Sedgemoor Skittles

A.1.     The Sedgemoor Skittle League SSL),shall hold an annual general meeting prior to commencement of each season, at which entrant teams shall be represented by at least one of their registered members, such represented teams being entitled to each cast one vote only on any voting issue arising at the meeting.

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Teams failing to respond to the roll calls shall be declared absent and ,should they so desire shall forfeit their deposit as required by rule. The meeting shall elect to serve during that season the following officers...….. Chairman, Vice Chairman,Honourable General Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and if required Honorary Competitions secretary.

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The office of chairman and vice chairman shall not be held jointly with that of any other office, nor shall the position of Hon General secretary and Hon Treasurer be amalgamated or held jointly by the same person during any one season.

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These elected officers, together with up to six duly elected members, shall form the League Management Committee (L.M.C.) the registered members being elected by a majority vote from the candidates submitted by valid nominations under rule A.2.Where 6 or less nominations are submitted, these shall be deemed automatically elected to L.M.C. who shall then have the authority to co-opt should they so decide, such registered members as they consider suitable. In order to fulfil the required number of members. The L.M.C. may also at their discretion temporarily co opt or invite in an advisory capacity any such persons as whom may assist the L.M.C. on any subject but such persons shall not be permitted to vote on any issue arising.

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L.M.C. meetings shall be arranged as required at any league venue by the Gen Secretary, and must be attended by a quorum, this being as any 2 officers, together with any three other L.M.C. members, and where the majority of all of the L.M.C. members have been advised the meeting has been convened.

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The six elected and co opted members are entitled to one vote each on all matters arising.The chairman or senior officer present holds any casting vote. The L.M.C. will deal with all urgent matters and SSL business, and the L.M.C. decisions on all protests, complaints, disputes and any other matters arising, whether or not covered by the current rules shall be final. A competitions sub-committee to deal with all competitions fixtures and venues may be formed if required by the L.M.C.

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A.2.    Only registered members may submit themselves as officers and candidates for election to the L.M.C. and such members must do so on the official nomination form, giving details requested there on, and the completed forms returned 14 days prior to the election AGM to the General Secretary, only these nominations under those principles will be declared valid and submitted for the election. 

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A.3.    General meetings shall be held at a designated venue, as required and may be declared Extra ordinary to assume the powers of an AGM should the occasion so demand. Teams represented in A.1.

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A.4.    All competition trophies are the sole property of the SSL, and all teams and players competing for these trophies must fulfil and satisfy  all conditions relating to the competition concerned.The SSL reserve the right to withhold from teams or players any trophies which are judged to have been unfairly won, and reallocate any such trophy as the SSL L.M.C. shall decide.  

 

A.5.     Teams and players gaining trophies from the league competitions, are expected to attend the presentation ceremony in order to receive such trophies personally, or to have a proxy to collect on their behalf. The  league reserve the right to withhold trophies from the teams or players failing to attend the presentation without good cause.

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A.6.     The league shall consist of as many divisions as entries permit, being not more than 16 teams in any division, each division containing equal number of teams if possible,in the event of odd teams making this impossible, the higher division shall consist of the higher number of teams.

At the end of each season, the two teams with the most points gained from their fixtures, shall be promoted to the next higher division, and the two teams with the least points relegated to the next lower division. In the event of more than two teams being involved by having equal number of points, then the final decision shall be determined by ….

     1.     Results (points) against each other in league

     2.     Number of wins in league during season.

     3.     Pins difference.

     4.     Play off between the teams. 

to determine the placing to either go up or down.

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A.7.     Any teams seeking to challenge a match result, or the manner by which it was obtained, must submit a written protest to the Gen Sec within 7 days of the date the match was played of the alleged committed incident and shall pay a protest fee as per rule D.2. to be refunded if the protest is upheld or forfeited should the protest be rejected.

