1.

The Association shall be called the Worth Valley Bowling Association.

2.

The Association shall be governed by an Executive Committee, elected at the Annual General Meeting, consisting of a Chairperson, General Secretary, Treasurer, Fixture Secretary, Competition Secretary and Veterans Secretary plus up to SIX members of the Association. A quorum shall be formed at any meeting when six of the representatives are present.

3.

Nominations for the Executive Committee plus Auditor shall be made to the General Secretary prior to the A.G.M. All nominations will require to be seconded at the A.G.M. Where no nominations are received the serving members of the Executive will remain in office.

4.

The Executive shall nominate the President for approval at the AGM.

5.

The Executive Committee shall be responsible for the organisation of all activities conducted and arranged by the Association. They will also control the income from member subscriptions and all other sources. The Association financial year will end on 31^st December each year.

6.

Three meetings shall be held each year between the months of October and March. Each club shall be entitled to send two delegates, with Executive Committee members attending by virtue of office.  Any member of the Association may attend these meetings and can take part in discussions, but cannot vote. Voting will be restricted to ONE vote per club.  Clubs failing to attend a meeting will be liable to a £5.00 fine.  

7.

Application by clubs for admission to the Association must be presented to the A.G.M. for acceptance. Each application shall include the names and addresses of the officers of the club making the application together with a list of members wishing to play.

8.

No alteration or addition to the rules of the Association shall be made except at an A.G.M.  Rules shall be altered on a show of hands, the Chairperson having the casting vote if so required.

Clubs must submit proposed rule changes, in writing, to the General Secretary no later than 30^th November each year.  The executive committee will meet to discuss the implications of such proposals.  Clubs will be circulated with these proposals for discussion along with any submitted by the Executive Committee at least 14 days prior to the AGM.

9.

The General Secretary shall convene a Special Meeting on receiving a requisition to that effect signed by no less than 75% of the clubs in membership of the Association.

10.

Each club shall be furnished with two copies of the rules of the Association and be bound thereby. In case of infringement of the rules or any disputes not covered by the rules the Executive Committees decision shall be final.

All clubs must display a copy of the rules in the clubhouse.

11.

The annual subscription shall be £10.00 for one team and £5.00 for each subsequent team, payable not later than the 1^st May in each year. Any club that enters a team into any of the leagues and subsequently withdraws will be fined £25.00.

12.

A 40p levy per player will apply in all League and Cup matches with each club being responsible for their levy fees.  Prize money will be paid to the top two teams in all divisions with less than 12 teams and the top three teams in divisions with 12 or more teams.  Clubs winning division and cup competitions will have the cost of one presentation ticket deducted from their prize money to enable a representative to collect their trophy.  Failure to send a representative may result in the prize money being withheld by the league.

13.

All league matches and competitions will be played under the rules of the Association and no one will be allowed to take part in any match or competition unless he or she is a member of the club with whom they play.

14.

All players must be registered with the Association in writing, together with their B.C.G.B.A. number, through either the General Secretary or the Fixture Secretary.

A registration fee of 20 pence per player per year will apply.

Players must be paid-up members of all clubs for which they are registered.

15.

Before the start of the season, players must be registered with each club for whom they intend to play and the league in which they are to compete.

No registrations will be permitted after 30^th June, without the permission of the Executive.

Teams must register sufficient players to enable them to complete all fixtures including holiday periods.

16.

In the Saturday League clubs having two teams must register six players with the A team who can only play for that team. Clubs with three teams must also register six players for the B team and these players may only play for A or B team. In the Veterans League, clubs must register 4 players.

Such registrations shall be ratified by the Executive.

These registrations will apply to all League and Cup matches.

17.

A player can only play for one club in each League or Cup Competition in any season. Players cannot transfer clubs during the season without the permission of the Executive.

18.

All players in the veterans league must be at least 60 years old.

19.

Should a match be played with less than a full compliment of players, or fail to be played without just cause, a written explanation must be submitted to the Fixture Secretary.  If unacceptable a fine of £10.00 may be imposed.

20.

Any player suspended by their club will not be allowed to play for or enter any competition run by another club or the Association until the period of his or her suspension has expired.

21.

The Association shall adopt a merit league system with promotion and relegation between the divisions. The composition of the leagues will be decided by the AGM.

22.

No player shall be allowed to play for more than one team in respect of matches scheduled for the same day irrespective of when the matches are actually played. The Executive may override this rule in exceptional circumstances.

23.

For the Saturday Merit League one point will be awarded for each winner plus a further two points for the aggregate. In the Veterans League 4 points will be awarded for each winning pair and 2 points for the aggregate.

In the event of a tie one aggregate point will be awarded to each team and is applicable in both Leagues.

24.

The home team captain will take charge of all matches except where a referee is provided.

25.

All games will be played under BCGBA rules. Standard jacks must be used in all games. No practice will be permitted for away teams on the day of the match. Visiting teams shall have the privilege of the jack at the first end. All games will be 21 up. Veterans games will be 25 up.

26.

In all Saturday League matches a representative from each team shall be at the green ten minutes prior to the match commencing. Four players from each team must be ready to commence play when the draw has been completed.

27.

