WELWYN AND DISTRICT BOWLS CLUB
COMPETITION RULES 2025
GENERAL COMPETITION RULES
1. The first named player(s) shall be the challenger(s) and shall be responsible for ALL match arrangements.
2. a. The Challenger shall offer their opponent, within 72 hours of the closing date of the previous round, at least three dates for play – one of which shall be a Saturday or Sunday. The three dates offered must fall within the window of the round. Matches may be played prior to the closing date of the previous round by mutual agreement. A minimum of 48 hours’ notice is required for any dates offered to be eligible. The start time for any match shall be set by the Challenger when the dates are offered, but no player/team/side shall be compelled to accept a time earlier than 6.00pm Monday to Friday or 10.00am on a Saturday or Sunday. The date and start time in any round may be agreed by mutual agreement, but failing that, the dates and start times offered by the Challenger will stand. The offering of two different start times on a single date does not count as two dates.
b. If a date offered clashes with a Fixed Date National, County or District competition in which the opponent is involved, a new date shall be offered.
c. The Opponent or Opposing teams/sides shall, within 48 hours of receipt of the challenge, reply and accept one of the dates offered.
d. If a challenge has not been made in accordance with Regulation 2a the opponent will become the challenger and make all match arrangements (including the offering of dates). They must contact their opponent within 48 hours after becoming the challenger. The opponent shall accept a date within 48 hours of receipt of the offers made.
e. No extension of the closing date for any round shall be granted for any reason whatsoever.
f. If the match cannot be played for any reason, competitors must decide between themselves who is at fault and enter the innocent party to the next round.
g. If a decision is not made by the final date of each round, both parties will be eliminated unless any mitigating circumstances are accepted by the Competition Committee. It is recommended that matches are played as early as possible to avoid this occurrence.
h. Competitors results should be emailed to both the Competitions secretary and the webmaster:
3. Dress code is for all competitions shall be one of the following
White top with Grey below the waist
Old Club shirt with Grey below the waist
New uniform
This shall apply to Players and Markers.
Regulation bowls shoes ONLY.
4. a. In Singles matches the challenger must arrange a marker for the game.
b. A Singles match must NOT be played without a marker
c. The marker shall ensure that all aspects of play are in accordance with the “Laws of the Sport of Bowls”.
d. The marker shall act as the umpire in the absence of any other suitable neutral person.
e. The umpire’s decision is final.
5. a. A substitute must be of the same sex and considered by the Competition Committee to be of no greater ability than the original entrant.
b. No substitutes are allowed in singles competitions.
c. Only one and the same substitute is permitted in pairs and triples competitions.
d. No member who has already played in a particular competition can be a substitute in that same competition.
e. In any competition, at any time, the player(s) giving a walkover cannot act as a substitute thereafter.
g. Substitutes can only be made up to and including the quarter finals, except under exceptional circumstances with the agreement of the Competition Committee.
6. a. In the event of no decision being reached in any round owing to exceptional weather conditions, and when it is impossible to rearrange the match before the play by date of the round, the score in an uncompleted match in which 11 ends or more have been completed shall stand as a result.
b. If there is sufficient time before the play by date, a match that is abandoned can be arranged for another day continuing with the score as it was when the game was stopped.
c. If there is insufficient time before the play by date, matches in which less than 11 ends have been completed and cannot be completed before the play by date of the round will be decided by the toss of a coin.
7. Club stickers should be used in all internal competitions. They are available free of charge.
8. In all competitions, two trial ends of a minimum of two bowls for all players shall be allowed.
9. In any dispute, the decision of the Competition Committee (made up of the Competition Secretary, Men’s Captain, Ladies Captain and Chair of the Playing Committee) shall be final.
10. Entry to all competitions is unrestricted unless otherwise stated.
COMPETITION FORMATS
Ladies/ Men’s Singles
11. a. The draw for the rink to be played on shall be made in accordance with the current Laws of the Sport (Law 3.1).
