Flats Hastings
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L/R Map 199 Flat Eastbourne & Hastings (Landranger Maps) £12.90 … |
Flats Hastings
Hastings Open Bowls Tournament with a Long and Illustrious History
The first tournament was billed as ‘The Hastings & St Leonards Open Bowls and Quoits Tournament’, an annual three day event and open to ‘bona fide gentlemen amateur bowlers’. The game of quoits gradually lost popularity and was subsequently discontinued as part of the competition.
The Tournament venue was later moved to its present location in White Rock Gardens where there were eight greens of which six still remain today. The Main Bowls Pavilion in the gardens, used as the Tournament’s control centre was completely destroyed by fire in 1968 and subsequently rebuilt later in the same year.
Between October 1999 and April 2000 the Pavilion was completely refurbished in a joint effort by members of White Rock and Rosemount bowls clubs and Hastings Borough Council.
The tournament has been held every year but for a break in the war years 1940-44. The 2010 Tournament in August has, as always, attracted many of the region’s top players and preparations are already underway for the 2011 Centenary year’s tournament.
THE ORIGINS OF BOWLS
It is known that the ancient Egyptians played a form of bowls more than 5000 years ago from where it spread to Greece and Rome where the Romans played Bocce, a game that the Italians still play. In South American countries that have received Italian migrants it’s known as Bochas. The Romans are therefore credited with introducing the game to England.
It was in the thirteenth century that the game of bowls as it is played today became popular. The object of the game has developed somewhat as it’s generally accepted that earlier versions of the game involved hitting the target as opposed to getting as close as possible to it.
Bowls is one of the two oldest sports in England, the other being Archery and there has been Royal intervention in the development of the two sports.
King Edward III banned the playing of bowls because he wanted the archers of Britain to get practice without other sporting distractions. He needed his Archers at a time when conflict in the wars in Europe was a constant possibility and concerned that the practice of Archery was being neglected the game of Bowls was banned.
Another Royal intervention was by King Charles II who drew up the first clear set of the rules for Bowls but the present day rules are largely those drawn up by a Scottish solicitor named W.W. Mitchell following instructions from a committee formed for the purpose.
The Scottish Bowling Association (SBA) was formed in 1892 and predates by 11 years the English Bowling Association (EBA) which was formed in 1903 with test cricketer W.G. Grace as its president.
The first Scottish Championships of 1894 also predated by 11 years the first English Championships which were held for the first time in 1905, the year that the International Bowling Board (IBB) was formed in Wales to oversee the playing of the game in other countries. Many of the countries playing the game of Bowls were part of the British Empire and it followed that Bowls was introduced to the Commonwealth Games in 1930. The IBB is known today as the World Bowls Board.
In January 2008 the Mens and Womens Associations merged to become BOWLS ENGLAND.
THE OBJECT OF THE GAME
Bowls is a precision sport where the goal is to roll biased asymmetrical balls (Bowls) closer to a smaller white ball (Jack) than the opponent. The Bowls are designed to take a curved path as they lose speed and players use this bias to judge the direction and speed of release. Bowls were originally made of a dense wood called lignum vitae giving rise to the term Woods but in modern times they are made of composite plastic material. The bias was created originally by inserting weights but this is no longer allowed and the shape of the bowl now determines the degree of bias.
The game is usually played on a large, rectangular, precisely levelled and manicured grass or synthetic surface known as a bowling green with an indoor variation on synthetic carpet. Games are played as singles, pairs or triples with points being awarded for each Bowl closer to the Jack than the closest opponents bowl.
The bias is reported to have been introduced by yet another Royal intervention, it’s claimed that the Duke of Suffolk accidentally broke a Bowl and using a saw removed an ornamental ball from a staircase handrail to continue his game. The flat side of the otherwise round ball induced the object to take a curved path round his opponents ball to secure victory. Whether the lowly opponent let the Duke win will never be known but it’s unlikely that any protestations about the object the Duke chose to use would have changed the result.
About the Author
Activ Hastings is a complete online guide to Hastings, Sussex. Activ Hastings is edited by local people and provides a single source of valuable information to local residents, businesses and visitors to the area.
Homework help needed! Please! 10 pts reward.?
24. Which of these groups showed the greatest amount of cooperation?
a. California cities during the gold rush
b. Mormon communities
c. Oregon towns
d. Oregon Trail wagon trains
25. The Donner Party knew it was in trouble because
a. it took the trail up to Fort Hall in Idaho
b. it followed Clyman’s advice to take Hastings’ Cutoff
c. it couldn’t find the salt flats
d. it passed Independence Rock on July 12
I need true answers. thanks.
B, A
JACK IN THE GREEN 2010 HASTINGS OLD TOWN
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L/R Map 199 Flat Eastbourne & Hastings (Landranger Maps) £12.90 … |
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A Red, red Rose. Song, with piano accompaniment, words by R. Burns. [In F and D flat] … |
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Life the Hard Way: Up from Poverty Flat £14.31 … |
