Lawn Bowls Association of Alberta

Download PDF Conditions of Play

Conditions of Play for Provincial Playdowns and
Sanctioned Tournaments - Revised 2011

General Conditions

The conduct of the Provincial Playdowns and Sanctioned Tournaments, except the Junior Tournaments, shall be the responsibility of the Bowling Program Committee of the Lawn Bowls Association of Alberta (LBAA).
Provincial Playdowns are in men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s fours, women’s fours, men’s pairs, women’s pairs, junior men’s singles, junior women’s singles, senior men’s triples, senior women’s triples, and mixed pairs.
The Sanctioned Tournaments are the men’s indoor singles, women’s indoor singles, mixed triples, senior mixed triples, novice pairs.
Each event shall be open to eligible members with tournament dates, deadlines for entries and entry fees to be established by the Bowling Program Committee and approved by the LBAA executive.
All play shall be conducted under World Bowls (WB) rules as adopted by Bowls Canada Boulingrin (BCB), unless otherwise stated in these Conditions of Play.
Any team receiving a bye is allowed to practice on a rink identified by the Drawmaster as one on which they are not scheduled to play on that day.
If a player wins one of the Provincial Playdown events, that player shall not be allowed to enter any other Playdown event during that year.
Players entering Provincial Playdowns must be willing and able to commit to competing in the relevant Canadian Championships. For the indoor singles, the highest placed player who is both a Canadian citizen and is committed to compete in the National qualifier shall be the Alberta champion for the purpose of gaining direct entry into the National qualifier.
There must be at least four entries in a Playdown or sanctioned tournament for the event to be held, except a minimum of two entries are required in indoor singles and juniors for both men and women.
NOVICE COMPETITION shall be limited to those having not more than three (3) years of lawn bowling memberships ANYWHERE (including the current year) and who previously have not won an Alberta Championship in Fours, Pairs, Singles, Mixed Pairs, Senior Triples or Indoor Singles. Novice experience will not commence until the year following one’s thirteenth (13) birthday.

Residence

All players must have their principal residence in the Province of Alberta as of January 1 of the year in which they participate in the Alberta Provincial Playdowns.

Affiliation

All players must be members in good standing of a club, which is affiliated with the LBAA before the entry deadline for an event. Current proof of membership (e.g. affiliated club card) may be required to be shown prior to commencement of play.
If the LBAA office receives notice in writing or by email that a member is not in good standing with Bowls Canada Boulingrin and therefore not eligible to compete in any Canadian championship playdowns, then unless the LBAA office receives a retraction prior to registration closing for Alberta playdowns, the member will not be allowed to participate in provincial playdowns.
Members of pairs, triples and fours teams do not need to be members of the same affiliated club.

Age of Participants

Juniors shall be those up to and including 18 years of age as of January 1 of the year in which they participate in the Junior Singles tournament.
To be eligible to enter the under 25 World Cup Qualifier, competitors must have reached their 18th birthday by 31st December of the year in which they participate in this event and must not have reached their 26th birthday by this date.
Senior Triples: The minimum age for competing is 60 years of age. Players must have reached their 60th birthday in the year of the championship. Thus players in this year Senior Triples Championships must turn 60 in 2011 (this year means January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011).

Substitutions

The Emergency Committee must approve emergency substitutions. Once the playdowns begin, in the event of illness or any other unforeseen circumstance, a substitute may be allowed as follows:
- One substitute will be permitted in pairs and triples and two substitutes will be permitted in fours. The one substitution in triples and pairs may be filled by two individuals at different times. ie In pairs one member of the original team must remain and in triples two members of the original team must remain. The two substituted positions in fours may be filled by three different individuals. ie two members of the original team must remain. Substitutes may not play in the skip position but may play in any other position. After playing any part of more than two consecutive matches any substitute becomes a member of the team and may play in any position, including skip. ie In the third consecutive match the substitute may play in any position. The original player may return to the team provided that he/she has not missed more than any part of two matches. Substitutes may only play continuously. ie If a substitute is replaced by the original team member or by another substitute, then the substitute may not play again in the competition. For the first day of their involvement in the tournament, substitutes will be exempt from the dress code.
- A substitute must be eligible to play in the tournament, particularly:
No substitutions shall be allowed in singles - any unfinished games will be forfeited forfeited as per the rules below.
In Pairs and Triples, any original team member who has not withdrawn or any substitute that has become a team member after playing in any part of more than two consecutive matches and has not withdrawn will be considered to be a final team member.
In Fours, any original team member who has not withdrawn or any substitute that has become a team member after playing in any part of more than two consecutive matches and has not withdrawn will be considered to be a final team member. In the event that any substitute has not completed any part of more than two matches then the last of the team members to be substituted, even if previously withdrawn, will be considered to be part of the final team.
Final team members will be awarded all benefits accrued to members of that team including the right to represent the Province at National events if applicable.
Any individual that has earned the right, but cannot participate in a National event representing Alberta, will be substituted for at the discretion of the LBAA Executive Committee.

