Welcome to the Preston Tuesday League!
Part of the Preston Lawn Bowling Club
Located at 427 Queenston Rd., Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
Congratulations to our 2025 Champions
A Flight: Helen Baker, Gary Brown, Chris Lynar
B Flight: Emidio Medeiros, Eugenio DeLeonardis, Sandy Ridley
The 2026 playing season is now displayed in the Preston Lawn Bowling Club website, and also in the Events Section of this site. (The Events tab is located at the top right corner of this website)
The League is made up of two Flights, “A” and “B”. and follows the same format as last year.
The season consists of Two Rounds of Five Games followed by a Three Game Playoff.
The schedule also has Three Make Up Dates built right into the Schedule in case of rain.
We are holding an Open House on May 19th, for Returning, New and Prospective League Members.
The Season will run from May 26th until September 1st (We also have September 8th set aside for our League in case we need it to complete the Playoffs.)
Discover the Joy of Team Sports Together
Who we are
We are a competitive league formed to not only have fun but to improve our lawn bowling skills.
We are a CYO (choose your own) League with each Team made up of 3 members (Triples).
We can accommodate 16 Teams (48 members).
We play on Tuesday evenings at 7PM at the Preston Lawn Bowling Club.
All Tuesday League members are also full club members and can come out for Jitney nights which are normally Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings at 7PM.
Club members can also join new club Leagues, such as the Sunday Afternoon Fours League which will commence June 7th,2026 and play at 3PM. As this is a new League, Availability should not be an issue in 2026.
All members can also participate in Club Playoffs (Men’s and Women’s Novice Singles, Men’s and Women’s Singles, Pairs, Triples and Fours, which are held near the end of the Season). There is no additional cost for the above.
Club members can also join the Thursday B&B League (10 games) at a reduced cost, but this is also subject to availability as it has a maximum of 64 players.
The Tuesday League has 2 Flights (“A” and “B”) and we play 2 rounds of 5 games followed by a 3 game playoff.
The 2026 season will begin on May 26th and is planned to be completed on September 1st.
We have room for 4 new teams on a first come first serve basis.
Contact the League:
prestontuesdayleague@gmail.com
The Game
The game is played with Bowls and a Jack on a grass surface. Sets of Bowls are matched for size, weight and movement. The movement is achieved as the Bowl is not spherical and will naturally begin to move to one side or the other as it progresses down the playing surface. The Bowl is marked with a small circle on on one side and a large circle on the other. The Bowl will move in the direction of the smaller circle. This allows the Player to determine movement. The Bowl is released with the circles to each side and rolls along the running surface which is smooth.
The Jack is a smaller ball, normally white or yellow. The object of the game is to get yours or your teams Bowls closer to the Jack than your opponent. Scoring is based on how many Bowls a team has closer to the Jack than their opponent. A game is made up of Ends. An End is when all Bowls are delivered and the Scoring for the End is agreed upon by both teams. The number of Ends in a game is agreed upon before Play begins, unless circumstances (inclement weather) make it necessary to readjust the number of Ends by mutual agreement of both teams.
The placement of the Jack can be either set or by delivering the jack by rolling it past the hog line but at least two meters in front of the ditch and within the boundary of the rink (lane) in which the Game is played. In the Tuesday League, the jack is delivered to begin the end. It is only set if both teams fail to deliver the Jack within play. When the Jack is delivered into this area and stops, it will be moved in line with where it stopped, to the center of the rink (equidistant to the boundaries on either side. The Jack’s position remains at this location unless it is struck and moved by a Bowl. As long as the Jack is within play, this becomes it’s position for scoring purposes. If the Jack is knocked out of play, it will be set two meters in front of the ditch and centered again. If the Jack is knocked into the ditch, within the boundaries, this becomes the Jack’s final position for that end.
The team that plays first (delivery of jack and delivery of first bowl) is determined by coin toss. Afterwards, the team that wins the end, delivers the jack for the next end. The team that delivers the jack, can place the mat, centered on the rink, anywhere from 2 meters in front of the rear ditch to 25 meters from the front ditch. Once placed, that is the position of the mat for that particular end. In the event that the jack is thrown out of bounds or into the front ditch, the opposing team can deliver the jack. Delivery of the first bowl then reverts to the original team. (Placement of the mat and delivery of the jack can be advantageous as it determines how short or long the playing surface is for that end)
When delivering a bowl, at least a portion of one foot must be in contact with the mat, upon release of the bowl. The bowl is not thrown as much as rolled down the grass surface, so release should be close to the ground and along the running surface of the bowl. You do not want to bounce the bowl as this will adversely affect both the grass surface and the path of the bowl. A poor delivery is often obvious as there will be a wobble in the bowl as it rolls along the grass. Often a groundsheet (larger rectangle of material) is placed in front of the mat to prevent damage to the grass by bounced bowls or very soft surface due to rain. Groundsheets are generally not used during competitions, but are often used in club play to keep the Green in good condition.
Scoring and Measurement
Scoring for the end consists of one point for every bowl closer to the jack than an opponent’s bowl.
If the opponent has the second closest bowl, you only score one, third closest bowl, you score two, and so on. Scoring is looked after by a member of each team, usually the vices. If when checked visually, both are in agreement, the score is quickly determined. The best position to take on a visual inspection is to look down from a point directly above and between the Jack and Bowl being viewed. This limits error due to depth perception.
If the visual inspection is not agreed to by both teams, then a measurement is required to determine which of the bowls in question is actually closer to the Jack.
A lawn bowls measure is the best and most accurate tool to use.
If you look at the picture with these comments, you will see that the measure has a point that can be rested against the Jack. The measures are designed that the point will be at the center of the Jack and the measure itself should be in line with the bowl.. The tape is then pulled from the measure and the tip of the tape placed against the center of the bowl in question. The tape will remain at this distance until intentionally retracted. You now have an accurate distance between the Bowl and Jack. Do not retract the tape. Place the point against the jack with the measure in line with the next bowl in question. If the tip of the tape does not touch the second bowl, the first bowl is closer. If more than the tip of the tape touches the second bowl, the second bowl is closer.
Once both teams have seen the measurement and are now in agreement upon the scoring of the end, the tape can be retracted and put away.
Remember that the closest bowl may not be at issue, it could be the second or third bowl that is difficult to visually determine and you are attempting to determine the total score for that end.
Once all the ends have been played and the scoring added up, the team with the most points is the winner of the game.
Please remember
Although the Tuesday League is Competitive, it is also supposed to be fun for all members and is also a way to improve your Lawn Bowling Skills. There are Lawn Bowlers at our Club that have gone to and succeeded at Provincial and National Competitions and we have had area Bowlers that have gone to World Competitions. Just so you know, all these people play for fun as well. They’ve just gotten very good at it. If you choose to come out to other Club events, you may end up playing with or against some of these people. I’ve found them all to be very approachable and fun (though you may have to have them pointed out to you, as they don’t tend to talk about their experience, they are just there to play)
See you on the Green
