1. National Championships shall be held annually in two stages, in co-operation with the member Associations of Clubs which shall each conduct a Fours, a Senior Fours, a Triples, a Pairs a Single-Handed, a Junior Single-Handed and a Youth Single-Handed Championship for members of its member clubs, in conformity with the IBA’s General Competition Rules. Entrants in the Junior and Youth Single-Handed Championships must be under 25 or 18 years of age, respectively, and in the Senior Fours shall have attained the age of 55 or over on 1 April of the season in which they are competing.
2. A player shall not participate in the Championships of more than one Association of Clubs in any one season and players comprising each Pair, Triple and Four must be members of the same club.
3. Members of each club may make their own arrangements for the formation of Fours, Senior Fours, Triples and Pairs. The same players must compete throughout the competition unless satisfactory reasons are submitted for the substitution of not more than one player. The substitute must be a member of the same club and must not already have taken part in the championship in which he is to act as substitute. No other player may replace the first named substitute in any one championship.
4. No substitutes are permitted in Single-Handed ties. In other ties, if the game has not started, a substitute may play in any position but after play has commenced a substitute cannot play as skip (see WBL Law 57).
5. All ties shall be arranged so that any player shall be able to play in any number of the championships.
6. The duration of ties shall be as follows:
Single-Handed Championships – First to score 21 shots Each player playing 4 of a set of bowls, singly and in turn.
Pairs Championships – 21 ends Each player playing 4 of a set of bowls, singly and in turn.
Triples Championships – 18 ends Each of the three players playing 3 of a set of bowls, singly and in turn.
Fours Championships- 21 ends Each player playing 2 of a set of bowls, singly and in turn.
Senior Fours Championships – 18 ends Each player playing 2 of a set of bowls, singly and in turn.
7. On or before 30 June in each year, the Honorary Secretary of each Association of Clubs shall forward to the Honorary Treasurer the number of entrants in each of its championships together with the entrance fees (in Sterling) as follows:
Singles (Youth, Junior or Open)
£2.00 per entrant
Pairs
£4.00 per Pair
Triples
£6.00 per Triple
Fours
£8.00 per Four
Senior Fours
£8.00 per Four
FIRST STAGE
Each Championship within each Association of Clubs shall be played to a finish and the winners shall go on to compete in the Second Stage.
If the winners are not eligible to participate in the Second Stage the next nearest competitor(s) in the championship(s) concerned, as determined by the relevant Association of Clubs, shall go forward to the Second Stage.
No player taking part in the BIBC International Series or British Isles Championships shall be required to play in any First Stage tie during the international week (Sunday to Sunday).
The names and clubs of the competitors to be included in the Second Stage shall be forwarded by the Associations of Clubs to the Honorary Secretary of the IBA not later than 17 August in each year.
SECOND STAGE
These rounds shall be under the management and control of the Council or the Joint Competitions Committee, either of which shall determine all questions or disputes which may arise and which do not come within the scope of an Umpire’s duties (as defined elsewhere), and whose decision shall be final and binding on all concerned.
The final ties shall normally be played on the first Saturday of September and at a club of the IBA Presidents choice subject to IBA Council approval. If in any year this date coincides with an International event, the council shall have the power to alter the date for that year, provided that such change is made before 31 January of that year and that all Association Secretaries are advised, in writing, of the change along with the venue within one week of the decision being made. The semi-final ties shall be played the previous day at the same venue. Where a player or players are involved in more than two semi-finals, one of these can also be scheduled for the evening before the main semi-finals. The green can be made available for a practice session for all participants on the day before the start of Semi-finals proper where possible.
At the end of each tie the Umpires shall return properly signed score cards to the Honorary Secretary or designated Competition Controller without delay.
The Translink Trophy shall be awarded annually to the Association of Clubs with the best overall performance in the National Championships. This shall be decided on the basis of 4 points awarded for each title won by representatives of the Association and 2 points for each beaten finalist. In the event of a tie, the Association which has won most titles shall be declared the winner. If there is still no outright winner, the Association with most beaten finalists shall bedeclared the winner. Otherwise, the Trophy shall be shared by the Associations which have tied.
