2013 summary

Well, that's 2013 over. A year in which I started as an over confident novice... and ended with  an appreciation of just how much I've still got to learn.

Set myself two goals for the year... to make a competition final and to play for the men's triples B team. Managed to achieve the first and had a wonderful finals day, ending runners up in the men's doubles with Geoff. Should have also made the team, but a diary cock up meant I missed my opportunity when selected.

The finally tally of all competitive matches played during the year was...

	Won	Drawn	Lost
Outdoor	5	0	9
Indoor	1	1	4

Below you can read a blow by blow account of 2013. The latest posts are at the top, so go to the oldest and read up from there if you want to experience the highs and lows, cock ups and rays of hope, desperate new tweaks employed and embarrassments in chronological order.

It was the end of July, when the outdoor season was two thirds over, before I realised just how much improvement I needed to make and started practising seriously. So with a full 2014 season in the offing I've got great hopes for the coming year. As soon as the green is open in April I'll be down there giving it my all.

Objectives for 2014? Simply to book a regular place in the men's outdoor triples B team and to win a club competition. Oh, and I suppose to win more matches than I lose. In detail, I need to consistently get half my bowls close to the jack to really make an impact on those club trophies.

Here's a summary of my outdoor practice statistics for 2013...

High tech aid

Tonight we drew with the second team in the league, Huntingdon Red. Was actually a moral victory since we started with just three players and six bowls to their four players and eight bowls. By the time Tony, our reserve and one of the club's best players, arrived we were 0-5 down after four ends. Pretty soon we were ahead and could have slaughtered them, but their skip kept banging in a saving bowl when we were looking like three or four bowls up. 

My start wasn't too great... in one of the more humiliating ends I put both bowls in the gully. Having real difficulty finding the length, not helped by a habit of pulling my arm across and delivering the bowl far too narrow. The skip pointed this out and, realising where I was going wrong, I managed to make a big improvement all round. In fact I was bowling up to the jack better than ever.

After the match our skip, who's also the club coach, suggested the bit of high tech kit shown above to correct my follow through, picking the card up with my middle finger in the process to keep a straight arm. Now doing it several times a day. Hope the neighbours don't spot me doing it, otherwise it'll confer their worst fears.

Sweet taste of success

There's nothing like a win to make things look rosy, and my first appearance for a winning indoor bowls team on the fourth attempt certainly felt good. We beat Sawtry, and for once I made a contribution rather than being an outright liability. Here's some evidence... the first ever end where I managed to get both my bowls close to the jack.

Another result was at the end of the evening I managed to avoid the storage cupboard and exit by the right door. Only thing I was kicking myself about was not spending time watching Geoff Barlow playing doubles on an adjacent rink before heading home. The lure of picking up spicy potatoes turned my head. Geoff is by far the best outdoor bowler at St Ives. Managed to get a peep at one of his ends towards the end of our match... awesome!

Here are the league table before tonight's games.

Team Two Blues

Arrived at the indoor bowls club this evening really up for the match against our number two side. Surely this was one we'd win.

Not so. It was nip and tuck at the beginning, until we annoyed them by going ahead with three bowls in one end. They got six at the next and were out of sight after that. Final score 12-16 to them.

Only positive point was, having played two consecutive weeks, my line was much better. Still struggling with the length. Also struggling to get out of the place at the end... for the second week on the trot I had to be rescued from trying to exit through the storage cupboard. Embarrassing!

Lots of good banter, and great to see bowls club friends for the first time in weeks. Here's the league positions before tonight's game.

Boring, boring, boring!

My third indoor bowls match this evening, and at least I'm getting some shots on target. Even flagged up a single score during the match against The White Hart of Warboys, the top team. In fact we were holding our own a few ends into the match before we annoyed them by scoring two in one end. Wasn't much of a competition after that, the end result being 17-3 to them after 16 ends.

I commented to one of our team, the White Hart players yet again delivering their bowls within inches of the jack, how boring it must be to be that good. And that's the problem with indoor bowls... it's just too clinical.

