BOURNEMOUTH EVENING TRIPLES BOWLING ASSOCIATION

RULES & REGULATIONS

(agreed at the AGM - 29th October 2023)


  1. The League shall be known as the Bournemouth Evening Triples Bowling Association.

  2. The object of the league shall be the playing of bowls according to the rules laid down by Bowls England.

  3. The Officers of the Association shall consist of up to four representatives, which include a President, General Secretary, Treasurer and League Secretary. The said Officers shall act as the Management Committee. A Bank account is to be maintained with the Treasurer, Secretary and President being the signatories on the account with a mandate for any two signatories to sign cheques and documents. 

  4. The Committee shall meet as required and a quorum shall consist of not less than three members with the President having the casting vote.

  5. The Annual General Meeting will be held not later than the 30th November when reports and audited accounts shall be submitted, and officers elected for the ensuing year.

  6. The Association shall not be dissolved except by an extraordinary general meeting and in the event of any dissolution all funds and assets shall be disposed of as shall be determined.

  7. Each Section shall consist of no more than eight teams.

  8. Each team shall consist of two triples, with no restriction on gender.

  9. Entry fees for each team to be determined at each A.G.M.

  10. Any new team accepted into the league, will be placed in the lowest section.


RULES FOR LEAGUE MATCHES

  1. All matches are to be played on a home and away basis and scheduled to be played on Tuesday evenings (unless a match has to be rearranged and by mutual consent of both teams).

  2. All members playing in the league must be a registered member of the affiliated club they are representing. There is no requirement to register members in the league, and any player can play for another team within the same club.

    1. Matches consist of 18 ends with two trial ends which will be played, except by mutual consent where no trial ends can be played, and all shots scored counting.

    2. If the weather is inclement, the captains can agree before the match that 12 ends will constitute a match. 

    3. If a minimum of 12 ends have been completed on both rinks and the match has to be stopped due to the green becoming unplayable or for safety reasons, the match will be considered complete if both captains agree. Failure of agreement, if the game stops then the committee will make a final decision after receiving reports from both teams.

    4. If it is necessary to abandon the match before 5 ends have been completed, the rearranged match will be started from scratch. If 5 or more, but less than 12 ends have been completed, the remaining ends to complete the 18 ends (or 12 ends if agreed before the start of the original match) must be played on a later date. In either case trial ends will be played except by mutual consent, as per rule 13a above.

    5. All outstanding ends must be completed within 3 weeks, except within the last 2 weeks, when all matches must be completed before the last league match. If the last league match cannot be completed on the night, it must be completed within 7 days or declared tied, with no rink points awarded. i.e. One point each, instead of three points each.

    6. Any decision regarding whether the green is playable before the start of the match is the home club’s decision. They will be responsible for notifying the opposition at the earliest opportunity. All postponed games will be required to be played within three weeks, as per rule 13e above. If an agreement between captains cannot be made for the game to be played within this timeframe, the game will be declared a tie, with one point awarded to each team.

    7. If a game does not start or is stopped before completion, the League Secretary must be informed, stating reasons, at the earliest opportunity by email.

    8. A player who has already played for another team in the same fixture week cannot play in a rearranged match for another team.

  4. Starting times for matches shall be 18:00 with a maximum no penalty delay of 15 minutes, or at the discretion of the opposition it may be longer. When other unforeseen circumstances or lack of daylight issues may limit playing time, the matches can start earlier by mutual agreement between Captains, or if notified to do so by the League Secretary.

  5. In the event of one team member not turning up, two players will be expected to play against three players as follows:

LEAD A, LEAD B, TWO A, repeated

followed by the SKIP A then SKIP B.

(Likewise if only four players turn up from one team, they will be expected to play 2 rinks of two players against 2 rinks of three players). In all these scenarios. each player will have their three woods each (total 6 woods vs 9 woods) and there will be no percentage reduction.

  1. Scoring shall consist of up to six points: 2 points for the aggregate win or 1 point for an aggregate draw; 2 additional points for each winning rink or 1 point for a drawn rink.

  2. In the event of a less than 4 players arriving from one team for an arranged league game, or conceding before the match, the offending team shall be penalised to the extent of 2 points for the first offence, 4 points for the second and further occasions, and the potential of losing their section placing for the following season if more than two offences occur. The non-offending team shall be awarded 6 points.

  3. During the season, if a team is unable to fulfil their remaining fixtures, the team will be removed from the league, with all previous results expunged.

  4. Results of each match must be entered on the online reporting system ‘League Republic’ by the home club, and by 10:00 the following morning. This is both the result and the scorecards. Should there be exceptional reasons for the scorecard not being uploaded, then this may be sent to the League Secretary by email within the same deadlines. There is an expectation for all results to be entered online and on time.

