1 THE LEAGUE shall be called 'THE TEWKESBURY & DISTRICT SKITTLES LEAGUE'.

Any TEAM within a 6 mile radius of Tewkesbury, and others at the discretion of the EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, shall be eligible for membership.

2 A PRESIDENT, CHAIRMAN, VICE-CHAIRMAN, HON SECRETARY, HON RESULTS SECRETARY, HON TREASURER/ASSISTANT SECRETARY and seven committee members (MINIMUM), shall be elected ANNUALLY at the A.G.M. to constitute the EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

3 A DELEGATE from each TEAM within the league SHALL ATTEND meetings as NOTIFIED by LEAGUE SECRETARY, along with the 'EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, to constitute the 'MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE'. TEAMS FAILING to send a DELEGATE to a 'MANAGEMENT MEETING' shall be fined £10.00.

4 TEAMS AND PLAYERS REGISTRATION forms will be issued to all teams in the month of February. A TEAM REGISTRATION FEE OF £30 (Unlimited number of players)and a MINIMUM OF TEN PLAYERS REGISTRATIONS TO BE WITH THE TREASURER BY 31ST MAY TEAMS IN DEFAULT NOTE RULE 7

5 TEAM's shall play each other at HOME or AWAY on WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, or FRIDAY NIGHTS as per LEAGUE FIXTURE TABLE.

6 The method of scoring shall be TWO POINTS for a WIN, and ONE POINT for a DRAW for EACH SET PLAYED (SEE RULE 11). FOUR POINTS for a WIN, and TWO POINTS for a DRAW for TOTAL GAME SCORES. At the end of the season the TEAM SCORING THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF POINTS shall be declared the CHAMPION TEAM of that division. THE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS shall be the team winning the PREMIER DIVISION.

Should two or more teams be equal on points, the team scoring the higher number of POINT's, then PIN's from their two matches shall be the winner.

THE CHAMPION TEAM and RUNNERSUP shall be PROMOTED to the next HIGHER division (except PREMIER) and the BOTTOM TWO TEAMS shall be RELEGATED to the next LOWER DIVISION (except LOWEST DIVISION).

7 THE LEAGUE shall consist of a Premier, 1, 2, 3 and 4 divisions each consisting of 14 teams. Any team in default of accounts to the LEAGUE on MAY 31st of the current season shall be INELIGIBLE for MEMBERSHIP of LEAGUE.

8 Any TEAM BREAKING A FIXTURE shall be FINED £15.00 with a £5.00 fine for NOT notifying the RESULTS SECRETARY and a FURTHER £5.00 for not notifying the OPPOSING TEAM A satisfactory explanation MAY BE ACCEPTED by the RESULTS SECRETARY

SECRETARY plus full costs incurred by the home team, ie. food and sticker.

A PRIOR NOTIFICATION (MIN 14 DAYS) to the RESULTS SECRETARY will be accepted, provided a NEW DATE and VENUE, AGREED by BOTH TEAM SECRETARIES is supplied, and the MATCH is REPLAYED WITHIN 4 WEEKS of original date or BEFORE END of the season (whichever is the shortest period) regardless of venue.

The HOME TEAM secretary shall be responsible for NOTIFYING RESULTS SECRETARY of CANCELLED/REARRANGED FIXTURES.

Should any team fail to complete its seasons fixtures a FINE according to the SCHEDULE OF FINES SHALL BE IMPOSED and the EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE will have the right to EXCLUDE such teams from membership the following season. ALL FINES TO BE PAID WITHIN 28 DAYS.

9 ALL games shall start at 7.45 p.m (approximately), but no later than 8.00 p.m. ALL PLAYERS must be on the alley by 9.30 p.m. or at least before the LAST GROUP OF FOUR PLAYERS START PLAYING.

A MATCH, once started, shall count as a league fixture. In the event of a team being unable to field a full complement of players once the match as started no player from that team may bowl twice and the result at the end of the game will stand and count as a league fixture .

ALL games will be played in the best traditions of friendly competition and any form of behaviour detrimental to the sportsman like quality of the game and generally not acceptable shall be forwarded in writing to the LEAGUE SECRETARY for the EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE to deal with as necessary.

10 If a player should fall sick or be injured after he as commenced play, his place may be filled by a registered reserve player for the remainder of the game, and the substitute players score is added to that which is on the scoreboard (upon agreement of both captains) at the time of substitution.

