Laws of the Game
National Championships
Andrew Hamilton Trophy
Green Measurements

Open Tournaments
Etiquette
Bowls Testers
Stamping of Bowls


Championship Regulations

1. COMPETITIONS:

Singles, Pairs, Triples, Fours, Seniors Fours and Junior Singles Championship Competitions shall be conducted each year under the following General Regulations:
   
2. ADMINISTRATION:
(a) The management and control of the Competitions shall be vested in the Council of the Association, or a sub-Committee thereof, who shall determine all questions or disputes that
may arise and that do not come within the scope of an Umpire’s duties referred to hereinafter, and whose decision shall be final and binding.
(b) For each District, the Council shall appoint a Local Secretary who shall, under the Council’s authority, be responsible for arranging District ties so as to ensure their completion not
later than such date in June as may be fixed annually by the Council. Each Local Secretary shall thereafter, without delay, transmit a full report on the results of the ties to the Secretary
of the Association.
(c) The Competitions shall be played under the ‘Laws of the Game’ as promulgated by the World Bowls Ltd.
   
3. CONDITIONS OF ENTRY:
All Clubs in Membership of the Association and not in arrears with Annual Capitation Fees are eligible to participate in all or any of the Competitions, and payment of the appropriate entry
fee for each Competition shall be held to constitute official entry.
   
4. COMPETITORS:
(a) The method of selection of players shall be left to the discretion of each Club, but no player shall be selected for more than one of the Championship Competitions, and all
players selected must be Members of the Club they are chosen to represent.
(b) No player shall represent more than one Club.
(c)

The Competitions shall be confined to Male Members.
In the Seniors’ Fours Competition players must not be less than 60 years of age on 1st April. while in the Junior Singles players must be under 25 years of age on 1st April, each in the year of the relative competition..For the Senior Fours Championships Clubs are permitted to enter more than one four.Entries must be annotated a.b.c.etc.,where appropriate. Substitution regulation No 6 shall apply
(d) Full name and date of birth of Junior Singles competitor to be submitted.
   
5. ORGANIZATION:
The Competition will be played in two stages:
(a)

FIRST STAGE (District Ties)

The whole of the competing Clubs shall be formed into 32 Districts and the Council shall make a Draw for each District. The Clubs shall then, as in the draw, play against each other
till the winners have been ascertained. All District winners qualify for entry to the Second Stage
(Final Ties).

Clubs competing in the National Championships are obliged to provide green space as requested by the District Secretary for the completion of the District ties in the National Championships.

Boundary threads may be dispensed with at the option of the host clubs.

The Local Secretary shall fix the time and Green for each game being played, selecting Greens as centrally situated as possible, and shall give notice of the same to the Secretaries of all the Clubs concerned. The Secretary of the Club on whose Green a tie has been played shall ensure that the score card, duly completed in every respect, is dispatched immediately thereafter to the Local Secretary. In the Seniors’ Fours Competition, all ties shall be played on afternoons but, if desired, the final ties in this stage may be played in the evening.

The failure of players to appear after a period of 30 minutes, or the introduction of an ineligible player, shall cause the defaulting Club to forfeit the tie to the opponents, provided due notice of the fixture has been given to the Club.

If, on the day on which a tie is to be played (other than in the second stage), a player competing in the tie plays, before the commencement of that tie, on the same rink as that on which the tie is to be played, he shall be under penalty of disqualification.
(b)

SECOND STAGE (Final Ties)


The Council shall make a draw of the winners of the First Stage, who shall then play as in the draw till the winners have been ascertained.

The thirty-two winners of the First Stage shall assemble at such time and place as may be fixed by the Council to play off in the Second Stage, which shall be continued for three days.

The Council shall be the sole judges of whether or not greens are playable, and shall have power to postpone play.

(c) Admittance Charges: Single day ticket £2.50 Three Day ticket £6.00

 
(d) Games shall consist of:
   
First Stage
Second Stage
(i) FOURS 17 ends 17 ends
(ii) SENIORS’ FOURS 15 ends 15 ends
(iii) TRIPLES 15 ends 15 ends
(iv) PAIRS 17 ends 17 ends
(v) SINGLES 21 shots 21 shots
(vi) JUNIOR SINGLES 21 shots 21 shots

(Full Teams of four players must play at both stages.)
In the event of a tie in any of these games, other than singles, an extra end shall be played to ascertain the winners. See Law 58.
   
6. SUBSTITUTION:
(a) The players participating in the first tie shall be regarded as
the official selection of the Club.
(b) In the First Stage, substitution will be allowed as follows:
(i) FOURS Four Substitutions
(ii) SENIORS’ FOURS Four Substitutions
(iii) TRIPLES Three Substitutions
(iv) PAIRS Two Substitutions
(v) SINGLES One Substitution
(vi) JUNIOR SINGLES One Substitution

Only when a substitution is necessitated by family bereavement shall the player for whom substitution has been made be allowed to play in subsequent ties. In all other cases, the substitute may be allowed to continue throughout the remainder of the Competition.
(c)

In the second stage one substitute only will be allowed in each competition and this substitute must continue throughout the remainder of the competition.

