Toss a cannonball and win some prizes...
The Missoula AOH is sponsoring Missoula's second annual Road Bowling event. Get a friend to register with you as a team and then spend the morning of July 28th learning a sport that has been played in Ireland for centuries. Registration will be available on July 15. The registration fee is $20.00 per team of two. Registration will be done through the Missoula AOH.
Road Bowling 101
Traditionally, road bowling in Ireland is governed by the voluntary Irish Road Bowling Association. The basic premise is similar to golf. Participants, usually single opponents, throw a 28 ounce bowl or "bullet" along a country road course, up to 4 km long, and the fewest throws to traverse the distance wins the contest.
A road shower advises the thrower about the throw (or shot) much like a caddy, whilst another helper stands ahead of the thrower, feet apart, to show the best line or path in the road.
The thrower runs to the throwing mark and extends the arm and bowl behind him as he runs. At the throwing mark the arm is snapped forward by arching the back and shoulders, releasing the bowl underhand before stepping over the mark. As the thrower runs to the mark the arm and bowl are lifted up and back, then whirled downward into an underhand throw, releasing the bowl before stepping over the mark.
Wherever the bowl stops (not where it leaves the road surface), a chalk mark is made at the nearest point on the road and the next throw is taken from behind that mark.
Over tight curves, or corners where two roads meet, the bowl may be thrown through the air (lofted). The loft must strike the road or pass over it. If the loft fails to reach the road, it counts as one shot, and the next throw must be taken again from the same mark.
If two players or teams approach the finish line with equal shots, the winner is decided by which throw goes farther past the finish line.
