RULES AND CONSTITUTION OF THE PARLIAMENTARY LEAGUE

(Revised 2022 AGM)

 

PREAMBLE.
1.1.    The League shall be known as "The Parliamentary League" hereinafter referred to as the League.
1.2     Clubs wishing to join the League will apply in writing 28 days before the A.G.M. They will list their Club
         Officials along with the addresses of the Secretary and Treasurer
2. ADMINISTRATION.
2.1  The League will be governed by a General Council consisting of a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer together with two representatives from each team.
2.2  A Management Committee will be elected to conduct the affairs of the League.
2.3  The Management Committee will consist of a Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and two    members elected by the General Council at the Annual General Meeting. Three members to form a quorum.
2.4The Management Committee will be responsible for organising League Matches, Competitions, dealing with disputes, difficulties and other matters as the General Council directs.
2.5  Should a vacancy arise in the Management Committee during the year the remaining members will be empowered to fill the vacancy.
3.    APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS.
  3.1 Nominations to be sent to the Secretary at least 28 days before the date of the A.G.M.
  3.2 Voting will be prepared on Voting Slips and the counting of the votes will be supervised by two of the members not seeking election. In the event of a tie the Chairman will have a casting vote.
  3.3 Any voting paper containing fewer votes than there are vacancies shall be declared void.
  3.4 The President shall be a non-executive officer.
4.    MEETINGS
4.1  The Annual General Meeting shall normally be held in October or November for the purpose of receiving the Financial Statement, other reports, electing the Management Committee, making or amending the Rules and any other competent business.
4.2 The Spring General Meeting shall normally be held in March or April to collect the annual fees for membership of the League and the entry fees for the Ringtons Cup and to agree the programme for the forthcoming season including the venues for the semi-finals and finals of the Champion of Champions and Ringtons Cup.
4.3  Each member shall have one vote and in the case of a tie then the Chairman will have an additional vote.
4.4  Extraordinary General Meetings may be convened at any time by the Management Committee or at the request of five teams. Fourteen days notice of an E.G.M. must be given to all teams stating the purpose of the meeting and this will be the only item discussed. Resolutions at all E. G. M's must be carried by two-thirds of those members present who are entitled to vote being in favour.
4.5  Management Committees will meet as often as deemed necessary by the Chairman...
4.6  Items for inclusion in General Meetings should be with the Secretary 28 days before the meetings.
4.7     4.7  Clubs will receive at least 14 days notice of each meeting together with a copy of the Agenda.
4.8   At all General Meetings fifteen team representatives shall form a quorum.
5.    FINANCE
5.1  A current account will be held in the name of the League into which all monies should be paid except a reasonable amount of cash to be held by the Treasurer for the efficient running of the League.
5.2  The financial year will end on 30th September and audited accounts will be presented at the AGM.

6.   RULES AND CONSTITUTION RELATING TO ALL COMPETITIONS
        
          GENERAL
6.1    In all League games, Champion of Champions and the Ringtons Cup competition, the current
edition of the "LAWS OF THE SPORT OF BOWLS" as adopted by Bowls England will apply
except where they are in conflict with the League Rules, when the League Rules will take precedence

6.2        THE LEAGUE WILL OPERATE IN TWO DIVISIONS 1 AN 2
1.     Each team will comprise four rinks of three players, (In 2024 Div. 2 will be three rinks of 3 players) each bowling two bowls each end, over 21 ends.         
2.     In all games under these rules there will be 1 shot only scored at the first two ends.
3.     In all matches two points will be awarded to the winning side per rink, one point to each side in a drawn rink game. An Additional six points will be awarded to the team with the highest maximum combined rink shots.  Three points to each team in the event of a draw.
   4.     Match play will normally begin at 1.30 p.m. on Thursdays with 15 minutes grace to the visiting
  team only. By mutual agreement the game may be played at any other time of day. If a change cannot be agreed the fixture stands and the team not turning up forfeits the game. In this situation 14 points and 20 shots will be awarded to the non-offending team. Claims for points under this rule must be submitted in writing to the League Secretary.
5.     A game may only be called off  by the home team, and no later than one and a half  hours before normal start time for the game, due to inclement weather,  or, if the visiting team raises an issue of safety after arrival, then by mutual agreement on safety concerns, in either situation the game must be replayed in accordance with 6.5 below.
6.     Games which are not completed one week after the last date of the program will be deemed void
   matches, and no points awarded to either team.
7.     At the end of each season the top two teams in Division Two will be promoted whilst the bottom  two teams in  Division One will be demoted.
8.     If, when all games are completed, two or more teams tie on points at the top of a Division, the winner will be the team with the greatest difference between their shots for and against. For demotion, if teams are tied with the same number of points, then the team with the greater difference between their shots for and against will be demoted.
  9.       In void matches, there will be no points awarded to either team
10.       Any club responsible for not fulfilling a fixture will be penalised by a deduction of 14 points and 20 shots. Rule suspended for 2024 season. To be removed at next AGM.
11.    Official score sheets will be supplied to all teams. They must be completed by the home team and signed by an official of both teams, posted or e-mailed to the League Secretary as soon as possible after the end of the game.
12.    A team who have defaulted on 3 occasions will be deemed to have withdrawn from the league. Any matches played, and those in default, will be deleted from the records and the league division in which they took part revised. A defaulting club will have to reapply to take part in the league the following season and will begin in the lower division.
13.    Nothing in these rules prevents any issue being referred to the Management Committee for consideration, whose ruling on the matter brought before it will be final.

