CONSTITUTION

1. The Association shall be called “the Ossett, Horbury and District Bowling Association”.



2. The Headquarters shall be Horbury Working Mens Club.



3. The Association shall be governed by the laws of the Yorkshire County CGBA.



4. The Officers of the Association shall be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting to be held on the first Monday in February of each year. Officers shall comprise of President, 7 Vice Presidents, Secretary/Treasurer, Results Secretary and a Committee consisting of one representative from each team in the League. 7 persons to form a quorum.



5. The object of the Association shall be to further the game of bowls in the district and to promote a League, Individual Merits, Pairs Merit and Challenge Cup Competition among member clubs.
   
   Should it become evident that the Association can no longer function in accordance with the aims of this rule, the Secretary shall convene a Special General Meeting of Member Clubs. If two thirds of those present vote to dissolve the Association any assets remaining after all liabilities have been met shall be distributed amongst member Clubs, the formula to be decided at that meeting. Any funds not distributed amongst member Clubs shall be forwarded to the Yorkshire County Crown Green Bowling Association for the promotion of bowls.



6. The minimum age for competitors in the Association shall be 12 years of age.



7. The constitution of the League shall be decided at the Annual General Meeting. Any Club not represented at that meeting shall incur a £5 fine.



8. Any Club not represented at a League Meeting shall incur a £2 fine.



9. The Annual Subscription and League Levies shall be paid not later than 1st of May each year; failure to pay by the due date shall incur a £5 fine. After one week’s grace if the fees and fine are not paid, the team is to be expelled.



10. The financial year shall close on the 31st December each year. Any Club failing to complete payments due to the Association by this date shall incur a £10 fine.



11. The accounts of the Association shall be audited annually by two auditors elected at the Annual General Meeting.



12. The Secretary shall convene a Special General Meeting at any time on receiving a request signed by the President of the Association or by the Secretaries of at least two Clubs in the Association.



13. No Bye Law or League Rule shall be altered or rescinded or added to without the consent of the Committee; such notice of any proposed change to be notified to the Secretary in writing signed by the Secretaries of at least two Clubs in the Association at least 14 days before the Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting. At least two thirds of those present and entitled to vote are required to alter, rescind or add to the Constitution. League Rules simple majority required.

LEAGUE RULES

1. The League shall be managed by a Committee of the Association consisting of the Officers plus one representative from each team competing in the League, each one to have a vote.



2. Applications for membership and resignations must be submitted to the Secretary not later than 31st January each year. Applications for new membership shall only be considered from Clubs within a six mile radius of the Headquarters, Horbury Working Mens Club.



3. The Association shall consist of up to 10 teams per division, up to a maximum of 8 divisions.



4. All teams entering the League shall be divided into divisions. On completion of each season the two bottom teams in each division shall be relegated to the next lower division and the two top teams in each division shall be promoted to the next higher division.



5. The League games shall be 8 players per side and the games 21 up. Matches to be played on Thursdays except for ‘C’ or ‘D’ team home matches which shall be played on Tuesdays.



6. Matches to commence at 6.45 pm except for the first two weeks and last two weeks of the season which shall commence at 6.30 pm. A representative of each team shall decide the order of play for his players and number their cards from 1 to 8. The draw for each game is made by exchanging names in that sequence. Where a team has 7 players, their cards will be numbered from 1 to 7 and the walk over (21-0) will appear at number 8.
   
   No practice is allowed by the visiting team who shall have the jack. 10 minutes grace only will be given to an absent player if a jack becomes available.



7. The method of compiling the League Table shall be as follows:-
   a) All matches shall be decided on aggregate points.
   
   b) Where a match not played is awarded to a team, the number of points for inclusion in the League Table shall be decided by the Disputes Committee.
   
   c) Where teams finish with equal points ‘for’ in the league, to decide which team is placed highest the following shall apply; i) The Team with the lowest points ‘against’ shall be highest If still equal ii) The team winning most league games shall be the highest. If still equal iii) The team winning most individual games shall be the highest.



8. No player shall be allowed to bowl for more than one League Club in any one season. Any Player suspended by a Club shall not be allowed to play in any match or competition run by the Association until the period of suspension has expired.



9. Where a match is postponed, the Home Team must, within 7 days of the scheduled date, notify the Secretary of the postponement. Failure to do so, a fine of £2 will be levied. The non-offending Club MUST offer 3 separate dates on varying days within a 28 day period of the fixture date for completion of the game. Failure to do so, a fine of £5 will be levied. If the Club who cancelled the fixture cannot agree on a date and the match is not played within the 28 days, they shall be fined £10. The match still to be played. This rule shall not apply at the end of the season when all games must be completed within 7 days after the last fixtures date set by the Secretary. Where a match is postponed because of weather conditions, the home team becomes the non-offending team for the purposes of re-arranging the fixture.