In the Fours, Triples, Pairs and Seniors’ Fours, the substitute may be eligibly introduced in any one of the five rounds but in the Singles and Junior Singles no substitute shall be introduced after the first round.

In the event of the death of a District winner, due to play in the Second Stage a replacement can be made and this does not count as a substitute.

(d)

No Player, having already taken part in any stage of the Competitions, will be eligible to act as a substitute at any subsequent stage.
   
7.

CONTROL:
In the First Stage, the Clubs on whose Greens ties are to be played shall be asked to appoint an Umpire, failing which the competing Clubs may mutually agree on a person to act as Umpire.

The Umpire, in addition to exercising his functions as set out in Law 72 of the Laws of the Game, shall determine whether the Green is in a fit condition for playing the Tie and decide appeals on the
ground of (a) darkness (b) condition of the weather or (c) any other valid reason. If he decides that the game must be postponed, he shall there and then, in the presence of the Competitors, fix another
time for the tie (either at a later hour of that day or some other day before the due date of the next round) and the parties shall be held to have thereby received due notice of the fixture.

The Members of Council and Local Secretaries shall, ex-officio, and, when required, be accepted as Umpires.

Disputes arising out of the playing of a tie and failing to be dealt with by the Council or Committee of the Association must be lodged with the Secretary of the Association, through the Local Secretary
within forty-eight hours after the cessation of play in accordance with Rule XVII of the Constitution.
   
8. DRUG TESTING

The Scottish Bowling Association in collaboration with other Governing Bodies and The Scottish Sports Council have agreed to introduce drug testing programs in Scotland; a number of checks
may be taken at our Championships.

If a bowler commits a doping offense, he will be ineligible for the following period:

Androgenic Anabolic Steroids, amphetamine-related and other stimulants, caffeine, diuretics, beta-blockers, narcotic analgesics and designer drugs: Two years for the first offense Life ban for the second offense

Ephedrine, phenylpropaneolamine, etc. (when administered orally as a cough suppressant or painkiller in association with decongestants and/or antihistamines): A maximum 3 months for the first offense
Two years for the second offense           Life ban for the third offense                  

It is the individual’s responsibility to ensure that any drug he takes is not a banned substance.
   
9. GENERAL:
(a) DRESS:
The compulsory dress for all competitions in the first stage up to and including the District Finals is as follows:— Grey Trousers, Collared White/Coloured Shirt, White Cardigan or
Pullover and Blazer (if any). Club Colours must be registered with the SBA prior to the start.
(b) The compulsory dress for all Competitions in the Second (Final) Stages is as follows: White Trousers, White Belt (if worn), Collared White/Coloured Shirt, White Cardigan or Pullover, White. Colours must be registered with the SBA.
Headgear (if worn) also Blazer (if any), White Waterproofs. No deviation from White shall be allowed except in the case of a club who has already registered its colours with the approval of the governing body.
(c) FOOTWEAR:
Officials and Players must wear Brown, White, Grey or Black bowling shoes on the Green.
(d) STAMPING OF BOWLS:
Laws 9(b) applies. For this year’s Competition, Bowls must bear a legible stamp regardless of the date or shape
(e) The minimum width of a rink to be not less than 5m. The minimum length of a green in the direction of play to be not less than 34m.

 

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP COMPETITIONS TROPHIES AND VALUE OF PRIZES

1. Fours Championship

First Prize          Custody of McEwan' Trophy for one year
                           Four Medals and £500
Second Prize      Four Medals and £250
Third/Fourth      Four Medals and £125

2.Triples Championship

First Prize          Custody of Cockburn' Trophy for one year.
                           Three Medals and £500
Second Prize      Three Medals and £250.
Third/Fourth .    Three Medals and £125.

3. Pairs Championship

First Prize          Custody of Evening Times' Trophy for one year.
                           Two medals and £500
Second Prize      Two Medals and £250
Third/Fourth      Two Medals and £125.

4. Singles Championship

First Prize.          Custody of 'Rosebery' Trophy for one year.
                            Medal and £500
Second Prize.      Medal and £250.
Third/Fourth.      Medal and £125

5. Senior' Fours Championship

First Prize.          Custody of 'J.B. Richardson' Trophy for one year.
                            Four Medals and £500
Second Prize.      Four Medals and £250.
Third/Fourth .     Four Medals and £125.

6. Junior Singles Championship


First Prize.        Custody of 'Dewar' Trophy for one year.
                          Medal and £500
Second Prize.    Medal and £250.
Third/Fourth.    Medal and £125.

All District Winners will receive a Scottish Association Badge, with Inscribed Scroll attached.

All District Runners-up will receive a Scottish Association Badge with Inscribed Scroll attached.

Scottish Cities & Counties Championship

Custody of 'A.H. Hamilton' Trophy for one year, and Andrew Hamilton Trophy Badge with appropriate Scroll attached, to each player in Winning and Runners-up Teams.