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How to Play the Indoor
Game
The indoor game is very similar to the
outdoor game
except it is played on a carpet instead of
grass and each rink is much shorter than
outside.
The rinks nevertheless meet the
requirements
laid out in the rule book for Short Mat
Bowling.
The indoor seven rinks allow club members to
play
all winter in addition to the summer
months.
The game is organized in exactly the same
manner as the outdoor game insofar as the
team make-up and the order of play is
concerned.
However the skill requirements are
totally
different as a result of the shorter
rink length
and the
different playing surface.
To add variety, each of the seven rinks vary from
each
other in having slightly different types
of carpet
which requires variation in
the ‘WEIGHT’
(ie speed of bowl delivery) so as to reach and
not pass the jack.
Consequently the indoor game presents just
as much
challenge as the outdoor game and demands
the same
judgment of the best tactics and
strategies.
One difference in the indoor game as
opposed to
the outside game is that when
indoors,
a short barrier is centrally placed half
way down the rink
to prevent bowlers making a fast take-out shot straight down the middle.
This forces bowlers to make a wider delivery,
thus requiring a
greater curvature for the trajectory
of the bowl in
order to reach the centrally
placed jack.
This in turn requires a slower delivery as
the bias of the bowl
causes greater curvature when the speed of
delivery is reduced.