1. THE LEAGUE
A) The league shall be known as the MALVERN MENS SKITTLES LEAGUE. The league name can be changed at any time when felt necessary by the Management Committee and use the name or logo of any sponsor of the league.
B) The league shall accept teams from venues provided it is approved by the majority of other existing league teams.
C) The league shall be governed by the Management Committee which shall consist of the following; Chairman, Treasurer, League Secretary, Fixtures Secretary, Results Secretary, Web Site Administrator and four Committee Members. The Management Committee shall also have the power to co-opt additional members as and when required for any specific purpose. To form a Quorum there is a need for a minimum of five Management Committee members.
D) All officers will serve a period of two years, elected alternate years to maintain continuity. (In the event of an officer leaving or standing down in the middle of his term of office, the incoming officer will take his place in the election order.) Committee members (numbering four) will be elected/re-elected each year. All elections to take place at the Annual General Meeting.
E) No member of the Management Committee shall receive any monetary reward, nor any benefit in kind, in respect of performing a role on that Committee. Any person infringing this rule shall immediately (i) cease to be a member of the Committee and (ii) at the discretion of the Committee shall cease to be a member of the League. With the exception of any Honoraria as may be awarded by a vote at an AGM or EGM
2. MEMBERSHIP OF THE LEAGUE
A) Membership of the league starts from the AGM for a period of twelve months.
B) New teams seeking election to the league must apply in writing to the League Secretary 14 days prior to the Annual General Meeting, their application shall include the annual subscription fee in full.
Representatives of teams shall be available to meet the Management Committee, any alley not currently used in the league will be inspected by at least two members of the Management Committee to ensure the suitability of the alley. Inclusion into the league will only be acceptable to teams fulfilling those stipulations laid down by the league.
C) All teams whether new or seeking re-election will be ratified by the A.G.M.
D) New team applications not accepted by the A.G.M. will have all monies returned.
E) Failure to pay those subscriptions in force or any fines by the A.G.M. may lead to the team concerned not being accepted into the league.
F) The annual subscription in force shall cover the cost of both team and players’ registration, provision of result sheets, web site costs and entrance into all competitions.
G) Any team having been accepted into the league which fails to fulfill its obligations after entry/re-entry before the season has commenced, then ALL FEES PAID are subsequently forfeited.
H) INSURANCE. Teams will be responsible for their own insurance.
I) REGISTRATION.To be eligible to play in any match played under the League’s rules, any player must be registered with the League at least 48 hours beforehand.
J) Having once signed for one team, a player is not eligible to play for any other team in the league unless he is officially transferred.
3. THE MATCH
Objective - The objective of the skittles match is to knock down the nine pins or as many as the player is able to using three balls delivered individually which must strike the floor surface either on or behind the line. If the nines pins are floored before all balls are bowled they are reset and the bowler continues with the objective.
A) All league matches shall comprise of teams of NINE players all aged 14 years or over. (Reserve numbers at the discretion of each team.) A maximum of THREE junior players may be registered with each team and date of birth entered on the registration form. A junior player must be under 16 by the 31st August of that season. In the event of a team being unable to play a reserve or reserves, that team shall only be able to compete in the match provided that they have a minimum of seven players. If a team cannot field the minimum number of players, the opposing team shall be awarded the match, scoring an 11 points to nil win. At no time during any match will children under the age of 14 years be allowed onto the alley, failure to comply with this ruling may nullify any insurance cover.
B) STARTING TIME. All league games will start no later than 8.45pm prompt. The time of commencement will be noted on the results sheet which in turn shall be signed by both captains. Late starts must be reported to the Management Committee and if they do not accept the reason given a fine which will be decided by the Management Committee will be imposed on the offending team.
C) LATE ARRIVALS A player's position may be left open until the third leg whereupon he must bowl legs 1 and 2 before commencement of the third leg. All following legs must be bowled at his correct position according to the score board.
All players must be on the alley to bowl in order and without delay for legs 3, 4 and 5, unless a bowl off is agreed. In the event of a captain being unable to play a reserve that team will play one man short and the facts noted on the result sheet. Players leaving the alley after starting bowling do so at the discretion of both captains. No player may bowl off without the permission of the opposing captain. Matches that require an extra leg to be bowled off and there is a player who has already bowled off shall not be allowed to participate in the 6th and additional legs.
