1. THE LEAGUE
A) The league shall be known as the MALVERN MENS SKITTLES LEAGUE and
the league name can be changed at any time when felt necessary by the
Management Committee and use the name or logo of any sponsor of the league.
B) The league shall consist of teams that must usually play either from
clubs or licensed premises within a five mile radius from the POST OFFICE BELLE
VUE TERRACE MALVERN. However, the league
shall accept teams from venues outside the present radius provided it is
approved by the majority of other existing league teams.
C) The league shall be governed by the Management Committee which shall
consist of the following; Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Treasurer, General
Secretary, Fixtures Secretary, and a minimum of four Committee Members. The Management Committee also has the power
to co-opt additional members as and when required for any specific purpose.
D) All elected officers and committee members are required to be full
bona-fide members of the league by being elected and should any
officer/committee member cease to be a signed member of a team, then he will
automatically be removed from office.
E) All officers will serve a period of two years, elected alternate
years to maintain continuity. (In the
event of an officer leaving or standing down in the middle of his term of
office, the incoming officer will take his place in the election order.) Committee members (numbering four) will be
elected/re-elected each year. All
elections to take place at the Annual General Meeting.
2. MEMBERSHIP OF THE LEAGUE
A) Membership of the league starts from the AGM for a period of twelve
months.
B) New teams seeking election to the league must apply in writing to
the General Secretary one month prior to the Annual General Meeting accompanied
by the annual subscription fee in force.
Representives of teams should be available to meet the Management
Committee if they so desire. Futhermore
teams applying to the league playing from an alley not previously used in the
league should be prepared to have the playing area inspected for suitability by
the Management Committee. Therefore
inclusion into the league will only be acceptable to teams fulfilling those
stipulations laid down by the league.
C) All teams whether new or seeking re-election will be ratified by the
A.G.M.
D) New team applications not accepted by the A.G.M. will have all
monies returned.
E) Failure to pay those subscriptions in force or any fines by the
A.G.M. will lead to the team concerned not being accepted into the league.
F) The annual subscription in force shall cover the cost of both team
and players registration, provision of score book, fixture/rule book and
entrance into the singles and doubles competition.
G) Any team having been accepted into the league which fails to fulfill
its obligations after entry/re-entry before the season has commenced, then ALL
FEES PAID are subsequently forfeited.
H) INSURANCE. Teams will be
responsible for their own insurance.
I) REGISTRATION. Any player must
be registered with the league at least 48 hours prior to any league or K.O.
game to make him eligible.
J) Having once signed for one club, a player is not eligible to play
for any other club in the league unless he is officially transfered.
3. THE MATCH
A) All league matches shall comprise of teams of NINE players all aged
14 years or over. (Reserve numbers at
the discretion of each team.) A maximum
of THREE junior players may be registered with each team and date of birth
entered on the registration form. A
junior player must be under 16 by the 31st August of that season.
At no time during any match will children under the age of 14 years be
allowed onto the alley, failure to comply with this ruling may nullify any
insurance cover.
B) STARTING TIME. All league
games will start no later than 8.45pm prompt.
The time of commencement will be noted on the results sheet which in
turn shall be signed by both captains.
Late starts must be reported to the Management Committee and if they do
not accept the reason given a fine which will be decided by the Management
Committee will be imposed on the offending team.
C) LATE ARRIVALS. A players
position may be left open until the third leg whereupon he must bowl legs 1 and
2 before commencement of the third leg.
All following legs must be bowled at his correct position according to
the score board. If the missing player
fails to arrive by the commencement of the third leg then his place must be
immediately taken by a reserve who will bowl his first two legs and then all
other legs in his correct position. All
players must be on the alley to bowl in order and without delay for legs 3, 4
and 5, unless a bowl off is agreed.
In the event of a captain being unable to play a reserve that team will
play one man short and the facts noted on the result sheet. Players leaving the alley after starting
bowling do so at the discretion of both captains. No player may bowl off without the permission
of the opposing captain. Matches that
require an extra leg to be bowled off and there is a player who has already
bowled off shall not be allowed to participate in the 6th and additional legs.
D) FIXTURE DATES. The fixture secretary shall be the final arbiter on whether or not a match may be postponed. In the event that the Teams cannot agree a date the Committee's decision shall be final (including the awarding of points).
E) ABANDONED MATCHES. In the
event of circumstances beyond the control of teams, e.g. power failure, fire,
flooding, etc. which causes a match to be abandoned then the whole match shall
be re-arranged by mutual agreement within 14 days or before the end of the
season whichever is shorter. If not
possible the Fixture Secretary's approval must be given.
