Club Championship (League) Rules 2024

Last updated: January 2024 (incorporating changes made at 2023 AGM)

1. LEAGUES

a) There are two competitions - Premier and Saturday Triples. There is no promotion between the two competitions.

b) Clubs are required to return to the League Secretary by the 28th February preceding the forthcoming season the form indicating their entries to the Premier and Saturday Triples Leagues. The League Secretary will issue the fixture list for the forthcoming season no later than the end of March. No changes to entries will be permitted after the fixture list has been issued. If a team withdraws from a league before the season starts or during the season, the Association’s Executive is empowered to refuse readmission of that team for a period to be determined at its discretion.

c) Where possible the leagues are divided into sections, each consisting of no more than ten teams. There is no limit to the number of teams an affiliated club may have in the premier league, subject to an overall maximum number of teams that the executive may determine from time to time. However, it is the responsibility of each club to ensure that it has sufficient playing members to meet all its commitments. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, each team will play the other teams in its section once at home and once away. The season will commence on the closest Saturday to May 1st.

d) For both leagues, the two teams in each section (except Section 1) winning the greatest number of points will be promoted to the next higher section except where the number of entries to the league for the following season require, in the opinion of the Association’s Executive Committee, that this rule should be varied. The team in each section winning the most points during the season is the champion club of the section for that year. In the event of a tie on points, 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. Shots difference

3. Total rinks won

4. Total shots scored

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

e) The default start times are 10:00am for the Saturday Triples League and 2:00pm for the Premier League. Some clubs are prevented by local restrictions to start before 10:30am. A default time of 10:30 will apply for their home matches. Any changes to such local restrictions must be notified to the League Secretary at the earliest opportunity. These times may be brought forward by mutual agreement. They may also be deferred by up to 30 minutes by mutual agreement. Postponements of more than 30 minutes require the approval of the League Secretary. Any mutually agreed change of start time should be notified to the League Secretary who will, where possible, amend the association’s website accordingly. On the match day, team captains may mutually agree, if all players are available, to start the match up to 30 minutes before the scheduled start time. Matches played other than on a Saturday, in accordance with rules 10 or 11 may start at a mutually agreed time.

2. TWO SIDES FROM ONE CLUB IN SAME SECTION

Should there be at any time more than one side from one club in the same section of the league, these sides will play each other as early as possible in each half of the season.

3. NEW ENTRANTS

New teams wishing to join the leagues can apply to do so via the League Secretary. New teams will not join at the expense of existing teams in the leagues, and will only join if there are spaces to do so, meaning a team finishing bottom of the lowest section of the Premier and Saturday Triples will not go through the process of re-applying, unless there have been occasions throughout the season when one or more games have been awarded to the opposition without playing. Only then, the decision to re-apply for league status will come into effect, should the Executive Committee deem it necessary. Any team accepted for admission to the leagues will be admitted into the lowest section.

4. PLAYER REGISTRATION

There is no requirement to register players prior to the season start, in both the Premier and Triples league. However, it is the Club Secretary’s role to notify the League Secretary should any player wish to join their team from another club during the season. This is so that checks can be made to ratify the move, in accordance to rule 5.

5. PLAYERS’ ELIGIBILITY

a) To be eligible to play in the league competition a player:

i) may compete for only one and the same affiliated club in any one season (but see regulation 5(b) below);

ii) must be a registered member of the affiliated club.

b) Notwithstanding Regulation 5(a)(i) above, a player may play for more than one and the same affiliated club in any one season provided he has played in no more than four league matches in the Premier League for the first affiliated club and the league secretary is satisfied that the reason for the player wishing to play for another affiliated club is valid.

