What happens if a player accidentally stops a bowl?
A · Advanced · Touchers, dead bowls and the jack · 2 of 8When a bowl or the jack is wrongly moved, the remedy depends on who moved it, whether it was running or at rest and whether the head was disturbed. A team that stops its own running bowl loses it; if an opponent does, the bowling side chooses. Stopping your own bowl on purpose forfeits the game.
How it works
- Own team stops its running bowl: the bowl is dead, and any head it then disturbs is put back.
- An opponent stops it: the bowling side chooses to replay it, place it where it would have stopped or leave it; if the head was disturbed, they may also declare the end dead.
- On purpose: deliberately stopping your own team's bowl, or lifting a bowl at rest to let your bowl pass, forfeits the game.
- A bowl at rest moved by a player: put back where it was, with any head it disturbed.
- A neutral person or object: the bowl is replayed, or placed by agreement; with no agreement, the end is dead.
- During marking or measuring: put back by the opponent, the marker or the umpire.
- A bowl from the next rink: may be stopped, or a bowl at rest lifted to let it pass; a stopped bowl on the right bias is replayed.
- The jack: similar rules; a running jack stopped by the delivering team is re-delivered by the opponent.
- Wind or storm: the skips put the jack or bowl back; if they cannot agree, the end is dead.
The glossary has the displaced bowl or jack, the disturbing the head, the original course, the head, the dead bowl and the dead end.
Tricky cases
A player's foot stops their own team's bowl before it reaches the head. What happens?
The opposing skip declares that bowl dead.
An opponent accidentally stops a bowl heading for the jack. What can the bowling side do?
Replay it, place it where they think it would have stopped, or leave it.
The umpire's measure knocks a bowl. Who puts it back?
The umpire, to its former position.
A player lifts a bowl at rest so their skip's bowl can pass through. Is that allowed?
No. That forfeits the game.
Why the rule exists
The remedies give the choice to the side that did nothing wrong, so no one gains from an accident. Forfeiting the game for deliberate interference stops cheating outright.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bowl displacement | By cause, state and head | WB Law 37 |
| Jack displacement | Similar | WB Law 38 |
| Quick guide | A chart of all cases | WB Appendix C |
| Unforeseen incidents | Put back or end dead | WB Law 35 |
From the rule book
World Bowls, Laws of the Sport of Bowls, Crystal Mark Fourth Edition (August 2022), Definitions C.4, C.5, C.11, C.15, C.16 and C.24 and Laws 35, 37 and 38 and Appendix C. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: the World Bowls Laws of the Sport of Bowls.