F) PIN OFF THE PLATE. If a pin
is moved by a ball or another pin so that it is clear of the plate, but is
still standing, that pin is considered down and therefore must be removed from
the diamond.
4. COMPETITION MATCHES
A) All competition matches are to be played on the scheduled date. In the event of a team being unable to fulfil
the fixture, the game will be awarded to the opposing team. The team that are unable to fulfil the
fixture shall be responsible for notifying the oppositions captain/delegate,
fixture secretary and the stated venue of the match without delay.
B) All alleys are to supply a kit in reasonable order.
C) In the knockout stages of all competitions the bowling order shall
be decided by the spinning of a coin (including the singles and pairs). Should there be a tie in any at the knockout
stages after five legs then an extra leg (or legs) will be bowled to decide the
winner, again bowling order to be decided by the spinning of a coin.
D) All persons and teams who fail to fulfil their respective
competition matches without prior notification to the fixture secretary of at
least 48 hours shall be suspended from that competition for a period of one
season.
E) Trophies
presented on presentation evening will become the responsibility of the team or
individual they are presented to. Teams failing to attend presentation evening
will receive no trophies. Failure to return any trophy to the league will
result in the team or individual being asked to replace the said trophy.
5. KING PIN MATCHES
The king pin (front pin) is to be floored by a direct delivery by a
ball first before scoring. If the king
pin is floored by any other means then it is to be re-set, any other pins
floored before the king pin has been struck shall by lost by the player. Once the king pin has been struck by a ball
and all pins floored (spare) the remaining ball or balls need not strike the
king pin first. If a player is no-balled,
only the King Pin shall be re-set (if floored).
Should the king pin re-stand within the diamond after being struck by
the ball first is shall be deemed to have been floored and therefore be
removed.
KING PIN CUP COMPETITION
All matches to be played on neutral alleys. A handicap system will operate in this
competition based on the previous seasons league positions, 1 pin will be
awarded to the lower team for every place below. No handicaps will be awarded to the teams
playing in the league for the first season.
Handicaps will be printed in the handbook. All handicaps should be added on to the first
leg totals.
DIVISIONAL SINGLES COMPETITION
This competition is open to all players who have competed in the main
singles competition and have not made the second stage. Players who do not enter or withdraw from the
main singles competition will be excluded.
Players will compete against all the other players from the same division.
PAIRS COMPETITION
Players entering this competition shall be members of the same team
except where a pair who won the title the previous season and playing in
different teams would be given permission to defend their title if they so
wish.
6. KEN BAKER CUP
A handicap system will operate in this competition based on the
following: Division 1 scratch, Division 2 five pins and Division 3 ten pins
(including new teams). All handicaps
should be added on to the first leg totals.
The first stage of this competition will be a round robin system. All teams will be drawn at random into 8
groups for the round robin stage. The
group winners will progress to the quarter-finals which will become a knockout
competition played on neutral alleys with the final played at West Malvern
R.B.L.
The group positions will be determined by the same points system as
used for normal league matches, 6 points for a win, 3 points for a draw and 1
point for each leg won no points for tied legs.
Handicaps are not to be included to decide the outcome of the points on
the first leg. If two or more teams are
equal on points at the end of the group matches the higher position will be
taken by the team that has scored the most pins (including handicaps) in the
matches involving those sides.
7. ROSEBOWL
To qualify for this competition teams must compete in both of the main
cup competitions (King Pin Cup and Ken Baker Cup). Those teams that fail to make the
quarter-finals of either of the main cup competitions shall be eligible to enter
the Rosebowl. A team that withdraws from
any cup competitions will be excluded from the Rosebowl. No handicaps will be used in this
competition.
8. ALLEY, LINE, PINS AND BALLS
(Recommended by the league.)
A) THE ALLEY / LINE. Each team
is responsible for finding its own alley and kit.
The distance between the 8cms wide bowling line and the king (front)
pin shall be a minimum of 880cms and no longer than 1100cms.
The alley width shall be no wider than 185cms and the diamond no more
than 125cms across. For all new alleys
the minimum width should be 170cms and the diamond no less than 115cms. The diamond shall be clearly defined with
plates securely fixed to the alley or spots painted.
It is also recommended that the alley and pins be well lit and clean at
all times.
B) THE PINS. Nine pins of
uniform size to be painted 4cms wide around the top. The king (front) pin in addition to have a
4cms white stripe from top to bottom, which should face the bowler. The quarter pins will be numbered 1 and 2 respectively. All pins to be set on the centre of the
plate.