The substitute will be appointed by the LBAA Executive Committee. In all cases, any substitute for a National event must have participated in the Provincial Playdown.

In the case of a Singles player, the substitute will generally be the runner-up, or if unavailable, the next highest placed individual, in the applicable Provincial tournament.

In the case of a team event, the substitute will be nominated by the remaining team member(s) for approval by the LBAA Executive Committee.

Forfeited Game(s)

It is the responsibility of each player to be aware of the start time for each game. The umpire shall score one shot against an absent player or team after every ten-minute period that they are late and it shall be counted as an end played. At the end of thirty minutes the game shall be forfeited to the opposing player or team.
An umpire, either upon request, or having noted specific infractions of the Laws of the Sport of Bowls or these Conditions of Play, will warn the offending player or players. If the Umpire then considers that the infractions are both continuing and deliberate, the game will be forfeited to the opponents.
When an entry forfeits a single match, the opponent will be awarded match points for a win and will be credited with shots for/shots against equal to the average of all other winning results recorded during the appropriate round in the whole event (not just a single division). The entry in default will receive shots for/shots against equal to the average of all losing results recorded during the appropriate round in the whole event (not just a single division).
When an entry has withdrawn from an event, all remaining scheduled opponents, including an opponent of a commenced and uncompleted match will, subject to the conditions of paragraph 6., be awarded match points for a win and will be credited with shots for/shots against equal to the average of all other winning results recorded during the appropriate rounds in the whole event (not just a single division). The entry in default will receive shots for/shots against equal to the average of all losing results recorded during the appropriate rounds in the whole event (not just a single division).
An entry will be considered to have withdrawn from an event if (a) the entry unilaterally terminates a match without the prior authorization of the drawmaster, or (b) misses more than any part of two matches.
If an entry has withdrawn from the event for any reason, then the following shall determine the impact on the remaining entrants.

If the entry withdraws after one half or more of its scheduled matches have been fully completed, then all previously played match results will stand as played. All remaining scheduled un-played matches will be considered “Forfeited” matches. The impact on the scheduled opponents shall be as shown as shown in Para. 4. above.
If the entry withdraws before one half of its scheduled matches have been fully completed, then all previously played match results will be considered un-played and all results from those previously played matches will not be counted in any way. All remaining scheduled un-played matches, likewise, will be considered as un-played, and those matches will not be counted in any way.
Scheduled “byes” are not considered as scheduled matches when determining whether one half or more scheduled matches have been fully completed.
Example: “Team A” is in a tournament with a total of 7 entries, seven rounds of play, one of which is a bye and six rounds are scheduled against other teams. “Team A” has played two matches and has a bye in a later round. During its third round of play, but before the match has been completed, “Team A” withdraws. What happens? Since “Team A” has only fully completed playing two matches of its scheduled six matches, then it has played less than half of its scheduled matches and section (b) above will apply, and all previous matches played by “Team A” will be considered un-played.

Had “Team A” fully completed that third round match, then “Team A” would have completed playing three matches of its scheduled six matches (the bye does not count) and section (a) above would apply, and the results of all matches played by “Team A” would stand as played.

Tournament Notes

LBAA requires that winners be established for first through fourth place as follows: first through third for award presentation at the conclusion of Provincial events and first through fourth for points assigned by the High Performance Committee
If an eligible team (or player if singles) does not wish to play a match for third place, then this team may forfeit and will be awarded fourth place, and if their opponent wishes to play for third place, they will be awarded third place by default. If neither team wishes to play for third place, then they both will be awarded fourth place and no third place award will be given. Under no circumstances will a random coin toss or similar methods be used to determine a third place finish. If both teams wish to play for third place, then, upon a mutual decision of both teams and the Drawmaster, a lesser number of ends (minimum 4 ends) may be played to determine the third place finisher.
If the third place winner is not decided on the green, then it must be a mutual decision between the affected players and the Drawmaster must be notified of the decision for inclusion in the official report submitted to LBAA.
If the fourth place winner is not decided on the green, then it must be a mutual decision between affected players and the Drawmaster must be notified of the decision for inclusion in the official report submitted to LBAA.
In the event that the top entry in a single section round robin wins all its games and is declared the first place finisher without a playoff game, and therefore the second place entry plays third place for silver and bronze, all references to third place shown in items 2, 3 and 4 above apply to second place and all references to fourth place shown in items 2, 3 and 4 above apply to third place.
Similarly, a tiebreaker match may be forfeited by either or both teams. If both teams forfeit then they both are considered to have lost the match, and final positions will be determined accordingly by the Drawmaster.
During the playoff/tie break phase of the tournament, if a team wishes to default their match any time after a minimum of 50% of the match ends have been completed, they may do so.
During the round robin phase of the tournament, all matches must be played to the full number of ends required with the following exceptions:
If neither team has any mathematical possibility, no matter how remote, of finishing in first through fourth in the tournament, and with the prior approval of the Drawmaster, then both teams may mutually forfeit their match prior to its start.
If neither team has any mathematical possibility, no matter how remote, of finishing in first through fourth in the tournament, and if a team wishes to default their match any time after a minimum of 50% of the match ends have been completed, they may do so, but only with the approval of the Drawmaster.

