THURROCK & DISTRICT BOWLS ASSOCIATION
COMPETITION RULES
as Revised on December 2023

1. RULES AND REGULATIONS
All competitions shall be played under laws of the IBB, also in accordance with the rules and regulations of Bowls England and of this Association.
2. PLAYERS
All players in the competitions must be bone fide members of a club affiliated to the Thurrock & District Bowling Association. No player can be entered or play for more than one club in any one season.
Should a member enter one or more competitions whilst belonging to a club, and that club is disbanded after the competition entries are submitted, the entries they have made can be transferred to their new club upon notification to the Competition Secretary.
Should any member submit competition entries and then decide to go to another club, only the singles and secretary’s singles entries will be transferable, all other entries will be null and void.
3 ENTRANCE FEES
Entrance fees shall be decided at the AGM
4. ENTRY FORMS & QUALIFICATIONS
(a). Entry forms shall be forwarded to club secretaries not later than January 31st.
(b). The names of all competitors must be entered on the entry forms which must be returned to the Competition Secretary together with the affiliation and competition fees not later than February 28th. No entry form will be accepted unless accompanied by the relevant fees.
(c). No competitor is allowed to play for more than one team in the same competition. (Except the League Competition – see Rule 12 (a)13
(d). After the closing date for the aforesaid entries, no person will be allowed to withdraw to partner another entry in the same competition.
(e). Substitutes. One substitute is allowed in the Pairs, Triples and Fours competitions. He must be named as the substitute and after playing may not play for another entry in the same competition.
5. COMPETITION DRAW
(a) A letter and number will be allocated to every entry in the competitions.
{b) The draw shall be made by the Competition Committee. The Competition Secretary shall forward the result of the draw to each club Secretary (unless otherwise notified) not later than April 30th. each year.
(c) At the close of competition rounds the Competition Secretary will e-mail draw updates to club secretaries, delegates and any Association member who wishes to be included on the distribution list. These will also be made available for viewing and downloading from the Association Web site.
6. DATE OF ROUNDS
(a) ALL competitions shall start on May 12th unless entry numbers dictate otherwise. Should this be the case the Competition Secretary will notify clubs at the same time as when the initial competition draws are circulated. This will be no later than 30th April.
(b) Closing dates of rounds will be published with original draw sheets.
7 PLAYING ARRANGEMENTS
(a) The challenger shall offer his opponent three (3) dates for playing, one of which must be a weekend (Bank Holiday Weekends are excluded). Not more than two (2) dates shall be offered in one week. The offering of dates must be made by May 12th for first round games, and for subsequent rounds within 3 days of the closing date of the previous round. In the event that no reply is forthcoming from or contact cannot be made with an opponent within 3 days, the game may be claimed, but only AFTER having contacted the Competition Secretary directly to inform him of the situation.
(b) Should the challenger fail to offer dates within the allotted time scale the opponent may claim the game, but only AFTER having contacted the Competition Secretary directly to inform him of the situation. The opponent will then notify the challenger of his intentions. The opponent may also decide to become the challenger and offer his opponent two dates to be played on his own green. The original challenger must then immediately accept one of these dates or forfeit the game.
(c) The Competition Secretary must be informed IMMEDIATELY of any situation where match dates have not or cannot be agreed amicably within 5 days of the start of the competition round. In such cases the Competition Secretary’s decision will be final.
8 PLAYING RULES
(a) Match Format: All 4 wood singles and 2-wood pairs competitions to be played to 21 SHOTS; 2-wood singles - 4-wood pairs and fours competitions to be played to 21 ENDS; Triples to be played to 18 ENDS; Inter-Club Knockout to be played to 18 ENDS, total rinks scores to count.
Mixed fours Knockout Competition open to all members of Clubs Affiliated to T.& D.B.A
All players in a four (2 x men + 2 x Ladies) must belong to the same bowls club. Two substitutes allowed per team, one lady and one man,But only one substitute is allowed to play at any one time. He or she must be named as the substitute and after playing may not play for another entry in the same competition
(b) Starting times: All games should commence no later than 6.15 pm (5.45 pm in August)
(c) Greens: All matches must be played on greens passed by County inspectors. If the green selected has not been passed, the players involved can either mutually agree a match venue or contact the Competition Secretary for a resolution. All rounds of the Champion of Champions competition shall be played on a mutually agreed green.
(d) Protests: 1. All protests about the green must be made before the sixth end.