As these matches require one rink, a minimum of two rinks shall be offered to the opponent.
b. 4 Bowls per player.
c. Winner is first to 21 Shots.
Aussie Open Pairs
12.
a. 4 Bowls per player, Australian Pairs.
b. Odd numbered ends “Player A bowls 2 woods, Player B bowls 4 woods,
Player A bowls 2 woods”.
c. Even numbered ends “Player B bowls 2 woods, Player A bowls 4 woods,
Player B bowls 2 woods”.
d. In the event of a tie, a tiebreak end will be played. The toss of a coin shall take place, the winner of the toss deciding who is to play first.
e. The tiebreak shall be treated as an odd numbered end.
f. Winner is pair with highest score after 16 ends.
g. Pairs will be determined by splitting players into 4 pots depending on ability as perceived by the Competition Committee.
2 Woods
13.
a. 2 Bowls per player.
b. Winner is player with highest score after 21 ends.
c. It is expected that the match should be conceded if an unassailable gap has been achieved.
d. In the event of a tie, a tiebreak end will be played. The toss of a coin shall take place, the winner of the toss deciding who is to play first.
Lane Cup
14.
a. 4 Bowls per player.
b. Winner is first to 90 points.
c. The Bowl nearest the jack scores 4 points, second nearest scores 3 points,
nearest scores 2 points and fourth nearest scores 1 point. This means the total
score in each end must add up to 10.
d. The player who casts the jack and begins the end is the player with the shot
bowl in the previous end.
e. If any two bowls which are in the count are exactly the same distance from the jack, unless the two bowls belong to the same player, the two bowls, and those two only, are played again to decide who will have the higher score. This occurs once the other scoring bowls have been agreed and all bowls are removed from the rink. The player who began the end shall bowl first.
f. In the event of a 90-90 tie, one extra end shall be played. The toss of a coin shall take place, the winner of the toss deciding who is to play first.
g. Should the extra end finish a tie, a further end shall be played, once again
following the toss of a coin as per rule 15-m. Further ends shall continue to be played until one player wins an end.
Barclay Cup
15. a. 4 Bowls per player.
b. Winner is player who wins most sets.
c. This is a seeded competition.
d. Seeds will be decided by the Competition Committee.
e. 2 Sets of 9 ends.
f. In the first end of the second set, the player who did NOT start the 1st set plays first.
g. In the event of both players winning a set each, there shall be a 3-end deciding set. The toss of a coin shall take place, the winner of the toss has the choice of jack on ends 1 and 3, and the loser of the toss has the choice of jack on end 2.
h. In the tiebreak set, it is scored by the number of ends won, not by shots.
Mixed Handicap
16. a. Players will be given a handicap on a player-by-player basis dependent on ability as perceived by the Competition Committee.
b. If they enter, new members in 2025 will be given a handicap decided by the Competition committee.
c. 4 Bowls per player.
d. Winner is first to 21 shots.
e. The difference between players’ handicaps will be put on the scoreboard at the beginning of the game.
* For example, if player A has a handicap of 6 and player B has a handicap of 10, at the start of the game the scoreboard should read: Player A 0, Player B 4.
f. If one player has a ‘plus’ handicap and the other has a ‘minus’ handicap, both handicaps should be put on the scoreboard at the beginning of the game.
* For example, if player A has a handicap of -3 and player B has a handicap of 4, at the start of the game the scoreboard should read Player A -3, Player B 4.
Dansie Trophy
17. a. Previous winners of the Ladies Singles, Men’s Singles, Barclay Cup, Ladies Handicap, Men’s Handicap, Mixed Handicap and Dansie Trophy competitions are ineligible to compete.
b. 4 Bowls per player.
c. Winner is player who wins most sets.
d. 2 sets of 9 ends.
e. In the first end of the second set, the player who did NOT start the 1st set plays first.
f. In the event of both players winning a set each, there shall be a 3-end deciding set. The toss of a coin shall take place, the winner of the toss has the choice of jack on ends 1 and 3, and the loser of the toss has the choice of jack on end 2.
g. In the tiebreak set, it is scored by the number of ends won, not by shots.
