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Going for the Green
Lawn Bowling a popular sport
for many communities
STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN SECORD
There is a sports facility in the tiny hamlet of Galetta,
perched on the northwestern-most edge of the City of
Ottawa, that could rival those in any other community. It is
meticulously maintained and enthusiastically played upon.
Competitors have come from across the province to enjoy
the local hospitality. And members have won events near
and far.
Clearly, lawn bowling sets Galetta apart.
A tiny historic village, closer to Arnprior than the big
city, Galetta doesn’t have a softball team or a soccer league.
The City of Ottawa doesn’t run summer camps out of its
well-appointed community centre, nor are there weekly bingos.
Why would they? Galetta is a place with barely 40 houses.
There is no store or gas station. The hotel closed long
ago, at the end of the mining heyday.
But Galetta does have lawn bowling. And community
members like to think they have one of the best lawn bowling
“greens” in the Ottawa area.
The Galetta Lawn Bowling club has 40 members who
maintain a 36.6-metre by 36.6-metre Bowling Green — the
Donald MacHardy Greens — behind the community center.
The facility consists of eight “rinks” and is constructed of
bent grass, much the same as a golf course.
Due West Magazine • Page 44 • Summer 2008
The game itself is reminiscent of curling with players
aiming at a “jack,” the same as they might a “house” in the
winter sport.
Lawn bowling is a game that has a long and storied past.
Some believe it existed in a very primitive form nearly 7,000
years ago. Historians point to evidence of its importance in
British society as early as six centuries ago.
The “art” of Lawn bowling.
But whatever its history, according to promoters of the
sport, it is easy to learn, affordable and fun.
Using a “bowl” that is not completely spherical, the
object of the game is to roll it as close to the white jack as
possible. The “bowls” green is 37 to 40 square metres and
perfectly flat. It is divided into rinks of 5.5 to 5.8 metres
wide.
You don’t need any equipment. But you should wear a
pair of flat-soled shoes to protect the turf.
There are four basic games played in lawn bowling.
“Fours fours” is played with four players on a team, each
with two “bowls.” “Triples” has three players with three
“bowls” each. “Pairs” is played with two on each team with
four “bowls” and “singles,” as the name suggests, has one
player with four “bowls.”
This season David Jeffries, former Galetta Community