D) FIXTURE DATES. All league games must be completed before the final League match date. In the event of the postponement of the final League Match, a new fixture date will be negotiated by the League Management Committee. If a team fails to play the match on dates offered by the opposing team or set by the management committee the opposing team shall be awarded the match scoring 11 points to nil win.
E) ABANDONED MATCHES. In the event of circumstances beyond the control of teams, e.g. power failure, fire, flooding, etc. which causes a match to be abandoned then the match shall be re-played by mutual agreement as soon as possible and before the end of the season. The Fixtures Secretary’s decision will be final if agreement on the new date cannot be reached.
F) PIN OFF THE PLATE. If a pin is moved by a ball or another pin so that it is clear of the plate, but is still standing, that pin is considered down and therefore must be removed from the diamond.
4. COMPETITION MATCHES
A) All competition matches are to be played on the scheduled date. In the event of a team being unable to fulfil the fixture, the game will be awarded to the opposing team. The team that is unable to fulfil the fixture shall be responsible for notifying the oppositions captain/delegate, fixture secretary and the stated venue of the match without delay.
B) Where a team is nominated to provide the ‘kit’, the kit is to be their usual league kit. All alleys are to supply a kit in reasonable order. Failure to comply will result in a fine which will be decided by the Management Committee to be imposed.
C) In the knockout stages of all competitions the bowling order shall be as drawn. Should there be a tie in any match after five legs then an extra leg (or legs) shall be bowled to decide the winner, bowling order to be as originally drawn.
D) All persons and teams who fail to fulfill their respective competition matches without prior notification to the Fixture Secretary of at least 48 hours may be suspended from that competition for a period of one season.
E) Trophies presented on presentation evening will become the responsibility of the team or individual they are presented to. Teams failing to attend presentation evening will receive no trophies. Failure to return any trophy to the league will result in the team or individual being asked to replace the said trophy.
5. KING PIN MATCHES
The king pin (front pin) is to be floored by a direct delivery of a ball first before scoring. If the king pin is floored by any other means then it is to be re-set, any other pins floored before the king pin has been struck shall be lost by the player. Once the king pin has been struck by a ball and all pins floored (spare) the remaining ball or balls need not strike the king pin first. If a player is no-balled, only the King Pin shall be re-set (if floored). Should the king pin re-stand within the diamond after being struck by the ball first is shall be deemed to have been floored and therefore be removed.
KING PIN CUP COMPETITIONS
KING PIN MAIN – Sponsored by xxxxxxxxxx
KING PIN PLATE – Sponsored by xxxxxxxxxxx
All matches to be played on neutral alleys. King Pin is split into two competitions being the Cup and the Plate. The Cup shall consist of the twelve premiership teams and the four teams that top their respective mini leagues played during the additional Premiership league matches. The remaining sixteen teams will make up the Plate competition. Handicaps will be determined by a teams’league position at the time of the first knockout match, this handicap will remain unchanged until the competition conclusion. The four teams who have won their respective mini leagues will receive a handicap of 12, 13, 14 or 15 depending on their respective league position at the time of the first knockout match, this handicap will remain unchanged until the competition conclusion. All handicaps should be added on to the first leg totals
6. Carling CupSponsored by The Cross Keys
The Carling Cup will consist of groups of four teams playing each other on a home and away basis with points awarded as per a league match but with the relevant handicaps added as follows: to each leg score.
A handicap system will operate in this competition based on the following: Premiership scratch, Championship one pin per leg and Division One two pins per leg. During the knockout stages of the competition should a match finish tied no additional handicap will be added to the extra legs. The Management committee will determine the Knock out matches (last 16 or last 8) from the Knock Out stage all matches will where possible be played on neutral alleys. For latter rounds matches will be played on alleys of the sponsor’s choice.
7. ROSEBOWL – Sponsored by Newtown Club
To qualify for this competition teams must compete in both of the main cup competitions (King Pin Cup and Ken Baker Cup). Those teams that fail to make the quarter-finals of either of the main cup competitions shall be eligible to enter the Rosebowl. A team that withdraws from any cup competitions will be excluded from the Rosebowl. No handicaps will be used in this competition.
8. ALLEY, LINE, PINS AND BALLS
(Recommended by the league.)
A) THE ALLEY / LINE. Each team is responsible for finding its own alley and kit.