10. Objections to the result of a match shall be made in writing to the Secretary within 3 days after the fixed date of the match. The Disputes Committee shall adjudicate after the objection.



11. Result cards for league matches must be posted by the Home Team to the Secretary on the next available posting day after completion of a match. A club will incur a £2 fine for any card that hasn’t been received by the Secretary 7 days after the match date.



12. Ladies will be eligible to bowl in any competition promoted by the Association.



13. The number of ‘starred’ players agreed by the AGM must be displayed at all venues.



14. New teams wishing to join the league must give an assurance that they will regularly fulfil their fixtures on the scheduled dates; if not, they shall not be accepted.



15. Where a Club has two teams - The A team must star 4 players who may only play for the A team, the rest of the players may play for either the A or B team.
    
    Where a Club has three teams - The A team must star 4 players who may only play for the A team, the rest of the A team may only play for the A or B team. The B team must star 4 players who may not play for the C team, but may play for the A team (if required). The rest of the players may play for either the B or C team and the A team (if required). No regular A team player or the 4 starred B team players may play for the C team. A list of starred players must be displayed by each Club and also forwarded to the Secretary by 1st May each year. A full list to be then compiled and supplied to all Clubs.

COMPETITION AND CHALLENGE CUP RULES

1. Matches shall be played on neutral greens on dates nominated by the Committee. Matches must be played on the nominated dates. Matches commence at 6.30 pm except semi-finals and finals which commence at 6.00pm.



2. Matches shall be played on a handicap basis. Handicap to be determined by the Annual General Meeting.



3. The entrance fee shall be determined at the Annual General Meeting.



4. Rule 12 of the Yorkshire County Green Bowling Association Competition Rules are amended to provide for situations that arise where a bowler is a registered player/member of more than one Club. In the Beverley Cup and John Salmon Trophy, one player only can play in a match where his/her Ossett, Horbury and District League team is drawn on a neutral green where he/she also happens to be a registered player/member. This would apply where the other Club has a team playing in another local League.
   
   Where there is more than one player with dual membership, the Club where this applies must apply to the organiser of the competition for a change of venue if they cannot otherwise field a team from their normal playing strength.



5. No practice or play shall be permitted on the drawn green by any player in the 7 days prior to the Cup match (including immediately prior to the commencement of the match) except where he is required to play in a scheduled League match of this Association or another local League, or is drawn to play on that green in a bona fide competition run by this Association or other local League.



6. A representative of each team shall decide the order of play for his players and number their cards from 1 to 8. The draw for each game is made by exchanging names in that sequence. Where a team has 7 players, their cards will be numbered from 1 to 7 and the walk over (21-0) will appear at number 8.



7. Alternate jack rule to apply. As soon as a jack becomes available, the next game according to the draw shall commence. For the purposes of this rule, five minutes grace is allowed for the nominated player or a reserve to take his place on the green. After five minutes has elapsed from when the jack is made available, the player not at the Start forfeits his game.



8. Result of the match is decided on aggregate score.



9. If the match ends in a tie, Captains must nominate 4 players from each side who have already taken part to play again off half the handicap. The 4 games, on completion, shall stand as a definite result. If the match is still a tie, light permitting, the remaining four players who have taken place in the match to play receiving the other half of the handicap. If completion is not possible on that night, arrangements to be made by the Captains to revisit the green and complete the fixture.



10. The results of each match to be sent by the winner to the Results Secretary of the Association by first available post.



11. Any Club failing to make their green and facilities available for use when selected shall incur a £10 fine.



12. Squads for a Cup Team should be based on the League Team members for which the handicap is given. A player must be a bowling member of the entered club and must not have played a League Match for another Club in a current League run by this Association. When a player plays his first cup match he is tied to that team and this also applies when a reserve is brought in from a lower team. For the initial rounds, there is no requirement for a player to have played a League match but players playing for a team in the Semi-Finals or Final must have played 5 or more matches for the team. Should a team be unable to field a full side under the 5 or more match rule, they shall be allowed to promote any player from a lower team, providing the player has played 5 or more league matches for their Club in current Leagues run by this Association and is not cup tied with any other team.



13. Any team found to have played an ineligible player shall be disqualified from the Competition.



14. All qualifiers for a Final shall be smartly dressed in accordance with Rule 25 of the British Crown Green Bowling Association and Rule 32 of the Yorkshire Crown Green Bowling Association.



15. Any competitor not attending on a Finals Day will forfeit any prize monies he / she may be entitled to for reaching the Final.



16. Any Player not present on the Finals Day of a competition shall be automatically barred from taking part in that competition in the following year unless such absence has been accepted by the Committee.



17. Where these rules are silent, Yorkshire County Crown Green Bowling Association Rules apply.