Flintshire Area

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Competition rules: Flintshire County & Consolation Cup

(Changes from the 2024 AGM in bold)


1. These competitions shall be confined to Clubs located within the boundary of Flintshire Area Bowling Association.

a. The Flintshire County Cup shall be confined to the 8 Flintshire teams that have finished in the top 8 places in the Flintshire Midweek League in the previous season. All remaining teams will be entered in the Consolation Cup.

b. Any club team or player who has or is going to play in another County Cup in the current season is not eligible to play in the Flintshire County Cup. The penalty for transgression against this rule is that the team shall forfeit the match.

c. Any Flintshire based club that doesn’t bowl in the Flintshire Midweek league can be still deemed eligible to join the affiliation. That club will be allowed to enter & play in both the County & Consolation cups after complying with the respective affiliation fees.

The club’s secretary must supply the Area Secretary a list of all registered players one week prior to the commencement of their 1st match. The club may add players to their team(s) any time prior to the 30th June. After this date, no further player registrations will be accepted.

2. The cups shall be held by the winning clubs for the season and shall be returned to the Area Secretary on or before the 1st day of July

3. The entry fee shall be determined at the AGM and any such fee shall be included in the overall affiliation fees due from each club.

a. Prize money to be distributed to winners, runners-up, losing semi-finalists and losing quarter-finalists.

i. County Cup winners £130, runner-up £70, semi-final £40 & quarter-final £20.

ii. Consolation cup winners £70, runner-up £40, semi-final £20 & quarter-final £15 as of 2010

b. Each affiliated club will automatically enter their respective number of teams that compete in the Flintshire Midweek League.

If the club wishes to reduce this number, or withdraw from the competition completely for the current season, written confirmation of this must be submitted by the Club Secretary to the Flintshire Area Secretary on or before 28th February of each year. Any written confirmations received after this date will not be accepted.

Should any club that chooses to reduce their team entry compete in the Consolation Cup they will be handicapped in relation to their highest placed team.

c. In the event that a team fails to fulfil a fixture that team will be fined £25 plus the total Green fees (£20) due to the host club. The only valid reason for postponement of a game shall be (a) death of a team member or (b) inclement weather. The Area Secretary must be notified immediately of any such postponement.  

4. All games to be 21 up and played under BCGBA rules.

5. The number of players from each club will be Eight (8) for the County Cup and Ten (10) for the Consolation Cup. Any club not sending its full complement of players shall forfeit twenty-one shots (21) in each case and forfeit the appropriate number of games.

a. Applicant teams must select their players from those registered in a Flintshire affiliated league. A player must play for the team they are registered with if their club enters more than one team.

6. The greens on which cup matches are to be played shall be elected by the Management Committee and shall be neutral. There is no practise allowed on the match green on the day of play.

7. All greens considered neutral to a player except that of the club for whom he plays.

8. The method of scoring in the County cup competition will be based on aggregate score and not individual wins.

9. The method of scoring in the Consolation cup competition will be based on aggregate score and not individual wins.

a. Each team will receive a handicap based on the division there are currently in the Flintshire Mid-week league for the season. Division 1 teams handicap is nil, division 2 is 15, division 3 is 30, division 4 is 45 & division 5 is 60.

b. The team with the best aggregate score including the handicap will be declared the winner.

10. The first four (4) players must be present and available to start at 6:30pm. Continuous play will then prevail; all players must be available to play when called. If a player when called is not available then the game will be forfeited 21-0.

a. If the date of a round in either the County Cup or Consolation cup should be played in April, the start time is 6pm.

11. The draw shall be made in each match by the captains (except the final, see rule 19). Half the players on each side shall have first delivery of the jack in individual games. One side taking the odd numbers and the other side taking the even numbers. The Captains to toss for odd or even at the start of the match.

12. No player shall be allowed to play for more than one team. A player must have played two (2) league games for their respective clubs from any Flintshire area affiliated league prior to the semi-final round. The penalty for transgression of this rule is that the game will be forfeited 21-0 and for the offending club a £25 fine will be imposed.

13. Any player banned from playing in another WCGBA Area is automatically banned from playing in any league or competition which falls within the jurisdiction of the Flintshire Area Bowling Association.

      13.1 The penalty for a team playing a banned, suspended or unregistered player will be the forfeiture of the whole match.

14. The secretary of each winning club must send a result sheet to the Area Secretary as soon as possible after the completion of the match.

15. The management committee shall deal with any questions arising and not provided for in the rules.

16. The match must be played on the nominated date. A match maybe postponed in the case of a bereavement or inclement weather. A request to postpone any match must be made to the Area Secretary. The club requesting the postponement must ensure the opposing club secretary is in agreement and that the host club secretary is able to provide the facilities for the re-arranged match. Please ensure that the secretary of the host club is aware of the postponement as early as possible.

17. Any club that fails to appear for their matches without informing their opponents and the club hosting the match will be asked to pay the total greenage due to the club hosting the game for themselves and their opponents, and also forfeit any prize money earned.

18. In the final of both the County Cup and Consolation cup the dress code must be Collared (T) shirts and plain black full length trousers, no denim or similar trousers. No huge logos on jumpers / fleeces unless it’s a Club sponsor’s logos. Discreet logos on jumpers / fleeces are allowed.” Any transgression of the code the player will not play the game and will forfeit 21 points.

19. In the final of both the County and Consolation cups, the draw will be made by the two captains handing their order of play to the official in charge who will pair them up against each other. The captains will then toss for jacks in accordance with rule 11.

20. The final of the County cup and Consolation cup will be played on the same Sunday and on the same green with an 11.00 am start for the consolation cup and 12.00 start for the County cup. Captains will be expected to send in their players list in order of play plus 2 reserves to the FABA secretary a fortnight before the final.