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A.8.     Complaints of any other nature requiring the attention of the L.M.C. must be submitted in writing to the Gen Sec by the complainant within 14 days of the incident prompting the complaint, or raised personally by the complainant at an A.G.M or G.M.

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A.9.     All protests and complaints shall be decided by the L.M.C representatives of the contesting parties shall be in attendance at the meeting if required, but shall leave the room whilst the L.M.C.is considering the case and shall not return until a decision has been reached, the L.M.C. decision in such cases is final as per rule A.1.

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A.10.     Should a team withdraw or be expelled from the league prior to the end of the season thereby not completing its fixtures all league matches already played by the team shall be declared void, and deleted from the league records, and all its players shall be suspended from the league and all SSL competitions for the remainder of the season, unless otherwise decreed by the management committee.

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A.11.     Any team wishing to propose a new rule, or to amend or abolish an existing rule, may only do so at an A.G.M. and shall serve notice in writing of its intention to the Gen Sec at least 14 days prior to the date of the A.G.M.

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A.12.     New entrants to the league must always start in the lowest division, new entrants shall be defined as : teams who were not members of the league the previous season.

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A.13.     In all matches there must be clearly a defined pitch board marked across the top by a line at least 6 inches long and 1 inch wide. Advice is available from the L.M.C. whether an alley is legal for the SSL.

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A.14.     All payments must be made by the date indicated by the leagues rules, this normally to be within 14 days or at the next meeting. Teams failing to comply within the given time shall incur additional penalties as per rule D.2. for each part of each 14 day period beyond the audit date.

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A.15.     Life membership to SSL may be granted by at the A.G.M. only on the recommendation of the L.M.C. who shall exercise discretionary power regarding individual qualification and merit in each instance, but which shall normally require a minimum 20 year period of service.

 

A.16.     Teams shall secure a base venue on which to play there "home" matches, and may not change that venue during the season except in extreme circumstances and with permission of the L.M.C.

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A.17.      The Sedgemoor Skittles League Management Committee recommend that every member should be double vaccinated against Covid 19.

            The L.M.C.will not be held accountable for any member or participant in any function administrated by the S.S.L.,who claims to have contracted Covid 19 while attending any of our arranged events.

 

 

REGISTRATIONS 

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B.1.     Entry fees for teams becoming members of the SSL shall be paid in one instalment. A registration date shall be set not less than 14 days prior to the A.G.M. and all entries for that season should be submitted on a supplied registration form bearing the names of not less than 10 players to be registered, the name by which the team is called and the home venue with the declared registration fee plus the sum of forfeit usually £10 which will be refunded on the representation at the A.G.M.

The entry fee shall cover the registration of the 10 named players and secure the teams entry into the league and any full team competitions.

In the event of a team being expelled or withdrawing from the league any refund shall be at the discretion of the L.M.C.

The league reserve the right to refuse entry to any team, or the registration of any team or player or the name under which any team may wish to enter as a member of the league.

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B.2.Additional players may register for teams any time during the season, players so registering must submit their full name and the name of the team they wish to register for. No player will be deemed registered until the above information is known to the Gen Sec.

 

B.3.     Transfer from one team to another may only take place once for each player during the season.

 

B.4.     All players registered must be male and 18 years old at the commencement of the playing season as laid down at the A.G.M. or registering on the attainment of that age, and may only register for one team in the SSL for the current season. Only duly registered players may participate in the competitions organised by the SSL. Teams may also register not more than two players between 16 and 18 years of age, these must be separate registrations with the team captain excepting responsibility for such players conduct and financial liabilities within the league.

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B.5.     Any team playing an ineligible player or players shall be fined as per rule D.2. for each player concerned, and any points won in all matches such a player has played in will be awarded to the opposing team. In cup and competition matches the ineligible player or players will be disqualified and points automatically awarded to the opposite players/side. Any team or individual found using an unregistered player under another persons name will disqualify the results and guilty persons, any protest,the captain must not sign the score card, and should indicate the reason for not doing so.

