The League consists of clubs in and around Scunthorpe providing teams which are formed into four divisions plus a ladies division. League matches and competitions are played according to the laws of the English Bowls Federation (EBF) and SDBL local rules.

OUTDOOR LEAGUE AGM 2018

The Annual General Meeting of the Scunthorpe and District Bowls League (outdoor) was held in late February at the Scunthorpe Indoor Bowls Centre and most of the outdoor Clubs in the League were represented. The outgoing President ) welcomed everyone to the meeting. Various reports were received from the Officers and these were followed by the election of Officers for the League. 

The new President for 2018 was confirmed as Rena Markham(Shires)

Vince Hardie (Cemetery Road) was re-elected as the League Secretary

Treasurer - Vince Blackwell (Crowle)

Fixture Coordinator - Tony Pollard (Railway Sports)

Fixtures, Results and Competitions Secretary - Ray Robinson (Scotter)

THE SCUNTHORPE & DISTRICT BOWLS LEAGUE CONSTITUTION REVISED  02/05/2018

1. The name of the League will be THE SCUNTHORPE & DISTRICT BOWLS LEAGUE.

2.                The objects of the Bowls League are:

          -to encourage and promote the game of bowls in Scunthorpe and District

          -to promote competitions for that purpose

          -to secure uniformity in the style of playing the game throughout the district

          -to encourage a sporting and social understanding between the clubs in the district and the Bowls League.

3.                Any properly constituted bowls club whose playing area for home fixtures is situated within a twelve mile radius of Scunthorpe Police H.Q. is entitled to apply to join the league and will be admitted subject to the Committee’s approval.

                   All clubs which are currently members of the League and outside this radius will retain their membership.

4.       a)       All clubs will pay annual entrance fees for each team entered into the League and competitions.

                   All such fees and monies for the current year in respect of League and competitions will be paid to the Treasurer and all such entry fees and monies be discussed each year at the AGM.

b)      Each club will receive a statement of account in June showing all monies due to be paid for the      

current season. This account is to be paid by 31st July or earlier as directed by the Management Committee.

5.                The Officers of the League are President, President-Elect, General Secretary, Treasurer, Results Secretary, K/O Competitions Secretary, Fixtures Coordinator plus three elected Committee Members from the League’s clubs. These Officers and Committee Members will form the Management Committee which will deal with the business of the League and hold a minimum of three meetings in a year. They will be elected to hold office for one year at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The quorum for this Committee is five members.

6.       a)       The AGM will be held not later than the last day of February each year.  Each member club in subscription will be sent a notice of an AGM or a Special General Meeting (SGM)., as the case may be,  not less than twenty-eight days before the date of the meeting. The notice will include an agenda containing all items for discussion or decision.

1. Motions for consideration by the AGM must be submitted in writing by member clubs and must be received by the General Secretary by 1st December each year with Member Clubs being sent the Proposals and Motions together with the Date of the AGM, to arrive not less than twenty-eight days before the date of the AGM to allow time for the Clubs to discuss the Propositions and Motions prior to the AGM..
1. Such motions will be voted on at the AGM. The Management Committee and any eight member clubs will form a quorum.

d)      Each member club is entitled to one vote and the President or Presiding Officer at the Meeting will have a casting vote. Voting will be by a show of hands unless the President or Presiding Officer directs otherwise.

7.       a)       The General Secretary will keep a record of all business transacted at all meetings.

1. The Treasurer will keep a record of all income and expenditure , and submit accounts for the year ending 31st December to be audited.

1. The audited accounts for the League will be circulated at the AGM.

8.                Each member club, team and individual is bound by this Constitution and The Laws of the Game in all internal league and competition fixtures. (Ref. rule 12 b)

9.                The Management Committee are empowered to make, repeal or amend bye-laws as they may consider necessary for the good conduct of the League. Such bye-laws will have effect until confirmed or until set aside at the next Annual General Meeting.

10.              In the event of matters not provided for by this Constitution, the Management Committee will have the power to decide thereon pending the decision of the next Annual General Meeting.

11.              Permanent amendments to these rules can only be made at the AGM of the League or at a SGM.

A SGM will be called within twenty-one days of the receipt by the General Secretary of a written request from the Management Committee or no less than six voting clubs. The Meeting will deal only with the matter of which notice is given in the request.

12.     a)       The League will consist of divisions to be known as first; second; third; fourth and a Ladies division.

The Results Secretary in consultation with other committee members can adjust the format of the divisions if necessary. This means that more than two teams could go up or down to an adjacent division to equate the number of teams in each division or to change the number of divisions

1. Play will be in accordance with the Laws Of The Game of the English Bowls Federation except that EBF rules are replaced by SDBL local rules 13b and 16a.

          c)        The general principle of promotion and relegation will apply

.At the end of the season, the two teams that have secured the least league points in each of divisions one, two, three will be relegated to the division immediately below, and the two teams that have secured the most league points in each of the divisions two, three and four will be promoted to the adjacent divisions above.

