Bowls Hampshire Competition Regulations 2016

1. CONDITIONS

The Bowls Hampshire County Championships and Competitions shall be played under the World Bowls Laws of the Sport of Bowls Current Edition and be administered by the County Secretary under the Rules and Regulations of Bowls England.

2. ELIGIBILITY

(a) County championships and competitions are confined to members of affiliated clubs and those who are members of more than one affiliated club must enter competitions from one club only. (b) No player may withdraw from an original entry and join another entry after the draw has been made. (c) All entries must be made through club secretaries on the appropriate forms and accompanied by the appropriate fees to reach the Area Secretaries not later than the date determined by the Area Secretary.

3. MANAGEMENT

(a) Early rounds of the championships and competitions up to and including Area Finals shall be played in areas under the management of the Area Secretaries who are responsible to the County Secretary for the conduct of competitions in their respective areas. (b) Dress shall follow the principles in BE Regulation 50. In rounds leading up to Area Finals dress below the waist shall be whites (women), greys (men/mixed) or coloured apparel registered with the County. Shorts may be worn provided they bear the Bowls England logo and the host club does not have a local ruling prohibiting the wearing of shorts. (It is incumbent upon competitors to check before play commences). At Area Finals and Last Eight stages dress shall be white below the waist. Dress above the waist shall in all rounds be white shirts or registered Club coloured shirts with all players in a team event wearing the same. Championship Area Finals will be played on a green selected by the Area Secretary. He/she shall as far as practicable, avoid putting matches on a player’s home green. Area Secretaries shall ensure neutral markers for Area Singles Finals. Club Stickers will be used up to, at least, Area Finals. (c) In all competitions leading to National Championships there will be two finalists from each area going to County Finals. In all other BH Competitions the Area winner will go forward. (d) In the event of unforeseen exceptional circumstances the Secretary/Assistant Secretary shall have the power to alter dates and venues.

4. DRAWS, CHALLENGERS AND OPPONENTS, BEHAVIOUR

(a) The draw for each competition shall be in the respective Areas. The first drawn shall become the challenger who shall have choice of green. (b) Where the green of the challenger is, for any reason, deemed unfit for championship play, the tie shall be played on the opponent’s green or a selected green by mutual agreement. (c) Except where a specific date has been fixed for the playing of a round, and for the competitions at para 12a-d the challenger, immediately upon receipt of notice (or in the case of a preliminary round, fourteen days prior to the completion date for that round), shall offer his/her opponent two dates, within the period allowed, neither of which shall be a fixed County competition date, although ties may be played on these occasions by mutual agreement. Where team events are involved one of the dates must be a weekend. For the Women’s competitions at 12a-d the challenger must offer three dates which, if possible, should not be consecutive. For the Over 55s competitions one of these three dates must be a weekend. (i) The opponent must, within 48 hours, accept one of the dates offered. (ii) The challenger shall make all the arrangements for the game and in the case of Singles, provide a marker. (iii) The home player or team is responsible for any green fees in all competitions leading to the National Championship, National Competition or County Finals. This does not affect the BE rules regarding play on a neutral green. (iv) If a challenger fails to challenge within the two days he/she shall forfeit the privileges of a challenger and his/her opponent may request the Area Secretary that he/she, the opponent, become the challenger. If approved by the Area Secretary, he/she will then offer two dates within two days. (v)Failure to accept dates or come to some mutual arrangement will result in the tie being awarded to the person deemed to be the challenger at the time. No alteration of an accepted date and time shall be made unless mutually agreed. Failing such agreement the competitor requiring such alteration must concede the game. (vi) Smoking on the green is prohibited. This includes electronic cigarettes. Failure to adhere to this regulation will result in disqualification.

