The rules on this page can be downloaded and printed from the Documents page.
South Leicestershire Triples League - Rules (amended 25.11.2025)
1 The League shall be called the “South Leicestershire Triples League”.
2 All clubs taking part in the League must be affiliated to Bowls Leicestershire and have paid their affiliation fee in full.
3 Entrance fees per team to be determined at the A.G.M. and must be paid by the 31st December after the A.G.M.. In addition, there will be a fee payable for each team playing in the Partridge Cup K.O. Competition.
4 The League Management Committee shall consist of the President, Secretary, Treasurer and Fixture Secretary, who have been appointed at the Annual General Meeting.
5 All matches are to be played in accordance with the “Laws of the Sport of Bowls” issued by World Bowls as amended by Bowls England and in accordance with rules of the South Leicestershire Triples League.
6 Matches are scheduled to be played on Tuesday evenings, play commencing not later than 6.15 pm on the fixed date. By agreement of the clubs concerned and after notification and approval of the Committee, matches may be played PRIOR to the fixed date.
7 All players must be bona fide members of a participating club and may not play in the competition for more than one club. A deduction of 4 points will be imposed for each offence. Teams are open to both men and women without any restrictions.
8 Teams to consist of three rinks of three players, each playing three bowls.
9 The home team captain shall spread his scorecards face down on the table and state which rinks are to be used for the match. The visiting captain will place his cards on top of the “home scorecards” and write the rink numbers on the back in any order he/she chooses.
10 Each rink shall normally bowl 18 ends without trial ends. If the situation demands (e.g. weather conditions) the captains may agree a lesser number of ends, but AT LEAST 12 ENDS must be played on each rink for the match result to stand. If a match is played over fewer than 18 ends the score will be that as at the end of an equal number of completed ends on all rinks. If 12 ends cannot be completed, the match shall be abandoned and a re-arranged match agreed by the clubs. Abandoned matches should consist of the same players as far as possible, playing against each other, scores/ends to commence as at the time of the abandoned match. Both clubs shall inform the Fixture Secretary of the new date. Dead ends must be replayed.
11 The skips will keep the scorecard and maintain the scorecard. Two’s will normally play “down”, that is with the lead. A captain may request that the Twos play “up” - this must be agreed by both captains prior to the game commencing. If no agreement can be reached the Twos will remain “down”. The disposition of the Twos will be on all rinks and cannot be decided on a rink by rink basis.
12 Any rink short of a player shall commence play with two players who shall play three bowls in turn; the full triple shall play two woods each. When the latecomer arrives they shall be permitted to enter the rink at once provided no wood has been bowled in that end. The two person team shall have deducted one-third of their score up to the end before the third member commences play. (fractions of a point shall be ignored). If a team is short of two or three players then the defaulting team shall play correspondingly with only two players each on two or three rinks (with a deduction of one-third of the score on those rinks). Teams must have at least 6 players. Failure to play with 6 or more players will result in the match being declared ‘void’ - the winning team will score 8 points and be awarded a bonus of 10 shots.
(Not part of the Rules - N.B. a team 'scoring' 8 points and awarded 10 shots under this rule will be shown in the league table as having played and won by 2 rinks to 1, with 10 shots added. The other team will be shown in the table as having played, but lost by 3 rinks to 0).
13 Should a player have to retire during the match due to illness or injury, a substitute may be brought into the team on condition that (1) they are not already a member of another club and (2) they do not play skip. If no sub).titutes are available the game continues as set out in Rule 12.
14 Matches can only be postponed if -
a, ground unfit, or
b. there are insufficient rinks available due to a National and/or County match being played at the same time.
If any club is found to breach this rule it will be deemed to have lost the match. The ‘winning’ team will score 8 points and be awarded a bonus of 10 shots. Postponed matches must be re-arranged and played within 21 days of the postponement. If the postponed match is the last of the scheduled fixtures of the season the game must be played within 14 days of the last scheduled fixture date of the season. It is the responsibility of both team captains to find a suitable time and venue to ensure that the match is played within the specified time limits. Both clubs shall inform the Fixture Secretary of the new date. All postponed matches not played within the agreed time limits will be deemed ‘void’ with no points awarded to either team.
(Not part of the Rules - N.B. void matches will be shown in the league table - for both teams - as having been played, but lost by 3 rinks to 0).
15 All disputes during play shall be referred to an umpire acceptable to both skips. Any other disputes shall be referred to the League Secretary in writing within 48 hours for consideration by the League Committee. However, if the clubs of whom these officers are members, are involved in the dispute, then these officers will not take any part in the resolution of the dispute. The decisions of the Committee shall be final and binding and shall be notified to the clubs concerned without delay.
16 A total of 10 points shall be awarded per match.
a. 2 points for each winning rink
b. 1 point for each team on a tied rink
c. 4 points for the team with the highest aggregate shots
d. 2 points for each team in the event of a tied match.
17 Results are to be sent by both captains, via email or text, to the Fixture Secretary within 24 hours after completion of the game.
18 League positions shall be decided firstly on points, then shot difference. If a tie still exists between either promotion or relegation teams then the result of the games played against each other during the season will be the deciding factor.