Either captain has the right to challenge a players registration and to query this with the Gen Sec.

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PLAYING PROCEDURES

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C.1.     The team playing in matches may use any six of its registered players. Once a player has delivered his first ball, he is deemed to have played, and may not be replaced by another during the match. If a player of any team is late and does not arrive until each side has played their two commencing hands as per rule C.2. he shall not be permitted to play unless prior agreement has been reached between captains concerned before commencement of the match. In the event of a dispute the two hand rule will strictly apply. Teams playing with one or more members short  a "Sergeant Major" (SM), maybe used, giving 6 pins per hand i.e.42 for each player.

In the event of a player becoming ill and leaving the match, or any other reason for not continuing the match from when his game ceased, for each of the remaining hands, a SM will be used giving 6 pins for  each hand not played.

In all SSL competition finals, players must play in rotation and are not permitted to play off hands in order to leave the venue early.

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C.2.     The home team shall start the game by playing two hands,the visiting team will then play two hands in reply, followed by the home team playing three, then the visitors play three in reply. The home team then plays their final two hands followed by the same by the visiting team concluding the game of seven hands each.

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C.3.     A player shall throw each of the three match balls once only per hand in any order of his choice. In the event of a ball being damaged during a match, the two captains shall select a replacement ball if available, or clearly mark one of the two remaining balls, and this shall then be thrown twice per hand for the remainder of the match.

The player must deliver the ball from his hand on to the pitch board, and only pins knocked down by a ball so delivered shall count. Any pins knocked down by a player delivering a ball OFF the pitch board, are left down and  not  counted. If a spare is taken from remaining pins only those pins are stuck up again (the same as in nomination) the ball counting however as one of the players three balls and shall not be re-thrown.

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C.4.     Any pins knocked down by a back ball or from balls first striking the walls shall not count, and must be replaced. Such balls however count as one of the players three balls and shall not be rethrown. The decision of the HOME sticker up shall be final in any dispute on the night regarding the fall of pins. Pins and a ball rebounding off a side wall after first hitting the pins, and hitting further pins will count.

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C.5.     All league and cup matches start at 20:30 unless otherwise authorised by the L.M.C.

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C.6.     The home team is responsible for returning the result card to the address on the front, by the following Monday. Since the introduction of the website the results can be sent electronically to the web master by e mail/text or WhatsApp by any member of a team.

Both home and away teams shall give the full names and scores of their respective players and must sign the score card.

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C.7.     Eight points shall be awarded for each league match won and one point for each hand won, making a total of fifteen. Where a hand is tied, the winner of the next hand will win the tied hand points, if the 7th (last) hand is tied the winner of the 6th hand will win the points, then 5th and so on if necessary to win the points. The league may withhold or reallocate these points if it is considered they were unfairly won.

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C.8.     Each team shall provide a sticker up who shall be paid by his teams players as per rule D.1.

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C.9.     If for any reason a team is unable to play on the arranged date, 24 hours notice must be given to the opponents. In the event of abnormal weather conditions or exceptional circumstances where short notice only is possible it is the duty of the team seeking postponement to give as much notice as possible to their opponents, and no less than 1 hour before the match is due to start, and must also advise the home teams venue of any change.The Gen Sec must also be included in notification of any postponements or change within 24 hrs, but preferably before the match should have started.     

The captains of the teams concerned must rearrange the fixture to be played within 21 days of the postponement, initiated by the home captain, should they fail to agree a date the L.M.C. will arrange a definite fixed date and the fixture must be played. Teams not complying with the postponement notices i.e. only phoning after the game should have started with excuses of shortage of players will not be allowed to reallocate the date and the points will go to the non default side.

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CHARGES

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D.1.     Initial team entry fee to be set by the L.M.C., payment to be paid on registration night (rule B.1.)

