SHORT MAT BOWLING IN CANADA The Niagara Falls Club commenced playing Short Mat Bowls in 1986, after purchasing a mat from Regalgrene. However, it appears that the Stratford Club played some years prior to ‘86. Following on from this, Medicine Hat, Alberta, purchased a mat and still apparently play. The Ontario Lawn Bowls Association (OLBA) purchased four mats and loans them out to clubs for the promotion of the sport, OLBA is the most active province in Lawn bowls country. Some clubs have home made mats but those with a regulation size include, Brampton, Burlington, Coburg, Niagara Falls, Niagara on the Lake, Simcoe and Stratford. There are clubs in Saskatchewan and other provinces, playing locally but in an as yet unorganized way. OLBA has for the last three years staged the provincial plate, featuring a pairs and a fours event, which have been moved around the province in order to promote the game. Coburg, just East of Toronto hosted this year’s event, with John Bush & Jim Lepere (Skip), taking the pairs for Niagara Falls. The fours event went to Brian Luther, Bob North, John Devonshire and skip Vincent Donohue, from Toronto.

The limited number of Canadian bowlers makes it difficult to justify the building of expensive full length indoor facilities but the Short Mat game offers a wonderful avenue of development. Not only would it allow outdoor summer bowlers to continue playing bowls throughout the rest of the year but we may also be able to use the Short Mat game to draw more people into the sport of bowls. The Short Mat game can of course be started for relatively little cost and can make use of existing facilities. Canada is therefore prime territory for a Short Mat journey. Canada has of course already dipped its toes in International waters. In 1994 Bob North and Alec Cuthbertson both took part in the World Championships in Dumfries. They participated in both the singles and pairs, and although no medals came Canada’s way, both players acquitted themselves well.

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