I suggested a "Thirteen13" version in response to the idea of lawn bowls equivalent of Twenty20 cricket, but I've since thought better of it.
I want to propose a game called "Lawn Bowls 6s." (Or "Lawn Bowls Sixes", if you think the use of numbers instead of words is too gauche).
How does it work? I'm so glad you asked.
There are two teams in a game. Each team has 6 bowls, and each game has 6 ends. It doesn't matter how many people are playing - each team simply has six bowls per end, and they can divvy them up amongst the team members however they like.
The teams will alternate for each bowl, rather than the players. So the first team (let's call them Team A) will bowl once, then Team B will have a turn, and then it's back to Team A again. And so forth and so on. It doesn't matter if you're first, second, skip or whatever.
In theory, this means any team could play any other team, as it really doesn't matter who bowls what, as long as the teams bowl alternately and every member of the team bowls at least once. A team consisting of 2 people could face off against a team of 6, if that's the way the draw works. There can be an element of tactics to this as well, as a team can give their best bowler some extra bowls. "Pinch hitting" will be entirely possible.
The team with the most points at the end of the sixth end wins the game.
A match will consist of four teams playing against each other. Initially, a random draw decides which teams will face off against each other first. The winners of the first games will play against each other for the second game of the match, and the losers of the first game will play against each other. Each team is awarded a point for the number of games they have won.
This means that each match results in one team winning 2 points, two teams winning 1 point and one team winning no points. The points will tally towards a league table.
A local 6s League Season will operate for a number of weeks (let's say 12, just because it's a multiple of 6), and then the teams at the top of the table will battle it out for a premiership pendant (lawn bowls is all about the bling, after all).The top two teams from each local league (based on points) will go on to compete in a postseason elimination round to find the best four teams in the country, who will then compete for the national titles. I may have stolen this bit from Major League Baseball, but baseball is awesome, so that's okay.
What makes this idea worth taking up is that:
- People who work full time and can't make it to games during the day (which is currently when most clubs - at least in regional towns - hold competitions) will be able to go to a bowls club at night and be able to play a couple of games that actually mean something (nice and satisfying).
- By being more suitable for the young(ish) and busy, it will provide a gateway for a new generation of bowlers to take up the sport. As things stand (at least where I live), lawn bowls seems to be this strange cult where current members lie in wait for retirees and try to recruit them. That's great for the retirees, but not so good for making sure the clubs remain viable. Which leads me to:
- The league format opens up options for having more people using the clubs and the facilities. A club could easily have a Tuesday Night League and a Thursday Night League, which means people who can't make it on Tuesday might come on Thursday. This means more people will be coming through the doors, buying memberships and purchasing beverages and food. This can only be a good thing for clubs that are struggling to make the facilities pay their way.
Now all I need to do is find some bowls clubs who are willing to take a punt and start the first league(s). That's the part where my plan falls down a bit, frankly.
