clubs put on regular social functions. There are also opportunities to join the club committee or volunteer in the day-to-day running of the club. \u201cThere is a lot of socialising and you don\u2019t have to be competitive to play,\u201d says Matt. \u201cIf you just want to play with your friends on a Wednesday afternoon, there\u2019s nothing stopping you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. It\u2019s perfect for all<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBowls truly is the sport for all, regardless of age, sex or physical ability,\u201d says Tony. The gentle pace and lack of contact means you\u2019ll often find children playing with adults and people of different abilities and fitness levels on the same team. Despite what you might think, it\u2019s not just a sport for retirees. \u201cThe general bowler is over 55,\u201d says Matt. \u201cBut in our international teams, there is barely anyone over 40. We have an under-25 and under-18 international team as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Read Steve\u2019s story<\/a> of playing bowls after heart surgery.<\/li>
- Watch our animation to find out what happens inside your body when you exercise<\/a>.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
6 reasons to play bowls (Courtesy of British Heart Foundation) Bowls is a social sport, suitable for all levels of fitness. Check out our six reasons why you should give bowls a try. 1. There\u2019s a club near you [in Seven Kings Park!] First, you need a place to play. Many bowls players are members of clubs, which provide facilities […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-850","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skbc.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skbc.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skbc.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skbc.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skbc.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=850"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/skbc.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":851,"href":"https:\/\/skbc.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/850\/revisions\/851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skbc.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Watch our animation to find out what happens inside your body when you exercise<\/a>.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
- If you\u2019re in Scotland, visit Bowls Scotland<\/a> (01292 294623)<\/li>