Canada and USA each field teams of 10 women and 10 men who compete over three days in Singles, Pairs, Triples and Fours. Competing separately, the women and men are grouped into two squads of 5 players each. Each squad plays the two teams from the opposing country. The top and bottom ranked teams of each country then play in a final.
The squads are named Jarvis and Folkins, named after two famous lawn bowlers, Richard Folkins from the U.S. and Graham Jarvis from Canada.
Day 1-2: Pairs and Triples
Game 1 – USA Jarvis vs. Canada Jarvis; USA Folkins vs. Canada Folkins
Game 2 – Cross-over game (Jarvis vs Folkins)
Game 3- No. 1 USA vs No. 1 Canada; No. 2 USA vs No. 2 Canada
Day 2-3: Singles and Fours
Same format as above.
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The US and Canada each have 20 bowlers on the team. Selectors from each country assign the ten men and ten women to either the Folkins or Jarvis squad, each squad having five men and five women. The squads compete against their opponents in a total of six games over three days in Singles, Pairs, Triples and Fours (Rinks). In each round, the men’s and women’s squads bowl three games against their male or female opponents, e.g. in game one the US Folkins men play CAN Folkins men, and in game two US Folkins men play CAN Jarvis men. The same format applies to the women’s squads. Two points are awarded for each win and one point for a tie.
In the third game, the best men’s and women’s squads compete against the best from the other country, based on points won in the previous two games. Likewise, the second place bowlers play against each other.
Confused? Join the crowd! To comprehend the NAC format, it helps to have an MBA from the London School of Economics. When it doubt, cheer for your favorite team and trust the organizers who are masters with an abacus! To complicate matters even further, seven trophies are awarded to the winners at the North American Challenge, namely: Men’s Folkins, Men’s Jarvis, Women’s Folkins, Women’s Jarvis, Overall Folkins, Overall Jarvis and Overall NAC.
Whew! But it’s a load of fun, and there’s always great bowling.
