Bowls Lancashire Competitions 2008

2 Wood Singles	2 Wood Singles
4 Wood Singles	4 Wood Singles
Pairs	Pairs
Triples	Triples
Fours	Fours
Benevolent Triples	Under 25 Singles

1. The Championships and Competitions shall be controlled by the Bowls Lancashire Competition Sub- Committee (the Committee) as appointed by the County Executive.

2. County Championships and Competitions shall be open to all members of Clubs affiliated to Bowls Lancashire. They shall be played under the Laws of the Game published by World Bowls (including the domestic regulations for Bowls England). .

3.2. Qualifiers for the National Championships and for male bowlers, the Northern Counties Championships are determined by progress in the County Championships.

3.3. Players must ensure that, should they qualify as part of a team in Pairs, Triples or Fours that the team is available to play on County Finals Day ,at the National Championships, and in the case of the men , the Northern Counties Championships, as set in the calendar.

3.4. If after entering a County Championship, a competitor in a singles competition finds that should they qualify, he/she is unable to play on County Finals Day, at the National Championships and in the case of the men the Northern Counties Championships , they are required to withdraw at the earliest available opportunity to enable the match to be given to the opponent.

The male winners of these County Championships shall represent Bowls Lancashire at the Northern Counties Championships.

Should the winners of the Men’s County Championships elect not to attend the Northern Counties Championships, the runners up, if willing, may attend. There is no obligation on the runner(s)-up to do so and the primary responsibility to ensure Lancashire’s representation at these Championships lies with the County Championship winners.

6.1. A player may only enter events which qualify for National Championships from one Club and provided he/she is a fully paid up member of that Club by 1^st May in the year of the competition.

6.2. A named player entering Championships cannot be a member or substitute of any other team in the same Championship.

6.3. For National Championships the named player is defined as the player in whose name the entry is made and whose name appears in the draw. Players taking part in the first game shall constitute the original team and they should normally play together throughout the Championship. One additional and the same player may be used as a substitute at any time providing he/she has not already played in the Championship. The substitute may play in any position.

6.4. Entry shall be on completion of the official entry form and on payment of the fee. Closing date for entries shall be 30th November of the previous year.

6.6. The draw and competition dates shall be made by the Committee. Dates for Fixed Day events will be available before the closing date for submission of entries. The draw and dates will be published on the County website and in the Bowls Lancashire Information Book which will be available to all competitors by 15^th April each year.

6.7. Where rounds are required before any Fixed Date event, the first named is the Challenger.

6.8. In the case of Preliminary Rounds, the challenger must offer his/her opponents, at least 21 days prior to the closing date of the round, 2 dates free of International Competition, County Fixed Day events and free of International commitments of bona fide selectors and officials of Bowls England.

6.9. In all subsequent rounds the challenger must, at least 11 days prior to the closing date of the round, offer 2 dates free of International Competition, County Fixed Day events and free of International commitments of bona fide selectors and officials of Bowls England.

6.10. The times must not be before 6.15pm on a week day or 10am on a weekend unless by mutual arrangement.

6.11. The challenger must offer his/her opponent a green approved by Bowls Lancashire and secure a rink booking through the host club and in a singles game is responsible for providing a competent marker. The challenged must reply to the challenger within 48 hours to confirm acceptance of a date.

6.12. County match days may not be offered for matches where the prospective players may reasonably expect to be selected to represent the County and acceptance of the date offered will prevent those players representing the County at a match already in the County Calendar.

6.13. No alteration of an accepted date shall be made unless mutually agreed upon. Failing such agreement, the Player/Team desiring the alteration must play on the accepted date or concede the game to the opponent(s).

6.14. If a player or team fails to appear and be ready to play within 15 minutes of the agreed time for a tie, the opponent(s) may claim the game.

6.15. In the event of non completion of a match owing to exceptional weather conditions or closure of the green and the parties are unable to re arrange the tie before the closing date; the tie will be decided as follows:

· In the case of Fixed Date events where scheduled rounds are not completed due to exceptional weather conditions or green closure these rounds MUST be played on the original green unless mutually agreed by all players involved.

6.16 No Extension of the closing dates for each round will be granted for any reason whatsoever.

Dress for County Championships which qualify for National Championships up to and including the semi final stage is:

Ladies: Grey skirts/culottes/tailored trousers/tailored cropped trousers, with white/cream or approved Club coloured top. Hats are optional at all times. If worn, hats and sun visors must be of an approved type. Baseball caps in plain white or Club Colours are permissible. White/brown/grey bowling shoes. Sandals are not allowed.

Men: Grey trousers with white/approved club coloured Top. White/brown/grey bowling shoes.

The following Fixed Day County Competitions are also the responsibility of the Committee. Additional rules to those set out below may be determined by the Committee as and when necessary to ensure the successful running of the event.

8.1. Mixed Pairs and Mixed Fours. These events will be played on a round robin basis, number of ends dependant on number of entries and played to a conclusion on the fixed date as set out in the calendar. Dress for these events shall be as for County Finals.

8.2. Team 5 Teams of at least 5 players, may be single or mixed gender. Maximum number of teams allowed per club will be notified by the Competitions Secretary. Number of ends dependant on number of entries and played to a conclusion on the fixed date as set out in the calendar. Dress as for County Finals.

8.3. Ladies County Cup. Played on a round robin basis. Number of ends determined by Comps committee. Format of play will be published prior to the start of the event. Dress as for County Finals

8.4. Ladies Challenge Shield. Round robin event played to a conclusion on the day. Ends played dependant on entries. Dress as for County Finals

8.5. Benevolent Triples. 2 wood 15 ends, straight knock out. (Consolation Plate for first round losers) Drawn by Competitions Committee and published before the start of the event. Dress as for County Finals.

8.6. Ivy Martin Balloted Pairs. Round robin format, drawn by Competitions Committee and published before the start of the event. Dress as for County Finals.

8.7. Men’s President’s Trophy. Clubs may enter one or more Double Fours squads. Dress as for County Finals.

8.8. Men’s Super Nines. Clubs may enter one or more squads to play as a Pair, a Triple and a Four. Dress as for County Finals.

8.9. Men’s Double Triples Clubs may enter one or more Double Triple squads. Dress as for County Finals.

9. Smoking or consuming alcohol is not permitted on the green whilst the game is in progress.

10.1. Decisions of the Competition Sub Committee are final in the running of all County Championships and Competitions except for rules 3.3 and 3.4

10.2. Any breach of Rule 3.3 and 3.4 will be dealt with by the use of the Disciplinary Procedure and will apply to any player(s) involved, including any substitutes who have played in the County Championships leading to County Finals, Northern Counties Championships and National Championships.