The name of the Association shall be Yorkshire County Crown Green Bowling Association
The objects of the Association shall be to organise and encourage competition bowling on any day of the year. Bowling within the designated area of the Association shall not be prohibited on County Match/Competition days at a club in membership of the Association, except in the County District in which a BCGBA County Final is to be played, and only so if the competition is of the same gender as the BCGBA County Final.
(1) The Association shall be governed by a Council, which shall be elected annually, and shall consist of:
President
Deputy President
Chief Executive Officer/Treasurer
Competition Secretary with Assistant of Opposite Gender
Registrar
Child Protection Officer
District Vice-President and Representative(s) with the following
Proportional representation:
Less than 20 clubs 1 Vice-President and 2 Representatives
20-45 clubs 1 Vice-President and 3 Representatives
46+ clubs 1 Vice-President and 4 Representatives of which 2 must be male/female
Immediate Past President, Existing Past Presidents and Life Members
Council has the right to Co-opt from kindred bodies as appropriate
The Vice-Presidents and representatives shall be nominated by the respective County Districts but at least one of the representatives from each District shall be male or female. No substitute representative may attend in the absence of the nominated representative. Where there are two existing separate gender organisations which will remain as such in any County District, then no one such gender of the representatives shall be larger than the other than by more than one person.
(2) The Council may delegate any business to a special Committee of the Council, except that in the case of the Selection Committee each County District shall elect its own representative.
(3) At a meeting of the Council, Seven members will be required to form a quorum.
(4) An Annual General Meeting shall be held each year on the second Saturday in February, for the consideration of Bye-Laws and Rules, for the presentation of Accounts and Balance Sheet for the previous year, for the election of Officers of the Association for the ensuing year and for other business.
(5) The Accounts of the Association, which shall cover years ending 31st December, shall be audited annually and a copy of these Accounts and Balance Sheet sent to the Secretary of each Club or Organisation in membership, together with a notice of the Annual General Meeting at least seven days prior to the date agreed upon by the Council.
(6) The County District shall be defined at the first Council meeting in January.
(7) Life Members may be elected at a General Meeting of the Association.
(8) And a Hon Auditor and a Hon Solicitor shall be elected annually.
The Association shall have the power to merge or amalgamate with any other organisation or body the objectives of which are in the opinion of the Council consistent and compatible with those of the Association.
Any Bowling Club, District, Association or League within the designated area of the Yorkshire Association shall be eligible for membership of the Association, and each must be duly proposed and seconded and approved by the Council before been admitted. Any Club so approved must be a bona-fide member of its County District Association.
A condition of membership or affiliation shall be the observance of all Yorkshire Association competitions over all other fixtures except those of the British Crown Green Bowling Association.
Next to the Yorkshire County Crown Green Bowling Association in line of precedence shall be the County District Association as determined in accordance with Bye-Law 3(6).
Any County District, Association or League or Club acting in contravention of the Bye-Law, may be fined up to maximum of £ 50 at the discretion of the Council.
RULE 6. SUBSCRIPTIONS
(1) The Annual Subscription for each County District Association, as defined pursuant to rule 3(6), shall be £20 and for each League or Association £10.
(2) The Annual Subscription for each Club in membership of the Association shall be £25. Each Club shall receive annually six Yorkshire Handbooks and one BCGBA Handbook for which payment shall be made separately.
(3) All subscriptions, which are to be reviewed at an AGM, shall be paid by the 1st April, and no Club, or member of such Club, League or Association shall be permitted to take part in any County Competition, unless the subscriptions for the current year have been paid. A fine may be imposed for non-payment of subscriptions by the 1st April, at the discretion of the Council.
NB. B.C.G.B.A. addition to Bye-Law 5 “ Any Club playing in a league which is affiliated to a County other than its own, must also affiliate to that County”. An Affiliation Fee of £5.00 per year has been determined by the Yorkshire County Crown Green Bowling Association.