5. TIMES AND DATES

(a) Where an Area has fixed a specific date for the playing of a round, no extension of time will be granted for the playing of that round except where greens are deemed to be unfit due to inclement weather. If a green is considered by either player/team to be dangerous or unplayable then, in the absence of the greenkeeper, the umpire (if present) shall decide whether to continue or suspend play. Portable/moveable groundsheets are not acceptable for County Competitions. When games are abandoned players shall mutually arrange to play the tie and notify the result to the Area Secretary within six days of the original specified date, unless a new date is set by the Area Secretary. Failure to comply may result in both challengers and opponents being struck from the competition. (b) By mutual agreement, ties may be played before the date specified for the round. (c) Dates of ties and “play before” dates in the early rounds of a competition will be determined in Areas and notified to clubs by the Area Secretaries. (d) Quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals of the Singles, Pairs, Triples, Fours and Two Wood Singles shall be played under the management of the Secretary/Assistant Secretary on a green or greens in the Southern Area selected by him/her at the commencement of the season. (e) Except in competitions played over one or more days and County “Last Eights” the time for the commencement of a tie shall be mutually agreed but no competitor shall be compelled to accept a starting time earlier than 6pm or later than 6.30pm. (f) If a game cannot be completed W.B.B. Laws shall apply. In the event of players being unable to agree on the completion of a round both sides will be eliminated. (g) If a player fails to appear or is not ready to play within thirty minutes of the agreed time for the game, his/her opponent can claim a ‘walk over’. (h) If a team or player will not be available for all competition dates they should withdraw at the outset. Players who have advanced in a competition and then concede, without an acceptable reason, may be excluded from the following year’s competition.

6. QUESTIONS AND DISPUTES

All questions and disputes which arise and which do not come within the scope of the umpire’s duties shall, in the first instance be referred to the Area Secretary who may seek the guidance of the Emergency and Disputes Committee if necessary. Protest against any condition under which a tie is played must be made to the opponent and recorded on the scorecard before six ends have been played and notified to the Area Secretary immediately after the game. The game should be completed as if no protest has been made. The result of the game may stand if the protester so wishes but once made the protest must be proceeded with. Appeals against any decision by the Area Secretary must be made in writing within 24 hours of the receipt of such a decision, making a clear statement of the point in issue and accompanied by any evidence available. The decision of the Emergency and Disputes Committee shall be final and binding. An Umpire will be appointed to take charge of the Area and County finals.

7. CONSTITUTION OF TEAMS AND SUBSTITUTION

In all competitions the entry need contain only one name. That named entrant shall not play in any other entry in that particular competition. The players taking part in the first game of the respective competition shall constitute ‘the team’ for the remainder of the competition. One additional and the same player may be used as a substitute at any time providing he/she has not already played in the competition. The named entrant of a team cannot be a member or a substitute of any other team in the same competition. A substitute may play in any position except where substitution occurs during a game when WB Law 33.4 applies.

8. FEES

The entry fee for all competitions shall be decided by the Annual General Meeting.

9. NOTIFICATION OF RESULTS

(a) The result of ties in all competitions including the club championship is to be communicated to the Area Secretary immediately after the game if possible and in any case within 24 hours. (b) The scorecard is to be sent to the appropriate Area Secretary to arrive within three days of the tie being played and the onus for doing so is on the winner. (c) The scorecards must bear the names and initials of those taking part and shall be signed by the losing player or skip. Skips are reminded that they are certifying not only the accuracy of the score but also the names of those taking part.

10. THE BOWLS ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS:

Singles 21 shots 4 Bowls Two Wood Singles 21 ends 2 Bowls (extra end if necessary) Under 25 Singles 21 shots 4 Bowls Under 25 Pairs 18 ends 4 Bowls each player (extra end if necessary) Pairs 21 ends 4 Bowls each player (extra end if necessary) Triples 18 ends 3 Bowls each player (extra end if necessary) Fours 21 ends 2 Bowls each player (extra end if necessary) (a) The winners and runners-up in the Singles, Pairs, Triples, Fours and Under 25 Singles (Men) and Two Wood Singles championships will represent Bowls Hampshire in the Bowls England championships and any unbadged player will be awarded his/her County Badge. The Women’s under 25 singles and pairs will represent Bowls Hampshire in the Bowls England championships but will not be awarded their County Badge. (b) Under 25 Singles players must be under the age of 25 on the 1 st of April in the year of the competition. (c) The County finalist emerging from the top half of the Last 8 draw will normally represent Bowls Hampshire as Hampshire “A”. In the event of BH being allowed three entrants then the third placed team will automatically be allocated to any preliminary round. Should the third placed team/player find that the preliminary round is at the same time as another Championship in which he/she is involved then his/her place in the preliminary round will be taken by one of the other competitors. If the County Final has been played then the champion(s) shall have the choice of which remaining place to take. (d) When representing Bowls Hampshire at National Finals, dress must be in accordance with Bowls England National Championship rules. County Shirts, as registered with Bowls England, shall be worn in National Championships.

