MERIDIAN LEAGUE 2026

1. 
   MERIDIAN LEAGUE RULES – 2026
   
   THE LEAGUE SHALL COMPRISE THOSE CLUBS THAT HAVE UNDERTAKEN TO PLAY AT THE START OF THE OUTDOOR SEASON
   CLUBS MAY PROVIDE TWO REPRESENTATIVES TO ATTEND MEETINGS BUT EACH CLUB WILL HAVE ONLY ONE VOTE ON DEBATED ISSUES.
   THE CLUB REPRESENTATIVES WILL ELECT A CHAIRMAN AND SECRETARY OF THE LEAGUE
   EACH CLUB WILL PLAY EVERY OTHER CLUB TWICE (HOME AND AWAY)
   BEFORE EACH MATCH THE OPPOSING TEAMS AND RINKS WILL BE DRAWN BY THE TWO CAPTAINS.
   MATCHES WILL COMPRISE 3 MIXED RINKS PLAYING 18 ENDS. EACH RINK MUST CONTAIN AT LEAST ONE PERSON OF THE OPPOSITE SEX.
   LEAGUE POINTS WILL BE EARNED AS FOLLOWS:-
   2 POINTS FOR EACH WINNING RINK
   1 POINT FOR EACH TIED RINK
   4 POINTS FOR THE TEAM WITH THE HIGHEST OVERALL SHOT SCORE
   2 POINTS FOR EACH TEAM IF TOTAL SHOTS ARE EQUAL
   IF A MATCH STARTS WITH A PLAYER SHORT ON ANY RINK, THAT RINK WILL PLAY AS 4 PLAYERS v 3 PLAYERS ALL WITH 2 WOODS EACH (ie. 8 WOODS v 6 WOODS AND THE MISSING PLAYER DEEMED TO BE THE No 2). THE FULL SCORES WILL COUNT WITHOUT DEDUCTION AND THE OPPOSITE SEX RULE WILL STILL APPLY. A LATE ARRIVAL MAY JOIN IN AT ANY TIME BUT THE PREVIOUS END SCORES WILL STAND.
   FAILURE TO PRODUCE AT LEAST 3 PLAYERS FOR A RINK, OR NON-COMPLIANCE WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX RULE WILL RESULT IN FORFEITURE OF THAT RINK (2 POINTS) WITH A SCORE OF 10 SHOTS TO NIL AGAINST THE OFFENDING RINK.
   NO PLAYER MAY REPRESENT MORE THAN ONE CLUB IN ANY ONE SEASON.
   POSTPONED MATCHES DUE TO WEATHER CONDITIONS OR ANY OTHER REASON ARE TO BE RE-ARRANGED BY THE 15th OF SEPTEMBER. THE CLUBS SHOULD ATTEMPT, MUTUALLY, TO AGREE A NEW DATE BUT IF THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE THE HOME TEAM MUST OFFER THREE DATES ENDING NOT LATER THAN 15th SEPTEMBER AND THE AWAY TEAM MUST ACCEPT ONE OF THEM. FAILURE TO COMPLETE THE FIXTURE WILL RESULT IN THE DEFAULTING TEAM RECEIVING MINUS 5 POINTS AND THE OTHER TEAM RECEIVING 5 POINTS. FOR CLARIFICATION, IN THE EVENT OF POSTPONEMENT DUE TO WEATHER CONDITIONS THE “DEFAULTING TEAM” SHALL BE THE TEAM THAT FAILS TO COMPLY WITH RULE 11. IN THE EVENT OF POSTPONEMENT FOR ANY OTHER REASON THE “DEFAULTING TEAM” SHALL BE THE TEAM THAT WAS UNABLE TO FULFIL THE ORIGINAL FIXTURE.
    
   DECISIONS ON DISPUTES WILL BE MADE BY THE CHAIRMAN AND SECRETARY AND NOTIFIED TO ALL THE CLUB REPRESENTATIVES. IN THE EVENT OF ANY CLUB DISAGREEING WITH THE DECISION WITHIN 7 DAYS OF NOTIFICATION THEY MAY CALL FOR A MEETING OF ALL CLUB REPRESENTATIVES AT WHICH A VOTE MAY BE TAKEN. IN THE EVENT OF A TIE THE CHAIRMAN WILL HAVE A CASTING VOTE.
   RESULT SHEETS OR CARDS SHOULD BE SIGNED BY BOTH CAPTAINS AND KEPT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE. RESULTS MUST BE EMAILED OR TELEPHONED TO THE SECRETARY WITHIN 72 HOURS OF THE MATCH.
   AT THE END OF THE SEASON, IN THE EVENT OF A TIE BETWEEN TWO OR MORE TEAMS, THE TOTAL SHOT DIFFERENCE SHALL DECIDE THE WINNER. IF THIS IS STILL TIED THE TEAM WITH THE HIGHEST SHOT TOTAL SHALL BE THE WINNER.
   IF A MATCH IS ABANDONED FOR ANY REASON BEFORE 10 ENDS HAVE BEEN PLAYED BY ALL RINKS IT WILL BE DEEMED TO BE NUL AND VOID. RULE 11 WILL APPLY SO THAT THE MATCH NCAN BE RE-ARRANGED. IF A MATCH IS ABANDONED AFTER 10 ENDS THE RESULT SHALL BE DECIDED BY THE SCORES ON EACH RINK AT THE END OF THE LAST COMPLETED END BEFORE THE MATCH WAS ABANDONED. 
   
   
   TEMPORARY RULE FOR 2026 ONLY
   AS A TEMPORARY MEASURE FOR THE 2026 SEASON ONLY, NEWHAVEN BOWLS CLUB WILL BE ALLOWED THE FOLLOWING CONCESSION.
   IF THEY, AFTER DUE DILIGENCE, ARE UNABLE TO FIELD A TEAM INCLUDING THREE LADIES, IN RULE 8 THE PHRASE “ AND THE OPPOSITE SEX RULE WILL STILL APPLY” CAN BE WAIVED IN RESPECT OF ONE RINK ONLY AND THAT RINK WILL PLAY WITH THREE MEN AGAINST AN OPPOSING TEAM OF 4 BOWLERS