SWINDON & DISTRICT BOWLS ASSOCIATION 4 RINK LEAGUE RULES

1 The League shall be called the Swindon & District 4-Rink League.
2 All games shall be played under Bowls England Rules except as amended below.
3 All games must be played.
4 Each Team shall play their opponents on a home-and-away basis.
5 Games shall commence at no later than 6.15pm.
6 Games are made up of 4 rinks (16 players a side)
In the event that less than 16 players are available rinks may be converted to triples.
The first two bowlers having three woods each and the skip 2 woods. Any rink playing as a triple shall be penalised 25% of shots scored.
7 All players must be members of a fully S&D affiliated club.
a) Where a club has more than one team a list of each squad must be supplied to the league secretary by the 31st May of that year.
b) If a player leaves a Club and becomes a fully paid up member of another Club or where a club has more than one team a player may move between teams prior to 31 May, they may play in League games in his new team but in both cases only after 7 calendar days notice has been received and acknowledged by the League Secretary.
8 Games should normally consist of 18 ends, plus 2 trial ends, 2 bowls per player.
a) However, if it is not possible to complete a fixture due to conditions and agreed by captains then either:
b) Provided a minimum of 48 ends have been completed in total (i.e. an average of 12 ends per rink) then the result at the time shall stand.
c) In the event that more than 20 ends, but less than 48 ends, in total have been played the scores from the completed ends shall be carried forward and the game resumed and played to a conclusion (with, to the extent possible, the same players in the same positions in their rinks, the same direction of play and rink settings) on a date mutually agreed by both Teams.
d) If less than 20 ends in total have been played (i.e an average of less than 5 ends per rink) then the game fixture shall be declared null and void and the fixture shall be re-arranged to a date mutually agreed by both clubs;
e) Should a player have to leave the game through illness or injury and a substitute is not available then the remaining ends will be played as a Triple and penalised in accordance with rule 6.
9 If the green is unfit, or the game cannot be completed on the fixture date, the League Secretary must be notified, by email immediately sdbaresults@yahoo.com.
a) If a green is unavailable for reasons other than due to the weather then if it is more than 5 days before the fixture it should be changed to their opponents green. If the opponents have another team in the S&D rinks league then that fixture should also be changed to enable both games to be played on the same date before re-arranging the fixture.
b) If less than 5 days and before the day of the game the home team must first ascertain whether their opponents green is available before re-arranging the fixture.
The clubs involved have 14 days to re-arrange the fixture and failure to notify the League Secretary of the new date could result in one or both Teams being deducted points up to a maximum of 6 from their accumulated league totals
10 14 points shall be awarded for each game as follows:
Teams shall be awarded 2 points for each winning rink;
Teams shall be awarded 1 point for each tied rink
The overall shot winning Team shall be awarded 6 points or in the event of a tie each Team shall be awarded 3 points;
11 The home Team shall send the result (it must be rinks scores and overall score) via email to sdbaresults@yahoo.com within 48 hrs.
Failure to observe this rule will could result in a deduction of 6 points from the home Team’s
accumulated league total.
12 Fixture dates will initially be allocated by the League Secretary. The primary day of the week being a Thursday with the secondary date of a Tuesday.
Any required changes to these dates, agreed by both Teams, must be notified to the League Secretary by no later than the preseason delegates meeting.
Should during the season it become necessary for a club to re-arrange a fixture the reason must be advised to the League Secretary with both teams agreeing at new date at that time. Failure to advise the League Secretary could cause the team requesting the new date to be penalised with a deduction of up to 6 points from its accumulated total.
If a club fails to fulfil a fixture then the following result will be 14-0 to the opponents with a shot score of 20-0. However if this fixture could influence promotion or relegation the League Secretary will insist the game must be played .
13 Any dispute or query arising in connection with this competition shall be made in writing to the League Secretary who shall decide. Teams shall be informed, in writing, of decisions made by the League Secretary. Appeals against any decisions made by the League Secretary must be made within 7 days from receipt of the decision in writing to the Association Secretary and the matter shall be considered by the Competitions sub Committee of the Swindon & District Bowling Association, whose decision shall be final.
14 Any alterations to these Rules must be carried by two thirds majority voting at a Delegates General Meeting.

Dated 4th March 2024