For outdoor bowls each shot has to take into account four main factors... line (i.e. aim), length (i.e. strength of shot), lie of the green (i.e. reading the bumps and hollows) and conditions (i.e. how has last night's rain affected the green). Whilst the first two are constants and are individual to your own set of bowls, the last two vary with each end and sometimes with each shot.

To some extent lie and conditions operate as a levelling medium. A good player will certainly read the green better and be more consistent. But there's always the odd shot you play which, in spite of initially looking like it's a no hoper, suddenly gains the help of a dip and ends up making you look brilliant. A lot of my game  depends on that. The element of the unexpected is completely absent for indoor bowls. Every shot is just line and length. There's no good fortune involved. 

There's also a mind battle going on. I now know my bowls are so heavily weighted I have to aim into the far half of the adjoining rink. But my subconscious says that's just silly and all too many bowls are delivered narrow. In spite of having a bit more of a clue, I'm not sure I'm all that keen on the indoor game.

Here's the league positions at 10 November, with both St Ives teams struggling. Our team (St Ives 1) are playing St Ives 2 next Wednesday. Should be fun!

Nightmare

Turned up for an important team bowls match. Came my turn to bowl at a crucial point in the game... and found I'd left my bowls at home and the whole thing had to be abandoned!

Sure the dream I had a few days before tonight's bowls match reflects how hard I'm finding adjusting to the indoor variety. This was only the second I'd played, one intervening game being cancelled because our opponents had their AGM that night.

Not sure what I was worrying about after launching my first of two bowls on the starter end. Managed to nestle mine between two opposing bowls right up against the jack. Perfect shot. My second wasn't quite so accurate, but my first left us one up!

All went downhill from then on. We lost quite handsomely and my bowls were all over the place, as represented by the image above. Seeking something positive from the night, think I was slightly more accurate than the first game.

The principle seems to be to always aim for the same spot, about half way across the adjoining rink. You then adjust the strength of your shot for the distance. Seems simple when you say it like that. Anything but!

Here's the league table before tonight's matches... I'm playing for St Ives 1.

Reality check

Here are both St Ives indoor teams playing on adjacent rinks, my team on the left. Was the first time I'd ever rolled an indoor bowl, and had to be against the White Hart team from Warboys, sporting an England national singles winner, another England international, and two county players. On the positive side we were never expected to win, but still... my abject performance was somewhat of an embarrassment.

With no chance to have a practise beforehand I relied on watching a video of a 2013 singles final, carefully noting how little effort it took to get the bowl to the other end of the rink. But nothing could have prepared me for the amount of swing. At times it was more like crown green bowls, with the woods from adjoining rinks crossing over into each other's area. Didn't realise you had to avoid bowling at the same time as adjoining rinks, so I had to replay the shot when one of my first hit another team's bowl.

Of my twenty bowls just two were within a metre of the jack. If I got the line right the length was either too long or short. If I got the length right, I either bowled too wide or narrow. Although I clocked quite early on just how wide you needed to aim, my subconscious kept telling me that couldn't be right, the result being too many narrow shots. And it was really difficult to apply the amount of finesse required to get the right length.

Was only in the last end I started to get a faint clue what I was doing. With another fortnight before I play again, I'm praying for a miracle that'll bestow sudden and real skill at indoor bowls. Fat chance! But at just £2.50 for two hours bowling, with no up front fee and all over by 8.30pm, it's a real bargain.

Here's the league table before tonight's matches, my team being St Ives 1. Doesn't take into account the sound thrashing both St Ives teams got tonight.

Where's the beef?

Unfortunately not in my slower cooker, but at least I did come third on a sunny 'Bowl for Beef' day of real fun.

Think the event was called a drive, the aim being for everyone to play triples or doubles (depending on total number of players) in short matches that gave everyone a chance to switch teams and tally their individual score. Each match was of six ends and the player with the highest score won the beef.

Seems the rules were changed slightly this time and the player with the nearest bowl got 3 points, second bowl 2 points and third bowl 1 point. Each person played just two bowls, so the maximum score anyone could get in one end was 5 points. To discourage drive shots, any player pushing the jack into the ditch or off rink lost four points.

