Commonwealth Games 2026: Lawn Bowls rules explained

The Commonwealth Games 2026 begins today, on July 23 and India is ready to make history with its 125-member contingent at Glasgow, Scotland. With 77 men and 48 women, the country's athletes will compete in 8 able-bodied and 5 para sports.

India's journey at the Games will begin with a sport called Lawn Bowls. The country had earned a gold and silver medal in this discipline in the last Commonwealth Games, four years ago (Birmingham 2022).

What is Lawn Bowls?

Lawn Bowls is not a particularly popular sport in India, however, it is extremely competitive. It is played on a bowling green which is a rectangular grass area which has several vertical segments known as rinks within which the matches take place.

The official page of Olympics states, "The aim of lawn bowls is to roll a bowl - the bigger, curved ball - as closest as possible to the jack - a smaller ball - to earn more points than your opponent."

Equipment required for Lawn Bowls

The three main equipment required to play the sport are:

1. A jack which is the "target for the lawn bowler". Usually white or yellow in colour, it is a spherical ball with a diameter between 63 and 67mm.

2. A bowl, which is bigger and has to be rolled towards the jack by the lawn bowler. According to World Bowl, it has to be "made of either wood, rubber or plastic resin with a diameter of 112mm-134mm and must have indentations designed to help the lawn bowler grip it", notes the Olympics page. Bowls will never roll in a straight line but will always take a curve because they are biased.

3. A mat, which is a "piece of cloth on which the lawn bowler stands and rolls the bowl towards the jack. World Bowls states that the mat must be 600mm long and 360mm wide."

Rules of Lawn Bowls

The rules of Lawn Bowls state that it can be played in singles, pairs, triples or fours. However, when it comes to team events, the first lawn bowler is called the 'lead' while the last to roll is known as the 'skip'.

According to the official Olympic rules, "Points are awarded after all bowls have been rolled by both players (in singles) or both teams. The goal is to either hit the jack or get as close to it as possible. Points are accumulated at the end of each end (round)."

In this edition of the Commonwealth Games, Lawn Bowls has been cut down to only Singles and Pairs events, along with Para Pairs to bring down the cost.

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