C) THE BALLS. Balls of either
wood or tufnul composition (not rubber) should not exceed 14cms in
diameter. No more than one set of three
balls shall be in the trough at the start of the game. The home team shall be required to supply the
pins and balls, the exception being when matches are played on neutral alleys,
when the Management Committee will recommend whose team kit shall be used.
9. LINESMAN
All league and competition matches must have linesmen, to be appointed
by the Captains prior to the start of the match. The linesman will be responsible for calling
all 'over' and '
10. STICKER UP
Each team to provide their own sticker up for both home and away
matches and he shall be employed on the alley for the duration of the game and
shall be responsible for calling correct scores. This is of the utmost importance especially
for matches played under King Pin rules.
In the event of any dispute the linesman should be consulted and both
captains. All stickers up must be
registered with the league for their representative teams and the minimum age
of such a person is to be 14 years.
There is to be a maximum of two stickers up only allowed in the pit area
at all times during a match.
11. LEAGUE POSITION
Six points are awarded for a win, three points for a draw and one bonus
point for the team that scores the highest total on each leg. Should there be a tie on points for any
league position at the end of the season; the team that has won the most league
games during the season shall claim the higher prize.
Each team will be required to confirm their entry into the cup
competitions.
Normal promotion or demotion within the league will be two up and two
down. Where there is necessity to
deviate from the norm due to teams leaving or new teams entering the league,
the league Management Committee will decide the promotion and demotion
requirements in order to maintain, as far as possible an equal number of teams
in each division.
12. RESULT SHEETS
All result sheets MUST be received by the Results Secretary within 48
hours of the match being played. The
home team in league matches and Ken Baker Cup group matches and the winning
team in all Knock-Out stages of competitions matches are responsible for
forwarding the result sheet.
Teams failing to return result sheets within the above specified time
shall be fined a monetary fine and /or points deduction. It is therefore recommended that teams use
the first class mail system.
Both team representatives who sign the Result Sheet are responsible for
ensuring that it is filled in completely and correctly. The management
committee may impose a monetary fine and/or points deduction on both team
representatives. Any fines awarded must be paid within 28 days.
13. TRANSFER OF PLAYERS
A player may transfer from one team to another when the following
procedure has been completed.
A) Notify his current captain of his intentions.
B) The said player to obtain a transfer form, from the League
Secretary.
C) This is to be completed by the player and signed by both team
secretaries or captains.
D) The completed form to be returned to the League Secretary together
with the monetary transfer fee.
Only when the transfer form has been in the hands of the League
Secretary for seven days will the player concerned by eligible to play for his
new team.
No transfers to take place after 31st December each year. However no
restriction will be made for signing new players after this date .Any
difficulties arising as a result of transfers / signings will be the subject of
a Management Committee ruling and decision.
Any transferred player who shall have played in any league cup
competition for his first signed team shall be considered 'cup tied' for that
competition.
14. BANNED PLAYERS
Any player(s) banned from playing in the MALVERN MENS SKITTLES LEAGUE
may, at the discretion of the Management Committee have their name(s) forwarded
to all local skittles leagues so that any action considered necessary may be
taken.
15. INELIGIBLE PLAYERS
This is defined as being any player who is not properly registered /
transfered or someone who is using an assumed name.
In the event of a team playing an ineligible player that team shall be
declared the loser and 11 points shall be awarded to their opponents. Any defaulting team shall be summoned to a
Management Disciplinary Committee Meeting to explain their actions.
16. DELEGATES
Teams failing to send a delegate to a delegates meeting shall be fined
a monetary fine.
Any acts of ungentlemanly conduct taking place during or as a result of
a skittles match, whether reported directly to the Management Committee, either
verbally or in writing shall be investigated immediately by the Committee. Any such act(s) shall be considered prejudicial
to the good name of skittles and in particular the MALVERN MENS SKITTLES
LEAGUE, any guilty teams will therefore be dealt with firmly.
Any player(s) subsequently summoned before the Management Committee,
failing to appear or notify the league secretary in writing his / their
reason(s), must be prepared to be judged in his / their absence and accept the
findings of the Management Committee.
17. COMPLAINTS
Complaints concerning league matters must be made in writing and lodged
with the League Secretary within seven days from the cause of complaint. Such complaints will be dealt with at the
first available Management Committee meeting.
18. ADDRESS CHANGES
Teams must advise any and all changes of secretary / delegates address
to the League Secretary promptly.
19. FAILURE TO FOLLOW RULES
Any team or player defaulting on any rule shall be summoned before the
Management Committee.
20. EXTRAORDINARY
Anything not specifically covered by these rules and regulations shall
be referred to the Management Committee whose decision at all times will be
final and binding.