Founded in 1925
Carpet Bowls
Carpet bowls is a variant of lawn bowls played indoors. Originating in England, it is played particularly in the South of England, although it is played at League and County level in East Anglia, the Midlands and the North.
There is a formal English Carpet Bowls Association, and although the ECBA is relatively small, the game itself is played in many village halls up and down the country. Around the turn of the century there were more than 1,000 clubs. In accordance with the village hall background, the bowls mat is smaller at around 30 x 6 feet, and the inventors clearly paid less emphasis upon trying to maintain all the rules of the Mother game. For instance, carpet bowls dispenses with the notion of a 'ditch' and various sometimes complex rules associated with it.
Bowls are delivered from an 18-inch-wide (460mm) space at the front of the carpet and must avoid an 18-inch circular block placed in the centre of the carpet. The Jack is 2.5 inches in diameter (the same as for indoor bowls) and is placed on a centre line 3–6 feet from the end of the carpet.
Aficionados of carpet bowls are keen to point out that, because a bowl must be delivered within the 18-inch delivery area whilst not standing on the carpet, it is rare for players to attempt to "break up the head" (attempting to spoil the end by delivering a forceful bowl that knocks the bowls and jack randomly). Carpet bowlers regard this as a point of superiority over indoor bowls and short-mat bowls, as carpet bowls is really a game that relies heavily on the art of quality drawing woods and less on power and fortune.
Kings Langley Carpet Bowls Club (KLBC)
This version of the sport has proved so popular that the main club now hosts its own Kings Langley Carpet Bowls Club.
Members wear their distinctive orange tops with black trousers and jumpers when playing in league or friendly matches. Otherwise they wear casual clothing for their regular roll ups which are on Wednesday evenings from 6.30pm – 9.30pm once again between September and April.
Players need to become social members of the main bowls club in order to join and pay the usual rink fee when attending.
Although most sessions are not too serious members of a more competitive nature are able to take part in county competitions and try out for the county team.
No equipment is needed as the bowls are supplied by the club and the club shirt provided if necessary.
Congratulations to our "very own" Paul Harris (on the right of the picture) and his partner Craig Hearn for winning both the 2022 Hertfordshire Pairs and the 2022 National Champion of Champions Pairs Carpet Bowls Finals.
The Kings Langley Carpet Bowls team have made a very impressive start to the 2022/23 season winning Seven out of the Eight matches they have played so far. The league table below shows the team sitting proudly at the top after 8 games. There are 2 crucial fixtures coming up against rivals Symonds Green and Stanstead Abbotts which will surely determine who will be crowned Champions at the end of the season. The results so far this term are as follows:
17/11/22 - S/Abbots (H) - Lost 6-2
04/12/22 - Little Hadham (H) - Won 6-2
07/12/22 - Shenley (A) - Won 5-3
08/01/23 - Braughing (A) - Won 6-2
18/01/23 - Shenley (H) - Won 6-2
08/01/23 - Braughing (H) - Won 8-0
11/02/23 - Little Hadham (A) - Won 6-2
15/02/23 - Symonds Grn (H) - Won 6-2