RULES. DRAWS, RESULTS
B&D Rules book 2026 in MS Word format ......
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BASILDON & DISTRICT
LAWN BOWLS ASSOCIATION
FOUNDED 1979
RULES
for
LEAGUES,COMPETITIONS, ONE DAY COMPETITIONS
MURRAYFIELD KNOCKOUT CUP, PRESIDENTS TROPHY
Revised 2026
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DRESS CODE
B&D Mixed Leagues, Competitions, Cup and Trophy games.
Grey or Blacktrousers/skirts/cropped trousers or knee length tailored shorts to Bowls England standard or better.White shirt/blouse or Club shirt.Smooth, heel-less footwear.
B&D One Day games including Finals Day.
White trousers/skirts/cropped trousers or knee length tailored shorts to Bowls England standard or better.
White shirt/blouse or Club shirt.Smooth, heel-less footwear.
ALL BOWLERS ARE TO LOOK REASONABLY SMART AT ALL TIMES. THEY ARE NOT REQUIRED TO WEAR BOWLS ENGLAND BADGED CLOTHING, BUT THE ABOVE RULES ARE APPROVED BY BOWLS ENGLAND.
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LEAGUE RULES
GENERAL
1. The league is to be administered by Basildon & District Lawn Bowls Association and is to be called 'The Basildon and District Lawn Bowls League', with all matches being played under Bowls England rules.
Entrance fees to be fixed annually by the Executive Committee of the Basildon & District Lawn Bowls Association.
All disputes are to be referred to the Executive Committee of the Basildon & District Lawn Bowls Association whose decision will be final.
2. A player may not allow his or her name to be submitted from more than one club, for league (and/or competitions) registration in the same year.
Any player so doing will be disqualified from the league and competition games
3. No player will play for more than team
4. Teams will consist of nine players, formed into three triples.
Each team must be of mixed gender to include a minimum of one lady, or one man. If this criterion is not met, the innocent team will be awarded 7 points and 30 shots.
5. Matches will consist of eighteen (18) ends to play.
In exceptional circumstances less than ten (10) ends may be used to warrant a match, as long as both Captains agree and state the number of ends they intend to play BEFORE the match begins.
If the agreed number of endsare not completed, the match will be void and will need to be rearranged.
6. The start time for matches in April, May August and September will be 5.30pm. In June and July the matches will start 6pm. An earlier start can be agreed by both clubs concerned and if the League Secretary’s permission is sought.
7. The League Secretary will provide the Match Secretary of each Club with a template containing the week ending dates for their inter club mach.
The actual match dates will be arranged by the Match Secretaries.
Once agreed, the date on which a match is to be played cannot be altered unless at time of the match, the green – keeper closes the green, or both Captains of the day agreethat the weather conditions prevent the match from being started.
The League Secretary shall be informed immediately by the home team of the match, of any arranged or changed match dates that differ from the original fixture formula.
A breach of this rule will result in the innocent team being awarded 7 points and 30 shot
8. All matches have to be completed by the second Friday in September. In exceptional circumstances (e.g. due to poor weather) the League Secretary will have the discretion to grant two weeks extension.
9. Clubs with more than one team in the same Division must ensure that the matches between those teams are played by the end of the first week of June.
Failing to comply with this rule will result in zero points being awarded to both teams for the match/matches concerned.
Under exceptional circumstances, (e.g. an arranged match being cancelled because of bad weather) the League Secretary will have the discretion to grant two weeks extension.
10. An approved league fixture list is to be submitted by each Club to the League Secretary before the start of the season, together with the name and telephone number of the person in charge (and deputy) of each of their participating teams
11. All clubs will have to register player names to the League Secretary at the start of each season for each team playing in the Basildon & District Lawn Bowls Association.
The League Secretary will send out a REGISTION FORMS to all clubs before the start of the season.
Clubs can register players for each team during the playing season in writing to the League Secretary.
No player can be register for another team within the same club.
In the event of Rule 11 being broken the offending team will be awarded ZERO POINTS and 30 shots against them.
The innocent team will be awarded 30 shots and 7 points
MATCH PREPARATION
12. All match fee to be on a reciprocal basis, or if agreed by both clubs, no charge will be made.
13. Both Captains shall check that both teams meet the mixed gender criteria of RULE 4.
If not the innocent team will be awarded 7 points and 30 shots.
14. In the event of a club not booking sufficient rinks to play a league match the opposing team will be rewarded 7 points and 30 shots
15. In the event of a team failing to arrive for a match (i.e. 30 minutes after the appointed time of start) the innocent team will be awarded 7 points and 30 shots, subject to the approval of the League Secretary.
