The name of the League Salford Veterans Bowling League.
The object of the League is the provision of crown green bowling in the District of Salford for men and women aged 55 and over.
The League shall be affiliated to the Greater Manchester County Crown Green Bowling Association.
The League shall be governed by a Management Committee.
The Management Committee shall consist of Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Fixtures & Competitions Secretary and one representative from each affiliated Club.
The Management Committee shall have the power to settle all disputes between Clubs and players and further to deal with any matter not provided for in these rules and to arbitrate on the interpretation of these rules and byelaws.
The Management Committee shall have the general management and direction of the funds and affairs of the League and in particular may:
Subscribe to another organisation or body and nominate any member of the League to serve as its representative to that organisation or body.
Pay the whole or part of reasonable and proper expenses of any official or member of the Management Committee in or about the execution of any function or duty on behalf of the League.
Make and from time to time vary rules for the League which are not inconsistent with these rules and byelaws.
Fill casual vacancies for officials.
Any Club raising an objection shall do so within 48 hours after the match and shall lodge £5 with the Fixtures & Competitions Secretary, which shall be forfeited should the Management Committee consider the objection to be frivolous or groundless.
In all cases of appeal to the Management Committee, officials and representatives attached to the Clubs involved shall not be entitled to vote.
There shall be no alteration or addition to these rules and byelaws except as allowed by B9 unless proceeded by Notice of Motion given in writing to the Secretary at least 21 days before the Annual General Meeting. The Secretary shall forward a copy of such Notice of Motion to each Club, and any proposed amendment to each Motion must be given to the Secretary in writing no later than 7 days before the date of the meeting.
The business of the Annual General Meeting shall be:
To receive reports from the Chairman and Officers.
To receive and approve the annual accounts and appoint auditors.
To elect Officers for the next year.
To consider any other business of which Notice has been given in writing to the Secretary in accordance with Rule B7.
The Management Committee may at any time and shall within 28 days of receiving a request in writing from any 3 (three) member Clubs, convene an Extraordinary General Meeting. The Secretary shall give not less than 14 days’ notice to each Club, specifying the business to be transacted and nothing other than that specified shall be discussed.
A quorum shall consist of:
At a General Meeting of one half of the member Clubs and
At a Management Committee meeting of one half of the total number of Clubs and officials.
In the absence of the Chairman, those attending shall elect a Chairman for a meeting from among their numbers. At all meetings in the event of a vote resulting in a tie, the Chairman of the meeting shall have a second and casting vote.
The Management Committee shall meet on a Monday on specified dates as decided by the Secretary. Any Club who does not have a representative present at a Management Committee shall be fined £5 on each such occasion.
The Annual General Meeting shall be held each year on a date to be notified to all Clubs by the Secretary. Any member may attend and voice their opinion, but any voting is restricted to Club delegates only.
All Trophies, Cups, Shields etc are the property of the League and cannot be won outright. It shall be the responsibility of Clubs and individuals in possession to ensure that they are fully and adequately insured, and they shall be required to reimburse the League the full replacement or repair cost in the event of such items being lost, stolen or damaged.
Entry to individual and pairs competitions is only open to registered players of member Clubs of the League.
Any contravention of the rules and byelaws or any other improper behaviour by a Club or individual may result in one or more of the following penalties:
A fine
A deduction of points
A re-adjustment of position in the league table
Disqualification from one or more competitions
Relegation
Suspension
Withholding of prizemoney
Expulsion from the League.
Penalties shall be determined by the Management Committee.
The Management Committee may admit Clubs to membership of the League by majority vote and may require any new member to pay such non-returnable admission fee as they deem appropriate.
Any club found guilty of playing ineligible players shall have player’s score deducted and game awarded to opponent. Offending clubs shall be fined £4 for each ineligible player.
A team found to have played an under-age/an un-registered/or ineligible player in any Competition, under the management of the League, shall be automatically disqualified from the Competition and may also, depending on the decision of the Management Committee, forfeit related trophies and/or prize monies won during the Competition.
All funds and assets in possession of the League shall be held, paid out and applied as the Management Committee may direct in furtherance of the objects of the League. Pending such direction all funds shall be held in a separate bank account (or accounts) in the name of the League, with such bankers as the Management Committee may from time to time direct.
All cheques drawn on such bankers shall be signed by any two or three persons nominated by the Management Committee.
Two auditors shall be appointed at each Annual General Meeting.
The accounting date in each year shall be on a date decided by the Management Committee.
Each Club shall pay an affiliation fee each year. Based on the number of teams a Club enters, the amount of the affiliation fee shall be determined by the Management Committee no later than the March meeting and shall be payable before 31st March each year.