RULE 7. ALTERATION TO RULES
(1) Notice of any amendment or alteration in the Bye-Laws or the Competition and Cup Rules of the Association may be given by the Club, League or any Association, or by members of the Council, and such notice shall be proposed and seconded by authorised representatives of a District Club, League or Association, or by members of the Council concerned, and sent by the proposer and seconder respectively, in writing, to the Secretary, at least twenty-eight days before the date when the alteration is to be brought forward, and notice thereof sent to the Clubs and Organisations in Membership with the Association. Any League, Club or Association proposing an amendment of a Bye-Law or Rule shall, not later than the date of sending same to the Secretary, send a copy of the proposal to the Secretary of the County District Association concerned.
(2) The Chairman of any General Meeting, at which alterations to Rules and Bye-Laws are considered, shall allow an amendment to be moved to any notified proposal or alteration, and in the event of the same being seconded and carried out by a bare majority, shall be considered as a notified amendment.
(3) No existing Bye-Law, Competition and Cup Rules shall be altered, rescinded or added to nor any new rule accepted without the consent of at least two thirds of those present, entitled to vote and voting at a General Meeting.
(4) Rules relating to the Veterans, Senior, Ladies and Junior Inter-District Competitions may be altered, rescinded or added to by their respective competition committees subject to the final approval of the Council.
RULE 8. VOTING ENTITLEMENT
Registered Clubs and Organisations shall be entitled to send Two representatives to the General Meeting in addition to their representative on the Council. Each Registered Club and Organisation and members of the Council shall be entitled to one vote only. No individual shall be entitled to more than one vote.
The Secretary shall convene a Special General Meeting at any time, on receiving a requisition to that effect signed by the Secretaries of not less than three County Districts.
(1) All competitions organised solely by the Association shall be open to registered players, and full members in their own right, of Clubs in membership of the Yorkshire County Crown Green Bowling Association except where competitions have specific restrictions imposed.
(2) Any Club proposing to promote an “Open Competition” whether or not entries are confined to bowlers from the County area, must first apply to the Yorkshire County Crown Green Bowling Association for approval of the proposed date and pay the County Association a Registration Fee of £2.00. Where entries from outside the County area are to be accepted, Clubs must then apply to the Secretary of the British Crown Green Bowling Association and pay an Affiliation Fee of £6.00. Promoters of such contest must display on the entry forms and all forms of publicity relating to the event the words “Affiliated to and approved by the Yorkshire County Crown Green Bowling Association”, and where the approval of the British Crown Green Bowling Association is sought, the words “Affiliated and approved by the British Crown Green Bowling Association and the Yorkshire County Crown Green Bowling Association”, the maximum number of entries, the entry fee and the total prize money.
(3) Any player taking part in any contest where approval has not been obtained in accordance with this Bye-Law shall be suspended for a period of not less than one year and be reported to the British Crown Green Bowling Association for confirmation of such suspension.
(4) No final stages of Open Competitions, nor any league competition in the host district, to be contested on the date nominated as the final day of the British Crown Green Bowling Association Mens and Ladies Merit, when played in Yorkshire, if the competition is of the same gender as the BCGBA Merit.
RULE 11. POWERS OF MANAGEMENT
(1) The Council of the Association shall have the power to include and incorporate any Bye-Law or Competition Cups and Match Rules and Laws of the Game the British Crown Green Bowling Association have passed, and to be enforced without such Bye-Laws, and Match Rules and Laws of the Game having to be presented to the February A.G.M. of the Association.
(2) The Council of the Association shall have the power to impose a penalty on any County District which is not represented at a Council Meeting.
RULE 12. GENERAL
(1) Each new Club and Organisation shall be furnished with a copy of the Bye-Laws and Laws of the Game.
(2) Official representatives of the Press shall be allowed to attend all the Association’s General Meetings .
(3) It is the duty of every member of every Club affiliated to the Association to acquaint themselves with the Rules and Bye-Laws of the Association. The Council of the Association will at no time accept a plea of ignorance to such Bye-Laws and Rules.
