The main reason to have your bowls tested is due to wear and tear. Wear on a bowl will put a flat on the running sole of a bowl, so while spinning the bowl will have a tendency to run on this flat, negating the bias.

The time frame in which you should have your bowls tested will depend on how often you play, the surface you play on and the position you play.

The affects that cause wear and tear

• Surface -- All bowling greens are top dressed with some sort of material. Because of the harsh climate in Queensland the greens are top dressed with a glass sand which is very abrasive, however Victoria top dresses their greens with a loam which is much less abrasive.

• How often -- If you play 3 days a week as opposed to someone who plays 1 day a week, your bowls are going to wear 3 times faster. You play an average of 25 ends at a distance of approx. 90 feet (30 metres), that equals 2,250 feet (750 metres) per game. If you play 2 games per day, 3 days a week, that’s a total of 13,000 feet (4.5 kilometres) your bowl is travelling on an abrasive surface.

• Position -- Playing the position skip, one is more prone to drive, sending the bowl as fast as possible down the green from a stationary position. The bowl must spin on the green to reach its maximum velocity, compared to playing a lead position where one is rolling the bowl out of the hand slowly. If the bowls are not alternated during play (2 this game, 2 the next) the uneven wear can lead to a miss matched set of bowls.

The testing of bowls

A test table consists of 3 full size billiard tables 9.5 metres long with a slate thickness of 35mm. Testing only takes place when the temperature of the table and the room is within the range of 15°c - 30°c.

A chute at one end delivers the bowls smoothly to the table at a maximum angle of 7°, thus a constant speed. The World Bowls Board (WBB) supplies a master or Working Reference Bowl (WRB) which has the minimum amount of bias allowed.

Each set of bowls submitted for testing is first cleaned, removing old polish so as not to hinder the run of the bowl and contaminate the running surface. The bowls are then run down the table at a distance of 9 metres, as measured along the chute/jack line, against the WRB, each bowl must have as much or more bias than the WRB in order for them to pass.

Each set must also finish within a specified radius for it to be classes as a matched set of bowls. If the set does not comply, the bias on the offending bowl(s) will be altered on a lathe to comply. They are then stamped with an official WBB date stamp and issued with a WBB test report.