Visitors Welcome!

• Map, and directions to the club
• Quick introduction to the game
• Tour the facility
• Joining the club

Map, and directions to the club

The club is located in the northeast corner of Carnarvon Park, which is situated between Henderson and Eastdowne Roads. Henderson is one block east of Foul Bay Road, and Eastdowne is one block west of Cadboro Bay Road. Fort Street turns into Cadboro Bay Road as it crosses Foul Bay Road. To the north is Lansdowne Road, which of course turns into Hillside Avenue. (Victoria keeps navigators hopping. :-) )

A good overall map of the area can be seen at the BC Transit site. There is a bus stop right at Harlow on Cadboro Bay Road.

Quick introduction to the game

1. Q. What is the object of the game?
   A. To roll four bowls in an attempt to get nearest to a small ball called the jack. It’s a bit more involved than that but also a lot more fun than it sounds.
2. Q How much does it cost?
   A. Very little. See our fee schedule here.
3. Q. Will I be tied down?
   A. No. Teams are randomly drawn from players who show up, which means you may bowl every day if you wish, or irregularly if that suits you better.
4. Q. Can I try it without obligation?
   A. Yes. The best way is to give us a call so we can set up a brief introduction to lawn bowling. We’ll give you a short explanation of the game and get you quickly rolling a few bowls to see if you like it.

Bowls, or lawn bowling, is a game of strategy and skill, played solo or with 2, 3 or 4 players per team:

Games may be any number of ends, but are typically in the range of 10-16. (Or, in the case of singles, games are typically to a specific score - e.g. first to 15 shots or first to 21 shots). Each end starts with a player delivering the jack, a small white ball which is the "target" for the players to bowl to. Teams score according to how many bowls of their team are closer than the closest bowl of the opponents' team.

Bowls are delivered alternately. A "bowl" is a sort of ball with a "running surface" which is biased so that the bowl will always curl towards one side. (Just flip it over to get it to curl the other direction). Thus the player has to judge not just the correct weight to throw but also the correct line - how far to the right or left of the jack to aim in order to have the bowl end up where they want it. The line varies depending on a wide variety of factors, and can in fact vary over the course of a game, especially if the grass dries out or gets wetter. (There is an indoor version of the game which avoids this complication!)

The bowl can be delivered such that it hits other bowls and/or the jack. Many different strategies are thus possible - one can remove an opponents' bowl, "wick in" off of another bowl, move the jack away from opponents' bowls towards yours, and so on. Playing defensively is thus a non-trivial challenge, since a skilled opponent can radically change the game situation with a single shot.

Bowls and curling actually have quite a bit in common - the scoring is the same, the player positions (lead, second, third, skip) are the same (the skip calls the shots and delivers last in both bowls and curling), and many elements of strategy are the same. Some are quite different, however; typically a long bowl is better than a short one, whereas the opposite is true in curling. It is also much more difficult to "promote" bowls than stones, but on the flip side it is much more difficult to "guard" a head, since bowls can curl more than stones typically can. Lastly, there is no sweeping in bowls; once the bowl is out of your hands it's, well, out of your hands.

There is much more to be said about the rules, technique, and strategy. A good introduction to the game can be found at The Online Guide to Traditional Games. And then, of course, one could always come out and get some coaching in person...

Tour the facility

The club has two greens (east and west) and two clubhouses.

Anderson House contains lockers, so that members may leave bowls on-site.

Carnarvon House has kitchen facilities and a meeting/eating area.

Applications for membership may be obtained at the club or by leaving a request (including an address) on the club's answering machine or you can download a copy here.

Please see the fees page for payment information. Members are assigned a locker at the club so that bowls need not be lugged back and forth. Membership also includes casual use of other clubs in B.C., as a result of being a member of Bowls BC.

For persons who have never bowled, the club offers coaching, by coaches qualified by the National Coaching Certification Program, which gives prospective members both a chance to obtain the necessary grounding in the sport and an opportunity to see whether they will enjoy it before they make a commitment to membership.