What is a toucher in lawn bowls?
I · Intermediate · Touchers, dead bowls and the jack · 4 of 7A bowl that touches the jack on its way, in its original course, is a toucher. It stays live even if it then runs into the ditch. A toucher must be marked with chalk as soon as it stops, or nominated if marking would move it; an unmarked toucher stops being one once the next bowl comes to rest.
How it works
- A toucher: a bowl in its original course that touches the jack.
- Also a toucher: a bowl that falls against the jack after stopping, before the next bowl is delivered or within 30 seconds after the last bowl.
- In the ditch: a toucher there is live; its place is marked by a coloured indicator on the bank.
- Not a toucher: a bowl that hits the jack while the jack is in the ditch.
- Marking: with chalk, by the delivering team or the marker, as soon as it stops.
- Nominating: if chalking would move the bowl, it is declared a toucher instead.
- Unmarked: not marked or nominated before the next bowl stops, it is no longer a toucher.
- Old marks: a chalk mark left on a bowl that does not touch is removed by the opponent or marker.
- Moving in the ditch: a toucher's place changes validly if moved by the jack, another toucher or a non-toucher partly on the rink.
The glossary has the toucher, the marking a toucher, the non-toucher, the ditch, the original course and the jack.
Tricky cases
A bowl clips the jack and runs into the ditch. Is it dead?
No. It is a toucher and stays live in the ditch.
A bowl touches the jack but nobody marks it before the next bowl stops. What then?
It is no longer a toucher. In the ditch, it would be dead.
A bowl hits the jack after the jack is already in the ditch. Toucher?
No. Hitting a jack that is in the ditch never makes a toucher.
A player forgets to rub off an old chalk mark and the bowl misses the jack. What happens?
The opponent or the marker removes the mark when the bowl stops. If that would move it, it is declared a non-toucher.
Why the rule exists
A bowl that reaches the jack has been aimed well, so it earns the right to stay in play even if it carries on into the ditch. Marking it at once stops arguments later.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Touchers | Live in the ditch | WB Law 14.1 |
| Marking | Chalk or nominate | WB Law 15 |
| Movement in the ditch | Only by set causes | WB Law 16 |
From the rule book
World Bowls, Laws of the Sport of Bowls, Crystal Mark Fourth Edition (August 2022), Laws 14 to 16. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: the World Bowls Laws of the Sport of Bowls.