General Competition Rules

All competitions under the direct control of the IBA or one of its Associations of Clubs shall be governed by the Laws of the Game as laid down by the World Bowls Board and as amended by the IBA for use in domestic competitions.

The Council shall determine all questions or disputes that may arise (other than those which come within the scope of an umpire’s duties as defined in 6, below, and elsewhere) and its decision shall be final and binding. The Council may delegate its duties in this respect to a sub- committee whose decisions shall be equally final and binding.

IBA Cup competitions shall be open to all players of Member clubs and a player may represent only one club in any one season.

Any Lady members playing in the IBA Cup competitions will be required to pay IBA affiliation fees.

1. For purposes of the competitions other than the Senior, Intermediate and Junior Challenge Cups the country shall be divided into the areas which are within the jurisdiction of the member Associations of Clubs.
2. In the event of a Senior Team unable to field a team in a Senior Cup Competition Match, the fixture must be fulfilled by the team drawing on remaining qualified members, even at the expense of their Junior Cup Team having to withdraw from the Junior Cup Competition
3. With the exception of the Senior and Junior Inter-Association Championships all rounds shall be drawn by ballot.
4. The time set for commencing each match or tie must be adhered to within a limit of 15 minutes, otherwise the match or tie may be claimed by the competitor(s) ready to commence play.
5. Before a match or tie, the rinks to be played on shall be drawn, at the green, by the visiting skips or their representative(s).
6. If considered necessary, the Joint Competitions Committee may appoint qualified Umpires and Markers for matches or ties. It shall be their duty to settle disputes that may arise between the competitors and, in the case of inclement weather, to decide whether the green (at the time) is in a fit condition for play. Their decisions on the fitness of the green shall be final.
7. The trophies for the various competitions shall be presented to the winners (and, if relevant, the runners-up) on a date (or dates) to be fixed by the Council. The recipients shall, on receipt of the trophies, give the Honorary Secretary a written guarantee, signed by the Honorary Secretary of the appropriate club (or Association of Clubs), for their safe custody and return no later than 1 June of the following year.
   In all games or ties competing players trousers or tailored shorts must be white, cream or coloured or of a design which has been approved by the relevant Association. All players in a team or side shall wear trousers or shorts of the same colour and design.
8. All shirts must have a collar and must be white, or coloured shirts of the participating Club or Association, the colour and design of which have been approved by Council, provided that players in a team or side shall wear shirts of the same colour and design. Pullovers, cardigans, jackets, rainwear and headgear, if worn, must be white or cream or of the same colour and design as approved shirts. Footwear must conform to Appendix A2 of the Laws of the Sport of Bowls.
9. All competitions under the direct control of the IBA shall be played on flat outdoor greens.