Emergency Committee

An Emergency Committee shall be formed for each event to rule on issues that may arise. The committee will consist of the Drawmaster, the Greenskeeper/Club Representative, the Head Umpire and a LBAA program committee member.
The Emergency Committee has the right to:
- Deal with any disputes that may arise.
- Determine when stoppage in play is necessary due to local conditions including:
- The right to cancel play for the remainder of the day or weekend,
- Alter the length of games if necessary to make up for lost time.
The draw format for our Provincial Tournaments will be published along with the Conditions of Play and distributed to all clubs and published on the Lawn Bowls Association of Alberta website.

Behaviour

Failure to play or complete any match, except as provided for under tournament notes 2-10 or an obvious failure to attempt to be competitive, will be construed as unsportsmanlike conduct, and may subject all players on the team, or the singles player, to sanctions at the discretion of the Executive Committee of the LBAA.
All players must report to the official umpire for bowl and shoe inspection at least 30 minutes prior to the opening ceremonies on the first day. During the event, other equipment must not be substituted for that which has been inspected and accepted without first obtaining the approval of the official umpire.
Smoking is prohibited within the property of the host club except in clearly marked designated smoking areas. The carrying of cigarettes, cigars or pipes, even if unlit, on the playing area or the surrounds is prohibited. Should an infraction occur the player will be given a warning by the Umpire. Upon a further occurrence the offending player and his/her team will forfeit the match. Should the smoking policy of the host club differ from that described in this paragraph the most stringent policy will apply.
Umpires shall not consume alcoholic beverages until their duties are complete for the day.
Players shall not consume alcoholic beverages during play.
Event winners may be required to sign a waiver form stating that they are not users of prohibited substances as specified by Sports Canada. All competitors should be aware that, should they represent Alberta at a Canadian Championship, they must comply with the BCB Anti-Doping Policy.

Dress Code

All players and officials entering a Provincial Playdown or Sanctioned Tournament (except Juniors and Novice Pairs) shall adhere to the following dress code on the green.
- All participants must wear clean, appropriate and well-maintained clothing.
- Shirts to be predominantly white, cream or team colours.
- Skirts, slacks or shorts to be predominantly white, cream or team colours.
- Shorts to be no more than three (3) inches above the knee.
- Hats, visors, outer wear and rain gear may be of any colour or style and need not be uniform for all members of the team.
- Only approved footwear shall be permitted. Flat soled shoes (walking shoes) and running shoes that have no separation between the front sole and heel (flat from toe to heel) that possess a shallow tread pattern or grooves less than a quarter inch deep are acceptable foot wear. Flat soled wedge shoes are not acceptable � these shoes have a flat sole but increase in height markedly from toe to heel forming a narrow heel as a base of support.
Each player shall be held responsible for dress code during said competition. Failure to comply upon notification will result in a warning from the Umpire. If a dress code infraction is repeated by the same player in a subsequent match then, after review by the Emergency Committee, this second infraction may result in forfeiture of the match to the opposing team.

Officials

Accredited Umpires and Markers should be used whenever possible.
The Drawmaster shall not be a competitor in playdowns.
The Emergency Committee members are considered Officials.

Coaches

A certified bowls coach may accompany a team or individual. The coach must be at least a Certified Level 1 Bowls Coach with a NCCP passport and current qualifications. The designated Coach must report to the Umpire PRIOR to the commencement of any level of provincial play. The coach will not cause any contravention of the rules of the game and must not disrupt the flow of the match. The Coach is permitted to give advice to his/her team, or player in a Singles game, from beyond the limits of the rink of play BUT only when said advice has been requested by the player(s). When seeking advice, the player(s) may step off the green should he/she desire.

Bowls

Bowls must display a visible IBB / WBB / WB stamp.

Abuse of Officials / Opponents

Match Officials shall be defined as umpires, drawmasters, markers and members of the Emergency Committee.
Verbal or physical abuse of an official or an opponent will not be tolerated. Should any LBAA member be found in violation of the Code of Conduct Laws of the Games, as determined by the Emergency Committee, the following shall apply:

First Offence:

The offending player shall receive a warning from the Umpire, unless the offence is of such severity, as determined by the Emergency Committee, that the penalties associated with a Second Offence (see below) will immediately apply.

Second Offence:

The offending player shall be disqualified from the competition and may be subject to further sanctions at the discretion of the LBAA Executive Committee.

Third Offence:

All matters related to the aforementioned will be dealt with directly by the Grievance committee of the LBAA, provided that a report or a letter of complaint is received from the game official involved.

The Grievance committee of the LBAA shall deal directly with the related matter prior to the next scheduled event.

Conditions of Play for Provincial Playdowns and Sanctioned Tournaments - Revised 2011