After some confusion and several clarifications of rules, it all went swimmingly well and had a perfect mix of competition and amusement. The winner by a mile was Geoff with an amazing 42 points. Second place had 30 points. My total was 29 points, broken down as...

Match 1 :   6 points

Match 2 :   7 points

Match 3 : 16 points

Afterwards the AGM was held and the green then closed for the year. Sad day... a whole seven months before I can play outdoor bowls again! By then, will I remember any of what I've learned in the past four months?

It's now on to indoor bowls, first match next Wednesday!

Terminal velocity

Popped down for the final solo practise of the year late this afternoon. Had the green all to myself. Tomorrow it's the Bowl for Beef drive followed by the club's AGM and closing of the green.

Would have been nice if I'd finished the outdoor season with a bang, but the solo performance was pretty mediocre. Only just managed to bowl more woods near the jack than I bowled short. Noticed for six of the last seven solo sessions the number of short bowls seems to be stuck in the 18 to 20 range. That's one bowl every end. It's length I really need to improve next year... make that wasted bowl count.

Rather poignant as I packed my bowls away. Wandered around the green reading the bench memorial plaques to members long since departed who enjoyed their days at this club. I've only been a member for four months but already I feel a strong affinity to a special place that's so calming, sociable and fun. This is where my memorial bench will sit.

Here's the last set of performance charts for the 2013 outdoor season...

2014 target is to increase number of ends with two bowls close

Got to increase that green bar next year

What's certain is I'm most consistent with medium ends

The standard is set

Couldn't have asked for better weather at the start of the Sunday morning three way singles match against my brothers. And my Friday evening fears were confirmed when Robert beat both Andrew and me and was awarded the trophy at a small but respectful ceremony over Sunday lunch at The Wheel Inn.

Kicking myself when a disastrous start against Robert left me 0-8 down after just 4 ends. Looked like it was game over, but a bowl that clipped the jack from behind Robert's two bowls left me two up in the 5th end and I gradually narrowed the gap. In fact in the last eight ends it was 9-2 to me, and a drive with my last bowl when I was two down almost turned things around. Unfortunately the single I scored still left me one down for the match.

The next match saw Andrew and Robert in a real nip and tuck game right up to the 9th end. But Robert kept the pressure on in the last three ends to win 11-7.

My final match for the runner up slot with Andrew again taught me the importance of getting at least one bowl near the jack. Had a comfortable lead by the eight end, but then I disastrously gave away four in the ninth and eleventh ends to grab defeat from the jaws of victory with an 8-13 loss.

The major lesson for me was just what great bowls my brothers play... and just how high a standard I've got to live up to.

Here are the score cards...

An education

Friday evening, weather cool with slight wind. No precipitation. Orange socks and club jacket donned for the first outing at Scone Bowls Club with my brothers. Got to put in a good performance!

Extra important to do so since they'd pulled in John Anton to make up a foursome. John Anton... Scone Bowls Club singles champion, Perthshire County singles champion for the last two years and the man who the following day was to knock the Scottish singles champion out of the Grandmasters at Broughty Ferry. And I was to play up against John!

After a promising start Andrew and me sank like a stone, losing the match 10-24. No doubt I wasn't the best of partners as I battled to get used to the superb green. And of course John Anton was a dream partner for Robert... no fireworks, just consistent bowling near the jack. Even if I bettered him on the odd end, it was only ever going to be by one, or at most two, bowls. But the odds were always on him picking up at least two. He gave me two bits of advice during play. Knew both of them already, but coming from John they meant so much more. They were...

1. Keep your follow through straight

2. Aim for a mark part way up the green

What I did notice was just how well Robert was bowling. Hadn't played for weeks, but his line was high class. So no surprise when, as the light fell and we played a last end nearest the jack for 50p each, he took the £2 pot. Think I'm up against it for Sunday's three way singles battle with my brothers!

Here's a snap of the superb green at Scone Bowls Club...

