Tintinhull Short Mat Bowls Club was set up following the commissioning of our new Village Hall with bowling first starting in November 2018. Our hall has a large flat main hall space with room to lay out up to three mats.
We are a friendly club and currently have 36 subscribed members who play socially twice a week. The club was formally constituted in March 2019 with a management committee and is affiliated to the English Short Mat Bowling Association and registered with Somerset Short Mat Bowls Association
Short Mat Bowls is an interesting and challenging game of skill, providing gentle exercise and the opportunity to meet new people and have fun!
Social and Competitions
As well as our twice weekly club “roll-ups”, we also host an annual bowls club Christmas Party and run several intra club competitions with presentation cups and trophies. For 2022 we are looking to start playing friendly matches against local clubs.
When does the Club meet?
We meet at Tintinhull Village Hall on Tuesday evenings 7.30-9.30 pm and Friday mornings 10.30-12.30 pm
What does it Cost?
Our fees are £10 for Annual membership and there’s a ‘green fee’ of £2.00 on each attendance with an additional 20p contribution for coffee, tea and biscuits.
Club Membership
Membership is currently open to Tintinhull villagers or those having a connection with the village. This has helped give the club its friendly atmosphere with strong social ties to the community. We very much welcome prospective new members to come and give the game a go. The sport can be played by people of all ages and abilities so no previous experience is necessary. The club has everything you need to try out the game and there are experienced members of the club on hand to help you out. The only thing we ask is that flat soled shoes are worn when playing.
Further Information
If you would like any further information about the our bowls club including the best time for an introductory session, Contact the Club Secretary. for more details..
Competition News
2022 Jill Harris Memorial Trophy
The inaugural Jill Harris Trophy Competition took place on 24th September. See how club members faired.
External Matches
| Team | Home/Away | Date | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crewkerne SMBC | Away | 26th September 2022 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
What is Short Mat Bowls?
Short mat bowls is a year-round target sport whereby players roll their bowls (or “woods”) with the aim of getting closest to a small yellow ball known as the “Jack”. Players take turns to roll their bowls, trying to land theirs closer to the jack or to knock their opponent’s bowls away. Each bowl is slightly weighted on one side (the “Bias”) which makes the bowl curve in an arc. This allows players to bowl around other bowls that have been played.
Short mat bowls is similar in many ways to lawn or indoor bowls including some rules of play and scoring. The key differences between the games are:
- The size of the mat – Short mat bowls – as the name suggests – is played on a much smaller scale. Bowls have less distance to travel after delivery, so weight is less of an issue.
- The Centre Block – Short mat bowls has a wooden block in the middle of the mat which removes the option of driving at the head. This makes short mat a more skill-based game and encourages players to use the ‘bias’ of their bowls to manoeuvre around the block (or opponents bowls) or promote (or knock on) their own or other team member bowls.
Is there a dress code?
The dress code for short mat bowls tends to be much less formal than lawn bowls. Relaxed, loose clothing works best so that movement is not restricted. The only thing we ask is that flat soled shoes are worn when playing. For competition matches we do have a white TSMBC club polo shirt which is worn together with grey trousers.
What bowls do I need?
Bowls for short mat are the same as those for lawn and indoor bowls. If you already have a set of bowls for either then they can be used for the short mat game. That said, bowls with a stronger bias tend to work better!
The skill in playing short mat bowls comes from the bias of the bowl and the skill of delivering a bowl to a position where it either counts in the score or is used as a defender, blocking a route to change positions.