In the event of two or more teams tying for top or second place with an equal number of points in any division of the League at the end of the season then those places will be decided by the highest positive shots difference total of the involved teams for the whole season and then between the teams if still equal. If more than two teams are involved in relegation issues the same method in reverse will apply. i.e. shot difference for the whole season decides, etc.

Trophies will be presented to the winning teams of divisions one, two, three, four and the ladies    division each year. Five runners up shields will also be presented.

Four points for a match win and two points for each winning rink, with two points for a match draw and one point per drawing rink, will count in each match with the exception of the Ladies Division which shall be Two points for a match win and two points for each winning rink, with one point for a match draw and one point per drawing rink.

Competitions held annually by the league will be as follows:

Hospital Cup: Men’s Singles 4 bowls 21 shots.

Lysaght’s Cup: Ladies Singles 4 bowls 21 shots

Star Shield: Open Triples 2 bowls 21 ends. 

Jubilee Cup: Ladies Pairs 4 bowls 21 ends.

Hunter Cup: Men’s pairs 4 bowls 21 ends

Corus Cup : Mixed Pairs 4 Bowls 21 ends

Eland Trophy: Club Team K.O.-Three players in each of 4 rinks. Aggregate at 21 ends will

Decide the winner..

All trophies are perpetual trophies and cannot be won outright.

Trophies are to be returned, clean and intact, to the K/O Competitions Secretary by the 20th August of the following year.

 The Eland Trophy Final will be played on a neutral green organized by the K/O Competition     Secretary and will be controlled by a Competent Person appointed by the Club staging the Final. Decisions concerning the match situation are the sole responsibility of the Competent Person

12d) Dress Code

The Dress Code for Scunthorpe and District Bowls League matches shall be predominately White or Club Shirts above the Waist with Grey Trousers for the Men and either A Grey Skirt or Grey Trousers for Ladies. Jumpers/Cardigans or Windcheaters if worn may be White or Club Colours. The Dress Code for the Scunthorpe and District Bowls League Knockout Competitions will be the same as the League games up to and including the Semi Finals for Competitors and Markers. The Dress Code for the Individual K/O Competition Finals will be strictly Whites including the Markers. Should Club Shirts be worn then all players from that Club must wear Club Shirts in that Competition. The Dress Code for the Eland Trophy Final Shall be as the League Matches.

13a) Matches may only be abandoned for inclement weather if both Home and Away Captains reach a   mutual agreement during the match, or in the event of the green being unfit for play the Home Bowls Club Greenkeeper, Representative of the Greenkeeper or Home Team Captain so decide before the start of play. In the event of abandonment of a match forinclement weather and the required number of ends that constitute a result have not been played then the Home team must offer three dates, only one of which may be at a weekend, and the re-arrangement should be notified to the Results Secretary immediately by the Home Bowls Club and must be within four weeks of the original date

13b)An arrangement by teams to play less than twenty-one ends in a match in Divisions One, Two, Three or Four and sixteen ends in the Ladies Division cannot be made before a match. In the event of any match being unfinished, through bad weather or other causes over which neither team has control, the result will stand if at least an average of eleven ends have been played in the League Divisions one, two, three and four and in the Ladies Division the result will stand if at least an average of nine ends have been played”

13 c)The home club Official should submit a correctly completed match result sheet dulysigned by the Captains of both teams, to avoid being penalised by the possible deduction of points, to the League Results Secretary, by post, by email, by hand or posted in the Scunthorpe Indoor Bowls Centre special letter box, to arrive not later than seven days after the match is played. A result sheet received by the League Results Secretary after the seven days allowed will result in the offending team having two points deducted from the total points accrued to that date. The Results Secretary may use discretion in applying rule 13c) if a delay was outside a Club’s control.

Once a game has commenced, if a player decides to discontinue for any reason other than ill health or     injury, when a substitute  may be brought on in accordance with the EBF Rules the remaining players should complete the game, otherwise the rink will be conceded to their opponents with a penalty of 2 points and 10 shots or the deficit at the time, whichever is the greater If a team decides to discontinue playing once the match has started or refuse to play before the match starts then the whole match will be conceded to their opponents, with a penalty of 12 points and  40 shots in Divisions 1,2,3 or 4 and in the Ladies Division a penalty of  6 points and 20 shots or the deficit at the time in all divisions, whichever is the greater”

         14.     Weekday League matches should begin at 6.30pm and not later than 6.45pm from the start of  the SDBL season until the second Sunday of August and then, until the end of the season, matches will start at 6.00pm. If a team is unable to start a match at 6.00pm then that team is responsible for contacting the opponent, with a minimum of seven days notice, to arrange a different start time.

