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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1987-06-10, Page 111 la a ESTABLISHED IN 1873 "THE SEPOY TOWN" ON THE HURON -BRUCE BOUNDARY Lawn bowling: a sport for persons of all ages By Lou -Ann Hope When most people think of lawn bowling, they automatically associate the game with senior citizens but, as Jane Treleaven, co -president of the Lucknow Lawn Bowling Club, says, "Lawn bowling is not a senior citizen's game." "There is no law that says young people can't become involved in the game. In fact, we are encouraging and would be happy to have young people play," Mrs. Treleaven says of the 30 member local club. For too long there has been a stigma at- tached to lawn bowling but by speaking out and making the public more aware of what lawn bowling actually involves, Mrs. Treleavan is hoping to attract interested people to the club's Tuesday and Thursday evening games. Lawn bowling is known as an old- fashioned English game (where it originated) and as a gentleman's game (athough women also play and club membership male-female ratio is about. 50-50). The sport of lawn bowling, which runs from mid-May to the end of September in Lucknow on bowling greens located behind the tennis courts on Havelock Street, could be compared to the game of curling. "The object of lawn boiling is to come closer to the little white cat than your op- ponent. This 'is done by adjusting the weight of the ball as well as keeping the ball going in the direction you want," Mrs. Treleaven said. With curling, the object is to get the rock as close to the "button" in the house as possible. Mrs. Treleaven explained the ball, which is about the size of a five -pin bowling ball, is weighted, causing the ball to roll a certain way depending on how it is thrown. The number of balls you throw depends on the number of people playing in the game. "You can play fours, threes, pairs or singles," Mrs. Treleaven said. She added that when playing fours, each person throws two balls; when playing threes, each person throws three balls; and when playing pairs or singles, each person throws four balls. The ball is thrown down the green, about 125 feet, in an attempt to come closest to the "cat". She noted the cat can be moved by a ball that hits it and will remain in play as long as the cat remains within the confines of the green. • "If the cat goes into the ditch at the end of the green, it is still alive and any ball that touches the cat is also still alive (if it goes into the ditch)," she said. When all the balls have been thrown, they are then counted as the rocks are in curling. Whoever has the most balls closest to the cat counts that many points for the game. It is possible to count eight points but, as Mrs. Treleaven noted, it is also very rare. "You have to be fairly competitive. You can make it as competitive as you want," she said. The sport of lawn bowling also depends heavily* on the upkeep of the bowling green. Mrs. Treleaven noted that a well - manicured green . involves a lot of. time spent on keeping it in top-notch condition. This involvesfertilizing seeding, cutting (about " twice a week) and rolling. "It is manicured like a putting green on a golf course," she said. She noted lawn bowling has become a well-known sport throughout Ontario. A book issued .by the' Provincial Lawn Bowl- ing Association 'lists where each lawn bowling club is located, its executive and Turn to page 3 Della Slavin, of Clinton, looked to be con- centrating hard on her shot (left), as she fired this bowl at the Lucknow Lawn Bowl- ing greens on Sunday, June 7. However, things still didn't seem to turn out the way she would have like them two, as evidenc- ed by her reaction to the shot (right) . (Patrick Raftis photo) Up ... up ... and over Despite being this close to the high jump bar, grade six Lucknow Central Public School student Adrian Helm cleared the bar and went on to win the. intermediate boys high jump division at the school's annual track and field meet held Thursday. Adrian was able to jump 1,5 m (4 feet, 10 inches) with the encouragement of a number of enthusiastic onlookers. (Lou -Ann Hope photo) Your Sentinel this week... Saying goodbye In this week's issue, editor Alan Rivett writes his last column and last editorial for The Sentinel. He has accepted a sports writer's position with the Ajax - Pickering weekly newspaper beginning next week. For his column, SEE PAGE 4. Farm report In this week's Bruce County farm report, !earn how powder post beetles can be con- trolled from destroying wood structures. Also read about special grain payments and Ontario's "pick your own" fruit and vegetable season. For the farm report, SEE PAGE 8. Winning essay Grade 6 students at LCPS recently took part in an essay contest sponsored by the Lucknow and District Horticultural Socie- ty. For a picture and the winning essay on marigolds, SEE PAGE 11.