Orton Trophy – NOTE CHANGE in 18c
18. a. Only players aged 70 or over on 1st May 2025 are eligible to compete.
b. Pairs must be mixed.
c. 3 Bowls per player.
d. Winner is the pair with the highest score after 15 ends.
e. In each end, Player A bowls 3 woods then Player B bowls 3 woods.
f. In the event of a tie, a tiebreak end will be played. The toss of a coin shall take place, the winner of the toss deciding who is to play first.
g. Matches to be played on Weekday mornings / afternoons ONLY.
Open Mixed Pairs – NOTE CHANGE in 19a
19. a. 3 Bowls per player
b. Winner is the pair with the highest score after 18 ends.
c. In each end, Player A bowls 3 woods then Player B bowls 3 woods.
d. In the event of a tie, a tiebreak end will be played. The toss of a coin shall take place, the winner of the toss deciding who is to play first.
Mixed Triples
20. a. 3 Bowls per player.
b. Winner is triple with the highest score after 15 ends.
c. All matches, except final, to be played during the week commencing Monday 1st September 2025 beginning at 5.30pm.
d. In the event of a tie (semi finals & final), a tiebreak end will be played. The toss of a coin shall take place, the winner of the toss deciding who is to play first.
e. Triples will be determined by splitting players into 3 pots depending on ability as perceived by the Competition Committee.
f. NO visiting the Head
Second Chance
21. a. Second Chance is only open to players who lose their first round Ladies or Men’s Singles match.
b. If a player gets awarded a bye in the first round of the Ladies or Men’s Singles, they will still be eligible to participate if they are defeated in their second-round match.
c. A player given a walk-over in the first round of the Ladies or Men’s Singles first round cannot be considered for the competition.
d. 4 Bowls per player.
e. Winner is first to 21 shots.
Stag – NEW FORMAT
22. a. Open draw 2 wood Pairs
b. Winners are the Man and the Lady with the highest points scores.
c. Matches are 2 sets of 6 ends, total of 4 matches. Partners redrawn after each match.
d. To be played on Saturday 29th June 2024.
Ron Howard Trophy for Beginners
23. a. Only novice bowlers who join the club in the 2025 season are eligible.
b. 4 Bowls per player
c. Winner is player with the highest score.
d. The Beginners Trophy is a skill based competition that will take the form of fun, yet meaningful challenges as set out by the competition organiser.
e. To be played on finals weekend.
f. In the event of a tie, those players with the highest score will be considered joint winners.
Doris Atkins Cup
24. a. Tri-singles competition.
b. 3 bowls per player.
c. Mini league played over 4 rounds on one day. To be played on Saturday 16th August 2025.
d. Random draw for each round.
e. First drawn player plays first.
f. Each round to consist of 6 ends.
g. Winner of end plays first, 2nd nearest player to play next, etc.
h. Winner of each match will score 5 points, 2 points each if there is a tie. Shots will also count.
Dave Ratcliffe Trophy
26. a. Mixed Fours competition.
b. Teams will be drawn after splitting players into 4 pots, according to ability, as perceived by the Competitions Committee.
c. Competition will comprise of 4 rounds of 7 ends, all played on one day, this being Monday 26th May 2025.
d. At the beginning of the first match, each team shall decide their playing order.
e. For each subsequent match, players shall rotate position, Lead to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to Skip, Skip to Lead.
f. Each end won will score 2 points. 3 points for winning each match, 1 point each for a draw. Shot difference shall only count in the event of a tie at the end of the competition.
g. NO visiting the head.
h. NO dead ends. If a team kills and end, they shall forfeit the end, also conceding 5 shots.
COMPETITION DRAWS
27. a. ALL competitions will be drawn in the “full draw” format whereby the winner of match 1 will play the winner of match 2 in the following round etc.
Phil Russell
Competitions Secretary
March 2025