  5. For all leagues, the two teams in each section (except Section 1) winning the greatest number of points will be promoted to the next higher section, and the two teams at the bottom of each section (except the lowest section) will be demoted to the next lower section. This may be dependent on the number of entries to the league for the following season, and in the opinion of the Association’s Executive Committee, this rule can be varied. In the event of a tie on points within each section the finishing order will be decided on the basis of the following criteria, listed in order of priority:

    1. Rinks won and lost difference

    2. Shot difference  

    3. Total rinks won

    4. Total shots scored

    5. The aggregate results of the matches between the clubs concerned.

  6. Regulation dress for all league matches to be: 

    1. Above the waist: White shirts or coloured shirts (in club colours/or shirts that have been registered with Bowls England and approved by the County Association).

    2. Below the waist: Grey trousers, shorts, skirts, cropped trousers, culottes or coloured trousers, shorts, skirts, cropped trousers, culottes (in club colours that have been registered with Bowls England and approved by the County Association).                                                                                                                                                                                                        

    3. All six members of the team shall wear the same registered club colours and design above and below the waist.                                                                                                 

    4. Fleeces, jackets, and wet weather clothing including headgear, when worn, must be white or in registered club colours. Bowling shoes must conform to the appropriate requirements in the laws of the sport.


RULES FOR THE KNOCKOUT CUP COMPETITION

In general, the Knockout Cup rules are the same as those in the League except:

  1. Challenging opponents

Challengers (the first named team in the draw, the home team) must offer three dates, (two of which must be different weekday evenings *but not Tuesday’s, Thursday’s or Saturday’s except by mutual agreement). Failure to agree on a date is down to the Challengers discretion to offer additional dates. If no agreement can be reached, then it shall be a walkover for the challengers.

1st Round only - Failure to contact the opposition within Seven Days from the start of the league season will mean that the Opposition becomes the challenger and has the choice of green and dates to offer. The League Secretary needs to be made aware of the fixture date. If neither team contacts each other within 2 weeks of the start of the league season, both teams will be eliminated.

If a team has a bye to the second round, then that team may make the challenge before completion of the first round.

If appropriate a challenge can be made before the end of the previous round once the two winning teams have each been notified by the League secretary.

2nd Round onwards - Failure to contact the opposition within Four Days from the end of the previous round (i.e. play by date), will mean that the Opposition becomes the challenger and has the choice of green and dates to offer. The League Secretary needs to be made aware of the fixture date. If neither team contacts each other within 2 weeks of the end of the previous round (i.e. play by date), both teams will be eliminated.

The League Secretary must be made aware of any issues around fixture arrangement.

  1. Players may only play for one team. 

  2. 18 ends are to be played (or 12 if agreed before the match because of inclement weather), as referred to in Rule 13. The rink to play an extra end in the event of a drawn match, is to be decided before the start of the match.

  3. At the end of the match the winning team must enter the result on the online reporting system ‘League Republic’ by 10:00 the following morning. This is both the result and the scorecards. Should there be exceptional reasons for the scorecard not being uploaded, then this may be sent to the League Secretary by email within the same deadlines. There is an expectation for all results to be entered online and on time.

  4. During the season, if a team has been removed from the league, but were still in the Knockout Cup at time of removal, their opponents will automatically receive a bye.


KNOCKOUT FINALS DAY

  1. If the match is abandoned after 12 ends have been played on both rinks (as agreed by the Umpire) the result will stand. Incomplete matches (less than 12 ends) will be played on a reserve date and not necessarily at the original venue. Scores will carry on from the original match. Substitutes will be allowed for the replay, providing they have not played for another team in the knockout competition.

  2. Regulation dress for Finals Day - see rule 21                                                                                

  3. The Finals Day venue for each current season will be decided at the Spring Meeting, with all clubs to have the opportunity to submit their application to host that year's Finals Day. Where there is more than one submission and the venue cannot be decided by discussion, then each club represented at the Spring Meeting shall have a vote to decide the outcome. Every BETBA member club will have the opportunity to host the Finals Day on a rolling basis, and no club shall host the Finals Day in consecutive years.


REGULATIONS

  1. These regulations are subject to alteration temporarily, as necessary, by the Executive to deal with any unforeseen circumstances which may occur during the season. This includes changes in league play format and arrangements necessary to be implemented due to any reason. Any alterations will be communicated to member clubs as soon as possible and will cease to have effect after the completion of the League season, unless made permanent at an AGM.

  2. The above rules may be amended in writing by application to the Secretary a minimum of two weeks prior to the A.G.M. or at a specially convened Extraordinary General Meeting called for the specific purpose of such change.