All Clubs playing competitive crown green bowls under the Rules of the British Crown Green Bowling Association shall be directly affiliated to their respective County Association. Any Club which refuses to directly affiliate to its County Associations shall be suspended along with all its registered members, from playing any form of competitive crown green bowls, until the Affiliation Fee is paid. In any year a Club in membership of the Association wishing to resign from the Association must do so in writing to the Secretary of the Association by 31st January preceding the AGM. Registered players only will be eligible for league and competitive bowling. All directly affiliated Clubs shall supply an annual list of all their registered players to the County Registrar by the 31st of May each year; failure to do so making the Club concerned liable to a minimum fine of £5.00, increasing each week thereafter by £1.00. A Life-membership registration fee of £ 6.00 as set by the BCGBA is to be paid by all persons wishing to register, to the County Registrar. A list of all registered players and fees to be submitted to the British Crown Green Secretary by the County Registrar.
Replacement registration cards supplied on payment of £ 2.00 as set by the BCGBA to the Registrar.
No member of any Club shall be permitted to transfer membership to any other Club concerned with the Association until such times as fulfilment of their financial obligation to the Club from which they are seeking retirement.
Any affiliated Club, League or Association, which has not fulfilled its financial obligations to the County Association by the end of the Association’s financial year shall be suspended from all future competitive crown green bowling activities until such financial obligations have been fulfilled. The B.C.G.B.A. shall be informed of any such Club.
All affiliated Clubs, Leagues and Associations must possess current public liability insurance and Clubs must display a notification to this effect on the Club premises. Details of this insurance must be sent to the Yorkshire County Crown Green Bowling Association’s Administration Secretary before the 30th of June; failure to do so will leave the Club and its greens, Leagues and Associations liable to suspension from competitive crown green bowling. A Schedule of Insurance for Public Liability is adequate proof of insurance for the current year.
The Council of the Association shall adopt and administer the Child Protection Policy of the B.C.G.B.A. and shall recommend such to all constituent District Associations.
Should the Council of the Association, by a majority, decide, on grounds of expediency or otherwise, to dissolve the Association, it shall call a meeting of all members of the Association (as defined in Rule 5) giving 21 days notice. At this meeting, if a two thirds majority of those present, entitled to vote and voting decide to dissolve the Association, the Council shall have the power to dispose of the assets of the Association after all liabilities have been cleared. The beneficiaries of such assets shall be the members of the Association or such charities as decided by a majority of the members of the Association.
Rule 1. The selection of greens for all Cup-ties, County Matches and Individual Competitions shall be left in the hands of the Council.
Rule 2. Each Club must provide a responsible person for matches in connection with the Yorkshire County Crown Green Bowling Association’s competitions, except in cases where a Referee is provided by the Council.
Rule 3. No play or practise shall be permitted by any individual player or a player of the competing teams in a Yorkshire Cup Competition on the neutral greens selected by the Council during a period of seven days prior the date of the game, unless they are drawn there in a bona fide competition run by an Association or League who are members of the Yorkshire Association, nor shall a player be allowed to play or practise in a match on a green of any Club of which they are a registered player/member . A violation of this Rule by any player will render their Club liable to disqualification.
DEFINITION OF A PLAYER/MEMBER – One who pays a subscription to or is a life member of a Bowling Club or to a Bowling Section of a Sports or Social Club or is a member of an organization which utilizes the green of such a Club or Section.
Rule 4. In all competition matches, only 5 minutes grace may be allowed any competitor after being called upon to play.
Rule 5. Standard Jacks, all stamped with a valid date stamp, must be used in all Yorkshire CCGBA Competitions. The jacks to be used in the competition or match must be available for any practice allowed prior to the start of the competition or match.
Rule 6. Should either of the Clubs in connection with any dispute or protest have a member on the Council the said member shall not be eligible to sit on the Council while such dispute or protest is being considered.
Rule 7. When the winning Clubs or individuals shall have been ascertained, the President of the Association shall hand the Cups to the Clubs representatives or individuals on receiving from them security for their safe return. The Cups shall remain in their possession until 14 days before the final games when the succeeding Cup or individual Competitions are played, when they must be handed over to the Secretary.
Rule 8. In all Individual Competitions organised by the Association the qualifying heats of each District shall take place only on greens of Clubs directly affiliated to that District as listed in the County Yearbook. In the qualifying rounds of such Competitions, no entrant shall be allowed to play on the green of any Club at which they are members as defined in Rule 3. A scratch time for each Individual Competition’s final day shall be enforced, this being the same time as the competitors’ reporting time as shown in the current year’s Yearbook.