15. a)   A player who has played in Scunthorpe & District League Matches, in any division, for  one  club   will not be eligible to play for any other club during that season , once the player has played more than three Scunthorpe & District Bowls League Matches for that club .This only applies once per season for the player

.         The Management Committee may use its discretion in applying this rule if, for example, a change of address would make travelling difficult for that player to play for the original club.

b)     Where a club has two teams in one division, they must play each other, home and away, during the first six matches of the season.

c)      If a Club has more than one team in a division then, if a player shortage would occur in either team, up to three players (two in the Ladies Division) maybe imported from the other divisional team. There is no limit to the number of times that this option maybe used provided that each time the imported players are asterisked on the result sheet and do not play in the same rink.

It is not required for the team squads to be listed for the League records. All points gained by a team which exceeds the maximum number of imported players in any match will be forfeited and may be wholly or partly awarded to the opponents subject to a ruling by the Committee.

d)      A Club with a ladies team may now invite ladies from a non-Ladies Division club to complete its ladies team. The guest players cannot play in a different club’s ladies team in the SDBL in the same season. Asterisks are placed against the names on the result sheet to show the guest players.

This rule is meant to be simple to operate and does not require the players to be full members of the adopted clubs but match fees may serve as temporary membership.

 The guest players must not allow their playing requirements at their own clubs to be impeded in any way.

16. a)  A team will consist of 12 players in 4 rinks of three; the minimum is 8 players but each of the 4 rinks must consist of at least 2 players in Divisions One; Two; Three and Four of the League.    A Ladies League team will be 6 players in 2 rinks of three playing 16 ends, 3 wood Triples to EBF Rules; the minimum is 4 players with at least 2 in each rink. No reduction in the number of rinks is allowed. The sequence of play on a rink should the rink be a player short, therefore two players versus three players shall be lead, lead, second; lead, lead, second followed by the Skips with the lead from the winner of the previous end going first.

16.b)     The postponement of a league fixture is allowed, but must be by the mutual agreement of both clubs. The fixture is to be rearranged and played within four weeks of the original date and the home club to notify the Results Secretary of the change and the new date.

However, the postponement of a league fixture is not allowed if a team is short of players but able to field at least the minimum number of players as detailed in rule 16a. SEE 16b1

All fixtures must be completed by the End of the current Season (second Friday in September unless the Management Committee decides that the result of a postponed match would have no effect on the final divisional table positions

16 b1) A Match being Cancelled and Re-arranged due to a Bowls Club being unable to raise a full   team may only be Cancelled Once and Must be re-arranged and played within two weeks of the original date to avoid being penalised. Should this not be possible then the match should be played in accordance with the S&DBL Constitution Rule 16a). The Club cancelling must offer three Dates to their opponents in accordance with Rule 13a

A Bowls Club will only be allowed to Cancel a Maximum of Three matches per season due to the inability to raise a full team and must notify the Scunthorpe & District Bowls League Fixture and Results Secretary Ray Robinson that they are doing so.

16C)    All fixtures must be completed before the closing date of the season. The   result of  any unfulfilled matches shall be decided upon by the Management Committee of the League taking into account the circumstances relating to the fixtures concerned. This may include awarding the game to whichever team is not at fault (8 points} AND possibly deducting points (number to be decided by the Management Committee) from the team deemed to be at fault, or declaring a match void with no points awarded to either team if both teams are deemed to be at fault.                                                     

17.     The Disputes Committee will comprise of the President, General Secretary, Results Secretary or K/O Competitions Secretary and two members of the Management Committee from clubs not involved in the dispute.

.                  The Management Committee will investigate and rule on the dispute. (See rule18)

     18.a)      In the event of the conduct of a club or member being, in the opinion of the Management Committee, injurious to the League, then the Management Committee has the power to suspend or expel the club or member. in accordance with rule 6d

Before the club or member is suspended or expelled, such club or member will be given the opportunity to defend themselves before the Management Committee at a special meeting called for that purpose. Seven days notice in writing of such a meeting will be given to the club or member and such notice will specify the grounds upon which it is sought to suspend or expel that club or member.

1. A club or member suspended or expelled by the Management Committee may appeal to a Special General Meeting in writing to the General Secretary within seven days of the date of the Management Committee Special Meeting at which the club or member was suspended or expelled,
2. All member clubs of the League will be entitled to attend and vote at the Meeting. The decision of the SGM will be final and binding.

 19A Recommendation from the SCUNTHORPE & DISTRICT BOWLS LEAGUE Management Committee to the 2017 AGM was agreed as follows

“ If a Club has more than one team in the Scunthorpe & District Bowls Leagues they may play players down in other Divisions but the clubs should be sporting in the use of this procedure and limit the number of higher division players playing in the lower divisions in a match.”

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