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General Competition Rules

IRISH BOWLING ASSOCIATION GENERAL COMPETITION RULES

1. All competitions under the direct control of the IBA or one of its Associations of Clubs shall be governed by the Laws of the Game as laid down by the World Bowls Board and as amended by the IBA for use in domestic competitions.

The Council shall determine all questions or disputes that may arise (other than those which come within the scope of an umpire’s duties as defined in 6, below, and elsewhere) and its decision shall be final and binding.

The Council may delegate its duties in this respect to a sub- committee whose
decisions shall be equally final and binding.

IBA Cup competitions shall be open to all players of Member clubs and a player may represent only one club in any one season.

Any Lady members playing in the IBA Cup competitions will be required to pay IBA affiliation fees.

2. For purposes of the competitions other than the Senior, Intermediate and Junior Challenge Cups the country shall be divided into the areas which are within the jurisdiction of the member Associations of Clubs.

3. In the event of a Senior Team unable to field a team in a Senior Cup Competition Match, the fixture must be fulfilled by the team drawing on remaining qualified members, even at the expense of their Junior Cup Team having to withdraw from the Junior Cup Competition.

4. With the exception of the Senior and Junior Inter-Association Championships all rounds shall be drawn by ballot.

5. The time set for commencing each match or tie must be adhered to within a limit of 15 minutes, otherwise the match or tie may be claimed by the competitor(s) ready to commence play.

6. Before a match or tie, the rinks to be played on shall be drawn, at the green, by the visiting skips or their representative(s).

7. If considered necessary, the Joint Competitions Committee may appoint qualified Umpires and Markers for matches or ties. It shall be their duty to settle disputes that may arise between the competitors and, in the case of inclement weather, to decide whether the green (at the time) is in a fit condition for play.

Their decisions on the fitness of the green shall be final.

8. The trophies for the various competitions shall be presented to the winners (and, if relevant, the runners-up) on a date (or dates) to be fixed by the Council.

The recipients shall, on receipt of the trophies, give the Honorary Secretary a written guarantee, signed by the Honorary Secretary of the appropriate club (or Association of Clubs), for their safe custody and return no later than 1 June of the following year.

9. In all games or ties competing players trousers or tailored shorts must be white, cream or coloured or of a design which has been approved by the relevant Association.

All players in a team or side shall wear trousers or shorts of the same colour and design.

10. All shirts must have a collar and must be white, or coloured shirts of
the participating Club or Association, the colour and design of which have been
approved by Council, provided that players in a team or side shall wear shirts of the same colour and design.

Pullovers, cardigans, jackets, rainwear and headgear, if worn, must be white or cream or of the same colour and design as approved shirts.

Footwear must conform to Appendix A2 of the Laws of the Sport of Bowls.

11. All competitions under the direct control of the IBA shall be played on flat outdoor greens.

DOMESTIC REGULATIONS FOR IRISH BOWLING ASSOCIATION

Plain English Campaign’s Crystal Mark does not apply to these domestic regulations.

All regulations are made in line with the Laws of the Sport of Bowls (Crystal Mark 4th Edition), which permits Member National Authorities to make domestic regulations regarding those aspects of the sport listed in Law 57.1.

The regulations apply to all domestic competitions organised by the Irish Bowling Association (IBA) and the Irish Women’s Bowling Association (IWBA), and its member associations and clubs.

Law 6 6.1.5.6

40.1.9

Placing the mat

For domestic play, Member National Authorities can decide the requirements for using portable groundsheets as an alternative to the fixed groundsheets mentioned in this law.

Portable groundsheets are not approved for use in Ireland.

Players Duties – The Skip

“For all domestic team games in Ireland, the duties described in law 40.1.7.5 will be transferred to the second player in each team. i.e., Pairs – the Skip; Triples and Fours – the second.”

The skip will continue to be responsible for entering the finish time, signing the card and agreeing on the final score with the opponents.

Law 53 – Bowls: World Bowls Stamp

53.5 With effect from 1 April 2011, all composition bowls (see Law 52.1.1) used for play in the Inter-Association Championships or the semi-finals and finals of the National Championships must bear a legible IBB, WBB, BIBC or World Bowls Stamp, which has an expiry date of 1987 or later.

Composition bowls may be used in games other than those listed above and must bear a legible IBB, WBB, BIBC, or World Bowls Stamp, which has an expiry date of 1971 or later.

In addition to the domestic regulations made in line with Law 57.1, the following regulation is made in line with Law 55.3.

Law 55 – Formats of Play

55.3 The formats of play for Singles, Pairs, Triples and Fours in all events under the direct control of the IBA or IWBA will be:

• Singles will be 21 shots (shots scored over 21 will not be counted). Four bowls will be played, with each player playing in turn.
• Pairs will be 18 ends. Four bowls will be played, with each player playing in turn.
• Triples will be 18 ends. Three bowls will be played, with each player playing in turn.
• Fours will be 18 ends. Two bowls will be played, with each player playing in turn.

