The Name of the Association shall be the ‘St. Helens Pensioners Bowling Association’, here in after known as the ‘Association’.
The temporary address of the Association shall be, until further notice:
16 Springfield Lane,
Eccleston,
St. Helens,
Merseyside WA10 5EP
The objects of the Association shall be to:
Membership shall be confined to teams of male bowlers of age 58 years or over, who shall be registered as players with one of the pensioners’ sections of clubs in the chosen area. Prospective members who shall be 58 years old during a current season may register provided that
No player may register with more than one club in any one season. Applications for membership, or renewal, of membership, of teams or clubs, to the Association shall be agreed at the Annual General Meeting of the Association. This date shall be the closing date of registrations of clubs/teams. All applications shall clearly state the name and full address including post code of the club, green and Secretary (including email address). The Executive Committee of the Association shall determine the method of admission of teams and players to membership of the Association. All registered players shall have access to the full range of the Association’s activities and facilities. Clubs with more than one green shall nominate the green to be used for Association events. All Clubs joining the Association will be expected to make their green available (if available) at the request of the E.C.
The Association shall hold an Annual General Meeting (A.G.M.) in February of each year and players currently registered shall be entitled to attend. Each Club shall be allowed two votes, those entitled to vote having been nominated at registration. The A.G.M. shall elect:
A Chairman: A Secretary: A Treasurer.
Up to five (5) Members to serve as an Executive Committee (E.C.), a Fixture Secretary and Two Auditors to serve for the current year.
The A.G.M. may also elect Vice Presidents and Life Members, or confirm such appointment, as necessary.
The A.G.M. shall receive an Annual Report from the E.C. appointed the previous year.
The A.G.M. shall also receive a Statement of Accounts, duly audited.
Any twenty (20) or more members or two (2) or more clubs may request the Secretary to call a meeting of the E.C. Such requisition shall state the nature of the business to be discussed. Should the E.C. deem it appropriate, the Secretary shall be instructed to call a Special General Meeting (S.G.M) the notice of such meeting shall state the nature of the business to be discussed and none other shall be transacted. Otherwise Ordinary General Meetings (0.G.M) shall be called by the E.C. as considered necessary.
The Secretary shall maintain a record of all business transacted at such meetings.
The E.C. shall be constituted as above. It shall have powers to co-opt, form sub-committees and set their terms of reference and methods of working. The E.C. shall have the responsibility of administrating the affairs of the Association within the terms of this Constitution. The E.C. shall hold meetings at regular intervals, the quorum at such meetings shall be half of the total elected committee, including officers and co-opted members. The Chairman shall only have a necessary casting vote.
The financial year of the Association shall begin on the first day of November. The annual subscription for each team shall be decided at the A.G.M. and shall be paid at the meeting for distribution and collection of fees, held prior to the start of the season. Such subscriptions shall provide automatic entry to the ‘Teams and Sections Competitions” and will allow tickets for those members wishing to attend the Prize Distribution Evening. Each club shall be responsible for providing sufficient handbooks / leaflets / information to accommodate its membership. The cost of such book shall be determined by the E.C. The Association shall at all times maintain adequate financial records. A Statement of Accounts, duly audited by two elected auditors, shall be submitted to each A.G.M.
The Association may maintain bank and/or other accounts and may accept donations, subscriptions and other items of income, not necessarily in monetary form.
The E.C. shall have power to incur all reasonable expenditure, in it’s endeavours to achieve the objects of the Association. All trophies shall remain the property of the Association and shall be held by the winners for a period of twelve (12) months. Each one shall be returned in time for presentation on the appropriate final’s day. Prize money will be presented to the winners, second and third in the Sections Competition and the Winners, runners up and losing semi-finalists in the Team Competitions. Prize money not collected at the Prize Presentation Evening will be forfeited by the offending club. This will be returned to the Association account.
These shall be team competitions.
Each round shall be drawn and handicapped by the E.C. The first named team shall be considered the home team.
Each game shall be twenty one (21) up.
Each match shall commence at 1.45pm - Grand Final at 1.00pm and shall be played on the pre-selected date (Wednesday) or a date that is mutually agreed by representatives of the clubs whose home greens are unavailable/teams that play in other leagues on Wednesday and their opposition representatives - A minimum of 1 week due notice of a date change requisition must be given by the home team representative.
Practice as per section competitions will be allowed except for semi-finals and finals. Where clubs having two teams that are drawn together for a cup tie to be played on their home green, the “away team players” (second team drawn in the tie) shall not practice other than that specified for away teams in Rule 6 of the SECTION competition.