Rule 9. In any Merit or Handicap Competition, any player having a “Walk over” and being required to meet an opponent in the next round who has already played on that green in the preceding round shall be entitled to practice not exceeding ten minutes when called upon to play, with one set of Bowls only.
Rule 10. Any Club raising any objection under these Rules shall do so within 48 hours after the match, and shall lodge £5.00 with the Secretary, which sum shall be forfeited should the Council consider the objection frivolous or groundless; and the decision of the Council in all cases shall be final.
Rule 11. None of these Rules shall be altered except at the February Annual General Meeting , duly convened by the Secretary who shall have received a copy of such proposed alterations at least 28 days prior to the Meeting.
Rule 12. Competitor(s) and Team(s) non-appearance when having qualified to compete in a Yorkshire Final will forfeit all prize money. Also disciplinary action may be taken.
Rule 13. Players Dress.
1. Hard or block heeled footwear must not be worn whilst on the green in any match played under the Association’s Jurisdiction. Suitable footwear must be worn on the green.
2. The following is the only permitted dress for all County Matches and Finals Days of all tournaments organised or run by the Association.
MALES (a) Trousers: These shall be full length, single coloured trousers, preferably grey. Studs, rivets and zipped pockets are not allowed, nor external pockets on the legs.
(b) Shirts: These shall be collared shirts which may be embellished with any or all of the following: player’s name, Club insignia, County insignia, sponsor’s insignia, manufacturer’s insignia.
FEMALES(c) Trousers: tailored shorts, tailored cropped trousers or skirts, these shall be at least knee length and single coloured.
(d) Shirts/Blouses : These shall be single coloured with sleeves and collar, and may be embellished with any or all of the following: players name, club insignia, county insignia ,manufacturers insignia BCGLBA insignia.
(e) Finals- County or Club colours, if not then navy or black trousers with white shirt with sleeves and collar.
BOTH
(f) Where necessary, sweaters which conform to the above and/or wet weather gear may be worn.
(g) In Team contests it is strongly recommended that uniform clothing is worn by all Team members.
(h) Nothing in the above shall be interpreted to allow the wearing of track-suits, shell suits or denims.
(i) Any player failing to conform to this standard will be prevented from playing (or continuing) in the competition and may be liable to forfeit any Entry Fee for, or prize money earned in, the competition.
(j) In the case of Team contests any offending player must be substituted prior to the commencement of the game. However, if the offending player’s game has commenced, the player shall score nil and the opponent shall receive the maximum score.
It is strongly recommended that this be adopted by all subsidiary organisations and other organisers of competitions and that players’ notice be drawn to it on the entry forms for all such competitions.
Rule 14. The Council are the sole interpreters of these Rules, and, subject to the interpretation of the courts, there shall be no appeal from their decision.
RULE 1 A Cup known as the Yorkshire County Challenge Cup shall be competed for annually by Clubs in membership with the Yorkshire CCGBA on the payment of £8.00 Entrance Fee per Team.
RULE 2 A second Cup called ‘The Henry Taylor Cup’ shall be competed for by Teams defeated in the Qualifying Round of the Yorkshire Challenge Cup. That providing the Team has played 12 players, the same conditions and dates (Finals excepted) shall apply as for the Premier Competition.
RULE 3 Any Club wishing to compete for the Challenge Cup shall give notice before the third Saturday in March to the Match/Competition Secretary. Any Club wishing to enter more than one Team may do so on payment of an additional Fee of £8.00 per Team
RULE 4 Any Team withdrawing from the Yorkshire Cup after the Draw has been made shall be liable to a fine at the discretion of the Council and will be scratched from all subsequent rounds of the competition.
RULE 5 The competing Team for the Yorkshire County Challenge Cup and the Henry Taylor Cup shall number twelve players, each shall be bona fide male registered members of the Club represented by such Team. A member shall not be allowed to bowl for more than one Team during a season in the Cup Competition except that a member of a Club who has played in the ‘B’ Team may play in the same Club’s ‘A’ Team in a later round; but having played in the ‘A’ Team he cannot revert to the ‘B’ Team.
RULE 6 (i) The winning team shall be that which has achieved the highest aggregate score.