16. In a team is short of players by agreed start time but there are sufficient players to start two triples, the game must proceed. The team must still meet the criteria of RULE 4 regarding gender. If the late arriving player(s) reach the green within 30 minutes of the stipulated start time, then the third rink must commence play.
When a whole match is restricted to two triples, the offending team is given 2 points and 10 shots to the opponent.
17. The members of both teams must have their own club stickers on their bowls.
18. After both Captains have filled in their team names on the rink cards, the two sets of cards will be placed randomly face down in pairs. The nominated rink will then be assigned to each pair of cards by the away captain.
The winner of coin toss gets the choice of first mate.
MATCH PLAY
19. Only the Skips are permitted to visit the head.
The points scoring system will be as follows:
2 points per winning triples
1 point for a draw
1 bonus point for winning team on overall aggregate score.
If the overall aggregate scores are tied, no bonus point is awarded.
20. If a match has been started but, due to bad weather or some other un-foreseen reason, and the eighteen ends cannot be played. Then ends must have been completed by all three triples (or two as in Rule 16) before it can be counted to have been played, and all shots at this point count.
Less than 10 ends can be used to warrant a match as in RULE 5
If the required number of ends are not completed, the will be void and will need to be rearranged.
21. If a bowler is unable to complete the match for health reasons, a substitute may be used. The gender of the substitute must ensure that RULE 4 continues to be met and may play in any position in the position of Skip. If no substitute is available, the other two rinks shall continue to play and the offending rink will give 2 points and 10 shots, or the actual shot difference at the point of stoppage if that is greater than 10 shots, to the opponent.
The names of the replacement and replaced player must be recorded on the match card and signed by both Captains.
END OF MATCH
27. After the match, the result card must be completed by the home Captain, in the rink player order,
clearly showing the player surnames and indicating the gender of players of both teams. Both Captains must sign the card.
The completed card must then be electronically forward or posted to the League Secretary by the home Captain as soon as possible after the match.
The League Secretary will then check players name from the result cards against the team register list (under RULE 11).
In event of it being found that RULE 11 has been broken, the League Secretary will advise both Captains that the innocent team will be awarded shots and 7 points and the offending teamzero points and zero shots.
END OF SEASON
28. Team positions in division will be determined basedon the final points achieved. Should more than one team have the same points, the shots difference will be taken into account.
29. Promotion and relegation between divisions shall be on a basis of two up and two down (i.e. top teams promoted and bottom teams relegated) –see also Rule 25
CHANGES TO DIVISIONS
25. In the event of the need to reset the number of teams in a division, due to club dropping a team or teams, the increase per division shall be achieved by the additional promotion of teams from next lower division. Under no circumstances will the increase in numbers prevent the relegation of the bottom teams
26. In the event of the need to increase the number of divisions in the league, this will be achieved by: Promoting the top two teams in each division except the first division.
Relegating the bottom two teams in each in divisions.
Equaling out the remainder of the teams according to position in each division.
If the number of teams cannot be equally divided between the divisions then the greater number of teams will play in lower divisions.
27. All new teams entering the league will initially be place in the lowest division.
MURRAYFIELD KNOCKOUT TROPHY
1a. Competition draw sheets will be circulated to all Match Secretaries before the commencement of the first round. The first name of each tie will be deemed to be the challenger, who must, within five days of the commencement of the round, offer their opponent three dates for play over a minimum period of two weeks, giving three clear days notice. At least two of these dates must be on different days of the week. Saturday and Sunday are not included unless both parties agree to play on these days.
1b. The opponent, must within five days of receiving a challenge, accept one of the dates offered or forfeit the tie. If an opponent does not receive a challenge within five days of the commencement of the round, they will then assume the role of the challenger and must offer their opponent two dates of play within a further 3 days. If these dates are not accepted they may claim the tie. If neither club arranges the match within the dates specified, both teams will be disqualified and the tie declared void.
1c. The winners in all rounds of the competitions, including games not played (claimed by default) must telephone or e-mail the result to the Competition Secretary within 24 hours of the completion of the match, or telephone the result then post to the Competition Secretary by the closing date of the round. Should the game be played on the penultimate, or last day, the result must be telephoned immediately to the Competition Secretary and the result card e-mailed or posted the same day. Should this procedure not be followed, the winning team may be disqualified. The Competition Secretary will inform all clubs of their next round opponents as soon as they are known.
2. The competition is open to all teams participating in the Basildon League and will be played under League rules.
3. Each team shall comprise of three triples. Each team must be of mixed gender to include a minimum of one lady, or one man. The winner of each match shall be the team that registers the higher aggregate of shots counted over all three triples played over 18 ends. In the event of the scores being equal at the conclusion of 18 ends, an extra end or ends shall be played by all three triples until there is a winning club on all aggregate shots.