I've seen the light!

And what a pity I didn't see it before Sunday's final!

Managed to amble down to the bowls club this afternoon for some solo practise before the coming weekend's important matches against my brothers up in Scone. And things were definitely not going too well, with more bowls landing short than near the jack right up to the eighth end.

Been really struggling to get my bowls on the right line and for some time I'd been wasting at least one, if not two, out of each four bowls to wide or narrow lines. Remembered the advice of ending the follow through with my hand towards the aiming point, but no matter how I tried it didn't seem to make any difference. Even tried looking down at the bowl as I launched it, and not at the aiming point. Didn't help either.

Then it happened. Started to think about my backswing. In fact, I began to realise at times I had no backswing at all, resulting in my length being all over the place. And when I did have a backswing I hardly gave it any thought at all. Surely if the backswing wasn't accurate the follow through wouldn't be either. Started to focus on a backswing moving to a follow through along the right line. What a difference!

Here are the figures for before and after the change...







The result from end nine on is almost two bowls each end near the jack and less than one short bowl every other end. I've never got anywhere near those kind of results! You can see the sudden change in the scorecard.

Pity about the final. Playing like that I reckon we'd have won. At least I'm now more than ready for the matches against my brothers. It's such an important event for me I'm hauling all my bowls kit the 400+ miles up north.

And just to raise the stakes a little, to make up a foursome they've pulled in the Scone Bowls Club Champion, who just happens to also be the Perthshire County Champion for the last two years. No pressure then!

Beaten by a whisker

Here's the magnificent display of trophies and awards just before the bowls club presentation ceremony late this afternoon, on completion of all the finals matches. Was fascinating to take a look at the trophies afterwards. Some of them are over 100 years old and have all the winners' names displayed.

Was a wonderful day. Although the weather was a bit windy, grey and damp, it wasn't nearly as bad as was forecast. Lots of spectators, much applause in appreciation of good shots and, although there's still a couple of weeks to go before the end of the outdoor bowls year, with the AGM and a fun club competition beforehand at the end of September, a lovely end to the outdoor competition season.

So how did Geoff and me do? As the scorecard shows, we narrowly lost in the last end (of 18 ends) 14-16. Although I was again nervous, we both got off to a really good start and after five ends were 5-1 up. I tailed off in the middle of the match, but with Geoff maintaining consistency they only managed to bring things level by the eleventh end. The deciding end was fourteen. We were lying one shot up when my opponent knocked the jack through to the back of the green with his last bowl to leave them lying three up. Although my last appeared bang on target, it just knocked another of their bowls in for four to them.

Even then, five down with only three ends to play, we pulled it back to go into the last end only one down. Geoff left his bowl right up against the jack, but his opponent managed to squeeze two bowls in between. When my opponent put another bowl close in to leave us three down it really did look like curtains. With my last but one bowl bang on target I managed to break up their group, but still left them one up for the end. Although my last bowl was close, it wasn't close enough and we lost the end by one.

Was such an honour and a buzz to be in the final and to play as well as I've ever played. Geoff and me have agreed we'll enter as a pair again next year.

At least that leaves me with clear objectives for next year... to win a final and be a natural choice for the men's B team.

Pointless practise

Managing to sneak in a bit of practise this evening before tomorrow's big final, took it as a good omen that the sky filled with gold as the sun set over the clubhouse. Was it a sign of gold tomorrow?

Wish I'd never bothered with the solo session. Was pointless in more ways than one. Wasn't able to get much practise on rink 1 (our rink for the final) since someone was already on there. And for the first time in six weeks I got a minus score, that is I bowled more short bowls than I got near to the jack (for the rules on solo practise click here). Too embarrassed to post up the scorecard, but if you really want to see the whole sorry saga in detail click here.

What went haywire was not the number of short bowls. They were about the same as the previous four practise sessions. It was the low number of bowls within one metre of the jack that really let me down. A paltry 18 out of 72 bowls. I've only ever got less than that once before, way back in July. Just couldn't get the line right. Seemed to have forgotten to pick an aiming point on the far side of the rink. What was even worse was the low number of ends where I got two or more bowls near the jack. Just three ends... a third of what I got in the last practise session and a sign of real danger.

