What happens if the jack goes in the ditch?
A · Advanced · Touchers, dead bowls and the jack · 1 of 8A jack knocked into the front ditch within the rink stays live and is marked with a white indicator. If a bowl knocks it out of the rink, into a hollow in the bank or to less than 20 metres from the mat line, it is dead, and the end is replayed unless the competition re-spots it.
How it works
- Live in the ditch: a jack moved into the front ditch by a bowl, within the side boundaries.
- Marking: a white indicator on the bank in line with it.
- Moving it there: only a toucher or a non-toucher partly on the rink changes its place validly.
- Dead jack: knocked completely out of the rink, into a hollow in the bank or to less than 20 m from the mat line.
- Not dead: resting on a toucher in the ditch or on bowls inside the rink.
- Dead end: not counted; replayed in the same direction unless the skips agree otherwise.
- Who starts a replay: the player who started the dead end.
- Instead of a dead end: a controlling body may have the jack re-spotted and play continue.
- Rebounds: a jack bouncing back off the bank on to the rink stays in play.
The glossary has the live jack in the ditch, the dead jack, the dead end, the re-spot position, the toucher and the front ditch and rear ditch.
Tricky cases
A bowl knocks the jack into the ditch. Do bowls near it still count?
Yes. Touchers in the ditch and bowls on the green are measured to the jack in the ditch.
The jack is knocked out over the side boundary. What happens?
It is dead, so the end is dead and replayed, unless re-spotting is in use.
The jack rebounds off the bank and stops on the rink. Is it dead?
No, unless it stops less than 20 m from the mat line.
Does a dead end count towards the number of ends?
No. It is replayed and does not count as completed.
Why the rule exists
Keeping the jack live in the ditch lets a side gain by moving it there, which is part of the game. A dead end restarts play when the target has gone.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Live jack in the ditch | Marked white | WB Law 18 |
| Dead jack | End dead | WB Laws 19, 20 |
| Re-spotting | Play goes on | WB Laws 19.5, 56.5 |
| Sets play | Jack always re-spotted | WB Law 56.5.1 |
From the rule book
World Bowls, Laws of the Sport of Bowls, Crystal Mark Fourth Edition (August 2022), Laws 18 to 21 and 56.5. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: the World Bowls Laws of the Sport of Bowls.