HEMEL HEMPSTEAD BOWLS CLUB

GENERAL RULES

 

1          THE GREEN

The Green shall be open for play according to the times laid down by the Council, but may be varied by special arrangement.  The Green will be open from 12.00 noon until dusk Monday to Friday and from 10.00 am on Saturday and Sunday.

 

The Green keeper appointed by the Council shall at all times when he is available be the arbiter as to the fitness of the Green for play.  At all other times such decision shall be made by the Captain or, in his or her absence, the Vice-Captain, and if neither is present, by another Officer of the Club.  Such decisions shall be accepted as final by all members.

 

2          RULES

2.1        All play shall be in accordance with the Laws of the Game as adopted, from time to time, by the International Bowling Board and the Rules of the English Bowling Association and English Women’s Bowling Association.

 

2.2        The Executive Committee shall prepare match rules; competition rules and other such rules as may be considered necessary to govern play, the use of the Club facilities and social and other activities.  The Executive Committee may appoint sub-committees to implement such rules and activities.

 

2.3        Each member shall be provided with a copy of the Constitution and General Rules and a copy of these and other rules shall be exhibited at all times in the Pavilion.

 

3          AVAILABILITY FOR MATCHES

            All playing members are expected to make themselves available for selection for team matches.  The Selection Committee will decide on the competence of any member for selection of matches.  (Note:  All prospective new members will be interviewed by the President (or other Officer in his/her absence) to ascertain their willingness to make themselves available to represent the Club in a minimum of 10 weekend matches, before their application for membership is finally approved.)

 

4          TEAM MATCHES & SELECTION

4.1        All selection shall be carried on at 7.00pm on Tuesdays.  There will be no commitment to select couples for mixed matches.  For mixed matches there will only be one Captain of the day who will carry out all administration.  A basic rule of selection for mixed matches should be at the discretion of the Captains while ensuring that members receive a fair share of games.  The selectors will need to take into account other factors such as availability of members who have been reserves and the statistics of members’ previous selection and availability.

 

4.2        Nothing in the foregoing shall remove from either the Men’s Captain or Ladies Captain the power and decision to select teams for District or County competitions where in their opinion there is a need to select the strongest team available.

 

5          CLUB MATCHES

            A list of all Club matches shall be placed on the Notice board in the Pavilion at least 10 days prior to the match being played, regardless of whether on the fixture list or arranged subsequently and members wishing to be considered for selection must have their names placed on this list.

 

6          APPOINTED CAPTAIN

            The appointed Captain (for mixed matches appointed at the Selection meeting) in any match shall have sole charge of the Club team and deal with matters arising prior to and during the game.

 

7          RESERVES

            A reserve shall be selected for all matches and where a reserve is required to travel to an away match, he or she shall definitely play in that match.  (This means that if a member travels direct to an away match without making prior arrangements with the Captain and as a result the reserve travels, then the offending player will stand down.)

 

8          SELECTION SHEETS

            Team lists will be posted in the Pavilion and it is the duty of all members to ascertain if they have been selected to play by consulting these lists and thereafter complying with the commencing or assembly times.

 

 

 

9          MATCH FEES

            Subject to annual review by the Executive Committee, there will not be any match fees for members taking part in Club matches.

 

10         RESERVING OF RINKS

            Rinks may be reserved for all designated matches, which take precedence over practice roll-ups.  For this purpose it has been agreed that the following shall be “matches” in the following order:

-                      All Team matchers organised by the Hemel Hempstead Bowls Club

-                      All National Competitions

-                      All County Competitions

-                      All District Association Competitions

-                      All Hemel Hempstead Bowls Club Competitions

-                      All other Hemel Hempstead Club Leagues and Veterans Matches

-                      All coaching and instruction carried out by persons authorised to so coach and instruct.

The allocation of rink numbers for the above is the responsibility of the Men’s and Ladies selectors.

You may not take a rink that has already been booked if there is an empty rink available.  Also, it is permissible if all rinks are fully booked, to book a rink on the public green and the Club will pay the cost of this hire.

 

11         DRESS CODE

            Roll ups, Practice, Coaching

All members must wear smart casual dress, including collared tops (including polo tops) and bowling

shoes. 

 

Tailored shorts may be worn.

 

NO JEANS and NO T.SHIRTS

 

Competitions

All members must wear Club tops or white tops with collars and grey below the waist.  Bowling Shoes may be white, grey or brown.

 

For Finals, all members must wear Club tops and white below the waist.

 

All markers must be similarly dressed.

 

Club Games, Cup Games, League Games

All members must wear Club tops and grey or white below the waist (as specified on the selection sheet).  Bowling shoes may be white, grey or brown.  Blazers are optional.

 

PLEASE NOTE ANY MEMBER NOT CORRECTLY DRESSED MAY BE ASKED TO STAND DOWN.

 

12         ROLL UPS

In ordinary practice roll ups, if members are in attendance and desirous to play and no vacant rink is available, no practice roll ups less than a full rink shall be continued to the exclusion of such members.

 

13         CASUAL MEMBERSHIP

All playing and social members may occasionally introduce a visitor to the Club for social purposes.  Such visitors must be signed in by a member.  Playing members may occasionally introduce a visitor to the Club to play on the green on payment of £2.00 per game to be paid into the box provided and signed for by the member concerned in the book provided.  (All members should note that all Executive Committee members have been issued with official badges and at any time will be entitled to challenge the validity of any non-member who may be occupying a position on the Green.)

 

14         CATERING/CAR PARK DUTY/RINK DUTY

            -           All members will be required to undertake catering, car park and rink duties during the season.

-           Should any member(s) fail, without proper reason, to meet this requirement, the Selection Committee may impose sanctions on team selection.

 

15         CLUB POSITIONS

The Executive Committee will be responsible for the appointment of the Bar Manager, Pavilion Manager, Club Coach, Tour Manager, Catering Organiser, Press Officer, Pen & Rink Editor, Raffles Organiser, County & District Delegates, Social Committee and Child Protection Officer.

 

 

 

16         CHILDREN

All members must ensure that children under the age of 18 must be accompanied at all times by a member of the Club.

 

17         MOBILE PHONES

            Mobile phones are not permitted on the Green.

 

18         DRINKS

Drinks are not permitted on the Green.  Drinks are only permitted on the perimeter of the rink if they are in plastic glasses.

 

NOTE

The Executive Committee is empowered under the Constitution to vary any General Rule and to add further General Rules as may be necessary in the light of experience.