CONSTITUTION AND RULES 2009/2010 SEASON A. CONSTITUTION A1 NAME The name of the League shall be Stockport Metro Indoor Bowling League. A2 OBJECT The object of the League shall be to promote, foster and regulate the game of Short Mat Indoor Bowling within Stockport and District. A3 LEAGUE The league shall affiliate to the ESMBA. A4 Executive Committee The Executive Committee shall be the President, Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Fixture/Results and Registration Secretary, Competition Secretary(s), Stockport Team Captain(s) and the County Delegate(s). A5 The Executive Committee, that is composed as stated in rule A4, will manage the League. The members of the Executive Committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting. A6 MEMBERSHIP Application by a club/team for admission to the League in the following year must be made in writing to the League Secretary before the first day of March. Any club applying to join the League must have a minimum of two mats. The League Secretary shall place the application before the AGM. Clubs wishing to resign from the League must do so in writing by the first day of March. Before accepting any new team and or Venue into the League, a small sub-committee should go to the applying club to see the facilities available and to try the mats which are going to be played on, and also assess the ability of the players who will be competing in the League. A7 AFFILIATION FEE The Affiliation Fee of £15.00 per club must be paid within one month of the official notification of acceptance. A8 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION The Annual Subscription for each team shall be fixed at the AGM and must be paid on or before 14th October each year. A.9 REGISTRATION FEE A.9 REGISTRATION FEE A. 9a The Registration Fee for each affiliated club member shall be fixed at the AGM and be payable before 14th October each year to the Treasurer. A fine of £10 will be payable for late payment of fees. A.9b A list of registered players to be sent to the Fixture/Results and Registration Secretary before the first printed fixture match each year (i.e. printed Week 1). A.9c For All late registrations Payment and Registration Forms MUST be sent to the Treasurer. A.9d All players must be registered before playing. Breach of this rule will result in loss of game points, i.e. 15-0 and a £10.00 fine per unregistered player. A.9e No Player to play for more than one club in the League in a season. A.9f Any Player who has not played for the Club they have originally registered with and wishes to re-register for another club must make this request in writing to the League Committee. A.9g Last date for registration shall be 31st January each year. Indicate ‘C’ for Cheshire, ‘L’ for Lancashire when registering. All County registrations to go through the Fixture/Results and Registration Secretary. A10 FINANCIAL YEAR The Financial Year shall terminate on the last day of February annually. A11 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The Annual General meeting of the League shall be held not later than 31st May each year for the following purposes :- 1. To receive the Secretary’s Report 2. To receive the Treasurer’s Report 3. To receive the Fixture/Results and Registration Secretary’s Report 4. To Receive the Competition Secretary’s Report 5. To receive the County Delegates Report 6. To Fix the Annual Subscriptions 7. To Fix the Registration Fee 8. To receive and vote on any Notice of Motion 9. To affiliate any new club/team 10. To elect Officers for the following year 11. To elect an Executive Committee 12. To appoint two Auditors A copy of the League Accounts to be sent to clubs, together with notification of the date of the AGM and a nomination list for the positions of Officers & Committee. A12 MEETINGS There will be 3 Delegates meetings held during the season. Seven days notice (in writing) of an Executive or Delegates meeting shall be sent by the League Secretary to each member of the Executive Committee or, in the case of Delegates meetings the individual Club Secretaries, (except in the case of an Emergency Meeting, when a shorter notice shall be permissible). More than 50% of those entitled to vote shall form a quorum. An EGM may be called by the Executive Committee or on the request, in writing, of at least 8 clubs. The Notice for calling such a meeting shall specify the purpose for which the meeting has been called and no other business shall be transacted at that meeting. A13 VOTING AT AGM / EGM Each club shall have ONE vote and the majority will carry. The Chairman shall have a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes. If any of the members present wish any question under discussion to be put to a vote by ballot, that method of voting shall be adopted. A14 TEAMS No club to have more than 4 teams. A15 AGE LIMIT A15a. A player must be 8 years old before playing. However it must be remembered that some venues have age restrictions. Any such age restrictions must be observed by players and supporters alike. A15b. If a venue has an age restriction the league must be informed prior to the Season commencing or as soon as the restriction comes into force. A16 ATTENDANCE AT MEETINGS All clubs shall attend delegate and AGM/EGM meetings. Fine for non-attendance £10.00. A17 PRESENTATION EVENING Clubs not represented at the Presentation Evening shall forfeit their prize monies. B. MATCH RULES B1 All matches must be played under current ESMBA rules but as amended by their own domestic bye-laws. B2a All matches to be played as arranged by the League. Clubs wishing to change dates