Alvor - Algarve PortugalInfo
Fun with Lawn Bowling
Lawn bowling has been around for quite a number of years. It is under the boules sport family, collective name for games played with metal balls. Lawn bowling is a sport where the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric metal balls called "bowls," closest to a smaller, normally white bowl called "jack" or "kitty." The game, which may be flat-green or crown-green, is played on natural grass or synthetic surface. Flat-green lawn bowling can be played indoors or outdoors. Lawn bowling is known for its biased ball, which is deliberately lop-sided so that it always curves toward the flat side upon slowing down.
According to historians, it was spread all over Europe through Julius Caesar's centurions. It is called bowls in Britain and bocce in Italy, and "bowling on the green" in other parts of the world. (For the rest of this article, we shall refer to the game as lawn bowling.) Around 1229 AD, the Southampton Old Bowling Green Club was formed in England and remains active until present - the oldest worldwide.
The practice of the game was threatened in France and England sometime in the 14th century when archery, essential for defence, was losing popularity. The game, however, continued in other regions, particularly Scotland. Hence, modern rules of the game, the flat lawn, and dress code are apparently derived from the Scottish.
Today, lawn bowling is widely famous in countries like Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. Lawn bowling is an especially popular sport in Alvor, a village in Algarve, Portugal. This is because of the warm climate in the Algarve region that allows players to enjoy the game throughout the year.