At least I did twig the problem towards the end, as well as seeing the benefit of a much smoother delivery. And when, as dusk set and I managed to get a quick four extra ends on rink 1, was getting a much better line. So I'm desperately digging two positive things from the session...

1. If I was due a bad bowls session, at least I've got it over before the final, and
2. I've remembered the importance of fixing an aiming point at the far end of the rink and delivering the bowl smoothly.

Puzzle is, how on earth could I forget such a basic thing as how to fix the right line? For a game that seems really simple, it's amazingly complex to become good at bowls!

Need all the help I can get tomorrow, so the Orange Socks of Success will be putting in an appearance for tomorrow's final... though the temperature forecast is so low for tomorrow afternoon, might have to wear them on top of my thick woolly socks. Hopefully they won't be the only gold I'll be seeing tomorrow.

Ready... Steady...

About as ready as I'll ever be for mine and Geoff's club pairs final tomorrow. Had a good roll up session on Tuesday, a reasonable one this afternoon. Today played on rink 1, the very one we'll be using in the final. Would be good if I could slip down tomorrow evening and have a solo practice on that rink, but we're off to Cambridge for the day so not sure if there'll be time.

The main issue for me is controlling my nerves. Never normally have that problem, but it's such a big event coming so soon after having started playing, and the slightest wobble in delivery of the bowl will make me look a right chump. Took a good few ends in the semi final for me to settle down. May take until next Wednesday before the nerves subside in the final!

All of the club's finals are played tomorrow, so some poor souls are on the green battling away from 9.30am. We're on last at 3.30pm, though I'll be up early making ham sandwiches to deliver to the club before the first matches... food and drink is provided throughout the day. One of our opponents, the one I'll be pairing up against, is in an earlier final. Maybe he'll be getting a little weary by the time of our match.

The weather looks a bit desperate for tomorrow, with the rain and strong wind being at their height just when we're playing. Looks like it's going to be decidedly on the cold side as well, not getting much above 14°c.

Must remember to wear light coloured smalls. All players in the finals have to wear white tops and trousers. With the threat of rain and resultant wet clothes, if I wear the usual black shorts I may get applause for all the wrong reasons.

Another plateau reached?

Mentioned last week following the last solo practise that after three sessions with no further improvement, maybe I'd reached a plateau. Well, with a big improvement this evening I'm hoping I've stepped up to another level.

For the first time I managed to get more than half the ends with two or more bowls within one metre of the jack. That kind of result would make it very difficult for an opponent... it's much more likely at least one of my woods would be the nearest, maybe two or even three. And that's not to say all the other ends where I only got one wood within a metre wouldn't be a winning end for me. In fact there were only two out of eighteen ends where I failed to get at least one wood within one metre.

Hopefully the latest improvement is timely, with mine and Geoff's club pairs final next Sunday. I'm hoping my performance will be even more effective, given I'll be bowling second so the woods going past the jack this evening would be rolling up against others in the final.

And then there's another a big match the week after against my two brothers on their home turf at Scone Bowls Club. Just got to have a result for that!

Here are a few updated graphs of solo results...

Look at the jump in ends with 2 or more bowls near the jack!

Thus an increase in bowls near the jack.

Medium & long ends are consistently my best.

Objective achieved

Well, sort of. I've made the club team in my first season. The indoor team. But it's a bit of a soft target, since we've entered two teams of seven players in the indoor league and players will be rotated through the fixtures to all get an even chance of playing. No doubt if I started bowling every wood with the wrong bias I'd get dropped, but otherwise it's a much more relaxed affair than the summer leagues.

Apparently it's a totally different game from outdoor bowls, the major difference being there's much less effort needed to roll your wood to the jack. Not really worried about that... just want the opportunity to keep learning.

My first game is against the White Hart. They're the top team in the area for both indoor and outdoor bowls and have several England internationals on their team. Flippin' 'eck, I've only been playing for three months and I'll be up against an England player? Gulp!

