1 The League shall be called the Martock and District Skittle League
2 The League shall be open to all Public Houses and Clubs and will consist of a maximum of 36 teams divided, as far as possible, into equal divisions with a minimum of 9 teams per division
3 There shall be a Management Committee of up to 6 plus the elected Officers. The said Committee is empowered to impose disciplinary action, conditions, or fines as they deem applicable upon teams, or individuals, who do not comply with the League rules or standards.
4 No Committee Member shall be allowed to vote on any dispute concerning his team.
5 Captain’s meetings shall be called as and when required. All league teams must endeavour to be represented.
6 All matches to start by 8.30 pm on dates specified in the fixtures list.
7 No cup game may be postponed unless in exceptional circumstances. A minimum of 24 hours notice must be given to the opposing Team Captain and the Match Secretary. The team cancelling the fixture will forfeit the game, unless specifically authorised by the Committee.
8 No league game may be postponed without prior agreement of both Captains and an agreed re-arranged date. The date of the re-arranged game to be notified to the Match Secretary at least 24 hours before the original fixture was to be played The re-arranged date of the postponed game must be within 28 days of the original fixture and before the last scheduled League fixtures .In the event that a rearranged date has not been advised to the Match Secretary at the required time, the team which requested the postponement of the fixture will be regarded as having defaulted. The match will be regarded as won 9-0 by the other team. In exceptional circumstances only, the committee will allow an appeal under Rule 22.
9 All league fees due, and monies owed to the League are to be paid by dates notified.
10 All players must be registered with the Match Secretary a minimum of 24 hours before the match. No player registered with one team may play for another before transfer is notified to and agreed by the Committee. In exceptional circumstances an unregistered player may play with the agreement of the opposing captain before the match providing the player has not played for another team in the League. The player may then not play for another team for that season
11 The Home Captain shall be responsible for the match result details being notified to the Match Secretary within 72 hours of the fixture date
12 Matches shall be for teams of 8 players, and each player shall skittle 6 hands, 6 balls at a time at the Captain’s discretion.
13 A total of 12 points are available in each match, these will be awarded as follows: 6 points for winning the game, in the event of a tie each team will receive 3 points. The winners of each hand will receive 1 extra point. In the event of a tied hand the point will go to the winners of the following hand, except for the last hand where the point will go to the winners of the previous hand.
14 Captains are to agree alley rules (e.g. “cush” pins) prior to the game commencing.
15 No player arriving late shall play after two completed hands by both teams.
16 In any League or Knockout Cup match where one team has fewer players than the other, this team will complete each hand by, in strict rotation, each player in turn throwing an additional hand. So, for example, if Team A has 8 players and Team B 6, then on the 1st hand, Player 1 and Player 2 will play for the “missing players”; on the 2nd hand, Players 3 and 4 will play them and so on. If a team has less than 6 players then the additional missing players will receive 30 pins (5 pins each hand). For the Nomination Cup and Coronation Cup no concessions shall apply.
17 The front pin on all alleys shall be suitably marked. There shall be only 3 balls in the chute.
18 In the event of a pin being hit but not falling, it shall be only counted as down when completely off the spot.
19 In the event of a tie in Cup Matches only, each player shall throw an additional 3 balls.
20 The placings of final league positions where teams have gained equal points shall be decided by the following criteria:
i. The team gaining the most away points shall receive the higher placing.
ii. If still unresolved, the team gaining the most points in the matches involving only those teams tied for position, shall receive the higher placing
iii. If still unresolved, the team who has hit the highest total of pins in all their away games shall receive the higher placing.
21 Any team wishing to lodge a protest on any breach of the Rules should do so in writing to the General Secretary within 72 hours of the event.
22 Any team wishing to lodge an appeal against a committee decision should do so in writing to the General Secretary within 72 hours of the notification of that decision.
The Appeal Committee will comprise the Chairman plus 5 others, normally invited independent Captains (one from each Division), plus non-voting Officers.
23 All team Captains to ensure the following is adhered to:
“Any ball released with no part of the player`s front foot behind or on any part of the white line shall be deemed a `no ball`. In the case of a player throwing `dorset flop ` style the players knees must be behind or on any part of the white line Any resultant pins hit shall not count and will remain down. If a flopper or spare is the outcome from a ‘no-ball’ only the front pin shall be stuck up for the remaining balls in that hand”. In all games where a line judge has been appointed, the judge’s decision is final.
Note: Once a ball has been successfully picked up from the chute, is released and has crossed the white line it is considered to be in play and may not be retrieved.
24 If a player wishes to `skittle off` this must be agreed between the two Captains before the game starts. This includes any arrangement with regard to a play-off hand in a cup match (see Rule 19).
Note: Skittling off is a concession not a right