Challenge Cup Rules

1. The IBA Challenge Cup competition shall consist of the IBA Senior Challenge Cup, IBA Intermediate Challenge Cup and IBA Junior Challenge Cup.

2. Applications for entry shall be made to the Honorary Treasurer by 1 January of each year, accompanied by the entrance fee, set annually at AGM and currently £15.00 Sterling per Side.

To ensure participation in the competition a Club’s current seasons Annual Membership Subscription must be paid by 1 January.

3. (a)(i) The Council or its Joint Competitions Committee shall fix a final date for each round to be played but, except for the semi-finals and final, an earlier date may be arranged by the Sides concerned but each Side must notify the Honorary Competitions Cup Secretary at least three days before the new date of the tie.

(a)(ii) For all Competitions, first round ties shall be scheduled to commence on the same date.

(a)(iii) Clubs entering more than 2 Sides should have two greens available and have assigned which Side(s) be allocated to which green on the Entry Form.

This Side to Green arrangement will be for the duration of that competition.

(b)(i) The first Side drawn in each tie in the various rounds shall have home green, except that the Finals shall be played on neutral greens determined by the Joint Competitions Committee.

(b)(ii) The Final shall be played on the last Saturday in August or, at the request of both finalists, the following day, unless an alternative date is approved by the Council prior to the commencement of the competition.

(b)(iii) The Semi-Finals shall be played on the Saturday two weeks prior to the Final.

(c) When two or more Sides secure home draws on the same green, then the ties for other than the first and second drawn ‘home’ Side(s) shall be played on dates and times fixed by the Joint Competitions Committee, unless otherwise mutually arranged by the Sides concerned.

(d) Where two ties are to be played on the same green on the same date, the first of these shall commence at 1:00pm and the second shall commence at 5:30pm or earlier by mutual agreement.

(e) A Side unable to fulfil a tie must notify its opponents, to be received at least 48 hours prior to the time fixed for the game.

Failure to comply with this requirement may involve the defaulting Side in payment of expenses incurred.

The Honorary Competitions Cup Secretary must be informed without delay.

4. When a tie involves one Side from the Bowling League of Ireland (BLI) and one from another Association of Clubs the starting time shall be 1pm.

Otherwise, apart from the circumstances covered in Rule 3(c) and 3(d) ties shall start at 2pm if played on a Saturday and no later than 6.30pm if played on other weekdays.

5. When a Club has sides engaged in a round of the Senior, Intermediate and Junior Cup competitions on the same day, the Senior tie shall have precedence over the Intermediate / Junior tie and the Intermediate match shall have precedence over the Junior tie, except in accordance with Challenge Cup Rule 4.

6. (i) Each tie shall consist of two Sides of four rinks playing 21 ends, though in exceptional circumstances and provided both sides agree before the game begins (or before an interrupted game resumes) fewer ends, subject to a minimum of 18, shall constitute a completed game.

In the case of a tied result an extra end on each rink shall be played, and should the result still be tied another end shall be played and so on until a result is achieved.

(ii) Sides may play, one, two or no trial ends, if agreed before commencement of play. An arrangement of only one shot scored in first two ends is not permitted and may result in both sides being disqualified.

(iii) Sides may play with less than the regulation 16 players, but with not less than 1 player absent per rink and shall be deducted ¼ of total shots scored on each defaulting rink.

7. In all ties, bowls must have identification discs attached. Where the discs of the visiting side conflict with those of the home Side as to cause confusion in the identification of bowls by spectators, players or officials, the home side shall be required to change discs to another colour or to remove the discs completely.

One set of discs only may be applied to a bowl at any one time.

8. If a tie is stopped on, account of darkness, weather conditions, or any other valid reason, it shall be resumed with the scores as they were when it was stopped, and either skip may require that not more than one trial end each way shall be played.

In these circumstances, or when the tie cannot be started for similar reasons, the resumption/re-arranged date shall be within 7 days unless otherwise arranged with the IBA Honorary Competitions Cup Secretary.

The home Side shall submit to their opponents, (in person, by telephone, or by email) on the day on which the match was due to be played, or was interrupted, two alternative dates (not consecutive) one of which must be accepted.

When the tie involves one Side from the ILB and one from another Association of Clubs, at least one of the offered dates shall be a Saturday.

9. Both sides must phone, text or email the result to the Honorary Competitions Cup Secretary immediately after competition of the tie.

Both sides shall forward the scoring card(s) by post or by electronic method within three days of a tie being completed to the Honorary Competitions Cup Secretary so that an official record of the results and players involved can be kept.

10. A side playing a player who has previously played for another Association side in the same season shall be disqualified and dismissed from the competition. and the tie shall be awarded to their opponents.

11. Upon application by a side, at least five days before any tie, or for other good reason, the Management Committee shall inspect any green.

If the green is found to be unfit for play, they shall decide on another green within three days of the tie with consideration given to the wishes of the home side.

12. Badges shall be awarded for each of the thirty-two players involved in each Final.

A further four badges for each side may be purchased from the Honorary Treasurer.