The entry fees for team knockout, individual and pairs competitions shall be determined by the Management Committee no later than the February meeting and they shall be payable before the commencement of the respective competition. Each Club shall be responsible for entry fees from its members.
The results for all teams are published on https://www.cgleague.co.uk/salford-vets/ and players eligibility for competitions can be checked before games are played. The results from league matches are input by the Clubs using the Bowrap software programme.
Clubs shall indicate how many teams they wish to enter in each league no later than the February meeting of the Management Committee.
The league shall be divided into two leagues.
All Clubs must enter at least one team only in the Tuesday league and may enter one or more teams in the Thursday league.
If a team has more than one team in the Thursday league, they shall play each other in the first match in each sequence.
A list of all players must be with the Secretary by the first meeting of the season.
Clubs must register players with the Secretary at least 48 hours before the first league match. Additional players may be registered throughout the season, but no player may participate in a team match or individual competition (including the pairs handicap) until after the Secretary has been notified. The Secretary will then add the player to the records on the Website.
No player shall be allowed to play for more than one Club in the two leagues in any one season.
Before a player can play for his new Club, they must have fulfilled their obligation to their former club for past seasons.
All matches in the two leagues shall be 8 a side and shall be 21 up. Yellow Jacks should be used.
All matches shall be played in accordance with the Laws of the Game of Crown Green Bowls as laid down by The British Crown Green Bowling League.
The Minimum distance for a mark is 19 metres and the Maximum distance shall be 37 metres. An objection to this rule can only be made by the opponent and must be made after the leader delivers the first bowl. Any player unsure could ask the captain for advice and to call for tapes. If an objection proves to be invalid, the leader may if they wish would reclaim the first bowl and the jack and sets a new mark. If the objection is valid the leader forfeits the jack but delivers the first bowl at the new mark.
Points shall count as follows:
One point for each individual game won
Two points for an aggregate home win
Three points for an aggregate Away win.
When the aggregate is a tie, the home team shall receive One point and the Away team Two points.
In the event of a tie for the top two places in any division there shall be a play-off on a neutral green to determine the final placing. Play off matches shall be decided on aggregate score.
Both ladies and gentlemen can play in league matches and individual handicaps including pairs handicaps.
Matches shall be played on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
When all matches opponents shall be drawn for and not selected. Opposing Captains shall exchange cards prior to the draw.
The draw:
Captains shall declare their teams and make the draw in time to commence the match with at least 4 games not later than 1 pm.
The match shall continue with at least four games throughout. Alterations of players is permitted up to one hour after the stated commencement time in both leagues.
Any player arriving after this time can only play if at least four games are still in progress.
Any declared player present who refuses to play forfeits 21 points in both leagues.
In the event of a team being short of players, the opposition shall receive the award of 21-0 for each missing player.
Practice in the immediate 30 minutes before the start of all league matches shall consist of two separate 15-minute periods, one for each teams’ sole use of the green. The away team shall have the final 15 minutes before play commences.
If a match cannot be started by 1.45 pm due to weather or green conditions the two Captains shall agree a date on which the fixture shall be played, which must be within 14 days, and notify the Fixtures & Competition Secretary within 48 hours. The Records Officer shall be notified to change the date on the Website. If they are unable to agree a date for any reason the Management Committee shall set a date for the fixture and their decision is binding.
When a match that has commenced cannot be completed for any reason players not having completed their games must play their games on a later date by agreement between the captains. This match to be completed within 14 days, partially resume at the score on the card when the game was cancelled but if a substitute replaces the original player, then that game starts from scratch.
Clubs are responsible for the input of the match result to the website. Any further changes need to be made by the Secretary. Clubs failing to comply shall be fined £5. Club Captains can also phone or email the result to the Secretary following the match.
The home team in each fixture shall provide all tapes and measures.
Fixtures:
A team which wishes to re-arrange a fixture may do so by mutual arrangement with their opponents provided the date arranged is earlier than the original date of the fixture. A team which wishes to re-arrange a fixture but cannot reach agreement with their opponents may request the Management Committee to re-arrange the date of the fixture.
Any team failing to fulfil a fixture except as provided in these rules may incur one or more of the penalties as specified in Rule B16. Penalties shall be determined by the Management Committee.
The Secretary needs to be informed to change the date on the website.
In the event of a Club withdrawing or being suspended from the league all their records shall be expunged but the Club shall be liable for all fees incurred.
The Townsend Trophy Competition shall be a ten-a-side handicap. All games shall be 21 up.
The result of all knockout matches shall be decided on aggregate score. In the event of a tie the team with the greater number of individual winners shall be deemed to be the winner.