The distance between the 8cms wide bowling line and the king (front) pin shall be a minimum of 880cms and no longer than 1100cms.
The alley width shall be no wider than 185cms and the diamond no more than 125cms across. For all new alleys the minimum width should be 170cms and the diamond no less than 115cms. The diamond shall be clearly defined with plates securely fixed to the alley or spots painted.
It is also recommended that the alley and pins be well lit and clean at all times.
B) THE PINS. Nine pins of uniform size to be painted 4cms wide around the top. The king (front) pin in addition to have a 4cms white stripe from top to bottom, which should face the bowler. The quarter pins will be easily identifiable. All pins to be set on the centre of the plate.
C) THE BALLS. Balls of either wood or tufnul composition (not rubber) should not exceed 14cms in diameter. No more than one set of three balls shall be in the trough at the start of the game. The home team shall be required to supply the pins and balls, the exception being when matches are played on neutral alleys, when the Management Committee will recommend whose team kit shall be used.
9. LINESMAN
All matches in the Malvern Men’s Skittles Leagueshould have linesmen. There will be no penalty should any team not provide a Linesman, a match can be played when only one team provides a Linesman. The linesman will be responsible for calling all 'over' and 'cush' balls BEFORE the ball contacts the pins. Pins floored by over or cush balls shall be reset. The linesman is also responsible for verifying the number of pins floored and the correct score is entered on the scoresheet (this is most important in a King Pin game). It is also recommended that linesmen sit two legs where applicable. No linesmen is to leave the seat until he is properly replaced, this will allow the flow of the game to be continuous. A ball delivered on the line will NOT be called over.
10. STICKER UP
Each team to provide their own sticker up for both home and away matches and they shall be employed on the alley for the duration of the game. In the event of any dispute the linesman should be consulted and both captains. All stickers up must be registered with the league for their representative teams and be capable of completing all sticker up duties without assistance. There is to be a maximum of two stickers up only allowed in the pit area at all times during a match.
11. LEAGUE POSITION
Six points are awarded for a win, three points for a draw and two bonus point for the team that scores the highest total on each leg, a tied leg will see each team receiving one point. Should there be a tie on points for any league position at the end of the season the team that has won the most league games during the season shall claim the higher position, if still level a one off match will played. Teams will be automatically entered into all cup competitions. Normal promotion or relegation within the league will be two up and two down. Where there is necessity to deviate from the norm due to teams leaving or new teams entering the league, the league Management Committee will decide the promotion and relegation requirements in order to maintain, as far as possible, an equal number of teams in each division.
12. RESULTS
All teams have 24 hours to text the points awarded in their match to the League’s website. Teams failing to text the points awarded within24 hours shall be fined a monetary fine and /or points deduction.
All result sheets MUST be received by the Results Secretary within 48 hours of the match being played. The home team in league matches and the winning team in all Knock-Out stages of competitions matches are responsible for forwarding the result sheet.
Teams failing to return result sheets within the above specified time shall be fined a monetary fine and /or points deduction. It is therefore recommended that teams use the first class mail system.
Both team representatives who sign the Result Sheet are responsible for ensuring that it is filled in completely and correctly. The management committee may impose a monetary fine and/or points deduction on both team representatives for incorrect result sheets. Any fines awarded must be paid within 28 days.
13. TRANSFER OF PLAYERS
A player may transfer from one team to another when a completed transfer form by the player, appropriately signed by the previous Captain and the new Captain is lodged with the Results Secretary.
Only when the transfer form has been in the hands of the Results Secretary for 48 hours will the player concerned by eligible to play for his new team.
Any difficulties arising as a result of transfers / signings will be the subject of a Management Committee ruling and decision, the player requesting a transfer will be ineligible for their new team until a decision has been made. Any transferred player who shall have played in any league cup competition for his first signed team shall be considered 'cup tied' for that competition.
14. BANNED PLAYERS
Any player(s) banned from playing in the MALVERN MENS SKITTLES LEAGUE may, at the discretion of the Management Committee have their name(s) forwarded to all local skittles leagues so that any action considered necessary may be taken.
15. INELIGIBLE PLAYERS
This is defined as being any player who is not properly registered / transferred or someone who is using an assumed name.
In the event of a team playing an ineligible player that team shall be declared the loser and 11 points shall be awarded to their opponents. Any defaulting team shall be summoned to a Management Disciplinary Committee Meeting to explain their actions.