Welcome to the new season and a brief intro to how we hope the new season will run. This year, the only internal Club competitions will be Singles and Pairs initially, with Triples and possibly Fours being introduced if the Covid situation allows. Last year’s competitions are still active, aiming for a Finals Weekend on November 7th/8th. However, the Bowls Committee have decided that the new national Rule of 6 means that the 2 Fours competitions, Mens and Mixed will both have to be cancelled totally.
As well as the regular Leagues, the Ladder League and the weekly roll-ups, players are encouraged to enter a variety of competitive knockout formats played over the whole season and culminating in the Finals Weekend in April 2021. Last year, over 200 players entered one or more of the Competitions.
There will be 10 competitions starting in November, 4 Singles and 6 Pairs. An Entry form is attached to this email, with further copies on demand. There is a closing date in early November so the early rounds can get under way soon after. There will be an entry fee of £3 per person for each competition and one person will be asked to be responsible in each pair for communication. As well as a handsome Cup or Trophy, (as currently displayed in the Restaurant), there will be prize money for both winning and losing Finalists.
The Singles matches are played as first to score 21 shots. Each player has four bowls, and an independent Marker needs to be arranged to keep score and do any necessary measuring. The Men’s and Women’s Championship are open to all full members. The Novice competitions are for all members in their first 3 years of playing indoors, but only if they have not won any Competition or other recognised award, either at Eastbourne or any other club either indoor or outdoor. The Mixed singles has not proved popular and is dropped.
Pairs matches are played over 21 ends, with four bowls for each player. The Leads play all their four bowls before the skips. In the event of the scores being equal when all ends have been played, an extra end or ends will be played until a decision is reached. There are 5 competitions, Men’s, Women’s, and Mixed, and 2 Senior competitions where both players must be aged 65 or more. We are also introducing a new Australian pairs competition, with a weekly Australian League to be introduced later in the year.
Full rules about arranging matches, substitutions, dead ends and play-by dates can be viewed by clicking here.