Semi-Finals and Finals shall be played at neutral venues arranged by the E.C. Clubs have an obligation to provide neutral greens. In the semi-finals and finals, each team shall nominate one of their members to measure with the pegs and tape to confirm the results of contested ends and marks respectively.
In the event of a drawn match, the away team will progress to the next round. In the event of a drawn result between two teams during semi-finals and finals being played on a neutral green, each captain will nominate a player from their teams to play off in a deciding game of 11 up. Should a handicap have been allocated to either of the teams, one twelfth proportion of that handicap will apply (Odd handicaps will be rounded up). Teams will toss-up again for use of the block.
No player shall play for more than one team in any one competition promoted by our Association.
After a neutral green has been chosen, no player involved in the match shall practice on the chosen green for the seven days previous to the match date.
Handicapping : When teams win either of the team competitions they will receive an additional (-6) handicap for the same team competition of the following year and further (-6) handicaps for winning the same team competition in consecutive years. Handicaps shall be retrieved (+6) for current winning handicapped teams who do not win in the same competitions during the following/consecutive years.
A player cannot play in Semi-final of any Cup Competition (President’s and Chairman’s Cups) unless he has played a minimum of four Section Games during that season for the team involved in either of the cup competitions. (See also Rule 9 in Section Competitions for player eligibility). Section matches on the dates between the semi-finals and finals shall not be included.
The E.C. shall determine the constitution of sections and the handicapping of teams.
Matches shall be played between six (6) registered players from each club and played on a home and away basis.
Each game shall be twenty one (21) up.
Three (3) points shall be awarded for an away win, Two (2) for a home win, Two (2) points shall be awarded for an away draw, one (1) for home draw.
Matches shall commence at 1.45pm.
Visiting team players will be entitled to practise 15 minutes prior to match start time. Visiting team captains will be entitled to 15 minutes practise with the home team i.e. 30 minutes prior to match start time. Practise time must not be extended.
Promotion and relegation shall operate normally on a two up and two down principle unless the number of teams joining /resigning the league demands otherwise.
The Captains of each team shall act as referees.
‘A’ team registered players shall not be allowed to play for a ‘B’ team. ‘B’ team registered or any other players will be allowed to play three times only for an ‘A’ team before being classed as an ‘A’ team player thereafter.
Should a club have two teams in the same section there shall be no such transfer of player.
Any registered player is only allowed to play for one team on any one day in fixtures arranged by the Association for that day
The normal day of play shall be Monday, excepting for Bank Holiday Mondays, when matches will be moved to the following Wednesday of that week or to a date that is mutually agreed by the representatives of the clubs whose home greens are unavailable /teams play in other leagues on Wednesday and their opposition representatives -
A minimum of 1 week due notice of a date change requisition must be given by the home team representative.
All other matches shall be played on the date specified by the fixtures unless mutually agreed to be played before the fixture date. Postponements due to inclement weather or funerals shall be played within fourteen (14) days of the fixture date, seven (7) days if the match postponed is the Final League Fixture. Postponements due to epidemic/pandemic situations should be arranged accordingly when it is safe to do so. During such situations, Government/NHS Advise/Restrictions must be strictly adhered to. Failure to play postponed games within the allocated time can incur penalty deductions of up to 6 points. These will be applied to one or both teams at the discretion of the E.C.
If a team fails to fulfil a fixture, the offending team will be scored 6 x (-21) and penalised 6 points. The non-offending team will receive the respective winning points and at the end of the season will receive an average score +/ -, home/away depending upon the fixture when the offence was committed.
Handicapping — Re Section 1 — When a team wins the league, their handicap for the following season will be decreased by 6 chalks. When a team wins the league on consecutive occasions their existing handicap (home and away) will be decreased by a further 6 chalks. Handicaps shall be retrieved by +6 for current winning handicapped teams who do not win in the section competition during the following/consecutive years.
Result cards shall be signed by the opposing captains. Home captains will enter the results using the cg league website and file the result cards in case they are later required by the Executive Committee.
Following the outcome of any general meetings, discussions, case presentations and ensuing penalties concerning the infringement of rules or ungentlemanly conduct, the EC decisions are FINAL. Any further verbal or written controversy will carry serious consequences and will be referred to MCCGBA/BCGBA under By Law 11—(Misconduct).
Any additional or alternation to this constitution and/or rules shall only be made at an A.G.M. A proposal to make such alteration must be given, in writing, to The Secretary at least twenty one (21) days before the A.G.M. and will only become effective with the consent of at least two thirds (2/3) of the total votes cast. The interpretation of this constitution and/or rules shall rest with the E.C.