The ties that look most fun are against St Ives B. I miss the first tie against them, but am playing in the tie on 27 November.

We're in the final!!!!!!

Can hardly believe it... Geoff and me won our club pairs semi final this afternoon and we're in the final! And after a shaky start on my part we won by some margin.

Where on earth did those butterflies come from about an hour before the start time? And my nervousness continued into the first ends. It's down to the magnificent lead bowling by Geoff that our opponents were only four up after the first three ends.

Gradually I got into the swing and started to contribute, although the rink we were playing on seemed very unforgiving. For me the most exciting end was the thirteenth. Having rolled my first wood right up against the jack, my opponent somehow managed to squeeze her first in between mine and the jack. My second wood returned the favour and nudged her just enough to go one up again. Blow me if she didn't manage to nudge me out again with her next bowl! 

Things were more than a little congested around the jack and with little opportunity to make any more of the head my third bowl was played more firmly... to push the jack through the head and leave us lying three up! The match was the highest score after eighteen ends, and I think our worthy opponents knew the game was up when we went 15-7 up after that end.

I understand we're up against it in the final. Their number 1 is the best lead bowler in the club, and the number 2 thrashed me in the Mixed Singles. But that was a long time ago in my bowls development. I know he doesn't like a long end. And thinking positively, we've won all our matches by a good margin.  We managed a quarter final result of 17-7 against a really good pair of club players, and the round before that 24-11.

But just to be playing on Sunday 15 September, when all the club finals are played, is such an honour. It's the height of the club's season and the place will be heaving with members watching. If I was nervous for the semi final, what on earth am I going to be like on finals' day? Way back in May, when I put my name down for every competition going, I didn't even think to put finals' day in the diary. Me? Make a final? Don't be silly!

Better check on the state of those off-white trousers I've got. Players on finals' day have to wear white. Probably the whitest thing around on the day will be my petrified fizzog!

Last grasp

Another blissfully tranquil solo practise this evening; not a soul about and all peace and quiet. The result was much the same as the last two solo efforts. Having made a marked progress after the first two, I suspect I'm at a plateau for a while. Or maybe back to square one after the looming winter break. The main difference today was that long ends were significantly better than medium or short ends. If I could develop a preference for long ends that would certainly give me an edge, since most bowlers seem to prefer anything but a long end.

The other thing I noticed was my inadequate grip of the bowl. With size 5 heavy bowls it's easy to lose control. The results are obvious from the 5th end onwards, when I started to cup the bowl in my hand much more securely. That's about the final adjustment I dare make to my style before mine and Geoff's club pairs semi final tomorrow afternoon!

It was after 8.00pm when I played the last two ends, so no wonder they were a bit disappointing. Could hardly see the jack in the gloom!

Adjusted objectives

Well, that's it. Didn't make the team for the last league match. Didn't make the team for ANY league match. My own fault. Due to a diary dilemma I was on holiday when actually selected for the mens over 60's triples team. Didn't realise there was a list where you could flag up weeks you weren't available.

Then, having spotted said list, I flagged myself as unavailable in the wrong week. Result was they were calling me to play when I wasn't around, the following week discounting me 'cause I was showing as on holiday. Added to that the fact I put my home landline as the contact number when we never answer that and the whole thing mounts up to a general cock up of tremendous proportions on my part.

Resigned myself to an adjusted target of making any club league team this year, thus now including the indoor league team. But there's some uncertainty about that. Having been the first to stick my name up for that over a month ago, there's no news despite the first indoor match starting in about three week's time.

Not all gloom and doom though. Geoff has fixed up our club pairs semi final match for next Monday afternoon. Our opponents are Sue and Carol, two really good players from the women's team. Will need to be on better form than I was at this afternoon's roll up session. Bowls were generally in the right direction, a few odd wide bowls. But not enough of those really special shots. Maybe I'm saving them for Monday's match and final's day. Would be so special to get my name up on the club winners board in my first season!