must give at least 7 days notice to their opponents and the Fixture/Results and Registration Secretary before the match is due to take place. Fixtures must be re-arranged by the club postponing the fixture within 14 days of the original date but can be played at any time within the season. (Fixture/Results and Registration Secretary to be informed of new date) failure to agree on a date will be resolved by the league Fixture Secretary who will arrange a date and / or neutral venue. Any club with 2 teams or more in the same division must play their respective games, i.e. against each other, before the end of December. Teams wishing to change dates must offer at least three reasonable dates to their opponents. Offending team or teams failing to fulfil a League or Competition Fixture will be fined £10.00, League Committee to decide on any further action. All League matches must be played – not conceded or claimed. Any costs incurred due the postponement within 7 days of the printed fixture list shall be borne by the offending team. B2b When a club has more than one team in the league and it has insufficient players available to fulfil their commitments in any week then the A team match takes precedence over the B team match, the B team match takes precedence over the C team match etc. Any infringement of this Rule will be dealt with by the Executive committee. B3 Captains to be in attendance 5 minutes before match start time. Each team to consist of 4 pairs. A player not in attendance when called shall be replaced with a reserve. When a team is one or more pairs short, opposing team score 15-0 in each case. Mark Team Sheet ‘Walk Over’. This score does not affect the players’ average. Home team Captains shall put the names of all players on the Team Sheets after the draw is made. If a Team Sheet is incorrect each club (Home and Away) will be fined £1.00. Playing an ineligible player will incur a £10.00 fine. Falsifying results sheets will incur a £20.00 fine. Where a game is played and the score is 15-0 or 0-15, please mark team sheet ‘Game played’. No practice one hour before match start time at the match venue. B4 Away team to have choice of lead at start of each game. Two trial ends shall be played in all games. Jacks to be placed in the centre of Jack line. B5 Games to be 15 up and total aggregate scores to count. B6a From the start of every season any registered player who has played three (THREE) or more League games for any one team and has a plus average CANNOT play for a lower team. A zero average is not a minus average. B6b Having played three (THREE) games for one team, players with a minus average can only be demoted to the next lower team. i.e. A to B, B to C etc., (NOT A to C or B to D) B6c Players CANNOT play for more than ONE team within his/her club in any week. B6d The penalty for infringement shall be loss of all points scored in the game by an ineligible player and a fine as determined in Bye Law B3. B6e Any player who wishes to be ranked on a lower team may apply for re-ranking to the Executive Committee, explaining the reason for the need for re-ranking. Any player so re-ranked may not subsequently play above their new ranking for the rest of the season. B7 All clubs shall make mats available for League Competitions. B8 Results to be posted on the following day by first class post. Offenders will be fined £1.00. B9a All bowlers to change into smooth, flat soled footwear at venue. No patterned soles or outdoor shoes. (Bare feet or stocking feet are not acceptable). Anyone not adhering to this rule can be refused permission to play by the home captain unless they comply. B9b No smoking on or over the mat. Smoking will not be allowed whilst participating in any game. B10 For the duration of the match the mat and the Jack shall remain as at the commencement of the match. B11 Captains or nominated team players shall act as umpires in matches and take on the responsibilities of measurers. In the case of match umpiring and measuring their decisions shall be final. Teams should note ESMBA Rule G with respect to the duties of the umpire. C BYE-LAWS C1 Formation of divisions to be decided by League Committee and, wherever possible, teams finishing first and second in the second and lower divisions shall be promoted and the teams finishing bottom and next to bottom shall be relegated. In the event of teams finishing on equal aggregate points, the total aggregate points against will be used. If teams are still level, the number of matches won and, if necessary, individual games won will be taken into account. C2 Prize monies and awards to be decide by League Committee C3 Any proposals from clubs or individuals for changes of rules or notices of motion must be in writing to the League Secretary by the 1st March each year. C4 The League Committee is the sole interpreter of these rules, which shall be final and binding. C5 All registrations applications shall be approved by the League Committee. C6 Any dispute must be notified to the League Secretary in writing within 48 hours of the dispute, together with a deposit of £10.00 which may be forfeited at the discretion of the League EC. The League Disciplinary/Appeals procedures to be applied. D ALL COMPETITIONS D1 The Executive Committee shall decide on the rules of the competitions and these will be circulated to all clubs at the beginning of each season. D2 The Pairs and Triples competition shall be restricted to 32 entries. The competition shall be run on a ‘round robin’ basis and will be completed on one day. The entry fee will be determined by the League EC and must accompany entries.