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Player registrations in excess of the 10 mandatory signing on, at initial registration to be charged at £1 per player (rule lapsed 2019).

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Players contribution to sticker up fee £4 per player minimum (rule C.8.)

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Returnable registration  fee on attending the A.G.M is £5.00

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FINES

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D.2.     Late arrival of result card (rule C.6.) £1

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Incorrectly completed result card (rule B.5.) £1

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Use of ineligible player (rule B.5.) £5

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Other fines as deemed necessary by the L.M.C. as required.

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THE TEA DRINKERS TROPHY (NOMINATION)

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1.All member teams qualify with a choice of entering or not.

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2.Any teams playing with missing players shall score 0.

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3.The front pin standing shall always be regarded as the pin in play and this pin must be displaced by the ball before scoring commences. Should the front pin become displaced by any other means then it alone shall be replaced to accompany any other pins still standing.

Skittling is as normal skittles the difference being in the method of scoring. Pins count only when the pin aimed for (the nominated pin) is struck first In the case of the players first delivery, this shall always be the front pin. If this pin is missed and other pins are knocked down they are not replaced and do not count in the players score.

If the front pin is hit with the first delivery, the next pin in play shall be the nearest to the player and unless he verbally states otherwise to the sticker up and the other players in the alley this shall be the pin he is assumed to have aimed at.

Only pins knocked down by the action of the ball striking the pin in play first shall count in the players score. In the event of two pins standing (e.g.the two front seconds) and both therefore being in play, the player must nominate which pin he is aiming for before he delivers the ball.

Should a player, having missed the front pin with his first ball, knock down other pins which are not replaced then proceed to clear the diamond by hitting the front pin with his second ball only those pins are replaced are replaced for him to throw the third ball at.

A player having missed the pin nominated for his second throw, may should he wish, re-nominate any other pin of his choice at which to throw his third ball but all pins struck by his second throw shall remain down although not counting in his score

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THE B.W.ADAMS CHALLANGE CUP

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1.     All teams gain an automatic entry.

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2 to 5      As league rules.

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6.      All 1st division teams will play all 2nd division teams on a home and away basis, there will be 2 league tables Group 1 and Group 2 with each teams points won going on their relevant league tables, at the conclusion of all matches the top two from each group will play each other on a home and away basis, if two or more teams are level after all of the games in the group stages have been completed, the team or teams with the best pin difference go through to the semi final, with the first venue chosen by the team finishing top of their group, if the points are equal at the end of the two games, the winners will be decided on...

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1.Pin difference over the two matches.

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2.A one hand play off.

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The two winning teams in the semi finals will play in the final, which will ensure a 1st division and 2nd division team will play in the final.

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IRISH DISTILLERS 4 A SIDE COMPETITION

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1.     Teams shall consist of players who are currently registered to play in the SSL.

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2.     Each team is entitled to enter up to two teams of 4 players in the competition.

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3.     Each team shall submit an entry form with at least 4 named players together with a fee of £5.00 for each team.

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4.     Once a player has played for one side he is not able to play for any other.

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5.     Stickers up will be provided by the home alley and should be paid at least £4.00 by each player.

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6.     The competition shall be played on a mini league basis, depending on the number of entries, the top two point scorers from each group will proceed to the quarter finals. All alleys will be booked at the beginning of the competition. The only stage a neutral alley is guaranteed is for the semi final and final which will be played on the same night.

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7.     Each game shall consist of... 2 x hands each of 9 pin.

                                                        2 x hands each of 8 pin (front pin removed)

                                                        2 x hands each of Nomination.

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8.     All other rules are as the General League Rules.

        NOTE... With two games or more per evening on an alley, all players must be ready to start at the stated time.

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REVISED PAIRS COMPETITION

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1.       Seven hands of normal 9 pin skittles.

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2.       One point earned for every hand down won.

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3.       Eight points awarded for winning (maximum points is 15.)

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4.       Sixes across the board if a player is missing.