Premier League only: Players who have played in any league team in ten or more matches one to fourteen inclusive, cannot play for a lower team (including any other team(s) from the club in the same section) in matches fifteen onwards.

c) If a team is found to have fielded an ineligible player, a mandatory penalty of 6 points will be applied immediately the infringement is discovered. The rink score on the rink on which the ineligible player played will be deemed to have been 10-0 to the non-offending side unless the original result was more favourable to the non-offending side, in which case, the original score will stand. The match points awarded will take account of any revised rink and aggregate score.

d) Premier League only: No player, having played in a team on the date of the original match, may play in a re-arranged match in any other team or section. Breach of this regulation will result in a penalty (Regulation 13).

6. CONSTITUTION OF SIDES (Saturday Triples League in brackets)

a) League sides consist of twelve (six) players of each club; four (three) players of each side per rink; eighteen (eighteen) ends to be played. (Any variation to the number of ends played in accordance with the laws of the sport must be notified to the League secretary) – two trial ends. The rinks to be used for a match shall be nominated by the home team’s captain. A draw must be made to decide which home four (triple) plays which away four (triple) and on which rinks each game will be played. Once that draw has been made any changes to teams or rinks can only be made by mutual consent of the team captains. It is expected that threes will play up in all games. Any team which finds it is unable to field a full team of twelve players may play up to three rinks of triples with a limit of three games per season which consist of more than one rink of triples. Any such game played after the third depleted team will be considered as unfulfilled and Rule 13 will apply.

b) Time Limit: If a single member of a side is absent at the start time of play, fifteen minutes must be allowed, after which a substitute may be introduced, who must be a fully paid up member of the club to which the side belongs. It is down to the discretion of the opposition captain should they allow for the original member to play after the 15 minutes ruling, if no substitute is available, otherwise the rink will commence with one less player. If for any reason a team is delayed, then the game must still be played as a full game.

c) Absent Players and/or Illness on Green: If, at the time of commencement of play, a single player is absent from one rink of either club, the match will proceed. Premier - The play will proceed as follows:- leads on both teams play alternately in the usual way with two woods each. The number 2 on the team with a full complement of players will then play his two bowls in succession and then the number number 3 and the skips on both teams shall bowl their woods in the usual way. (Please view Appendix A & B, which sets out the order of play for both Triples and Premier matches.) If unusual circumstances occur and more than one player is absent, the match should be played and the league secretary informed the same evening. The league secretary will decide what action is to be taken and will refer to the executive for confirmation. If, during the course of a match a player has to leave the green owing to illness or any other reasonable cause, his place may be taken by a substitute who must be a member of the same club. Should the player affected be a skip, his duties and position must be assumed by the third player and the substitute must play as lead, second or third. If a substitute is not made, the scheme of playing six bowls only by the depleted side as set out earlier in this paragraph will apply for the rest of the game. No change to the score will apply.

d) Substitutes: Except for the introduction of substitutes provided in Regulation 6(c), teams cannot be changed once the match has started on the day of the match.

e) Saturday Triples League only: If a club can field only three players, then the game can still be played as a single triples match, providing the club fielding only one triple has given at least two days’ notice to the opposing club and the League Secretary of its intention to play only one triple. If necessary, a notional score will be ascribed to the unplayed triple which will ensure an overall win to the team who could have fielded a full side.

In the examples that follow Team A could have fielded a full team, Team B were able to field only one triple.

Example 1: Score in triple played; Team A 10 shots, Team B 19 shots; Notional score for unplayed triple Team A 10 shots Team B 0 shots. Overall score: Team A 20 shots (4 points) Team B 19 shots (2 points)

Example 2: Score in triple played; Team A 15 shots Team B 15 shots; Notional score for unplayed triple Team A 1 shot, Team B 0 shots. Overall score: Team A 16 shots (5 points) Team B 15 shots (1 point)

Example 3: Score in triple played; Team A 18 shots, Team B 12 shots; Notional score for unplayed triple Team A 1 shot, Team B 0 shots. Overall score: Team A 19 shots (6 points) Team B 12 shots (0 points).

f) Player eligibility: There will be no restriction on the mix of male and female players in each team. Clubs must ensure suitable facilities are available at the match venue.

