Outdoor bowlers confirm trialed substitute ruling

Post date: Nov 17, 2013 6:01:32 PM

A controversial rule that allows bowlers from one club to play for more than one of its teams has been adopted by the Stamford and District (Outdoor) Bowls League.

The annual meeting heard that the ruling was trialed in the league last season but one club felt the wording of the rule was ambiguous while others felt it was open to abuse.

A further delegation unsuccessfully proposed that the rule be amended so that only players in a team in a lower division could be used as substitutes in a higher one to avoid a team competing short of the requisite nine players.

Discussion also centred around whether clubs with multiple teams in the league's three divisions should be restricted on how many players could be used within the substitute rule and whether clubs with multi-teams might take an unfair advantage over those with only one team.

However, chairman Martyn Dolby explained that the ruling had been introduced for a trial period last season to enable clubs with more than one team, who struggle to raise enough players for all their bi-weekly commitments, to survive by using substitutes from another team within the club.

He felt his committee's proposal was the best way forward for the 37-team league and its 17 clubs and was convinced the integrity of the ruling would be upheld.

The committee's proposal to adopt the trial permanently, whereby any registered player in a club could be used to fulfil a fixture, was carried on a majority vote among the delegates, representing 60 bowlers who attended the meeting.

The new president Michael (Nobby) Clark from Market Deeping BC was inducted to succeed David Richardson (Carlby) who revealed that his charity Cancer Research UK would benefit to the total of £427, raised from his President's Gala staged at Ketton.

Prizewinners included: Division One: Blackstones C, runners-up Blackstones D; Division Two: Oakham C, runner-up Stamford Town C; Division Three: Ketton Kingfishers, runners-up Greetham B. Oddfellows Rosebowl: Empingham bt Langtoft Pearl A; Boor & Wainwright Shield: Langtoft A bt Ketton Kestrels. Duncoimb Shield Triples: Stamford Town (D Hudson, J Holroyd, M Hewitt)