Policy agreed by the League Committee January 2024
1) Rule 7.22 states that “persons not engaged in the game shall be situated clear of and beyond the limit of the rink mat; they shall not disturb or advise players. The officials shall have power to take whatever action is necessary to control the spectators.”
2) Without wishing to discourage vocal support the following will be deemed to be coaching from the side, and will be in breach of rule 7.22
◦ Advice of how many shots to claim
◦ Suggesting that a measure be used
◦ Advice on what shots to play
◦ Claims of foot faulting
◦ Advice on whether a bowl is a toucher
Policy agreed by the League Committee on 18th January 2024
This policy was developed to allow clubs with small memberships to participate in matches when unable to field a full team. It is based in the principles of flexibility and mutual agreement, ensuring that no team is given an unfair advantage by fielding a weakened team.
Prior to the match the two captains should agree one of the following options:
Option 1. The match to be rearranged to an alternative date.
Rearrange the match to a date when full teams could be available.
Option 2. Allow substitute players to play two matches
Clubs unable to field a full team of 10 players for a league match may still play subject to a minimum of 8 players.
The names of all players for such teams should be put in a hat and the opposing Captain invited to draw the number to cover the deficit in players.
If a team member cannot play two rounds (eg, health issues), the two captains need to agree that it is appropriate to withhold their name from the draw.
The Captain from the team with an insufficient number will then reorganise their teams so that nobody plays the same position twice or on the same mat twice.
Option 3. Play according to rule 7.19
A triples match can proceed with only two members on a team and played in the order of lead, lead, second, lead, lead, second, followed by skips as normal.
Option 4. The weakened team plays a triples with three bowls each
The team with only two players play with three bowls each and then 25% of their score is deducted.
Policy to allow small clubs to play in the league.
As clubs develop or decline there are times when they find it impossible to field a full team to play league matches. We have a mechanism to deal with this when it is an issue for single games. We also have the experience of one club remaining part of the league but not playing for a full season because they knew that they would not be able to field a full team for any matches that season. This policy does not seek to change any of this, but aims to complement the options when clubs appear to be in decline and unlikely to field full teams to play in the league for a consecutive number of seasons. It is based on the experience in another league who found that their decline accelerated when there was no immediate prospect for playing league matches.
It was agreed that a club in such a state of decline would be able to play matches with a reduced team a season at a time. The opposing teams would also play with reduced numbers for their matches against the team. e.g.
A club only able to regularly field a team of eight would play matches based on 2 triples and one doubles. Instead of 10 points being available for the match there would only be 8 points. As every match for that team would be played on this basis no team able to field full teams would be penalised. A team playing reduced numbers would only be able to able to achieve a reduced maximum score, but would still be able to compete effectively with others.
e.g. In a league with 8 clubs, all playing full teams would be 140 for all teams. (14 matches with 10 points for each match)
In a league of 8 clubs where one club played reduced numbers the maximum available points for the 7 full clubs would be 136. (12 matches with 10 points a match and 2 matches with 8 points a match.)
The maximum for the reduced clubs would be 116 points (14 matches with 8 points a match)
An incentive would remain for all clubs to be able to field full teams because they would have a higher potential maximum.
There is also a similar option based on one triples and two doubles where clubs would only field 7 players.
Clubs would have to elect prior to the season start that they wished to play reduced teams for their matches, and it would have to remain in place for at least the whole season. Clubs can opt in and out during the playing season, but would have to use one of the agreed mechanisms for playing for each match where they could not field a full team.
Policy agreed 10th April 2025