11 Each TEAM shall consist of TEN MALE players. Any player who achieves the age of 17 during the season shall be allowed to start playing at the beginning of the season. Matches shall be played by TWO SETS of THREE PLAYERS and ONE SET of FOUR PLAYERS from each side. Home and visiting teams bowl alternately.

Each player shall bowl 8 HANDS per MATCH, a HAND consisting of 3 BALLS. The TEAM scoring the highest number of PINS at the end of the match shall be the WINNERS, with POINTS awarded as per Rule 6.

12 TWO lines shall be drawn on the alley being EIGHT FOOT a part, the rear line shall be called the FOOT LINE. THE WHOLE of the players FRONT FOOT must cross the WHOLE of the FOOT LINE to be deemed a NO BALL.

The eight foot space between the FOOT LINE and the front line called the BALL LINE denotes the area where the ball must make contact with the alley otherwise it shall be deemed to be a NO BALL.

A ball touching the cushion on either side of the alley before striking the pins shall be a NO BALL. A NO BALL CALLED SHALL BE VERIFIED BY BOTH TEAM CAPTAINS BEFORE GAME SHALL CONTINUE. Any PINS KNOCKED DOWN by a NO BALL will STAY DOWN. The BALL will not be returned for that HAND.

The area covered by the nine pins is called the DIAMOND. If a pin is knocked off the diamond it is considered DOWN and out of play and is removed.

If a pin is knocked over and it stands up again within the diamond it is deemed still in play and is not removed.

13 The FRONT pin on every alley must be clearly marked with a WIDE CENTRAL WHITE BAND. The two pins (one each side of the front pin) are called the QUARTER PINS, and must be marked with a NARROW CENTRAL WHITE BAND in a manner distinguishable from the FRONT PIN

14 All players must be registered 1 DAY (clear) before participating in an official fixture. The postmark date or the date that the registration form is handed to the Results Secretary shall count as the first day of registration. A player within the league shall not be allowed to play for more than one team at a time in the same season, and the penalty for doing so is suspension from the league for the durationion of the season .

Should any club enter more than one team in, the league they shall be entered as Team A' or 'ream B' etc.

Any player NOT REGISTERED at the time of his participation in a LEAGUE or CUP FIXTURE shall be deemed INELIGIBLE and fines and point deductions will be levied as per RULE 15.

15 In the event of a team playing an INELIGIBLE PLAYER(S), they shall be fined £ 5.00          (LEAGUE & CUP MATCHES ) PER MATCH for EACH PLAYER. The team in default will be DEDUCTED TEN POINTS, and their opponents AWARDED TEN POINTS for the MATCH.

The MATCH is NOT REPLAYED, and the INELIGIBLE PLAYER is BANNED for the remainder of the current season .

In CUP COMPETITIONS the team in DEFAULT will be DISQUALIFIED, and the TIE will be AWARDED to their opponents.

16 A registered player requiring transfer to another team in the league may do so BEFORE JANUARY 31 st of the current season .

Transfer forms are available from RESULT SECRETARY and a FEE of £3.00 must accompany each application. To agree to transfer BOTH TEAM SECRETARIES (OLD and NEW) MUST SIGN TRANSFER FORM.

A player shall be eligible to play after the expiration of SEVEN clear days from the date of transfer. No transfers shall be granted after JANUARY 31st of the current season for LEAGUE matches. Transferred players may NOT participate in CUP MATCHES for their new team if they played in that cup competition for their previous team(s).

If there is a reasonable objection to a players transfer, the EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE has the power to REFUSE the transfer .

NEW players may still be registered (NOT TRANSFERS) for LEAGUE and CUP MATCHES AFTER JANUARY 31st of the current season.

17 Each player must sign his own name in full in INK on the result card before commencement of play. The secretary or captain of both teams must sign the result card at the conclusion of the match once all scores and details have been verified by both as being correct. When captains or secretaries have signed result card (if satisfied result card is correct) the RESULT WILL STAND.

18 Both participating teams are responsible for the forwarding correct League and Cup Competition Result Cards to RESULT/CUP SECRETARY (as applicable) or they shall both be fined £10 for incorrect card. In the event of a dispute the committee decision shall be final. The home team shall be responsible for forwarding the result card within 72 hours of match completion to RESULS/CUP SECRETARY by post/hand, or they shall be fined £3.00 for the first offence and increasing by £2.00 for each subsequent offence.

