People often confuse lawn bowling with the Italian sport of bocce but the people at Christina Lake’s lawn bowling club will quickly correct you.

It isn’t like bocce or bowling for that matter reads a release from the club.

“Lawn Bowls is a game of skill and strategy much like curling,” it reads.

The game is played with a bowl (not to be confused with a ball), which can be best described as a disproportionately weighted and shaped five-pin bowling ball.

“We have a big emblem on one side of the bowl and a small emblem on the other side and a bowl is not totally round,” explained club member Lucie Ackles.

While curlers try to guide their stones to the house and the button, lawn bowlers will try to guide their bowls to a small white ball referred to as “the jack.”

The jack is thrown prior to each period, referred to as an “end” and the goal is to get the bowl as close to the jack as possible.

Players don’t throw blindly though as another player is near the jack and helps members of their team get as close to the mark as possible.

“There’s a lead or a skip up there, just as there is in curling, and they lead us to say which direction they want us to play,” Ackles said.

“Often we can’t see what’s up at the other end, where the bowls are or anything else like that so they sort of lead and guide us.”

Players throw a ball from a mat and prior to play even beginning, the mat must be set up on the playing surface.

When players toss their bowls, the side with the smaller emblem should be on the pointing in and due to its shape, the bowl will curl and teams score when they get close to the jack.

“The bowls that are closest to the jack are scored on,” explains Fred Stevens, the club’s president.

“Everybody’s bowl is different and has different marks on it so you can identify whose bowl it is.”

Games normally last 10-12 ends depending on weather and the mood of the club members.

Ackles says that the club currently has 15 paid members with fees costing $75 a year.

The fee allows members to bowl twice a week and while the clubs collective is comprised of seniors, young members are welcome.