Once upon a time, the sport known as the Game of Bowls was considered a subversive activity that weakened the military prowess of the British and was subject to stern penalties.

These days, the sport is more often called lawn bowling and it is practised mostly by older players in the peace and quiet of sites like the 91原创 .

Outside Canada, it鈥檚 a little different, Club president Barbara Miller noted during a recent open house at the club, a well-manicured stretch of green grass with room for multiple games, located near 91原创 City鈥檚 Douglas Park at 20471 54 Ave.

鈥淲orldwide, the average age of bowlers is about 28 years old,鈥� Miller said .

But if you are a senior, the game is a good choice, she said.

鈥淭here鈥檚 bending and walking and stretching. Keeps you active and moving and it鈥檚 always outdoors in the nice fresh air.鈥�

It was June 3, the very first , National Health and Fitness Day and the day that the Participaction Play List, a cross-Canada promotion designed to get Canadians sampling unfamiliar sports applied the spottlight to lawn bowling, which is is number on the 150 activities on the list.

About a dozen novices were trying the game for the very first time.

Newcomer Marie Isaac explained she was looking for options after her husband, an 鈥渁vid鈥� curler, required knee replacement surgery and had to give up the sport.

Lawn bowling could be an acceptable plan B, she thought.

鈥�(We鈥檙e) just looking for activities that seniors, supposedly retired people, can do,鈥� Isaac said.

After playing awhile, it was beginning to win her over.

鈥淚t looks like a group of people that enjoy being together and have fun.鈥�

Miller told one visitor it is better to take up bowling earlier than later.

鈥淚 wish I鈥檇 started in my 40s,鈥� she said.

鈥淚 was born in England and raised in England until I was 11 and my grandfather lawn bowled. I always said that when I retired, I would take up lawn bowling, which I did. And once I did, I regretted that I hadn鈥檛 taken it up earlier, because the earlier you start, the much better bowler you are.

鈥淎nd when you want to get into competition, which I like to try and do 鈥� it鈥檚 much, much better to start earlier.鈥�

Lawn bowling is played on a large, level surface of grass or artificial turf called the 鈥済reen,鈥� surrounded by a shallow ditch divided into separate rinks.

Between one and four people can play at a time, with the 鈥渓eads鈥� first to bowl and the 鈥渟kips鈥� going last.

The sport probably started in the stone age with cavemen rolling rocks on the ground.

Similar games were played by the Egyptians, Aztecs, early Polynesians, and various First Nations.

There are records of organized lawn bowls being played as far back as the 12th century in Britain.

The unique shape of the balls used in modern lawn bowling was introduced in the 1500s, supposedly because the British Duke of Suffolk broke a ball during play and the impatient nobleman replaced it by sawing off an ornamental ball from a stair banister, leaving one part flat and sending the ball curving at the end of its run, instead of continuing on a straight line.

The sport became so popular, various British kings and queens worried citizens would neglect archery practice, reducing the country鈥檚 military readiness.

Edward III, Richard II and Henry IV all tried to limit bowls and other sports, including tennis, banning 鈥渓ow-born鈥� people from taking them up and setting heavy fines for those who disobeyed.

Queen Mary complained that the game of bowls was being used as an excuse for 鈥渦nlawful assemblies, conventiclers (a secret or illegal religious meeting), seditions, and conspiracies鈥�.

The ban was pretty much ignored by most in the British Isles until the restrictions were finally, formally, lifted three centuries later by Queen Victoria.

The 91原创 Lawn Bowling Club was founded in 1979 and has been in operation since 1982, when the Douglas Park lawn bowling green was built by the City of 91原创, with funding from the 91原创 Rotary Club and the provincial government of the day.

The club offers drop-in sessions on Tuesdays and Fridays at 6:45 p.m.

It can be reached by emailing bowlslangley@gmail.com or phoning 604-514-2695 or 604-534-7465.