LEAGUE RULES

SOMERSET COUNTY BOWLS LEAGUE   -  RULES

1.     Name

The League shall be known as the Somerset County Bowls League. The League and the Divisions within the League may be named to incorporate the names of sponsors.

2.     Entries

a)     The League will be open to clubs affiliated to the SBA.  Each club may enter two teams per three rinks they have available for use (e.g. Clubs with their own six rink green may enter up to four teams). Each team shall comprise three rinks of men.

b)     Joining fees and annual subscriptions shall be set by the League Committee and shall be collected with competition entry fees in  the Autumn of the preceding year.

c)     Clubs wishing to enter new teams in the League shall apply by 31st July of the previous year.

d)     Continuing membership thereafter shall be assumed.

e)     Clubs wishing one or more of their teams to resign, which shall be their lowest team(s), shall advise the County League Secretary in writing as soon as they have resolved so to do, stating clearly when such resignation is to take effect.

3.     Structure

a)     For the County League the County shall be divided into three administrative regions.

b)     There shall be two County-wide Premier Divisions of eleven teams each. The remaining teams shall be divided within their Region into one or more divisions according to the table below. All divisions are based on merit. The winners of Premier Division 1 shall hold the Dewar Shield. The winners of premier Division 2 and the regional First Divisions shall hold perpetual trophies.

c)     Where there are eleven or more teams in a division, each team shall play each other team in the division once. Each team shall play the same number of home and away fixtures (as far as possible). Where there are six to eight teams in a division, each team shall play each other team in the division twice, once home and once away.

d)     At the end of each season, the bottom two teams in Premier Division One shall be relegated to Premier Division Two and the top two teams in Premier Division Two promoted to Premier Division One. The top team from each regional first division shall be promoted to Premier Division Two. The bottom three teams in Premier Division Two shall be relegated, each to its appropriate regional first division. Within regions, normally the top three teams will be promoted (the top two teams where there are no more than eight teams in the division) from a lower division to a higher division. The number of relegations will be as required to realise the target structure for the coming season. Where an extra division is being created or removed, the League Committee shall determine promotion and relegation between the divisions.

e)     The arrangements for promotion and relegation shall be confirmed to clubs by the first League weekend in August.

4.     Registration of Players

a)     Players are registered for a club through making their first appearance for a team in the League.

b)     Such players must not have played and shall not play competitive men’s bowls for any other club affiliated to Bowls England in the season.

c)     When a team has three games or fewer left to play in a season, it cannot field a player if he has played less often for that team than for any one higher team in the club. Players are excluded from this rule if they have played less than four games (or part thereof) for all the teams in the club during the season. For the purpose of this rule, a higher team is the team with the earlier letter, even where the team is in the same division. Contravention of this rule will lead to a penalty being applied according to rule 9(c).

d)     If a Clubs A team is not playing and any of its lower teams are, then only up to a maximum of two players who played in the previous A teams match can drop down to cover for absences in those lower teams if required.

5.     Arrangements of Fixtures

a)     Fixtures will be played on set Saturdays. The set Saturdays to be used shall depend on the number of teams in the division and shall be advised by the League Committee at the April Communication Meeting of the previous year.

b)     Fixtures shall start with trial ends at 2.30pm .  Start times may be varied by mutual agreement, subject to confirmation by the League Secretary, but shall be no earlier than 10am nor later than 3.30pm , except that in June and July a start time of up to 6.15pm shall be allowed. The match must start within 30 minutes of the advertised time with teams fielded in accordance with Rule 6(c) or as varied by Rule 6(d).

c)     Before the commencement of the season, with the prior agreement of both teams and the permission of the League Committee, the fixture may be arranged to be played on any other Saturday (or Sunday) between 1st May and the final League Saturday, or on a Friday evening in June or July

d)     Any club unable to fulfil all its teams’ fixtures on a given date must give preference to fulfilling its higher teams’ fixtures. Any club with four or more players on County Duty or International duty (to include the Somerset County Tour) that clashes with the League programme may re-arrange its lowest team’s fixture. In any of these circumstances, such arrangements must be agreed with a league secretary.

e)     As far as possible, fixtures between teams from the same club will be arranged for early in the programme.

f)      Catering arrangements are to be agreed between the clubs before the day of the fixture. Unless mutually agreed, play shall be continuous.

g)     The date and time of all fixtures must be settled and agreed with the County League Secretary by 31^st October of the preceding year. The fixture programme shall be published at the SBA Annual General Meeting and in the Players Yearbook.

6.     Play

a)     Except were varied by these Rules, all matches must be played under the “Laws of the Sport of Bowls (including Domestic regulations for Bowls England)”. Matches shall be played over 21 ends, with two trial ends. The use of groundsheets is allowed only with the agreement of both captains. The use of floodlights is permitted, provided their use has been mutually agreed before the start of the game.

b)     There shall be no smoking on the green. Mobile phones must not be used by players, officials or spectators on the green or immediate surrounds during the game. If carried they must be switched off except, for emergency use only, they may be switched to ‘vibrate’.

c)     Rinks shall be drawn by captains. Home teams must ensure that adjacent rinks are used, or at least that no play takes place on any rinks between the designated rinks for the match.

d)     If a player has to leave the green due to illness, a substitute who is validly registered, or will become validly registered as a result of playing in the match, can be used. Where no substitute is available or where a full team is not fielded, the team may play with one player short in up to two rinks, subject to Rule 46.2 of the Laws of the Sport of Bowls. A team with less than 10 players (before or during the match) shall be deemed to have failed to fulfil the fixture according to Rule 7(c), except as in Rule 6(e) below. Players arriving late cannot play except as substitutes in accordance with the Laws of the Sport of Bowls.

