The competition shall be called the “St. Helens and District Men’s Bowling League.”
The competition shall consist of as many divisions as decided by the Executive Committee. Teams in all divisions will consist of 10 registered players.
In Division 1 handicaps will be decided at a meeting of the Executive Committee at the beginning of the season and clubs will be informed.
In the other divisions, home teams will play off scratch with the away team receiving 20 chalks start.
In all games three points will be awarded for an away win, two points for a home win, two points for an away draw and one point for a home draw. After all scheduled league matches have been played the teams finishing with the highest and second highest points total in each division will be deemed champions and runners up. In Divisions Two and Three champions and runners up will be promoted to the next division and will replace the bottom two in that division.
Any disputes or disagreements over promotion and relegation will be resolved by the Executive Committee.
Any team not having sufficient players to keep the green fully occupied (not less than 4 blocks) 15 minutes after the appointed starting time or at any period during the match, shall on appeal to the Referee by the opposite captain have the full number of points deducted (viz 21) for every player absent. No player of the visiting team is allowed to practice on the home green on the day of play.
The appointed starting time of all team competitions shall be as follows:-
| Monday to Friday | April, August & September | - 6.15 p.m. |
| May, June & July | - 6.45 p.m. | |
| Saturday & Sunday | - 2.00 p.m. | |
Clubs with floodlights will start all evening home matches at 6.45 p.m. throughout the season.
Each team intending to compete shall forward to the Secretary the names of the playing members and the Secretary shall keep a register of same. A club has a right to register all or any of it’s members. No club shall be allowed to play any person not so registered. Entries and the list of registered players must reach the Secretary by the 14th February. Any Club playing an un-registered player will lose the match.
Further player registrations will be allowed at any time during the season on application to the Secretary. However a newly registered player cannot play for 7 days after his registration.
No player shall play for more than one club in any competition promoted by the League in each season and any player competing under an assumed name shall be registered under his proper and assumed names. A, B and C team players must be registered separately, in alphabetical order. A team players can only play in A teams. B team players can play in A and B teams. C team players can play in A, B and C teams. When a bowler plays for a higher side his team captain must mark the card thus*. After 5 games in a higher side, a player is then restricted to that side for the rest of the League season. Any returns to a lower side will result in the team losing such matches. No player will be allowed to play for more than one team on the same day or in the case where League games are played on Wednesdays, in the same week. The only exception to this is in rearranged games.
Where a club has more than one team in the same division. Players will be restricted to playing for the team they registered for at the start of the season. This will apply to all competitions in St Helens League & Cup.
The game shall be 21 up and played under B.C.G.B . Laws.
Visitors shall have the first throw of the jack in each game (except as provided in rule 8). Standard jacks and footers must be used in all competitions. Any game unfinished owing to unforeseen circumstances must be continued from the point where play terminated.
Once a neutral green has been chosen for a final or semi-final or League play-off, no player of the opposing teams must practice on the selected green on or before the day of the match, bona-fide matches and competitions excepted.
The opposing captains will act as referees for each match and sign the results card. Where the home captain is not inputting the result to the website he should ensure that the completed result card is in the Secretary’s possession no later than the following Saturday’s post. Defaulting teams will have two points deducted for each default.
Where the home captain is inputting the result himself, he should get the opposing captain’s signature agreeing to the result. There is no need for the result card to be sent to the Secretary. However the card should be retained in case there is a query or dispute over the result. Results should be inputted by the Friday evening following the game. Defaulting teams will have two points deducted.
Any falsifying or aiding and abetting a result will result in disciplinary action by the Executive Committee.
Matches may only be postponed or rearranged as a result of inclement weather or other extenuating circumstances. Any team wishing to postpone and rearrange a match must apply to the Executive Committee to explain the reason for the change and must have the written agreement of the opposing captain. Shortage of players is not considered to be a valid reason for postponing a game. Teams failing to fulfil a fixture will lose the games and will be also have two points deducted.
If due to inclement weather a match is postponed it must be played within six weeks, but at any event not later than the last match of the season. If the postponed match is the final League fixture it must be played within the next seven days. Failure to play within this period will result in the matter being resolved by the Executive Committee.
The trophies shall be the property of the League and be held by the winners for 12 months. Trophies shall be kept in good and clean order for further presentation. Any expenses incurred by the Executive Committee in cleaning or repairing will be charged to the club responsible .Team prize monies and trophies will be presented at the end of the season on a date and at a venue set by the Executive Committee. Prize money not collected at the Annual Prize Giving Meeting shall be forfeited by the offending clubs and returned to League Finances for use in future seasons.
Any objections must be lodged with the League Secretary within three days of the competition match concerned. The Executive Committee may take a charge if in their opinion the protest is frivolous and/or groundless.
Where matches are abandoned part way through a game, the home team will retain the card but the scores at the point of the abandonment will be agreed and noted by both captains. The match will be restarted on a new date at the point at which it was abandoned. Completed games stand. If any player from either team is unable to be present to play in an uncompleted game the score at the point of abandonment becomes the result. If players designated for the original games are not available for games which hadn’t started substitute players will be allowed subject to Rule 5.