4. In the event of a team being a player or players short, the match will be reduced to a two-triple game. For the purposes of calculating the aggregate score, the non-offending team shall be considered to have won the third triple by ten shots and a score of 10-0 shall be entered on the score card. If the shots are then level at 18 ends, an extra end or ends shall be played by the same two rinks, until there is a winning club on aggregate shots. In the event of a team being unable to field sufficient players to form two-triples, that team shall forfeit the tie.
5. For registration and player qualification purposes, each game shall be regarded as a league match: i.e. no player can be selected for a Knock-out match if he/she has previously played in that season for another team in either a league or Knock-Out match. Similarly, having played in the Knock Out disqualifies any player from selection for another team in the league for the rest of the season. The names and genders of all players must be registered on the result card in the same way as for league matches. The minimum age for qualification for all players is 12 years.
6. Any team found to use an unqualified player will automatically be deemed to have lost the tie and their opponents will go through to the next round irrespective of the result of the match.
7. First round opponents shall be decided by a random draw undertaken by the League Competition Secretary, with the first team pairing being the home side. For subsequent rounds, the winner of the first match shall be at home to the winner of the second match, etc.
8. The Competition Secretary shall publish the complete draw and shall circulate copies to all participating clubs indicating the closing date of each round. He/she shall further advise each team before the commencement of each round the name of their opponents stating who is the hometeam.
9. Semi-Finals shall be played on a neutral green arranged by the Challenger.
PRESIDENTS TROPHY
1a. Competition draw sheets will be circulated to all Match Secretaries before the commencement of the first and subsequent rounds. The first name of each tie will be deemed to be the challenger, who must, within five days of the commencement of the round, offer their opponent three dates for play over a minimum period of two weeks, giving three clear days notice. At least two of these dates must be on different days of the week. Saturday and Sunday are not included unless both parties agree to play on these days.
1b. The opponents, must within five days of receiving a challenge, accept one of the dates offered or forfeit the tie. If an opponent does not receive a challenge within five days of the commencement of the round, they will then assume the roles of the challenger and must offer their opponent 2 dates of play within 3 further days. If these dates are not accepted they may claim the tie. If neither club arranges the match within the dates specified, both teams will be disqualified the tie will be declared void.
1c. The winners in all rounds of the competitions, including games not played (claimed by default) must telephone or e-mail the result to the appointed Competition Secretary within 24 hours of the completion of the match, or telephone the result then post to that Secretary by the closing date of the round. Should the game be played on the penultimate, or last day, the result must be telephoned immediately to that Competition Secretary and the result card e-mailed the same day. Should this procedure not be followed, the winning team maybe disqualified. This Competition Secretary will inform all clubs of their next round opponents as soon as they are known.
2. Each game shall consist of 21 ends (eight players with two bowls each).
3. Each four will consist of two men and two ladies. If thiscriteria cannot be met the offending team will forfeit the game to their opponents.
4. A list of ‘badged’ players is required from each club before the start of the season. Only one badged player (be it lady or gent) will be permitted to play in each four and this person must be clearly marked on the score cards. A badged player is classed as ‘badged’ if it was awarded before the start of the current season. Any team contravening this rule will be disqualified from the competition and the tie will awarded to the opposing team.
5. One four shall play at home and the other four shall play away on the same day and at the same time. At the semi-final stages both fours shall play on the same green (the semi-final being on a neutral green). The winner of each match shall be the team that registers the highest aggregate of shots counted over both games.
6. An extra scoring end shall be played on the challengers green and the score on this additional end will be used only if the aggregate scores are level after 21 ends have been played. At the semi-final and final stage, the clubs shall decide prior to the start of the game the four which will play the extra end, and they shall play against each other throughout the match. No extra end shall be played until both rinks have completed the required number of ends.
7. A club shall have the option of substituting players and of altering the position of the players for the second or succeeding rounds of the competition.
8. In the event of rain stopping a match at one green, the score of the other game will decide the result.
9. Should both games have to be abandoned the score will only count if10 ends or more have been completed at both venues.
COMPETITION RULES
CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS 21 SHOTS (4 woods each player)
SINGLES 21 SHOTS (4 woods each player)
PAIRS 21 ENDS (4 woods each player)
MIXED PAIRS 18 ENDS (4 woods each player)
TRIPLES MIXED 18 ENDS (3 woods each player)
FOURS MIXED 21 ENDS (2 woods each player)
All competitions will be played under Bowls England rules but incorporating the following LOCAL RULES.
