Better Know a Bowler
The faces and personalities, ages and abilities of lawn bowlers are richly varied. This section of our web site introduces some of the players who form this club and help define this sport.
PART I of our 124 part series: Better Know a Bowler
Meet Richard Broad!
Richard Broad is a member of both Woodland Park and Jefferson Park lawn bowling clubs. He is a member of the US National Team and competes internationally.
We’ve asked Richard a few questions to help us better know him as a bowler.
When did you start lawn bowling and how were you introduced to the game?
I was introduced to the game by my parents and played for a season with them when I was about sixteen. The lack of peers and the fact that I was a pretty good tennis player led me to discontinue playing at that time.
Years , a continent and two cities later strolling through Woodland Park I came across the Bowling Club. Invited in and a few roll ups later decided it was something that I would like to do again. The next year Sally and I took lessons from Doris and Dick Hammett at Woodland Park. 93 was the year and a busy one for Sally work wise, I continued with the bowling that summer and won the novice tournament. It has been all down hill since then.
How do you respond to people who think that lawn bowling is an obscure British leisure activity for senior citizens?
The game has continually been plagued with its old fogies association, more so in this Country than the biggies like Scotland, England, Australia and New Zealand. My attitude has become, what other sport can you play equally with a child of 12 and an adult of sixty?. What other sport can you take up at 49 and achieve an international ranking?. Bah humbug
What was the first tournament you played and how did you fare?
Tournament playing is for me such a big part of the game. All the elements learned in the practice and social games are tested, the pressure is different and its only the mind that will defeat you, yours that is.
Apart from Northwest tournaments in which I was fairly successful, the biggest first break came in the Can/Am West around 1998/99 . This was a tournament held I believe for a period of three years in Edmonton, Alberta. It brought together the four western US divisions and the four Canadian western provinces. The Canadians tried to revive it this year but failed. Anyway in a five man five women format I managed to win my four out of four singles against the Canadians. This was for me a big achievement and was noticed by a man called Champ Salisbury, a selector from the South Central Division, he told me then that I should apply for the US team. Winning the US pairs Championship with Richard Krueger in 2000 put me further into the running. It was on the green at Leisure World in Laguna Hills in 2001 that I was asked to represent the US in the Asia Pacific Games in Moama Australia that year, in fact two weeks from then, (a bowler having dropped out due to ill health.) Australia being the first big tournament was also very lucky for me, winning a silver medal with my partners in a triples team, losing only to the Australians.
From that point on I have had only a break of one year playing on the National Team, sometimes more than once in a year.
What is the National Team?
The Format for most international play is a five man/five women team. This allows Pairs and triples to be played in unison and then fours and singles. Other than one tournament I played in Malaysia, there is no mixed play, the men and women play out their own competition. For overall scoring the points are combined. Depending on the number of countries involved each team member will play as many as six or eight games in his/her two disciplines. For the biggies this is spread over two weeks with two games a day.
Who is on the National Team and how does one get on it?
Getting on the National Team is usually based on a point system. These points are gained from qualifying tournaments in all the divisions. The Northwest Div has unfortunately almost eliminated any qualifiers because it now allows mixed events!. The other main qualifying factor is the Playdowns and results in the US Championships, points are big there. Also the National Open tournament and other big Opens , South Central, South East and Southwest Opens attract large numbers and the points go up rapidly based on this.
For instance my partner (David Calam from Saskatchewan) and I won the South West pairs this year with an entry of 48 pairs.
As you can gather one needs to keep exposed and travel to where the tournaments and the selectors are. The final decision on whose is going to be on the team is their past and current record, personality and compatibility. There are players who with all the points in the world should never represent the US!. Sad but true.
Where does the National Team play next?
The next and the most important date on the bowling calendar is World Bowls. Held every four years, it is the Olympics of the bowling world and early next year it is in Christchurch N Z. Unfortunately the US failed to qualify while playing in the Asia Pacific games in Australia, earlier this year. This was a not a good thing to happen and further showed what happens when bringing together a team that was not compatible. I heard from other people in Scotland of arguments on the green — not good to hear from other sources.
Do you do any exercises or training off the green to help keep you in such great bowling shape?
Physical fitness is a very important part of bowling. Long days on the green, as much as eight hours a day, are exhausting. My training is as much play as possible and practice, at least two days in advance, on the greens where play will take place. Bending and stretching throughout it all keeps one moving. Ibuprofen is a miracle drug for the aches and pains.
What's the best piece of advice anyone gave you that improved your game and that you carry with you today?
Two items to pass on. Never use a bowl that is too big for you. I started with size seven and am now down to size four. The most common sizes on the scene are fours and fives.
Set up a rink using a short jack and a long jack. Two bowls short, two bowls long, two bowls forhand two bowls backhand. Do that for twenty ends and the sense of lenghth (always the hardest thing to master) begins to become second nature.
One other item is grace, a gracefully delivered bowl runs true and shows the way for the next. Never turn your back on a bad bowl, learn from your mistakes. Do not show any negative emotion to your opponent.