The sport of lawn bowls is steadily gaining ground in Uganda, thanks to the determined efforts of the relatively new established Uganda Bowls. Since its recognition by World Bowls in early 2025, the organization has embarked on a mission to introduce, promote, and institutionalize the sport across the country.

Leading this charge are President Linus Wamanya and Secretary Reagan Egulwa, who recently returned from a benchmarking and capacity-building visit to Nairobi, Kenya. The duo underwent intensive training under Coach Pio Munyingi, Vice President of the Kenya Bowling Federation, gaining technical insights and strategic guidance to kickstart Uganda’s bowls journey.

Their return marked a new chapter for the sport. Earlier this week, Uganda Bowls received a generous donation of two sets of lawn bowls from Sophy Kihuyu, President of the Kenya Bowling Federation, during her visit to Uganda. This donation has energized local training efforts, with sessions now actively underway at the National Council of Sports hockey grounds in Lugogo.

“We are building from the ground up and Bowls being an inclusive sport, everyone can try their way to perfection,” said Kizito the Team Coach. “The support from Kenya has been invaluable, and we’re now focused on community outreach, demonstration in schools and universities and player development to prepare a competitive team for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.” Said Wamanya Linus.

Lawn bowls is a core sport at the Commonwealth Games, and Uganda Bowls is determined to make its debut count. With grassroots training, strategic partnerships, and a growing pool of enthusiastic players, the federation is laying the foundation for a historic representation.

Lawn bowls is played by rolling biased, or curved, bowls toward a smaller white target ball called the “jack”. Players from opposing teams take turns delivering their bowls from a mat, aiming to get their bowls closer to the jack than their opponent’s. After all bowls have been delivered for an “end,” the player with the bowl closest to the jack scores a point for every bowl closer to the jack than any opponent’s bowl. The game continues for a set number of ends or until a player reaches a set score.