7. SCORING

a) Scoring is as follows (Saturday Triples League in brackets)

Each winning rink on either side will receive two (two) points and the overall winning side four (two) points. The maximum number of points will be ten (six) points. In the event of a draw, either on a rink or overall, the rink or overall points, as the case may be, will be shared equally between the sides.

b) In all matches, rink score boards are to be kept in place until the match is concluded. At the end of the match score cards must be signed by the respective skips before the result forms are completed. All score cards are to be kept and produced at the request of the league secretary. Any green fees are borne by the home team.

8. RESULTS

The results of each match must be entered on the online reporting system by 19:30 for afternoon games and 15:30 for morning games. Should there be exceptional reasons for not being able to use the online system the result should be notified by email within the same deadlines as for online submissions. The result form and/or score cards showing the agreed score, together with the names of all players participating, must be entered on to the online league reporting system within 72 hours of the game finishing. Failure to do so will incur an initial warning, followed by potential penalty point deductions at the discretion of the Executives.

9. POSTPONEMENT - WEATHER:

a) Any decision regarding whether the green is playable before the start of the match is the home club’s decision, and must also take into account the health and safety of all players and spectators. They will be responsible for notifying the opposition at the earliest opportunity if deemed unplayable. The clubs concerned must agree a rearranged date so that it is played within fifteen days. 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 only two points awarded to each team (one point each for Triples). There will be no splitting of the whole points at any time in the season.

If it is deemed that the game can start, a decision can be made between both captains to shorten the length of the game to 12 ends, if the weather forecast looks like it will deteriorate further. However, once agreed, a full length game can no longer occur, regardless of weather changes.

b) If a game gets called off after commencement, the following will apply depending on the amount of ends played by all rinks:

0-4 ends - The re-arranged match will start from scratch. Trial ends will be played.

5-11 ends - the re-arranged match resumes where it left off. Trial ends will be played. Any rearranged match will be played in the evening unless an alternative day (i.e Sunday) has been agreed by the clubs concerned. During the last two matches, should sides be unable to play due to adverse weather, playing time limited because of darker evenings or the inability of agreement between the clubs concerned, the match will be declared a tie, both teams sharing the points. (No rink points will be awarded.)

12 or more ends - If both captains agree the match is considered complete.

c) The league secretary must be informed of any rearranged date or any other arrangements within forty-eight hours.

10. POSTPONED, REARRANGED OR RESUMED MATCHES – SELECTION

When a postponed, rearranged or resumed match is played, both clubs must play the original sides selected (so far as is practicable) for the resumed match. A player who has already played for another team in the same fixture week cannot play in a rearranged match for another team. Should a match be played at any other time than the appointed time Regulation 6(b) will apply. Any club may advise the league secretary (in writing) if there is reason to believe there has been a breach of this regulation. The executive will investigate a written complaint and may impose a penalty (Regulation 13).

11. CHANGE OF FIXTURE DATE BY MUTUAL AGREEMENT

When a club considers that valid grounds exist to change the date of an appointed league match and the other club agrees to the change, the match must be played within fourteen days or up to six days after the scheduled date. The club initiating the change must notify the league secretary immediately agreement has been reached. Should there be a problem between the two clubs involved and the league secretary is unable to resolve it, he will refer all details to the executive, whose decision will be final. The league secretary may refuse permission to change a fixture date if, in their opinion, any club would be disadvantaged by allowing the agreed rearrangement of the fixture. Breach of this regulation will result in a penalty (Regulation 13).

12. MATCHES NOT PLAYED (Saturday Triples League in brackets)

Where a side fails to fulfil a fixture, the side will be penalised to the extent of twenty (ten) shots and their opponents awarded ten (six) points and twenty (ten) shots. If any team fails to play 3 matches during the season, all its previous matches will be declared void and its record will be deleted from the section’s league table. The team will be disqualified from entering the league for the following season. If a team concedes a match in the final 3 weeks of the season which, in the opinion of the League Secretary, has a major consequence for promotion and relegation issues, the team will be disqualified from entering the league for the following season. A club may appeal, in writing, to the Association’s Executive Committee against a disqualification issued under this rule. The appeal must be notified to the Association’s General Secretary within 14 days of the notice of disqualification being issued.