CHAIRMAN'S SHIELD COMPETITION.

19 It shall be a condition of league entry that ALLL teams take part in CUP competitions and the CHAIRMANS SHEILD competition.

The HOME TEAM of a CUP MATCH shall hold a monetary collection, for nominated charities when all players are asked to contribute. The result card and proceeds shall be forwarded to TREASURER as per RULE 18.

The amount of Monies collected MUST BE indicated at the top of the score cord. The expenses for each cup match will be shared between the two teams, each team paying 50% of the total costs .

All DRAWN CUP GAMES will be resolved by the last four players bowling a hand until a result is obtained.

All Cup matches to be played by the date indicated by the League/Cup Secretary, failure to do so will result in the team or teams responsible being omitted from the next round, unless date is agreed by League/Cup Secretary.

20 The DIVISION CHAMPION CUPS, HOSPITAL Cup and PRESIDENT'S Cup shall be retained by the winners and runners-up. Any CUP(s) DAMAGED or LOST through negligence on the part of the team in possession of the cup(s) will be repaired or replaced by the LEAGUE, HOWEVER the COST of such repair or replacement will be charged to the team concerned. All CUPS must be handed back in good condition to the LEAGUE SECRETARY by the 30th APRIL of the following season.

Any protest or complaint must be sent to the LEAGUE SECRETARY in writing, stating the nature of the protest or complaint, within 6 DAYS of the completion of the game. ON NO ACCOUNT will any form of verbal protest or complaint be accepted by the LEAGUE SECRETARY.

21 Any matter not covered by the LEAGUE RULES shall be dealt with by the EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE and their decision shall be final.

HOSPITAL CUP COMPETITION

HOSPITAL CUP COMPETITION shall be played under LEAGUE RULES, with the EXCEPTION of RULE's 5 & 6 which do NOT APPLY to CUP GAMES.

It shall be a TEAM KNOCKOUT COMPETITION with ALL LEAGUE TEAM's taking part. (See RULE 19).

The TEAM's shall be drawn in pairs by the EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE and FIRST team drawn will play HOME advantage.

'The SEMIFINAL's and FINAL will be played on neutral alleys decided by the EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE .

There shall be trophies for the WINNERS, RUNNERSUP, and HIGHEST INDIVIDUAL SCORE (HOME or AWAY). The competition shall be self financing

ADDITIONAL FRONT PIN RULES. PRESIDENTS CUP and CHAIRMAN'S SHIELD.

1  The front pin shall be the FIRST PIN knocked down by the ball before any score can count.

2 If the front pin is knocked down by another pin the front pin shall be placed back on it's mark and the remaining pins knocked down during that delivery shall remain down and not count on the score.

3  In the event of a SPARE only the pins knocked down with, or after the front pin is down, can be replaced in their original positions. The remaining ball(s) of that hand need not strike the front pin to score.

PRESIDENTS CUP COMPETITION

PRESIDENT'S CUP COMPETITION to be played under LEAGUE RULES and ADDITIONAL FRONT PIN RULES 1, 2, & 3, with the EXCEPTION of LEAGUE RULE Is 5 & 6 which do NOT APPLY to CUP GAMES .

It shall be a TEAM KNOCKOUT COMPETITION with ALL LEAGUE TEAMS taking part, (see RULE 19.).

The TEAM's shall be drawn in pairs by the EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, first team drawn shall play home advantage .

The SEMI-FINAL's and the FINAL shall be played on neutral alleys decided by the EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE .

Their shall be trophies for WINNERS and RUNNERS-UP and the HIGHEST INDIVIDUAL SCORE (HOME or AWAY) of the competition shall receive the ‘PRESIDENTS TANKARD’

The competition shall be self financing.

CHAIRMAN’s SHIELD (INDIVIDUAL FRONT PIN).

CHAIRMNS SHIELD COMPETITION to be 6 HANDS played under LEAGUE RULES and ADDITITIONAL FRONT PIN RULES 1,2 & 3

Each LEAGUE TEAM shall be represented by a player of their choice (See RULE 19).

Teams failing to send a representative shall be fined £5.00.

Their shall be a PRELIMINARY Round over 2 NIGHT’s as follows :

Printable scanned Copy of the rules