2.In the event of wishing to lodge a formal complaint on the rink condition, the green inspection certificate must be examined to verify the rink in dispute has been passed fit for county competition play.This should be confirmed, full details of the rink number, colour, direction of play and the nature of the complaint must be communicated immediately after the completion of the match to the group 9 secretary for further investigation.
3. In spite of the protest, the game must be played to its conclusion and the result communicated to the competition secretary, Any team refusing to play a match to its conclusion will automatically forfeit the tie.
4. The communicated result of any game where a protest has been made will stand, irrespective of any findings resulting from any investigations carried out by the organisation resonsible for green testing within the County Group.
(e) Markers: The onus of providing a marker in all rounds up the Finals is upon challenger. Markers for the finals will be provided by the Competition Committee.
(f) Scoring: In the event of the scores being equal on the completion of the 21st., or 18th. end in triples, the toss of a coin will decide who casts the jack for the extra end.
(g) Disputed points: The two skips will be the judges of all disputed points on the green. If they cannot agree a neutral umpire shall decide the point.
(h) Uncompleted matches: In the event of it being impossible to complete a match it must be completed on the same green and the same rink where practicable unless mutually agreed at the time of abandonment
(i) Disputes: In the event of a dispute arising, such disputes shall be made in writing to the Competition Secretary for a decision by the Competition Committee. Individuals or Clubs shall have the right of appeal to the Executive Committee of the Association whose decision shall be final.
(j) Results: The result MUST be telephoned to the Competition Secretary on the day of the game no later than 10:30 PM or e-mailed on the day of the match. In addition the correctly completed match result card or an electronic copy must reach the Competition Secretary within three days of the match date. If the result has not reached the Competition Secretary by midnight on the closing date both competitors will be eliminated.
9. SECRETARIES COMPETITION.
This competition shall be open to any type of male secretary of member clubs and the Association Secretaries past and present.
10 CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS COMPETITION.
This competition is open to all club champions of the previous season plus the Holder.
11 SEMI-FINALS & FINALS.
(a) All semi-finals to be played by August 31st. and will be played on a mutually agreed neutral green. Should the players fail to agree a neutral venue the Competition Secretary must be contacted. He will decide on the match venue, his decision being final.
(b) Finals to be played over the 2nd weekend in September, (unless circumstances prevent this), on a suitable green agreed by the competition secretary in conjunction  with the Executive Committee.
13. KNOCK-OUT COMPETITION
(a) All clubs (including those from any triples league) are eligible for this competition. A club may can make as many entries as they have league teams. However, once a bowler has bowled in this competition for a team he shall become ineligible to bowl for any other team in this competition for the rest of the season
(b) Entrance fees to be decided at the AGM.
(c) Teams shall consist of three rinks of three players, competing in a three wood triples match less than nine players will result in forfeiture of the match.the winner will be the team with the highest score total across the three rinks.
(d) The draw will be made by the Competition Committee and circulated to all club Secretaries with the closing dates of each round.
(e) The first named club will offer three (3) dates for playing, one of which must be a weekend (Bank Holiday Weekends are excluded). Not more than two (2) dates shall be offered in one week. The offering of dates must be made by within six (6) days of commencement of each round. In the event that no reply is forthcoming from the opponent within 6 days, the game may be claimed, but only AFTER having contacted the Competition Secretary directly to inform him of the situation
(f) Should the challenger fail to offer dates within the allotted time scale the opponent may claim the game, but only AFTER having contacted the Competition Secretary directly to inform him of the situation. The opponent will then notify the challenger of his intentions. The opponent may also decide to become the challenger and offer his opponent two dates to be played in the next six days on his own green. Should the new opponent not reply or not accept any of the dates the game may be claimed only AFTER having informed the Competition Secretary of the situation.
(g) The Competition Secretary must be informed IMMEDIATELY of any situation where match dates have not or cannot be agreed amicably within 12 days of the start of the competition round. In such cases the Competition Secretary’s decision will be final.
(h) All rounds after the first commence the day after the previous round finishes.
(i) All matches should start no later than 6.15 pm. (5.45 pm in August)
(i) In the event that the scores are tied after 18 ends, the game will continue until a result is forthcoming.
(k) Semi-finals will take place on a mutually agreed neutral green. Should the teams fail to agree a neutral venue the Competition Secretary must be contacted. He will decide on the match venue, his decision being final.
(l) The Final will be played during the 2nd weekend of September as part of the finals weekend, Should circumstances prevent this the Final will be played on the first Sunday in September, on a suitable green agreed by the competition secretary in conjunction with the Executive Committee.
 
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