6.3      MEMBERSHIP
1.     Eligibility to play in the League will be  restricted to those persons who have reached the age of 50 before the first Match of the season. Any one reaching the age of 50 after the first match of the season will be eligible to play in the next match after their 50th birthday. A player must be a bona fide member of the club for which they play.
2.     A player who has played for a club at least once in the season cannot play for another club in the same season, until a request has been received by the League Secretary from their new club and agreed by the Management Committee.
3.     Any team playing an unqualified player will forfeit the game(s) in which the offending player played. The offending team will receive no points and will be deducted 20 shots for the offence(s).  At the same time 14 points and 20 shots will be awarded to their opponents.

6.4    ABANDONED MATCHES DUE TO WEATHER.
Where a match has to be abandoned because of weather then:
(a)    if 11 ends have been played and completed by all four rinks then by mutual agreement, the score will be taken over the highest and same number of ends completed by all rinks. Otherwise, in the absence of mutual agreement it must be replayed with the scores as they were when the game stopped.
  (b)     If less than 11 ends have been completed by any one rink, then the result will be declared “No Match” and must be replayed with the scores as they were when the game stopped.

6.5     POSTPONED OR MATCHES TO BE REPLAYED.
(a)  The home club must offer three dates, two of which must be afternoons, for a mutual re-arranged match or forfeit the game.
(b)  The offer of dates must be made within fourteen days of the postponement of a match scheduled to be played before the 1st July, and within seven days for matches to be played during July and August.
(c)  In the event of postponed matches the League Secretary must be informed of the reason and the date of the re-arranged game.
(d)  Where the game is forfeit due to the failure of the home team to provide 3 dates for consideration by the away  team then the away team will be awarded 14 points and 20 shots.
(e)  Where 3 dates are offered by the home club and none accepted by the away team, then the away team will forfeit the game and the home team will be awarded 14 points and 20 shots

6.6   SUBSTITUTES
1.  Where a club are unable to provide a full team on any occasion then they may request substitute players from the opposing team.  Not more than two substitutes shall be allowed under this rule. Such substitutes must be bona fide members of the opponent's club.  Substitutes cannot play "Skip". There is no penalty for playing a substitute.
2.   If substitutes are not available or requested, then two players will play three bowls each on each and every rink which cannot field three players and the penalty in that case shall be a reduction of one-third of the score on each and every rink.. The minimum number of players in a team will be ten. If  less than 10 players are available to play then the match will be forfeited by the offending team and the  non offending team will be awarded 14 points and 20 shots.
3.   If a player takes ill during a match and is replaced by a reserve then the reserve cannot play as "Skip". There will be no penalty for playing a reserve.
4.     Should a player leave the green due to illness and not be replaced, then the score at the time of leaving will stand but the remaining two players will play three bowls and the score from the time of leaving to the end of the match will be reduced by one-third. The League Secretary must be notified of full circumstances on the back of the Results Sheet.
6.7   CHAMPION OF CHAMPION COMPETITION
1    The competition shall be open to a four bowl champion from each of the League Clubs.  The individual Club shall decide whether to nominate its Ladies, Men's, Veteran or Mixed event champion.   

2.  No player shall be eligible to play in the Champion of Champions unless that player has played in at lease two games during the season in which they became the Club Champion and at least two games in the season in which the Championship is taking place.  
3. The Management Committee will determine the closing date for entries and the draw produced for clubs at the Spring Meeting.
4.  Games in each round should be played on the date stated or, by mutual agreement, before but no later than the scheduled date
5.  In the event of an unqualified player taking part in the Champion of Champions that player shall be disqualified and the team with which he is associated will be called to account.
6.  No substitute shall be allowed to play.

