View a video on delivering the jack. 
Click on the bowl for info from Selina Goddard
Drill 10. Roll the jack yourself and draw to wherever it stops.
Delivering the Jack.
Placing the Mat:
Start a game by mat placement prior to the delivery of the jack. Care must be taken to see that the mat is
correctly placed. The correct method is to take hold of the corners on one end of the mat—face the number
plate at your end of the rink on which you are playing, with your back to the far or skipper’s end and place the
mat lengthwise along the centre line of the rink. (Diagram 1) The lead can place the mat anywhere along the
centre line providing its front edge is 23 metres from the front (or skippers end) ditch.
Jack Delivery:
In a sport demanding so much concentration and application, it is curious that one of the most obvious
fundamentals of bowls is so over-looked and given so little attention.
The simple act of delivering the jack, to start a match, or an end, controls much of the game, yet the majority
of bowlers merely step on to the mat without thought, and even with haste, deliver the jack so that there is no
control of length or direction.
Choosing your required length is the foundation of building a favourable head and so careless delivery of the
jack, may result in it going out of bounds, into the ditch or to your opponent’s favourite length. The bowler who
errs in this respect has handed the control of the length to his opponent and thrown away any advantage.
The importance of delivering the jack straight and to a required length cannot be over emphasised. The
following principles if followed should ensure the correct delivery of the jack.
Grip of the jack
Place the jack toward the front of the fingers of the hand (the fingers forming a platform) with the long finger
under the centre of the jack and the pad of the thumb on the top of the centre of the jack. This forms a
comfortable grip. The wrist should be firm to prevent any flicking of the wrist when delivering. Do not cup your
fingers around the jack as this will force the jack above the wrist and make control difficult.
Position of feet
Place your right foot in the centre of the mat but to the left of the centre line- bring the left foot up parallel to
the right foot so that both are pointing straight up the green with the body relaxed and comfortable. This is for
a right handed player. (Diagram 3) As the jack is perfectly round and does not have any bias it means that
when you deliver the jack it will follow your hand and go straight in the direction you have delivered it.
Delivering the jack
You are now standing correctly on the mat, feet pointing straight up the green, jack correctly held in your right
hand, arm relaxed and your skipper standing at the length to which they want the jack delivered. Take a
normal straight walking length step, with your left foot, bending the right knee towards the left heel and deliver
the jack with a smooth follow through of the hand and arm straight towards the aiming point (Diagram 4), and
bring the right foot up to the left foot after the jack has travelled 3 to 4 metres. This should bring you to a
standing position and stand still until the jack has stopped rolling.
With practice you will soon find that you are able to deliver the jack with confidence and accuracy.
Leave your left hand to rest on the knee and obtain better balance. For beginners you will note that all
reference is to delivering the jack, not throwing. Many bowlers take the word throw literally and do in the fact
throw the jack with disappointing results. Many a game has been lost through poor delivery of the jack.
Even when you are delivering the jack you should still make use of a pre shot routine to give you a better opportunity for a consistent and accurate delivery. The routine should begin approximately 1 metre behind the mat in the direction of the intended line.
* Commence concentration, focus on and think about the shot you are going to play.
* Either receive information from the skip or make own decision as to the shot you are to play.
* Position the bowl in the hand.
* Identify the intended line selecting a permanent object on the bank.
* Visualise the shot to be played, the line and how far, how fast?
* Confirm line, establish a focus point.
* Move on to the mat.
The pre shot routine is important in this process – to establish where the jack will finish.
The anchor foot is placed in the centre of the mat facing directly up the rink centre line.
The jack is held in the main fingers with the thumb on top and the wrist locked.
The jack is delivered by using the same action as for the bowl.
Info on rolling the jack.
Click on the bowl.
Rules:
You must be standing on the mat, one foot must be completely on the mat. If your mat is beyond the 2 metre mark, the jack needs to be at least 23 metres from the matline.
Etiquette.
Do not encroach on an adjoining rink when delivering your bowl.
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