19 At the end of each season two teams will be promoted from each division (except Division 1) with the bottom two teams relegated to the next lower division, except for relegation from the penultimate lowest division and promotion from the lowest division, where it may be necessary to make adjustments, even creating an extra division, according to the numbers of teams entered each year
South Leicestershire Triples League - Partridge Cup K.O. Competition Rules.
1 The League shall be called the “South Leicestershire Triples League”.
2 All clubs taking part in the League must be affiliated to Bowls Leicestershire and have paid their affiliation fee in full.
3 Entrance fees per team to be determined at the A.G.M. and must be paid by the 31st December after the A.G.M.. In addition, there will be a fee payable for each team playing in the Partridge Cup K.O. Competition.
4 The League Management Committee shall consist of the President, the Secretary, the Treasurer and the Fixture Secretary, who have been appointed at the Annual General Meeting.
5 All matches are to be played in accordance with the “Laws of the Sport of Bowls” issued by World Bowls as amended by Bowls England and in accordance with rules of the South Leicestershire Triples League.
6 Matches are scheduled to be played on Tuesday evenings, play commencing not later than 6.15 pm on the fixed date. By agreement of the clubs concerned and after notification and approval of the Committee, matches may be played PRIOR to the fixed date.
7 All players must be bona fide members of a participating club and may not play in the competition for more than one club. A deduction of 4 points will be imposed for each offence. Teams are open to both men and women without any restrictions.
8 Teams are limited to those palying in the top three divisions and will consist of three rinks of three players, each playing three bowls.
9 The home team captain shall spread his scorecards face down on the table and state which rinks are to be used for the match. The visiting captain will place his cards on top of the “home scorecards” and write the rink numbers on the back in any order he/she chooses.
10 Each rink shall normally bowl 15 ends without trial ends. If the situation demands (e.g. weather conditions) the captains may agree a lesser number of ends, but AT LEAST 12 ENDS must be played on each rink for the match result to stand. If a match is played over fewer than 15 ends the score will be that as at the end of an equal number of completed ends on all rinks. If 12 ends cannot be completed, the match shall be abandoned and a re-arranged match agreed by the clubs. Abandoned matches should consist of the same players as far as possible, playing against each other, scores/ends to commence as at the time of the abandoned match. Both clubs shall inform the Fixture Secretary of the new date. Dead ends must be replayed.
11 The skips will keep the scorecard and maintain the scorecard. Two’s will normally play “down”, that is with the lead. A captain may request that the Twos play “up” - this must be agreed by both captains prior to the game commencing. If no agreement can be reached the Twos will remain “down”. The disposition of the Twos will be on all rinks and cannot be decided on a rink by rink basis.
12 Any rink short of a player shall commence play with two players who shall play three bowls in turn; the full triple shall play two woods each. When the latecomer arrives they shall be permitted to enter the rink at once provided no wood has been bowled in that end. The two person team shall have deducted one-third of their score up to the end before the third member commences play. (fractions of a point shall be ignored). If a team is short of two or three players then the defaulting team shall play correspondingly with only two players each on two or three rinks (with a deduction of one-third of the score on those rinks). Teams must have at least 6 players. Failure to play with 6 or more players will result in the match being declared ‘void’ - the winning team will score 8 points and be awarded a bonus of 10 shots.
13 Should a player have to retire during the match due to illness or injury, a substitute may be brought into the team on condition that (1) they are not already a member of another club and (2) they do not play skip. If no substitutes are available the game continues as set out in Rule 12
14 Matches can only be postponed if -
a. ground unfit, or
b. there are insufficient rinks available due to a National and/or County match being played at the same time.
If any club is found to breach this rule it will be deemed to have lost the match. The ‘winning’ team will score 8 points and be awarded a bonus of 10 shots. Postponed matches must be re-arranged and played within 21 days of the postponement. If the postponed match is the last of the scheduled fixtures of the season the game must be played within 14 days of the last scheduled fixture date of the season. It is the responsibility of both team captains to find a suitable time and venue to ensure that the match is played within the specified time limits. Both clubs shall inform the Fixture Secretary of the new date. All postponed matches not played within the agreed time limits will be deemed ‘void’ with no points awarded to either team.
15 All disputes during play shall be referred to an umpire acceptable to both skips. Any other disputes shall be referred to the League Secretary in writing within 48 hours for consideration by the League Committee. However, if the clubs of whom these officers are members, are involved in the dispute, then these officers will not take any part in the resolution of the dispute. The decisions of the Committee shall be final and binding and shall be notified to the clubs concerned without delay.
16 A total of 10 points shall be awarded per match.
2 points for each winning rink
1 point for each team on a tied rink
4 points for the team with the highest aggregate shots
2 points for each team in the event of a tied match.
17 Results are to be sent to both captains, via email or text, to the Fixture Secretary within 24 hours after completion of the game.
18 League positions shall be decided firstly on points, then shot difference.
19 The winner of each group will then play in the quarter-finals.
20 As agreed at the A.G.M. of 2024 semi-finals will be played on neutral greens, and the final will be played on the President’s club green, unless their club is involved in the final, upon which case the committee will decide the venue.
21 Commencing in 2026 the sixteen teams in Divisions 4 and 5 will compete for this trophy on a knockout format comprising eighth, quarter, semi and final ties over the four weeks immediately following the league competition.
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