Yes. When you first tried bowling at Cosburn, you probably met one of our club coaches. These experienced members have completed a special training program in coaching techniques, strategies, and ethics for lawn bowling.

Feel free to ask a club coach if you have a question about the game, need help with a delivery problem, or just want some ideas for practice drills. You can also email the club’s coaching chair at coaching@cosburnbowls.ca.

Members can book a session with a club coach on the booking page. These are usually small-group sessions, tailored to your coaching needs.

Yes. Once you’ve learned the basics, you’ll be able to play in games with bowlers of all levels of experience. When you play, watch how other bowlers deliver the bowl, how the game proceeds, and how the skip uses strategy in the game. You can learn hand signals and bowls terminology from other players. And if you have a question, just ask—most experienced bowlers are friendly and enjoy sharing their knowledge.

Of course, some bowlers have unorthodox delivery styles that may work well for them but won’t work for you. Sometimes, you can learn what not to do from other bowlers.

Yes. Many bowlers arrive early for a jitney to play a few practice ends before the game starts. Others come to the club specifically for a practice session. If the greens are being used for a regular jitney, a tournament, or a special event, you may be asked to move, but there’s almost always a free rink or two for practice.

Coaches will tell you to always practise with intention. You’ll progress more quickly if you have a specific goal for each practice session. You could work on your aim, for example, or your weight. Perhaps you want to correct a specific delivery fault that is giving you trouble. Or you could practise a certain type of shot, such as a draw shot or a runner.

Online videos are a great resource for bowlers. You can watch high-level competition games, training videos from top coaches around the world, and Nick Brett’s “ridiculous” bowls shot that deservedly went viral in January 2020. Here are some Youtube channels, playlists, and video series we watch:

Auckland Bowls, Bowls Basics Series
Bowls NZ coaching playlist
Build Your Skills channel
Lachlan Tighe’s channel

Many bowls organizations have information and tips for bowlers on their websites. Here are links to a few prominent organizations:
Ontario Lawn Bowling Association
Bowls Canada Boulingrin
World Bowls

In jitneys and tournament games, Cosburn generally follows rules set by the OLBA, also known as Conditions of Play (available at olba.ca). Those rules are based ultimately on the Laws of the Sport, which are set by the sport’s international federation, World Bowls.

Cosburn’s club bylaws are the rules that guide how the club is run.

Yes! Club members can bring guests to the club. Guests can have up to three free visits before we require that they become members. We’ll ask them to sign a guest waiver, and you are responsible for their behaviour at the club. If you’re bringing a non-bowler, it’s a good idea for your friend to sign up for a free intro session with a club coach.