| 1 | That the league shall be known as the Berkeley and District Skittles League |
| 2 | That the headquarters shall be the Dockers Club, Sharpness. |
| 3 | That the number of divisions shall be decided at the AGM. |
| 4 | Teams will consist of 8 players and matches are to be played over 8 legs.
No team may play with less than 7 players. |
| 5 | Numbers of players signed is unlimited, subject to notification to the relevant results secretary. Team lists to be handed in before the season commences. Further team members can be signed on up until 30 minutes before the scheduled start of a fixture, subject to notification to the relevant results secretary. |
| 6 | Transfer of players allowed, subject to 7 days elapsing before playing for the new team providing the secretary has been informed. |
| 7 | No player to play for more than one team and minimum age of registered players to be 16 years. |
| 8 | Matches MUST start by the scheduled time - by 8pm if the home team (or alley) has opted in for 8pm starts or by 8.30pm for all other matches. |
| 9 | Team registration fees, determined by the league at the AGM, must be paid at the Registration and Annual General Meeting. |
| 10 | That 48 hours notice be given to cancel a match. Less than 48 hours given will incur the loss of the match with the two match points being credited to the opposing side along with additional penalty point deduction. This is unless the cancellation is due to extreme adverse weather conditions or other unforeseen circumstances as agreed with the results secretary. Cancelled games must be brought to the notice of the appropriate results secretary, opposing captain, alley concerned also the sticker. |
| 11 | First half cancelled games should be played as soon as possible and before the second half starts. Cancelled games in the second half to be played within two weeks of the end of the season.
In the event of a cancelled match, the home team captain shall contact the away captain within 2 weeks of the original date of the match and offer two dates on which to play the match. The away captain shall contact the home captain within seven days to confirm the new date of the match; the home captain will then contact the results secretary. |
| 12 | Teams who are deemed to have caused fixtures to remain not played by the end of the season deadline (Rule 11) will for every not played fixture will have two points deducted from their end of season total, plus the same number of points deducted from their total at the start of the next season therefore starting with a negative points total. This rule will not be applied to teams who have not fulfilled fixtures through no fault of their own. |
| 13 | Home team to be responsible for completing the scoresheet and forwarding to the secretary within seven days signed by both team captains. A penalty of one point will be deducted from the responsible home team if the result is received more than one week after the fixture. |
| 14 | The only playing balls and pins permitted are those used by the home team and shall be used by both teams. |
| 15 | All balls must strike the alley before a line drawn across the width of the alley. This line is called a "ball" line. In the event of more than one line being drawn across the alley, the line nearest to the pins is to be taken as the ball line. If the ball strikes the alley after the line it is a "foul" ball. It is recommended that there shall be eight feet behind this line which the players can bowl from. |
| 16 | Pins knocked down or clear of the diamond to count. Any pin that is struck and passes through the horizontal plane and stands up again will be counted as down. Cushion or foul balls to count as a ball but any fallen pins must be stood back up again. |
| 17 | Any team a player short shall take the lowest score from each leg scored by either side as the missing players score.
Two legs only for late arrival of a player allowed - after the start of the third leg, the late arrival forfeits the legs already played with the score of zero (unless by prior agreement by both captains). |
| 18 | Any team playing an ineligible player loses any points won to the opposite side. |
| 19 | Should any team fail to complete its fixtures by withdrawing from the league during the playing season and before completion of the season, all games played by that team to the date of its withdrawal shall be deemed null and void and no points awarded. |
| 20 | COMPETITIONS
Front-pin Knockout and All-in Cup:
• 8 players per team and matches to be played over 8 legs - in the event of a tied match after 8 legs, extra legs to be played to find a winner
Ladies Individual, Open Individual, Open Pairs and Mixed Pairs:
• to be played over 6 legs, except for semi-finals and finals, which will be played over 8 legs - ladies individual and mixed pairs to be unlimited.
Open Singles and Pairs:
• three players (Pairs) plus two nominated reserves which can be called upon at the competition organisers discretion
Bob Tytherleigh Trophy:
• awarded for the most top scores for any one side over the season
Peggy Hannigan Trophy:
• awarded for the ladies' highest away average (minimum 8 games to qualify)
Owen Simpson Trophy:
• awarded for the highest away average (minimum 8 games to qualify)
Steve Tilley Trophy:
• awarded for the highest score without a spare
• if more than one with the same score then the first one in the season will receive the trophy
Highest Spare:
• awarded for the highest spare of 19 or above
Entry fees for Singles/Pairs competitions to be determined at the organiser's discretion.
Team captains are responsible for collection and forwarding them with entries to organiser(s). |
| 21 | All league and knockout/cup games to be played on alleys used by the league plus any as convenient with approval of the Committee. |
| 22 | Officers of the league: Chairperson, President, Secretary, Treasurer, Web/IT, Data Protection Officer plus Fixtures and Results Secretaries. |
| 23 | Appeals: committee of Chairperson plus four to investigate any complaints at the request of the main committee with the captains of the teams involved, they shall have the power to co-opt if necessary and their decision shall be binding. |
| 24 | Items for the AGM agenda must be received in writing to the Secretary 14 days before the meeting and cannot be altered during the AGM. |
| 25 | Two members from each team only allowed voting on matters at the AGM. |
| 26 | Any matters not covered by the Rules shall be dealt with by the Committee and their decision will be final. |
| 27 | All new teams entering the league will start in the lowest division. |
| 28 | Should two or more teams finish the season tied on points for top or bottom of the leagues, the points gained between the clubs concerned on the home and away fixture will decide the placing. If still equal the aggregate pins floored between the teams concerned will decide the placing. If all are still equal then a bowl off will be arranged. |
| 29 | All trophy winners are responsible for the safe-keeping of the trophy and must return it clean before the season ends. Failing this they must pay for a new trophy or have it replaced. |
| 30 | Each winning team will receive a monetary award of £150 and each runner-up team receiving £75, both will receive an inscribed medal on a ribbon bearing the league badge. They will both be presented with the League's trophies. Cheques will be paid to the team captains, however if the monetary award is not collected at the designated presentations event, it may be donated to charity. All individual/pairs competition winners and runners-up will receive trophies. |
| 31 | Bowling off. The player who is bowling off must be present at the start of the game, entered first on the board and is only permitted to bowl two legs at a time (unless by prior agreement by both captains). |
| 32 | Any team who fails to send a representative to the AGM will be fined £5 and 2 points will be deducted at the start of the next season. |
| 33 | Where an alley has more than one marked diamond, all teams using the alley who compete in the Berkeley and District Skittles League shall use the same one (which shall be marked). This shall be agreed amongst those teams prior to commencement of the season. |
| 34 | For Front-pin Knockout and All-in Cup matches, the organising home team may choose to play on either home or neutral alley, depending on alley availability. Start time (either 8pm or 8.30pm) is at the discretion of the home team (unless 8pm start time is a condition of using the alley). |
| 35 | Team can only postpone and rearrange one game per half season (unless there are mitigating circumstances e.g. the venue cancels the game). If a team postpones a second game, the fixture will still have to be played and the offending team will be deducted 2 points |