The council meeting last night approved two new bye-laws. These bye-laws will be effective on 29 July 2025:
Bye-law 2.12.f Allow change of player to continue the game when one team is below the minimum number of players
Bye-law 2.20 If a team cannot keep the minimum number of players during a match and the game has to be postponed, the defaulting side will be deducted two points.
For details, please refer to the attachments.
In response to the situations at the start of a game, below are the possible options for your reference.
- In the event of the Premier League, when nine players present, the game must start.
Bye-Law 3.5.c When less than 12 but at least nine players are present at the appointed time, the offending side shall field teams of three players. The Lead and Second shall play three bowls each. If the players cannot use a Set of Bowls as defined in the Laws of the Sport of Bowls, then one bowl may not be from the same set. Should a fourth team member subsequently appear, he may play in any position except skip and 25% of the score shall be deducted from only those ends played with three players.
- When there are less than nine players present, the captains can field two teams with three players and one team with insufficient players, perform the draw and start the game with the two teams. The team with insufficient players will be postponed, the defaulting side will be deducted two points as per bye-law 2.20.
- If the captain does not field up the team and perform the draw, it will be treated as ‘fail to arrive’. The normal penalty is the defaulting side being deducted four points and playing the game within 22 days. [bye-law 3.5.d (i) and (iii)]
Hope it clarifies the different scenarios and options. Relevant bye-laws will be updated accordingly.