CALB Fours League Rules

                        January and February 2014

Fours League

1)      Reference to  ‘should’ and ‘will’ within these rules mean that the action is compulsory- WB Laws Convention #1, and reference to ‘can’ within these rules mean that the action is optional – WB Laws Convention #2.

2)      The Controlling body for this Competition is the Costa Almeria Lawn Bowls Committee whose decision will be final.

3)      All games listed in the Competition Programme should be played in accordance with World Bowls – Laws of the Sport of Bowls – Crystal Mark Edition Including domestic regulations for Federation Espanola de Bolos).

4)      Clubs are responsible for ensuring that their players are members of their club. A player should only enter from one club during the Fixtures Programme and if a player is a member of two or more clubs he/she should nominate the club from which they wish to enter.

5)      The league will be comprised of 3 groups. A Red Group a Blue Group and a Mixed Group

6)      No promotion or relegation between Groups

7)      Players after being selected to play in one of the teams for their club cannot play for any other of their clubs teams for the rest of the fixture programme

8)      All games should be played over 18 ends and before the start of play 2 trail ends should be played one in each direction

9)      Each team in the Red and Blue group will be scheduled to play each other at home and away. The Red and Blue teams in the Mixed Group will play one home game and one away game.

10)   Each side should comprise of three teams of four players but teams with three players should play I accordance with WB Law 46.2.2. When a replacement is not available and when a substitute is not available in accordance with WB Law 50.4 and WB Law 51. A replacement is a player from the same club who takes the place of an absent player before the start of play and a substitute is a player from the same club who takes the place of a player during play.

11)   There will be 9 points available in each game, 2points for each team win, 1 point for each team tie and 3 points for the side with the highest shot aggregate. If the shot aggregate is the same at the end of the match the team winning the most rinks will get the 3 points. If it is still equal the team winning the most ends from all three rinks will get the 3 points. During each game team skips should ensure that the scoreboards are updated after each end.

12)   The winner of the Trophy will be the team with the most points from their group and the mixed group added together. If sides are equal on points the side with the highest shot aggregate will be the winner. The Administrator will publish the results and a League table for each Group.

13)   Each side should comply with the Fixture Programme game cannot be re-scheduled under any circumstances.

14)   For each game the side should appoint a captain who is responsible for compliance with these rules. Before the start of each game the captains should make a draw from the allocated rinks and toss a coin for opening play, and at the end of the game should agree on the result, record and sign the Result Sheet which should be forwarded to the Administrator by the Home Captain as soon as practical. The Home Captain should communicate the result to the Administrator within 24 hours.

15)   A game will be void in the following circumstances:                                                          a) when a game cannot take place due to weather conditions or a green unfit for play or                                                                                                                                                      b) when less than 10 ends have been completed on each rink when the game is stopped due to weather conditions or other valid reason. In the above circumstances each side will gain 4 points and zero shot aggregate and should be recorded as in Rule 14

16)   If a game is stopped when at least 10 ends have been completed on each rink then the result should be determined for all completed ends at the time of the stoppage and recorded as in Rule 14                       

17)  During play the leads and seconds should not visit the head until each team has played 4 bowls unless a team has only 3 players, in this case the second player can visit the head after they have played their first bowl. No such restrictions apply to the other players in the team.

18)  During play disputed situations should be addressed in the first instance to the Skips on the rink, they should either settle the dispute by mutual agreement or refer the situation to both Captains .The Captains should let the game continue as soon as possible either by resolving the dispute by mutual agreement or stating a ‘failure to agree’ to be referred to the Disputes Committee. If reference to the disputed situation cannot be found in the World Bowls Laws of the Sport then common sense and spirit if fair play should be used to decide the appropriate course of action.

19)  A ‘failure to agree’ should be recorded on the Result Sheet and communicated to the Administrator by the Home Captain as in Rule 14

20)  On receipt of a ‘failure to agree’ the Administrator should convene a Disputes Committee Of himself and of the two CALB delegate from the club not involved in the game and their decision will be final