Depending on the number of entrants, the preliminary rounds of the Competition shall be held either morning or afternoon.
Clubs may enter as may teams as they wish in each competition, but no player may play for more than one team in any competition. Team squads for the 5-a-side competition must be surrendered to the Fixtures & Competition Secretary two weeks before the draw is made for the 5-a-side competition.
All matches shall be played on neutral greens and the Club based at that green shall be responsible for providing jacks, measures etc.
At the commencement of the match the captains shall toss for choice of first throw of the jack in odd or even numbered games. Games shall be numbered before the toss takes place.
No play or practice is allowed for seven days before playing matches on neutral greens unless the player is fulfilling their obligation to their Club.
Any rules under Section D – League Details shall be applied to knockout competitions.
To be eligible to play in team knockout competitions a player shall have played 4 games for the team they represent (teams can appeal when they may be short of players to fulfil a fixture but should not be able to seriously strengthen the team).
The following applies:
Rule D6 shall apply to Individual Competitions.
No handicap date should be cancelled once fixed by The Fixtures and Competitions Secretary. The only reason for cancelling a competition would be due to inclement weather or problems with the host Club bowling green.
All entries to the individual competitions to be submitted to the Secretary by the date specified. No entries to be accepted after that date. The only exception to this rule is in the Pairs Competition where due to unforeseen circumstances one of the players cannot compete then one substitute can be made by giving The Fixtures and Competitions Secretary notice.
Depending on the number of entrants, the preliminary rounds of the Competition shall be held on two neutral greens. On arrival the players will take a number and when the final number of players are known the draw will be completed using the appropriate paperwork. The last 8 players from these two greens progress to the final day (a total of 16 players).
Except for playing a match in this league any player who plays or practices on the green during the seven days prior to playing a competition on that green shall be treated as playing on their own green.
On the day of playing a competition, players shall not play or practice on the Competition green. If preliminary rounds must be played the opponents of the preliminary winners have the right to a practice session on the green for their match to be played on a level playing field. This would only be allowed if the match is on the same day and bowling green.
A player on their own green shall:
Give first throw of the jack to their opponent in the first game of any session.
In a handicap competition have 1 (one) point deducted from handicap mark.
A player’s own green is the green on which their team plays home matches and greens at the same location.
The league Merit shall be 15 up and the Bowler of the Year 21 up in all divisions.
Subject to Rules F5 and F8 handicap games shall be 21 up with handicaps as follows:
Visiting player starts on 6.
Home player starts on 5.
Handicaps down to scratch.
The winner of the handicap competition shall be deducted 3 points, the runner up 2 points and the losing semi-finalist 1 point each. They shall regain one of these points for each time they play in the same competition and fail to reach the semi-finals.
No player may play in the Bowler of the Year competition unless they have played 75% of league matches in the relevant division including two of the last four matches.
An Average Prize shall be awarded in each Division to the player returning the best Average score. The http://www.cgleague.co.uk/salford-vets/ website now calculates the Averages for all players in the two divisions. The programme calculates this number using the rules in (a) below.
A player must have played in at least 75% of possible league matches, including 2 matches in the last four league matches.
The following applies:
Rule D6 shall apply to the Pairs Competitions.
Rules F1 and F4 apply.
Depending on the number of entrants, the preliminary rounds of the Competition shall be held either morning or afternoon. Play shall continue until eight (8) pairs remain, enabling sixteen (16) pairs to qualify for the final day. Pairs shall be matched by ballot from the total number of entrants. Any entrant present on the day, but unsuccessful in the ballot for places, shall be given automatic entry into the following years’ competition.
All games to be 21 up.
Pairs shall be handicapped on the basis:
Home green pairs 5.
Visiting pairs 6.
Handicaps down to scratch.
A pair playing on their own green shall:
Give first throw of the jack to their opponent in the first game of any session.
A player’s own green is the green on which their team plays home matches and greens at the same location.
The following apply:
The winner shall be deducted 3 points, the runner up 2 points and the losing semi-finalist 1 point each. They shall regain one of these points for each time they play in the same competition and fail to reach the semi-finals.
A pair carrying a handicap but not playing together in subsequent Pairs handicap shall each carry one half of the handicap they earned as a pair, this would be rounded up to the next larger figure i.e. 3 points would become 2 points each.
The League may be wound up by a resolution of two thirds of most of the Clubs represented at an Extraordinary General Meeting held in accordance with the provisions of the Rules and Byelaws. Thereafter the Management Committee shall pay the surplus funds of the League to such other bowling league or League as they may decide or return them to the member Clubs in such proportion as they may decide.