For all matches each representative shall list his or her team in order of play and the combination of both shall constitute the order of play. Any player not present when called to the green shall be replaced by the reserve. The player so replaced must not take part in the match. If no reserves are available the opposing team shall be awarded the game 21-0, or 25-0 for Veterans. Afternoon matches will commence no later than 2.30 p.m. and evening matches no later than 7.00 p.m.

28.

All cards must be checked every fifth end. If any errors occur when marking a card the two markers should check their card and if they cannot agree, go back to where both cards last agreed. The bowlers then to restart from this score with the jack going to whoever won the last end when the scorers agreed. Objections to the result of any match must be lodged with the Fixture Secretary, in writing, within seven days of the completion of the match otherwise it will not be considered.

29.

It is the responsibility of the home team representative to provide the Saturday League match result to the Fixture Secretary by 6pm on the following Wednesday.  The result of the Veterans League matches must be sent to the Veterans Secretary by the following Thursday. Failure to do so may result in a £5.00 fine.

30.

In principle Saturday fixtures shall not be re-arranged for any competition outside the Association with the exception of Yorkshire County Cup competitions. Only teams who have entered these competitions or who have greens taken for these competitions may postpone the relevant match. Teams who have players playing for other clubs in these competitions will not be allowed to cancel matches.

31.

In exceptional circumstances fixtures may be re-arranged, with the prior agreement of the Executive committee. For clubs with more than one team, the “A” team fixture must be honoured and the lower one must be re-arranged. All clubs must inform the Fixture Secretary of re-arranged matches before the fixture date.

32.

All re-arranged matches must be played before the original date or within seven days thereafter.

33.

If a fixture remains outstanding after seven days the Fixture Secretary will give two dates for the fixture to be played. If the fixture still remains outstanding an Executive Meeting will be held and may award the full match points to the non offending team and/or fine the offending team £25.00. For Cup handicap purposes a 10-point handicap reduction will be levied on a team, for each un-played league fixture.

34.

Responsibility for postponing a match due to weather lies with the home team or, if a cup game, the club staging the fixture. When a match is postponed owing to weather, any games completed shall count and other games not completed will be re-drawn, not necessarily from the originally named players. It must be played as soon as possible by mutual agreement between the two captains. The Fixture Secretary must be informed of all such arrangements.

35.

Should two or more teams finish the fixtures with equal points the higher position shall go to the team with most team wins during the season. Should teams still be equal the team with the most away wins shall be deemed the winners.

36.

For League Averages purposes, a player is only allowed to miss three matches of which no more than two shall be away fixtures.

37.

No player who is drawn to play in a competition shall be allowed to play on that green within 12 hours previous to the competition taking place, except when playing in official matches.

38.

In competitions should a player miss playing because of their opponents’ absence then that player may demand ten minutes practice on their own. Once a player has been scratched no re-entry will be allowed. Two cards must be marked in all competition finals. Any competitor who, without good reason, persistently fails to attend competitions they have entered may face a ban determined by the Executive Committee.

39.

The Executive Committee will decide on the greens to be used in all competitions.

40.

Competitions are open to all registered players of the Association. However, players who play for other Associations on Saturday will not be allowed to enter unless they play in the Veterans League, or represent the Association in other matches. Any player entering competitions will be responsible for payment of his or her entry fee on the day of the competition. In a Doubles or Trebles competition the first named on the entry sheet shall be responsible for the entry fee. If a player enters a competition and fails to attend the entry fee must be forwarded to the Competition Secretary within seven days of the competition. If payment is outstanding after 28 days the member may have his or her registration with the Association suspended until such payment is forthcoming.

41.

The desired number of entries for any competition will be 32 and if this number is not met the Executive Committee shall decide whether or not to run the competition for that year. The Competition Secretary shall have the right to replace absent players with a reserve from a published list on the day of any competition.

42.

In Merit Competitions, which have more than 32 entries, the Competition Secretary, may at his discretion, reduce the length of the game by not more than 5 points.

43.

In doubles or trebles handicap competitions, the handicap will be determined by adding the handicaps together and dividing the total by the number of players. Where the handicap finishes in a fraction of a point the handicap will go to the point above. Handicap marks for competitions will be that ten is the limit of start given. A player being drawn on a green of which they are a member will give greenage as follows: 3,2,1.

The higher greenage will apply to any doubles or trebles team that consists of two home green bowlers.

44.

All trophies must be returned to the Competition Secretary not later than 14 days before the finals of the competition to which they belong. Winners must return trophies to the General Secretary for engraving prior to the presentation evening.

45.

All teams will automatically be entered into their respective cup competitions. The format of these will be decided at the Annual General Meeting. Teams withdrawing from the Competition will be fined £15.00.

46.

All Cup matches shall be decided on aggregate only.

Before the start of all knock-out cup matches the captains shall toss a coin for an extra point to decide the winner if the aggregate scores are level at the end of the match.

47.

A Handicap system will apply in the Valley and Supplementary Cups. This will be determined by the Executive Committee.

48.

Once a team has been knocked out of their respective competition players may then play for a higher graded team but not a lower one with the same club. No player shall be eligible to play in cup competitions unless they have played at least ONE game in their respective league in that season. The Executive Committee shall have power to override this rule in exceptional circumstances.

49.

The decision of the Executive Committee on any matter not covered by these rules shall be final.