11. THE BOWLS HAMPSHIRE COMPETITIONS (MEN):

(a) CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP (i) A four rink competition of 21 ends, all playing on the same green. Failure to field 16 players will result in a walk over. (ii) The side with the highest aggregate of shots at the end of the game to be declared the winner. (iii) Should the total scores of each side be equal after 21 ends, one extra end will be played on one rink only. The rink to play the extra end will be determined by draw at the same time as the initial draw for rinks is made. Any extra end will commence only after all four rinks have completed play. (iv) Should a match be abandoned because of inclement weather then, provided a total of 44 ends has been played, the result shall stand. (b) TWO WOOD TRIPLES A competition of 21 ends with two bowls per player (extra end if necessary). The winners from each Area final will play in the semi-final and final on a neutral green in each of the Areas on an alphabetical rota basis on a day to be arranged by the Secretary/Assistant Secretary.

12. THE BOWLS HAMPSHIRE COMPETITIONS (WOMEN):

(a) CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS A competition of 21 shots up with four bowls each player. Open to all champions of Clubs. (b) UNBADGED SINGLES A competition of 21 shots up with four bowls each player. Open to all unbadged county players. (c) OVER 55 SINGLES AND PAIRS A singles competition of 21 shots and a pairs of 21ends, both with four bowls per player. Open to all players over the age of 55 on 1 st April in the year of the competitions. (d) GOLDEN GIRLS PAIRS A competition of 18 ends with four bowls each player. Open to all players over the age of 70 on 1 st April in the year of the competition. (e) NATIONAL BENEVOLENT TRIPLES A competition of 15 ends with two bowls each player. All 15 ends must be played. The results of the Benevolent Triples will be forwarded to Bowls England. (f) THORNBERY TROPHY A two rink competition of 21 ends played on the same green with the side with the highest aggregate of shots at the end of the game being declared the winner. In the event of a tie an extra end(s) shall be played by all teams, the Captains to toss for Jack. Should a match be abandoned because of inclement weather then, provided a total of 22 ends, has been played the result shall stand. (g) DOLLY GORE A competition of six rinks from each Area to be held on a green nominated at the start of the season. The game will consist of 21 ends with two bowls per player and the side with the highest aggregate of shots at the end of the game to be declared the winner. There will be a play off for third and fourth places. (h) ARRANGING AREA FINALS Unless the Area Secretary decides otherwise, responsibility for arranging the Area Finals of the competitions at sub paragraphs a,b,c,d and f shall rest with the challenger(s) who must arrange a neutral green, umpire and, where necessary, a marker. The neutral green shall be approximately mid-way between the two competitor’s greens or elsewhere by mutual consent.

13. THE BOWLS HAMPSHIRE COMPETITIONS (MIXED) MIXED TOP CLUB

A team competition comprising 11 players who shall play singles (men), singles (women), pairs (one of each gender), triples (one of each gender plus one) and fours (two of each gender). Failure to field 11 players will result in a walkover. All disciplines shall be played to a result – no drawn matches. Clubs shall play the competition in the Area to which the women are affiliated members of Bowls Hampshire. If a single gender women’s Club wishes to combine with men from another single gender Club it may do so but the men can come from only one Men’s Club. No Club may enter players in more than one team. A player taken ill during a game may be replaced by a substitute of the same gender. If the affected player is a skip, one of the remaining players shall take his/her place and the substitute may then play in one of the other disciplines. For this competition only, a substitute is allowed for the singles player. Where greens have only four rinks the singles shall be played consecutively.