IRISH BOWLING ASSOCIATION

RULES, REGULATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS GOVERNING

THE STAGING OF OPEN TOURNAMENTS

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(a)        The Irish Bowling Association (IBA) is responsible on behalf of, and in accordance with the rules of, the British Isles Bowls Council for the issue of Licences to organisers of Open Tournaments. The basic fee for the Licence is £5 Sterling (or Euro equivalent), but see (b) below. Organisers of Open Tournaments which include women players must also seek a licence from the Irish Women’s Bowling Association.

(b)       Prizes may be awarded in cash or in kind. Where the total value of the awards (including attendance money, travelling expenses allowed to competitors, etc.) to male competitors exceed the sum of £300 (or Euro equivalent), then the amount of the fee referred to in (a), above, shall be 5% of the total awards to male competitors.

(c)        Any player taking part in an unlicenced Open Tournament, or similar bowling event, shall be suspended from taking part in all forms of bowling activities organised by, or under the auspices of the IBA for such time as the IBA Council shall determine.

(d)       All Open Tournaments shall be conducted in accordance with the Laws of the Sport of Bowls      (with amendments approved by the IBA for use in domestic competitions). With that caveat, it is the responsibility of the Organising Committee to determine the rules governing the tournament and these should be readily available to all applicants for entry. It is suggested that a copy is distributed with each application form.

(e)        It is expected that the services of official Umpires and Markers will be used at Open Tournaments, especially in the final stages. Applications for such Officials should be made to the Irish Bowls Umpires Association.

(f)        The Licence approving the holding of the Open Tournament should be displayed in a prominent position at the main tournament venue and should be available for perusal by any competitor.

(g)        It is the responsibility of the Organising Committee to ensure that there is adequate Public Liability and other appropriate insurance cover for the tournament.

NOTES          All applications for Tournament Licences, accompanied by the appropriate fee (except for BLI clubs which may pay via the IBA’s Euro account), must be received by the Honorary Secretary of the Irish Bowling Association at least 30 days before the opening date of such tournaments.

In the above, an Open Tournament is defined as one which is not restricted solely to members of the organising club.