Rules Veterans league | Harrowdistrictbowls

Harrow & District Veterans League Rules

(amended for rule changes approved at 83rd AGM on 26th October 2022)

1) The League shall be called “the Harrow & District Veterans League".

2) Membership of the league shall be open to all affiliated Clubs of the Harrow & District Bowling Association. Clubs not already within the league, and clubs wishing to enter additional teams must notify the Association of their intention (and commitment) to join by the 15th August prior to season start in order to facilitate the scheduling of fixtures. Notifications should be sent to the Webmaster ( h.and.dba@outlook.com ).

3) The League will be divided into Divisions, the number of divisions and the make up of each division to be determined by the Officers of the Association promotions and relegation will take place at the conclusion of each season, this movement will normally be “one up” and “one down”

4) In September the list of clubs within each division for the following season will be published on the website. Each club will arrange their matches with their opposition for the following year as convenient. Each club must submit a copy of their fixture list to the Webmaster as soon as they have been agreed, but no later than the end of March prior to the season start.

Clubs entering an "A" and "B" team must provide a list of "A" team players to the Webmaster ( h.and.dba@outlook.com ) before their first club Veterans match, all other club members will be deemed to be "B" team players. Nominated "A" team players may NOT play for the "B" team, however a "B" team player may play for the "A" team once during the season and return to the "B" team, if the player should play for the "A" team a second time then he/she must remain in the "A" team for the rest of the season.

5) The Winners of division 1 will receive the Fred Prescott Shield, which they will hold for one year. The Winners of any other divisions will receive a Championship Trophy, which they will hold for one year and promotion to the division above. The teams finishing bottom of all divisions, with the exception of the bottom division, will be relegated to the Division below.

6) All league matches must be completed by the last day in August.

7) i) All matches will be 3 triples played over 18 ends.

ii) Allocation of rinks – The home side will select the rinks to be used for the match, these will be depicted for rink allocation purposes by the use of an identifying marker e.g. numbered disc, playing card etc. The away Captain will then shuffle the home sides scorecards and place them at random on the chosen identifying markers. The home Captain will then repeat the process with the away sides scorecards to complete the process.

8) Every competing player shall be 55 years of age or over on the day of the fixture in question and must be a member of the club who they are representing. There are no restrictions on the number of ladies who make up the triples. No player may represent more than one club

9) All league matches to be played on Mid Week afternoons. Unless mutually agreed all league games to have a fixed starting time of 2.00p.m.

10) After each fixture the home club submit the results via the website using the "results reporting" facility in addition the appropriate result sheet will signed by both Captains and retained by the home club for reference in case of any dispute of the results displayed on the website. In addition for matches in which clubs have an "A" and "B" team in the league then an electronic copy (eg photo or scan) of the signed result sheet listing the names of the players in the "A" and/or "B" team should be sent to the Webmaster ( h.and.dba@outlook.com )

N.B. for 2023 onwards send to Andy Docker 07976 815973 or docker.andrew@gmail.com

11) Method of scoring – 2 points for overall win, 1 point for a tie. 1 point for each winning triple, ½ point for each drawn triple. Thus there will be 5 points at stake in each match. Should one team arrive short of players, the full 5 points and +10 shots difference will be awarded to the opponents. If both teams arrive short of players the game will be void.

12) In the event of two teams finishing the season on the same points then shots difference will be used to decide who finishes higher. If that does not separate them then the two results between the clubs will be used, if after all that the clubs are still level the club with the highest shots “for” be the ultimate decider.

13) Should a team be unable to play on the date agreed, the full 5 points will be given to the opponents. In exceptional circumstances, with the agreement of both Captains a request to reschedule the match (including abandoned matches) may be submitted by email to the Webmaster who will forward it to an officer of the Association for approval.

14) In the event of a match being abandoned before its full conclusion the result will stand provided that an aggregate of 18 ends has been played across the 3 triples. If 18 ends have not been played then either the points will be split 2.5 each or if a mutually convenient date can be arranged the match can be replayed.

16) A match is deemed postponed where play has not commenced and this is not due to the team being unable to play on the date agreed, as covered by rule 13. Where a match is postponed, no points shall be awarded to the clubs concerned, who will be expected to re arrange the fixture to a mutually convenient later date. If necessary, the season will be extended to accommodate this.

17) The Officers of the Association shall decide any matter in dispute and their decision shall be final, such matters should be submitted by email to the Webmaster for forwarding to the Officers.