(ii) In the event of a drawn game, four players from each side competing shall be re-drawn by the Referee/responsible person, the players to be selected by the respective Captains: these players having taken part in the match and being present at the time of the re-draw. The four games on being completed shall stand as a definite result of the match. In the event of four games resulting in a tie the foregoing conditions shall apply. In respect of further groups of four games, four different players from each Team shall play on the same day until the winners have been determined. This course however shall not be followed should the tie occur in the Final Round of the Competition. In such case the match shall be replayed in its entirety as may be directed by the Association.
(iii) All games are 21 up.
(iv) The winning Club shall be responsible for sending the official Result Sheet to the County Competition Secretary by first class mail immediately following the completion of the match. In cases where the result is not received by the County Competition Secretary by the first post on the Wednesday morning following the date of the match the defaulting Club may be fined the sum of £5.00 and may be scratched from the Competition.
RULE 7 The order of play of Team members in the two Cup Competitions shall be nominated by the Team Captain of each side before commencement of the tie and alternate members of each Team will lead the jack. The first Team drawn in the tie shall lead the first jack. Clubs reaching the Finals of the Yorkshire and Henry Taylor Cups will be required on completion of the Semi Final Matches to submit with the Result Sheets their Teams in order of play and a list of member Clubs of players for the Final.
RULE 8 All games shall be played on neutral greens attached to Clubs affiliated to the Association. If any two Clubs drawn together can mutually agree upon a venue for their game, they may do so; failing this the Council shall fix a green for them outside the District of either Club, unless a green can be proven neutral to the satisfaction of the Council, except that in the case of the Semi Final and Final rounds, the Council shall have sole control of the fixing of venues for these games. In the case of the Final tie, admission shall be charged and the proceeds shall be for the benefit of County funds. The Council reserves to itself the right to change the green upon which a tie has been decided to be played.
RULE 9 All Yorkshire fixtures and Cup Competition games shall (as far as practicable) be arranged for alternate Saturdays. Should Referee/responsible person in charge decide the green is unfit for play, the game shall be played on a day mutually agreed upon. Any Club failing to play on the day fixed by the Council may be disqualified. The Referee/ responsible person of the Club on whose green the same should take place must contact by phone the competing Clubs not later than 11.00 o’clock if in their opinion play is impossible that day. The Yorkshire Cup Competition shall commence on a date to be decided by the Council.
RULE 10 Greens must be cleared immediately after the arrival of the competing Teams in Cup Competition matches. All Cup Ties should commence not later than 2.30 pm and a Team not arriving by this time may be fined at the discretion of the Council. Teams shall be scratched if not arrived by 3.00 pm.
RULE 11 Any Club in the Challenge Cup completely failing to turn up without giving 48 hours notice to the Competition Secretary, to their opponents and to the Club on whose green the match is fixed to be played, shall be liable to a fine of £5.00 to be dealt with as the Council shall direct. They shall also be scratched from all subsequent related rounds.
RULE 12 All Yorkshire and Henry Taylor Cup Matches must be played on the dates fixed by the Council, except when the playing Clubs and entertaining Club concerned mutually agree on an earlier date for part or whole of the match or where Rule 13 applies. No mutual arrangement other than provided by Rule 13 can be made for the Final of either Competition. In special circumstances, the Council shall have the authority to re-arrange the dates.
RULE 13 In cases where players have qualified for the Final of the British Crown Green Competition on the same day as a Cup Competition, the Club having a player(s) in the Competition may call upon the opposing Club in the Cup Competition to furnish an opponent(s) to meet the qualified player(s) on the same evening or other time agreed upon the week previous to the day of the match. Failure to provide an opponent(s) will result in forfeiture of the game(s).
RULE 14 The Clubs taking part in any year in the Final Round of the Yorkshire Cup Competition and the Henry Taylor Cup Competition respectively shall in the next following year automatically qualify to take part in the Yorkshire Cup Competition and shall be included in the Draw for the Preliminary Round of that Competition. They shall not take part in the qualifying Round.
RULE 15 Should either of the Clubs in connection with any dispute or protest have a member on the Council the said member shall not be eligible to sit on the Council while such dispute or protest is being considered.