1a. A player may not allow his or her name to be submitted from more than one club, for league, and or competition registration in the same year. Any player so doing will be disqualified from all league and competition games.
1b. Competition draw sheets will be circulated to all Club Secretaries before the commencement of the first round. The first name of each tie will be deemed to be the challenger, who must, within five days of the commencement of the round, offer his/her opponent three dates for play over a minimum period of two weeks, giving One clear day notice. Saturday and Sunday are not included unless both parties agree to play on these days. The start time for all games should be 6.00pm (5.30pm in August) unless both parties have negotiated to play at a mutually agreed alternative time.
1c. The opponent, must within five days of receiving a challenge, accept one of the dates offered or forfeit the tie. If an opponent does not receive a challenge within five days of the commencement of the round, he/she will then assume the role of the challenger and within a further 3 days must offer his/her opponent two dates of play. If these dates are not accepted he/she may claim the tie. If neither player/ team arranges the match within the dates specified, both players/ teams will be disqualified and the tie declared void. In the event of a challenger not booking a rink, the opponent will be awarded the game.
1d. Winners in all rounds of the competitions, including games not played (claimed by default) must telephone the Competition Secretary with the result on the day of the completion of the match. The result card must then be electronicallyforwarded or posted to the Competition Secretary within 24 hours. Should the game be played on the penultimate or last day of the round, the result must be telephoned immediately to the Competition Secretary and the card emailed the same day. Should this procedure not be followed, the winner or winning team may be disqualified. The Competition Secretary will inform all competitors by telephone,Text or Email of their next round opponents as soon as they are known.
1e. Entry to the Champion of Champion's competition will be restricted to the reigning club Mens and Ladies singles champion, providing they are still members of that club.
1f. In the ‘Mixed Fours’ competition each teamshall consist of two men and two ladies.
2. A marker must be used in all single competitions and will be the responsibility of the challenger to arrange. The marker must be a person with the ability to interpret the Competition.
3a. One substitute will be allowed for the Pairs/Triples/Fours, providing he/she has not played for another team in a previous round.
3b. A substitute may commence the game as Skip.
3c. The SPONSOR contact name for each competition cannot play in another team even if they have not played in that competition.
4. Semi-finals will be played on neutral greens of clubs affiliated to the Association, to be arranged by the challenger.
5a. Any competitor in the singles competition who knows he/she cannot play in the final, must withdraw before the quarter finals. If more than one member of a team knows they cannot play in the final, the team must withdraw before the quarter-finals.
5b. Failuretocomply with rule 5a WILL result in the offender(s) being excluded from entering that particular Association competition the following season.
6. In the event of a dispute/query arising, the Competition Secretary will act as adjudicator at all times and his/her decision will be final.
7. Dress on Finals Day is WHITES with Club colour tops.
8. Finals Day shall be held on the weekend preceding Autumn Bank Holiday Monday whenever possible, but in addition the Friday prior to the day may need to be used for a match if it is impossible to fit all the games into the Saturday schedule. This decision will be entirely at the Competition Secretary’s discretion. All the games to be played on agreen approved by the Basildon & District LBA Executive Committee before the start of the season. In the event of bad weather interfering with the completion of the day, the following weekend may need to be used.
9. Association Final Games - The Association should provide stickers in two different colours to all players in the final.
10. No guest players will be allowed.
11. Participants of any team must all be members of the same club.
12. The Association Trophies are to be returned to the Competition Secretary on or before Finals Day.
Failure to do so will result in the individual(s) ortheir clubs arranging for engraving and incurring the costs.
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ONE DAY COMPETITION RULES
FORMATS
BASILDON SPORTS TROPHY 1 Rink (4 :3 :1 : 2) format Four players (2 men & 2 Ladies)
LADIES SPORTS TROPHY 2 Ladies Triples Six lady players
ROTHMANS TROPHY 2 Men’s Rinks 8 men players
CHARITIES DAY TROPHY 2 Rinks Fours 8 players ( 4 Men & 4 Ladies)
All competitions will be played under Bowls England rules but incorporating the following LOCAL RULES.
1. In the event of a dispute/query arising (including shot measurements), the Competition Secretary will act as adjudicator at all times and whose decision will be final.
2. Any team arriving on the rink late will forfeit two shots, this will be recorded on the score card as the first end.
3. Skips must leave the ‘head’ together and will not revisit the ‘head’.
4. Point scoring will be as on paperwork provided with each Competition.
5. In the event of illness or injury during the day, up to 2 substitutes can be used. If called upon to play they must play for the rest of the day.
6. Dress is WHITES.
7. If Rule 3. is disregarded, a penalty of two shots will be imposed on the offending Skip.
8. No guest players are allowed in the competitions
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