Battling the worms

I can see why the season for outdoor bowls finishes by the end of September. Down the bowls club for a solo practise this evening, it was pretty obvious no-one had played all day... the grass was covered with worm casts. Very peaceful and relaxing, having the whole green to myself, though the bowls did take an occasional bumpy path.

Got quite excited with the progress up to 14th end, when I had a string of ends with far more woods within one metre of the jack than I had short, and was 10 bowls up and looking like a record result. But trailed off towards the end as I scored more short bowls than near.

Ended up with a score pretty close to the last solo practise, the only noticeable difference being a much stronger performance on long ends. Suspect that, having markedly reduced the number of short bowls I play, progress is going to be slow but sure from here on in.

Things are going terminal

Arriving for the Friday roll up, spotted what I reckon is the terminal opportunity for me to play for the club's men's league B team in their last match of the season. Note the word 'terminal'. Already preparing for failure, consoling myself with the backup of achieving my 2013 aim if I make the indoor league team before the end of the year. If I do fail to make the outdoor team it's only through various cock ups on my part.

In my heart of hearts it's the outdoor team I'm really after, and ultimately not just the B team. But anything more will probably have to wait until 2015. Next year's target is to be an automatic selection for the B team.

Does the entry against my name look a bit desperate, with not just a tick but the mobile contact number as well? Hoping to hang around next Wednesday evening when the team is picked to make sure I maximise my chances of selection, dependant on one of the selected players being unavailable.

Of course nothing is ever simple... I've also got the last planning meeting for the St Ives Flower & Produce Show the same evening, the Show being on the following Saturday. Hopefully I can get agreement to start that meeting early and get down the bowls club for about 20:00.

Heard a scrap of interesting information. Apparently there's a group of bowlers who turn up some time each Thursday, chipping in 50p each and playing for the pot. Must find out more.

I can do desperate

Spotted the bowls league tables in the paper this evening. Looks like St Ives B are certain to win Division 4, though apparently the jump up to Division 3 is sometimes a step too far and they get demoted the following season. St Ives A are off the bottom of Division 1, only by virtue of playing more matches.

Something Geoff said when we were arranging possible dates for our club pairs semi final tie put me in panic mode... the last league match for the A team is next Thursday. What??? How many matches does the B team have left? And what does that do to my increasingly shrinking ambition of playing for them at least once this season.

Counting the number of other teams in Division 4 (11), and assuming these tables don't include tonight's match, THERE"S ONLY ONE MORE LEAGUE MATCH TO GO!!!!

Think I've finally sussed out how the team is selected. Having indicated availability by a Tuesday evening, the captain selects the team about 20:30 Wednesday evening down the bowls club and uses the bowls club telephone to call in reserves. Hence the call I missed last night which didn't give it's number.

So to improve my chances of being selected next week, I'm going down the bowls club about 19:30 Wednesday to hang around with an available look on my face. More a look of desperation, says the wife. I can do desperate as well if it gets me a place in the last league match. In fact I can do Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear or anything else needed to get that precious, precious place on the team. Could even do tears.

Hells bells!

The telephone rang about 20:30 this evening. After a few rings it stopped. Dialling 1471, was told the caller did not leave their number. They'll try me again about 21:00, though I.

Bang on 21:00 the 'phone rang again. Up like a shot to answer, it was a wrong number. And when I used 1471 I was given the caller's mobile number. Obviously not the same as the earlier caller.

No other call all evening. Bet that first call was from the club team captain asking if I could play in the league match against Eynesbury tomorrow evening. Blast! Blast! Blast! WZZFDD&**DMKDSLJHS:AHUUAIUH:FPUI£Y:H*:CBJ?ABJC?ABC!

The art of curves

Ambled away from the bowling club having learned yet  another invaluable lesson about this game, based on the art of curves. And yet again I'm fascinated by the complexities of what I originally thought was such a simple and easy way to pass the time.