RULE 16 The Council reserves to itself the right to cancel the entry for the Challenge Cup or Henry Taylor Cup competition of any Club which shall knowingly and wilfully infringe on these Rules.
Eric Hutchinson Memorial and Derrick Radley Cup Competitions
RULE 1 A cup known as the ‘Eric Hutchinson Memorial Cup’ shall be competed for annually by Clubs in membership of the Y.C.C.G.B.A.
RULE 2 A second cup known as the ‘Derrick Radley Cup’ shall be competed for annually by teams defeated in the first round of the Eric Hutchison Memorial Cup, providing the team has played 12 players in the first round. The same rules and dates shall apply as for the Eric Hutchinson Memorial Cup.
RULE 3 The competing teams shall number twelve players of which at least 2 shall be either male or female. All players shall be bona fide registered members of the club represented by that team. A player shall not be allowed to bowl for more than one team during a season in the cup competition, except that a member of a club who has played in a ‘B’ team may play in the Clubs ‘A’ team in a later round; but having played in the ‘A’ team cannot revert back to the ‘B’ team. No player having played in either the Y.C.C.G.B.A’s Yorkshire or Henry Taylor Cup Competitions can play in these competitions during the same bowling season.
All other rules shall be as in the Yorkshire Cup/Henry Taylor rules with the Eric Hutchinson Memorial Cup/Derrick Radley Cup replacing the Yorkshire Cup/Henry Taylor Cup as appropriate.
Yorkshire Inter-District Competition – Male
RULE 1 The Matches to be played on a date decided by the Council and played in the District on a rota system for that year, with a start time of 10.00 am.
RULE 2 Teams consist of ten bowlers from maximum squad of fourteen, to be all male bowlers, the names to be handed to the official of the day. No replacements allowed after the names have been handed in.
RULE 3 Players may play for one District only and must be a bona-fide registered playing member of an affiliated club both to the District and the Yorkshire County Crown Green Bowling Association. There are no restrictions by the Districts on selection of players. No more than two selected home bowlers will be allowed to play on greens selected by the District hosting the competition even if they are members of the club.
RULE 4 Scoring in all group matches played will be by total aggregate at the completion of the group matches. In case of a tie, the following order of elimination shall apply:
Tie on aggregate- the team with the most winners
If still a tie- the team with the best winner
If still a tie- the 2nd,3rd,4th best winner etc.
The semi finals and finals shall be as above.
Where there are three Districts drawn together they will play each other once, but where there are two Districts drawn together they will play each other twice, the order of play for the second match shall be re-drawn.
The order of play in all matches, odd or even jacks will be decided by the toss of a coin before the start of play.
RULE 5 No practise on the greens chosen seven days before the competition date by any player unless drawn there in a bona-fide competition run by a League or Association who are members of the Yorkshire County Crown Green Bowling Association.
RULE 6 The dress code as shown in the current year book will be applied.
Yorkshire Inter-District Competition – Females
RULE 1 The matches are to be played on a date decided by the Council and played in each District on a rota system for that year. Eleven districts shall play a straight knock out which will be drawn at a date decided by the Council.
RULE 2 Teams consist of twelve bowlers with two nominated reserves who must be named before the commencement of play. One player to be starred in the event of tie before commencement of the game.
RULE 3 Players may play for one District only and must be bona-fide registered bowling members of an affiliated club both to the District and the Yorkshire County Crown Green Bowling Association. There will be no more than 3 home bowlers in any team.
RULE 4 Districts shall nominate a non-playing Captain and Vice-Captain.
RULE 5 The match shall be decided on aggregate scores in each match, the highest total being the winner. All games will be 21 up except in the event of a tie where the nominated players shall play 11 up.
RULE 6 Alternate players shall take first cast of the jack. Captains to toss for the jack i.e. odd/even.
RULE 7 The format for play to be decided by the Council each year.
Other Competitions
RULE 1 The Association will organise individual competitions ,other competitions and County Matches as agreed at Council.
RULE 2 No final stages or qualifying heats of each District shall be contested on the date of, and within the County District, where a County Individual competition, other competition or Senior or Junior County final matches are taking place if the competition is of the same gender as the County Competitions or County Final. Failure to comply will make the promoter, club and any players taking part liable to a fine levied at the discretion of the council.