Bowls England governs the game of flat green outdoor
bowls
Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...
for men and women in England. The organisation is responsible for the promotion and development of lawn bowls in England, and is affiliated with the world governing body
World Bowls
World Bowls is an international sport federation of Bowls. World Bowls administers bowls around the world and is responsible for the sports premier event, the World Bowls Championship which is held every four years.
The organisation was founde ...
.
History
Bowls in England had been played for centuries, with the first documented evidence of a green having been in existence in Southampton during 1550, although the 'old green' is believed to have existed long before this.
Despite such a long history, England failed to organise a national body before their
Scottish counterparts and the first English reginal body was the 1882 Northumberland and Durham BA.
[
The Imperial Bowling Association was created in 1899, although this was also designed to assist the organisation of bowls in other countries and did not have permission to use the Scottish Association's rules. The legendary cricketer ]W.G. Grace
William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English cricketer who is widely considered one of the sport's all-time greatest players. Always known by his initials as "WG", his first-class career spanned a record-equalling 4 ...
finally pulled the various county associations together on 8 June 1903 to form the English Bowling Association and Grace was elected its first president and the Scottish rules were adopted.
The English national bowls championships
The English Bowls Association was the governing body of bowls in England until 2007. From 2008 onwards, Bowls England was formed, which now runs the sport. The national finals for bowls are held annually, where either 1, 2 or 3 representati ...
were inaugurated in 1905 and on 7 October 1931, the English Women's Bowling Association was formed at the York Hotel.Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply LeamingtonEven more colloquially, also referred to as Lem or Leam (). (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Pri ...
, having moved from Worthing in 2013. The move was partly due to the fact that both the men's and women's national championships are held at Victoria Park, just five minutes walk away.
There are thirty-five affiliated county bowling associations, to which a total of 2,700 clubs are in membership nationwide. Approximately 100,000 players come under the jurisdiction of this association.
Bowls players
See also
English national bowls championships
The English Bowls Association was the governing body of bowls in England until 2007. From 2008 onwards, Bowls England was formed, which now runs the sport. The national finals for bowls are held annually, where either 1, 2 or 3 representati ...
References
Bibliography
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{{Sports governing bodies in the United Kingdom
Bowls governing bodies
Bowls in England
Organisations based in Warwickshire
Leamington Spa
Sports governing bodies in England
Sport in Warwickshire
2008 establishments in England
Sports organizations established in 2008
Bowling organizations