e)     In a match between the bottom teams of two clubs, if both teams are short of players and both teams agree beforehand, the match can be played over two rinks, the rink points for the third rink being not awarded.

f)      If a team travels to an away fixture but some players do not arrive, those players that do arrive shall play as a rink or rinks (in accordance with Rule 6(c)) in competition for the appropriate rink points. The points for the match and any unplayed rinks shall be awarded to the home team. No further penalties or bonuses shall be awarded.

g)     Whites shall be worn for all matches, to include long white trousers or tailored white shorts, (regardless of the agreed start time), except that with the approval of the SCBA, club colours may be worn so long as they are by all the players in the team.

h)     All bowls shall carry club stickers. Where provided, the stickers shall be those bearing the sponsor’s identification.

i)      Umpires may be appointed by the home team for premier division matches. The home team shall be responsible for the reimbursement of any out of pocket expenses claimed. Where matches in other divisions are taking place on the same green, the umpire may share his attention between the games if required to do so by either team involved. Where no umpire has been appointed, the captains of the opposing teams must reach agreement on the outcome of any dispute arising from the playing of the match before the result is confirmed and advised to the League Secretary.

7.     Failure to Complete a Fixture

a)      Except as in 7(b) below, a fixture may only be postponed due to inclement weather. Such fixtures shall be rearranged for the same or the earliest following mutually agreeable weekend (in accordance with Rules 5(b) and 5(c)) and advised to the League Secretary by 8pm of the day for which the original fixture was scheduled. In the event of the failure to agree, the decision of the League Secretary shall be final.

b)     A Club may seek to rearrange a fixture if it has players involved in a Bowls England National Competition where the Bowls England set date is a direct clash with a League fixture (but in earlier rounds of those Competitions Clubs should neither offer nor accept a League Saturday date as a pretext for postponing the League game). Such arrangements must be agreed in advance with the League Secretary.

c)     A team failing to fulfil a fixture shall have 12 points deducted and 10 shots awarded against it. The opposing team shall be awarded 12 points and 10 shots. If a team fails to fulfil more than two fixtures in a season, on the third occasion, the team is deemed to have resigned from the League with immediate effect – Rule 9(d) applies.

d)     If play is curtailed or interrupted by the weather, so long as at least 11 ends have been completed on each rink, the result at the end of the game shall stand. Otherwise, the game shall be cancelled and restarted as though the fixture were postponed.

8.     Notification of Results

a)     Results shall be phoned or e-mailed by the home team captain to the County League Secretary by 8pm , or as soon as the result has been agreed if later, on the day of the fixture. Failure to do so shall result in a fine of £5 on the first occasion, rising by £1 for each subsequent occasion.

b)     Each captain must arrange for results to be confirmed to regional secretaries on completed results cards (provided for the purpose) by first class post to reach them by the Wednesday morning following the playing of the fixture. Failure to do so shall result in a fine of £5 on the first occasion, rising by £1 for each subsequent occasion.

c)     Amongst other things, results cards shall be checked to ensure the valid registration of all players.

d)     If possible, results and up-to-date league tables will be issued to clubs and the media on each Sunday or Monday after a relatively full programme of fixtures has been played.

9.     Scoring

a)     Each winning rink per team shall be awarded 2 points, drawing rinks 1 point each.

b)     Each winning team shall be awarded 6 points, drawing teams 3 points each.

c)     Playing an ineligible player will lead to a 3 point deduction on the first occasion by a team, 6 points on a second occasion and 12 points on each subsequent occasion.

d)     In the event that a team resigns from the league during the course of the season, all fixtures completed by that team shall be considered void and any points obtained by the team’s opposition in matches already played shall be forfeit.

e)     Prize money will be awarded to the leading positions in each division. The exact amount will depend on the success of securing appropriate sponsorship. Actual prize amounts shall be announced before the start of the League season.

f)      Finishing positions (from top down) are determined firstly by the greater total number of points scored and, if equal, then by the greater shot difference and, if equal, then by the fewer shots conceded and, if equal, then by the greater number of games won and, if equal, then by the greater number of rink points scored.  If any finishing positions remain unresolved and they affect promotion or relegation, then play-offs on a neutral green shall be arranged in accordance with Rules 5(b) and 5(c).

10.   Sponsorship

The League shall seek sponsorship deals and shall be free to agree separate deals for each division within the League. Clubs may be required to display advertising (on hoardings, banners, shirts, etc.) to comply with sponsors’ conditions.

11.   Changes to League Rules

a)     Requests for rule changes must be submitted, in writing to the League Secretary, from one proposing club with at least two supporting clubs.

b)     Requests received by 1^st September each year shall be considered by the League Committee, who shall make recommendations to the Management Committee at its October meeting for ratification at the AGM.

c)      Agreed changes that do not affect the fixtures programme for the following year shall be implemented for that year.

d)     Agreed changes that would affect the fixtures programme shall be implemented for the second year following.

12.   Conduct of the League

a)     The overall governance of the League shall be by the League Committee. The League will be administered from day to day by the County League Secretary, with the assistance of regional secretaries as elected at the AGM.

b)     In the case of a dispute which cannot be settled by mutual agreement between clubs concerning the arrangement or conduct of fixtures or the reporting of results, a clear statement of the dispute shall be made in writing to the League Secretary or appropriate regional secretary within two days of the date on which the dispute arose. The decision of the League Committee shall be final and binding and must be accepted by all parties.