Rules

INTERNAL COMPETITION RULES

Milford on Sea Bowls Club

Internal Competition Rules

Revised January 2024

              General

1.        Competition entry shall be open only to 'playing' members of the Club.

2.        The Management Committee will determine annually competition entry fees and will appoint a Club member to serve as Competition Secretary whose job it will be to organize and be responsible for the Club's internal competitions in collaboration with the Men's and Ladies' Captains.

3.        Any dispute, or matter requiring clarification, which the Competition Secretary is unable to resolve will be referred to a Competition Arbitration Committee which will consist of the President, Competition Secretary, Men's and Ladies Captains. Any three will constitute a quorum and their decision will be final.

4.        The Club Captains will be responsible for the determination and annual allocation of members competition handicaps.

5.        Competition draws, handicaps, challenge end dates and round completion dates will be published on a competition board in the pavilion as soon as possible after a draw is held.

6.        Before entering any Competition all players must ensure that they will be available on the Club’s Final’s day

           Competition procedures

1.        Competition entrants must follow the following procedures -

2.        The first named (or top name) drawn in a match shall be the 'Challenger/s' and in the case of singles matches they will be responsible for arranging a marker.

3.        The Challenger/s must contact their opposition at latest by the challenge date shown on the draw sheet to arrange for the game to be played. Opponents must be given at least two reasonable dates for the playing of the game. The game must be played by the 'round completion date' shown on the draw sheet.

4.        Should the Challenger fail to issue the challenge by the date shown on the draw sheet then their opponent/s will automatically become the Challenger and it will become their responsibility to immediately issue two reasonable alternative dates to play the round. In this case, failure to accept the alternative dates offered by the 'new' Challenger will result in the forfeiture of the game by the opposition.

5.        If an extension beyond the published play by date is required it MUST be formally requested from the Competition Secretary. Any disputes that cannot be resolved will be referred to the Arbitration Committee.

6.        On completion of each game the winner/s will be responsible for immediately entering their name/s in the appropriate space on the draw sheet.

7.        Other than in the case of illness or other unavoidable circumstances agreed by the Competition Secretary and/or Competition Arbitration

 Committee, failure to comply with competition procedures and other Club rules in force will result in forfeiture of games, and further action as deemed appropriate by the Competition Arbitration Committee which could include but not limited to suspension from further competitions will be considered.

8.        Any final due to be played on Final/s Day must be played on scheduled day, or rescheduled day in the case of inclement weather, unless otherwise arranged with the Competitions Secretary. In the case of illness / injury we will try and reschedule.

9.        Competitors entry fees for all competitions must be paid prior to their name being entered into any draw.

10.     For Handicap Competitions ie Adey Plate and Young Cup the handicap difference will be applied to the scorecards before the start of the game

Substitutes:

Singles Competitions: No substitutes will be allowed.

Pairs Competitions:  (drawn or arranged):

The players shown on the draw sheet will comprise the team. In the event of a member of that team having to withdraw through illness or any other unavoidable reason prior to the completion of the first round, then, subject to the agreement of the Competition Secretary, a substitute of comparable ability will be allowed. In the case of drawn pairs, the substitute player will be selected by the Competition Secretary. A substitute player must continue as part of that team throughout the rest of the competition. The substitute may not be a player who has already played in a team which has been knocked out of that competition. Withdrawal of a player from a team after completion of the first round will result in the team having to withdraw from the competition.

Triples Competitions (drawn or arranged):

The players shown on the draw sheet will comprise the team. In the event of a member of that team having to withdraw through illness or any other unavoidable reason prior to the completion of the first round then, subject to the agreement of the Competition Secretary, a substitute of comparable ability will be allowed. Following agreement of a substitute that player must continue as part of that team throughout the rest of the competition. The substitute may not be a player who has already played in a team which has been knocked out of that competition.  Substitutes will not be permitted after completion of the first round. In the event of a team being unable to field 3 players in any round this will result in the team having to play a crippled rink. In such a case the full triple will play 2 woods each and the defaulting team will play 3 woods each and forfeit 1/3 of their score. In the event of a team being unable to field two players in any round then the game must be conceded to the opposition.

Substitutes Competition entry fees

All substitutes must pay the standard entry fee on admission to a competition.

Booking Rinks for competitions

Rinks cannot be pre-booked by members at times designated for club activity sessions. These include Monday am and pm, Wednesday pm and Friday pm. Usage of rinks at times when Club matches are being played is at the discretion of the Club Captains or Captain of the Day. Usage of rinks for competition matches at the time of club roll-ups on Wednesday pm and Friday pm may be possible but at the discretion of the Club Captains. Whilst permission will normally be given, members are also asked to observe strict bowls etiquette whilst accessing and playing on the green.

Disputes:

Any disputes arising from the operation of these rules must be referred in the first instance to the Competition Secretary. If the member does not accept the decision reached by the Competition Secretary then application may be made to the Competition Arbitration Committee whose ruling will be final.

Management Committee - January 2024