Started off the two hour roll up  session on a positive note, judging the length much better courtesy of an improved grip afforded by the Grippo cream applied on Sunday. So whenever I bowled the right line, my bowls were nudging up to the jack quite nicely. Only problem was the line wasn't right often enough, and when off it was anyone's guess where the bowl would end up. Been an ongoing problem of mine, consistency of line and the tendency to bowl at least one wood each end far too wide of the jack.

About two thirds through the session I was looking for an aiming point when I noticed one of the skips at the far end was standing in just the right position. Aiming for their feet, I delivered not only that bowl, but the next two as well (we were playing triples) right up against the jack. Bingo! And from that point on even my widest deliveries were rolling up near the jack.

Up to now I've fixed my aiming point ten metres or so in front of the mat. The bowling book borrowed from the library suggested this as well as an alternative of fixing a point at the far end of the rink. Whilst struggling with stance, fingers, grip, length and anything else you care to think of, I've never had the confidence to have an aiming point so far away. 

I've now realised the problems associated with using an aiming point so near the mat. As the mat is moved well forward or back, that aiming point becomes more or less accurate. More importantly, if I'm slightly out that error is magnified when the bowl gets to the far end. I'm pretty sure that's the explanation for my all too often wide of the mark bowls. By selecting an aiming point at the far end of the rink those problems are minimised.

Think I'm ready for the change. Now happy with stance, grip etc. Even very happy with the no. 5 heavy bowls I bought second hand more than ten years ago when I didn't have a clue what I was buying. Just can't wait to get back on the green to see if the new aiming method gives me a more consistent line.

Show me the numbers

Anyone who knows me from my working life will know I'm obsessed with numbers. Ask me to work out when a million calls will be delivered to a call centre, how many people that'll need to reach service levels, and when those people should be employed and I'm happy as a pig in muck. So no surprise I've got some numbers relating to my bowling.

Seems pretty important to me to have some numbers. How else can I tell if I'm improving, and more importantly where I need to focus attention? With competition matches and roll up sessions it's hardly de rigueur to jot down a few numbers during play, and each competition has different rules. In club league games you only get a couple of bowls, and with so many other bowls being delivered mine are unlikely to stay where they originally rested.

So the figures I get from solo practise seem invaluable. With no outside influences and consistency of measurement, the four  sessions I've had so far tell me the following...

The above pie charts show I've made an improvement in the bowls I get within one metre of the jack (green segments). Having averaged about 1 in 4, at the last practise session this was over 1 in 3.

More importantly, I've dramatically reduced the number of short bowls (red segments). At worst I was delivering over half my bowls short. It's now getting down to 1 in 4. Still way too high though, at an average of one every end.

The words of my brother ring in my ear... 'always get at least one bowl near the jack'. To make sure, I'm measuring what percentage of the eighteen ends have two or more bowls within one metre of the jack. From the above chart you can see I've more than doubled this, but it's still way off where I need to be. In effect, more than half of the ends I play will give my opponent a chance to score three or four. Not good!

Finally, which is my most productive end length? When I started bowling I thought a long end was my best option. This was certainly disproved when I started measuring it, with fifteen more bowls being short than near the jack. Things have levelled out a bit since, but it's certain a medium length end is my best bet.

I'm going to end there 'cause I've got a headache!

Sticky fingers

The practise session this evening was wonderfully peaceful. Not another soul about, so I had the whole green to myself. Invested £4 in some Grippo cream before the practise session. Applied more to my hands than the bowls, but did it make any difference?

Managed my best ever score of +6. That means six more bowls delivered close to the jack than bowls left short of the jack. See 'solo practise - baselining progress' for a better explanation with diagram. 

Although I actually bowled one less wood close to the jack than the last practise session, it was the reduction in short bowls that gave me my best overall score to date. My worst short bowls score was only two practise sessions ago, when I had thirty-seven bowls short, more than half the bowls delivered. Today that was dramatically reduced to nineteen. Still not good since it averages one every end, but definitely heading in the right direction.

So the conclusion is the Grippo cream definitely helps me to reduce short bowls and will now be a permanent fixture in my already bulging bowls bag. Wonder if I can save myself future £4s by using cheap moisturising cream?