On August 7 World Bowls has endorsed a new set of the Laws of the Sport of Bowls, the Crystal Mark Fourth Edition. In Hong Kong the new laws will take effect from December 1, 2022.
While there are not a lot of changes in the new law, some of them may still have impact to our games:
| Law | Description | Implication |
| 5.11 | …… At the discretion of the Controlling Body, trial ends may also be permitted when an interrupted game has been moved between a vegetation surface and a synthetic or indoor surface. | If a game was interrupted by inclement weather, the game can be moved to a different playing surface and trail ends are allowed. However, according to HKLBA bye-laws, the option to change playing surface will be given to the visiting team. |
| 26.3 | There must be no further play in a knockout competition if at any point it becomes impossible for a player, team or side to win the game, given the number of ends left. | New law to state that a knockout game will be stopped when it is impossible for a team or player to win the game. |
| 29.1.4 | Playing out of turn
If a bowl has been played by each team or player in Singles before the players discover that one of them has played out of turn, play in that end must continue in that order. |
After both players played their bowl in the wrong order, the end will continue in that order. |
| 29.3.1.2 | Changing bowls
…. unless: The game has been moved between a vegetation surface and a synthetic or indoor surface |
If a game was interrupted and need to move to a different playing surface, the players are allowed to change their bowls. |
| 37.1.3 | If a bowl in its original course is deliberately displaced or stopped by a member of the team that delivered the bowl, the defaulting team will forfeit the game to their opponent. | Heavy penalty to non-sportsmanship behavior. |
| 37.1.5.3 | If a player lifts a bowl at rest on their rink to allow their team’s bowl in its original course to pass, the defaulting team will forfeit the game to their opponent. | Heavy penalty to non-sportsmanship behavior. |
Although the changes will not mean significant alteration to the way we play the sport, I think it is essential that every bowlers in Hong Kong should be fully aware of the new Laws. Every clubs, umpires and coaches will be provided with a copy of the new law books and additional copies may acquire from the HKLBA office. In the meantime, we are translating it and will make it available to everyone once completed.