Lawn Bowls: The Essentials

Last Updated: Monday, September 13, 2010 | 7:41 PM ET

By Jesse Campigotto, CBC Sports

Canada's Ryan Bester is competing for men's singles gold in Delhi. (Bowls Canada)

It's hardly a major sport, but lawn bowls is a Commonwealth Games staple, appearing at every edition but 1966 in Kingston, Jamaica.

Reminiscent of the Italian game of bocce (or, if you can get around the lack of ice, the Canadian-dominated sport of curling), lawn bowls requires competitors to roll a palm-sized ball (called a "bowl") close to a smaller one (called a "jack"). Once all the bowls are thrown (four each in singles and pairs matches, three in triples), points are awarded for each of the bowls that a competitor has placed closer to the jack than the opponent's nearest effort. So, if a player has three bowls closer to the jack than his opponent's nearest, he scores three points. First to 21 points wins.

Unlike bocce (and curling, of course), lawn bowls is played on a close-cropped, manicured surface of grass — or synthetic material — similar to a golf green. And the bowls are trickier to throw: they're slightly asymmetrical, forcing players to account for the curved path they'll take to the jack. A mark on the bowl indicates which side has the shape bias.

Lawn bowls is one of the few sports that Commonwealth countries dominate worldwide, so the competition in Delhi will be fierce. New Zealand has won the most world championships, followed by Australia, England, Ireland (a non-Commonwealth country), Scotland and South Africa.

Canada's Ryan Bester and Keith Roney won their country's lone world title in 2004 in men's pairs. Bester will play singles in Delhi while Roney is now teamed with Michel Larue.

Delhi will host three events in lawn bowls: singles, pairs and triples. Athletes can compete in only one event each.

Competitors to watch

Hirendra Bhartu (Canada): The 52-year-old from Nanaimo, B.C., is Canada's highest-ranked singles player (No. 6 in the world), but Bhartu won't be going it alone in Delhi. He'll team up to play triples with a couple of 50-something Torontonians in Fred Wallbank, a four-time Canadian champion in fours, and national-team veteran Steve McKerihen.

Josephine Lee (Canada): The 61-year-old singles player from Burnaby, B.C., is the oldest member of Canada's Commonwealth team. Lee showed she's not slipping by winning the 2009 national title.

When to watch (gold and bronze medal matches)

Day 7 (Oct. 10)

• Men's and women's triples.

Day 8 (Oct. 11)

• Men's and women's pairs.

Day 10 (Oct. 13)

• Men's and women's singles.