In which I join the world of elite athletes

“Why don’t you come and join us for a game of indoor carpet bowls? You might like it.” Thus spake Margaret at the end of the exercise class for the out of condition and woefully slothful.  

So, I rolled up to the local Lawn Bowls Club House one Thursday afternoon, with the idea of watching and seeing if these folks were up to my demanding standards. Imagine my surprise when I was thrust into a team, a bowl was put into my hand and I was given the complex instructions “Try to get this down to the end, near the little white ball, without it going off the carpet.” Easy, eh?

This is definitely a game for the prideful, who’ll soon be brought down to earth with a thud. Luckily, my team members and the others were all good sports,  quick to forgive blunders or cheer a fluky good shot. And so it came to pass, I was hooked on the game.

We are not a youthful group. Some of the people need a quad walking stick, one has an oxygen tank as a constant companion, another has to be reminded why we’re here, and which colour ball to use. But, my word, can they make that bowling ball do what they want. I don’t think I’ll ever be as good as they are, but it sure is a fun way to spend a few hours in convivial company.

This is a view of the carpet, with 8 out of the 16 balls used still on the mat. It looks like the black team has one at least  “shot” for this end.

In this end, the brown team has at least 4 bowls closer to the white jack, so they’ll score 4. That wasn’t my team.

But wait, it’s nearly the end of two complete games, and smoko awaits the athletes.  Click the link to find out what Smoko means.

Maybe I just like carpet bowls because of the yummy cake?

If you have a burning desire to see some bowlers in action, here’s a highly serious game from Sicamous, BC, Canada.