13. PENALTIES

If any club has committed a breach of these regulations the executive may, after investigation of the circumstances, impose a penalty on the club. The executive will determine the type of penalty, which must be proportionate to the nature and extent of the regulation breach. The maximum penalty the executive may impose is a deduction of the maximum number of points and twenty shots, unless the regulation breached allows for a different maximum penalty. The executive may also rule that a club which has breached regulations has defaulted in the matches concerned and may apply the provisions of Rule 12 to the match(es) in question. A club has the right of appeal against the imposition of a penalty. Such an appeal must be made in writing or by email to the General Secretary within seven days of receipt of notification of the penalty.

14. DRESS

B&DBA will comply with the current Bowls England rules and recommendations regarding clothing.

a) Above the waist: White shirts or approved club colours.

b) Below the waist: Players have the freedom to choose to wear trousers, culottes, skirts, skorts or shorts on an individual basis, with no requirement to wear the same item as other players in their team, as long as all members of the same team/side wear the same colour or design below the waist. Permitted club colours must comply with Bowls England requirements below the waist.

Any additional items such as waterproofs, long-sleeved base layers, leggings or similar items do not need to match your club colours.

For re-arranged evening games, greys can be worn.

c) Shoes: There is not a requirement to wear bowling shoes, however, flat shoes must conform to the appropriate requirements in the laws of the sport.

15. BOWLS

All bowls used in the league matches must be stamped and comply with the laws of the sport. All bowls used by a player must be from the same set. All players must have their own club stickers on both sides of their bowls.

16. DAMAGE TO GREENS

lf the home team captain or the designated management official of the home club or green at which the match is being played believes that a player is causing damage to the green as a result of his delivery or any other action, then the opposing captain must be told. This will be treated as a first warning. Action must be taken immediately to stop the problem. However, if it continues, a second warning will be given and if the player does not heed the warnings, the captain will automatically have permission to demand the player's withdrawal. A substitute is not permitted for the withdrawn player. From then on Rule 6(d) will apply as for illness during a game with a substitute not being available. The league secretary must be advised immediately of the situation after the game.

17. LAYOUT OF THE GREEN - DISPUTE PROCEDURES

If a visiting team captain believes that the green has not been legally laid out then:-

a. a formal complaint must be made to the home team captain before the start of play.

b. if the green lay out is not rectified, the match MUST be played.

c. any formal protest must be made to the League Secretary within 72 hours.

The League Secretary will arrange a review of the situation and if necessary, apply the appropriate penalties.

18. REGULATIONS

These regulations are subject to alteration temporarily, as necessary, by the executive to deal with any unforeseen circumstances which occur during the season. Any alterations must be communicated to member clubs as soon as possible. Any alterations will cease to have effect after the completion of the league season, unless made permanent at the AGM.

APPENDIX A - TRIPLES MATCHES

Sequence of play where one team is a player short on a rink

Team A has 3 players; Team B has 2 players

Scenario 1 – Team A’s jack

1st wood - Lead A, Lead B, Two A

2nd wood - Lead A, Lead B, Two A

3rd wood - Lead A, Lead B, Two A

1st wood - Skip A, Skip B

2nd wood - Skip A, Skip B

3rd wood - Skip A, Skip B

Scenario 2 – Team B’s jack

1st wood - Lead B, Lead A, Two A

2nd wood - Lead B, Lead A, Two A

3rd wood - Lead B, Lead A, Two A

1st wood - Skip B, Skip A

2nd wood - Skip B, Skip A

3rd wood - Skip B, Skip A

APPENDIX B - PREMIER MATCHES

Sequence of play where one team is a player short on a rink

Team A has 4 players; Team B has 3 players