Mantis Games
Mantis Games assist a player in the development of their lawn bowls skills and game sense, through the introduction of a series of simulated practice games. They can be played between individuals, or teams, where the differing game situations will strongly influence and direct the techniques chosen and executed by the player.
Mantis Games have therefore been designed to enable a player to practice, experiment and improve upon their technical proficiency, as well as to develop their game sense, whilst at the same time nurturing aspects of teamwork, team roles and tactical decision making within a modified game practice.
The Mantis Games
Once players have mastered the delivery techniques the challenge will then be to ‘Play to learn’… the necessary skill and judgement required to execute the most effective delivery or combination of shots in any game situation.
The lawn bowls skills exhibited by a player must become instinctive in order to cope with the many demands placed upon the player in a competitive game situation. The Mantis Games therefore provide a progressive and transitional step towards the transference of game skills into the full competitive lawn bowls game formats.
Mini-Mantis Boules
Individuals at the lower end of the foundation level may encounter difficulties when playing with a traditional lawn bowl, this particularly when taking into consideration both the weight and bias of the bowl.
Mini-Mantis Boules has been introduced to encourage and promote the inclusion of people of all abilities within the game of lawn bowls by enabling players to engage in all the fun of the Mantis Games.
Set up on a flat green bowls rink
Set up on a badminton court
The Mantis has been modified to form the Mini-Mantis (and Mini-Mantis Jaws) making it suitable for playing with boccia balls. This offers a greater diversity and inclusion for players to experience and fully enjoy the challenges of the Mantis Games.
Mini-Mantis Boules is played with boccia balls on a similar sized space to that used when playing boccia, whether played on a flat green bowls rink or on a badminton court. The main difference when using the boccia balls is in their propulsion when rolling or tossing the ball towards the Mini-Mantis or the Mini-Mantis Jaws.
Mini-Mantis Boules therefore assists and contributes towards a player taking a transitional and progressive step from playing the game of Boccia to the more traditional game of Lawn Bowls.
Mini-Mantis Bowls
Mini-Mantis Bowls assists in paving the way for a player to take progressive steps from playing Mini-Mantis Boules over to the more traditional game of lawn bowls. It also serves as an effective means of assisting a player to acquire a deft hand when delivering a lawn bowl, as the rink spans a short distance of only 13.4m.
Set up on a flat green bowls rink
Set up on a badminton court
The Mantis has been modified to form the Mini-Mantis (and Mini-Mantis Jaws) which are also used when playing Mini-Mantis Boules.
Mini-Mantis Bowls is played between the two hog lines when played on a flat green bowls rink and as such is called ‘Hog Line Bowls’. This game essentially offers a scaled down version of the Mantis Games. Fenders are positioned on each of the hog lines to define both ends of the Mini-Mantis Bowls rink.
Players may wish to acquaint themselves with the bias on a lawn bowl using the New Age Bowls, before trying to play with a traditional lawn bowl. Mini-Mantis Bowls can be played on a badminton court, as well as on a flat green bowls rink, using the New Age Bowls to assist in gaining an understanding of the effect of the bias on a lawn bowl.
Mini-Mantis Bowls therefore assists in paving the way for a player to take progressive steps from playing Mini-Mantis Boules over to the more traditional game of lawn bowls.