Rules
Competition Rules - 2025
1. All Club Competitions will be administered by the Competition Secretary.
The Controlling Body will consist of the Competition Secretary and the Ladies’ and Men’s Captains.
A challenge to the Competition Secretary’s decision, made within 24 hours of the game ending, may be taken to the Controlling Body for resolution. Their ruling will be final.
2. The draw for the competitions and the setting of handicaps will be made by the Competition Secretary and two other club members, ideally the two Club Captains.
3. No member should enter a competition if they know or suspect they will not be available to play on the finals weekend. Should they find out after entry then they must notify the Competition Secretary immediately and withdraw from the competition. In a singles competition the last player they beat will be offered the opportunity to be reinstated in their place, including in the final.
4. The date by which each round must be completed will be shown on the Draw Sheets. Should a game not be played by the given date and there are no exceptional circumstances, the player or team who the Competition Secretary considers to be responsible for the delay, may be disqualified.
5. The first named competitor or team on the draw sheet shall be the Challenger. Within one week of the completion date of the previous round they must offer their Opponent three suitable dates for the match, one of which must be a weekend. Within a further week the Opponent must notify the Challenger of acceptance of one of the dates offered, agree an alternative date, or concede a walkover.
6. The Challenger is responsible for booking a rink and, where necessary, arranging a marker. The Challenger is also responsible for providing the Scorecard which, in addition to giving the names of both competitors and the date played, must state the competition being played. At the end of the game the Scorecard must be signed by both sides, the finishing time recorded and, where appropriate, signed by the Marker. The completed Scorecard must be placed in the appropriate box in the locker room.
7. Bowls, which need not have a current Date Stamp, must be from the same set for the game but not necessarily for trial ends. Trial ends may be taken by agreement. No competitor may play or practice on the rink selected for their match on the day it is to be played.
8. Any player causing more than 30 minutes delay beyond the start time of the match may be disqualified, as may their team.
9. In a team match the order of play must remain the same during the match but, should the team progress, the team order can be changed in subsequent rounds.
10. Substitutes and Replacements. A Substitute stands in for a team member for one round where that team member is unavailable for a good and acceptable reason. Should the team progress then if the absent player is available they must return to the team for the next round.
For any round a team may only have one Substitute. Should a team member be unavailable for two consecutive rounds they will be permanently replaced by a Replacement. A team may only have one Replacement. A team requiring more than one replacement will be disqualified.
A player may only substitute for the same team on two occasions but can become a Replacement for that team. There can be no Substitutes in the semi-final or final, but there can be Replacements. A Substitute can have played in the competition before in any capacity. A Replacement must not have previously played in the competition as a Replacement or have been drawn as team member, but can have been a Substitute. If, within this rule, no Replacement can be found then a player who was eliminated in the provisional round can be considered as a Replacement. A Substitute may not play Skip. If no agreement can be reached between the teams as to the eligibility of Substitutes or Replacements then the matter will be referred to the Competition Secretary.
11. The makeup of a team in the final must be from the same players who played in the semi-final. Failure to satisfy this requirement will result in the team they beat in the semi-final being offered the opportunity to play in their place in the final.
12. If green steward declares the green unfit or dangerous to play, or if lightening is in area, play will be stopped. If a game is at least two thirds complete at that stage then the game will be deemed to have been completed, will not be resumed and the result will stand. However, if the game is tied at that point then an extra end will be played at the earliest convenience, but no later than one week. If the game is a final and the extra end cannot be played then the final will be deemed to have been tied and both sides will be declared joint winners. The extra end need not be played on the same rink or green if circumstances dictated otherwise. If the game is less than two third completed then the game will be resumed at a later time, continuing from the score when the game was stopped. The game need not be restarted on the same rink or green if circumstances dictated otherwise. If it is raining but the green is playable, and both sides agree, then the game can be stopped and resumed later in the day, but not necessarily on the same rink or green if circumstances dictated otherwise. If the rain continues the game can be resumed on another day provided it is completed within one week. If not, and if neither side concede defeat, both sides will be eliminated. If it is a final no trophies will be awarded.
13. The Competitions Committee may relax these rules at any time.
Jan 2025