7.  The game will consist of 21 shots with four bowls each player
8.   Venues for the semi-final and final and the dates on or by which all rounds must be played will be determined by the Management Committee. (When venues are established before the start of the season this may result in a competitor playing on his own green).
9.  Other League rules as set out in the foregoing paragraphs, where appropriate, will apply to this competition.
10.  The result of ties to be communicated to the Competitions Secretary as soon as possible after completion of play and no later than 24 hours thereafter.
6.8  RINGTONS CUP RULES AND REGULATIONS.
1      In this competition the "LAWS OF THE SPORT OF BOWLS" as adopted by Bowls England will apply except where they are in conflict with the following Competition Rules.
2.  This is a knockout competition open to all affiliated league clubs. Each club will be entitled to enter a maximum of four teams. Each team will comprise three players playing with two bowls each end over 21 ends. Teams may play two non-scoring trial ends before the start of the game.
3.  Any team playing an unqualified player shall be immediately disqualified.
4.  The number of entries should be recorded on the "FORM 1" which is issued to clubs weeks before the Annual General Meeting and confirmed at the Annual General Meeting. The closing date will be specified on Form 1 and any fee payable will be agreed at the A.G.M. and paid at the Spring Meeting (No fees have been applied in the past few years)
5.  All ties up to and including the quarter finals will be played on Monday afternoons commencing at 1.30 p.m.
By mutual agreement the games may be played BEFORE BUT NOT AFTER the scheduled date of the round.      Games can only be cancelled on account of weather in which case an alternative date for the game should be arranged (preferably by mutual agreement) between the two competing teams. If necessary the home team should offer three dates and the postponed ties completed by the following Monday.  (It is possible that on the "following Monday" there will be a round of the "Champion of Champions" competition and if a club player is duplicated and wishes to play in both competitions he should endeavour to arrange an earlier date for the Champ of Champs tie. Of course a recognised substitute can be used for the Ringtons tie). Should the tie not be played by the "following Monday" the Management Committee will determine which of the two teams was at fault in not having the tie played and if necessary the toss of a coin will determine the winner.
6.   When the game has to be abandoned because of weather -
If 11 ends have been played the score at the time of the abandonment will count.
If less than 11 ends have been completed, then the game should be replayed with the score as it was when the game was abandoned.
7.  Two substitutes may be used by each team.. They must be a bona fide club members and not have played for
any other of the club's cup teams in the current season.
8.  By the Quarter-Finals stage all players in teams including any substitute must have played at least two games in the season's league matches.
9.  The specially provided Result Sheet for Ringtons games should be completed by the home team, signed by a representative of both teams, and posted early to the League Secretary.  Also, the result should be phoned through to the Secretary by the winners, at the conclusion of the tie.
10.  Matches for the subsequent round(s) will be updated and sent to e-mail contacts.
11.  The semi-finals and final of the competition will generally be staged on neutral greens and played on Monday afternoons  towards the end of the season. Clubs with appropriate facilities are asked to nominate their greens, at the Spring Meetings
12.  The winning team will hold the Ringtons Cup for a year, and will be presented with mementos to mark their success. The runners-up will hold the relevant trophy for the ensuing year. Both cups should be returned to a member of the League's Management Committee before the following year's Semi-Finals.

7.    INTERPRETATION OF RULES.
1.  The interpretation of the Constitution and Rule document and any ruling on matters not covered therein
will be the responsibility of the Management Committee.
2.  Protest and appeals must be made in writing to the League Secretary or other Officer within three days.
When the protest is being considered by the Committee, a representative from the parties involved will be
invited to attend the meeting. Written reports may be requested from the teams and/or the players
involved.
8   ALTERATIONS TO CONSTITUTION AND RULES.
1.  The General Council will have power in General Meetings to amend, alter or add to the Constitution and Rules.
2.  Any proposal to amend, alter or add to the existing Constitution and Rules must be notified to all League Members at least fourteen days prior to any General Meeting at which a vote of members will be taken to amend, alter or add to the Constitution and Rules.
9.    GENERAL
1.     a)The dress code for the Parliamentary League is White tops or club apparel and Grey trousers (not charcoal grey) with the correct footwear of flat soled shoes with no heels.
        b) Club apparel may be worn provided that, in any match, all members of the team wear the same and provided that the design of such apparel has been registered with Bowls Northumberland / Bowls England.
2.   It is expected that members will behave in a manner that will not bring the League into disrepute. Particular consideration should be given to residents immediately adjoining the bowling greens. Swearing and loud arguments and other behaviour liable to give offence will be avoided.
3.  The spirit of the League is that all teams will meet their obligation to fulfil all fixtures.
10.    WINDING UP THE LEAGUE.
     1.       The Management Committee currently in office shall be deemed to be the TRUSTEES OF THE LEAGUE, and in the event of the winding up of the League, they will be empowered to dispose of it's assets to charities and/or organisations of the Management Committee's choice.


Change Record:-
October 2021- Club apparel added.

October 2022 - C of C qualification amended.  Div.2 move to 3 rinks.

 

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