Irish Road Bowling Info

outdoor sport
Participants, usually four person teams, throw a 28 ounce (800 g) bowl or bullet along a country road course, up to 4 km long, and the fewest throws to traverse the distance wins.

Rules and playing style
A 28 ounce iron and steel cannonball ( the bullet) the size of a tennis ball bowl is hurled down a country lane. The player or team with fewest shots to the finish line wins. It is rare that the road is closed so effort must be made for safety.

In Ireland numerous bowling courses exist in counties Armagh and Cork and also in Mayo (Castlebar), Limerick, Waterford and Louth, roads have been developed in Tyrone and Wexford and also in London.

A road shower stands ahead of the thrower, feet apart, to show the best line or path on a road. The thrower runs to the throwing mark and, in Northern or County Armagh style, extends an arm and bowl behind him as he runs. At the throwing mark the arm is snapped forward by arching the back and shoulders, releasing the bowl underhand before stepping over the mark.

In the Southern or County Cork style, as the thrower runs to the mark an arm and bowl are lifted up and back, then whirled downward in an underhand throw, releasing the bowl before stepping over the mark. Wherever the bowl stops, a chalk mark is made at the nearest point on the road and the next throw is taken from behind. Over tight curves, or corners where two roads meet, the bowl may be thrown through the air. The loft must strike the road or pass over it. If the loft fails to reach the road, it counts as a shot, and the next throw must be taken rom the same mark.

If two players or teams approach the finish line with equal shots, a winner is decided by which throw goes farthest past the finish line.

Terminology

A Score : a match. (In the past, players were given 20 shots each, the winner determined by who went the greatest distance.)
A Shot : a throw.
Bowl of Odds : when a bowler is one full shot fewer than his opponent, when a bowler is equal to or farther in distance than opponent, but has thrown one less shot.
Bowl or Bullet : the 28-ounce ( 800 g) small cannonball, with circumference of 18 cm, used in Irish Road Bowling.
Bullets or Long Bullets : the County Armagh term for road bowling.
Butt - throwing mark on the road. To step over the mark before releasing the bowl is to break butt.
Clear the Road : to get spectators out of the road in front of thrower.
Corner :sharp curve in road or a corner where two roads meet.

centered in Ireland : primarily in County Armagh and County Cork. However, it also has players in Boston, MA, Cambridge, NY, New Zealand and is growing in fairs and festivals of State of West Virginia.

There are a European Bowling championships, and a World Road Bowling Championship

Road bowling in Ireland is governed by the voluntary Irish Road Bowling Association

http://www.irishroadbowling.ie/ Irish Road Bowling Association