BYE LAWS
Name, Objects, Constitution
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1 Title
The name of the Association shall be “British Crown Green Bowling Association”.
2 Objects
The objects of the Association shall be to promote, organise, develop and govern Crown Green bowling.
3 Officers
a The Officers of the Association shall be:
1 The President
2 The Deputy President
3 The Chief Executive Officer
4 The Financial Officer
5 The Competitions Officer
6 The Referees Society Secretary
7 The National Development Officer
8 The Commercial Officer
9 The National Registrar
10 The National Safeguarding Officer
11 The Media Officer
12 The National Administrator
13 The Ladies Competition Committee Competitions Officer
b The President and Deputy President shall be elected annually at the January AGM in accordance with procedures set out in Bye Law 5.
c All Officer positions shall be advertised and an interview panel appointed. The successful applicant will receive a letter of appointment containing Terms and Conditions and Method of Remuneration.
4 Management Committee
a The Association shall be governed by a Management Committee, which shall consist of the following:
1 The Officers of the Association
2 The Chairman
3 One representative from each County Association in Membership
4 A representative from the British Crown Green Ladies Competition Committee
5 A representative from the British Parks Crown Green Bowling Association
6 A representative from the Federation of Crown Green Bowls
7 The immediate Past President
b All other Past Presidents and Honorary Life Members may attend at their own cost, may contribute to debate without voting rights unless they are represented in the above list, sections 1 to 6 inclusive.
c Applications for Honorary Life Membership must be made in writing to the Chief Executive Officer.
d The Management Committee shall appoint a Performance Review/Remuneration Committee comprising of three people agreed by the Management Committee to undertake annual Performance Reviews and annual reviews of all salaries and contractual expenses for all Officers and to report to the Management Committee.
e At all formally called meetings of the Management Committee, there shall be a minimum of nine members present to form a quorum.
f The Chief Executive shall convene a meeting of the Management Committee at any time.
g All meetings of the Management Committee shall have a Chairman, who shall be elected by the members, from among their number, for a period of three years. If a County Representative is elected Chairman, that County may send a substitute Representative. In the absence of the Chairman the President shall take the Chair.
h An Emergency Committee of the Management Committee will consist of all members of the Officers Working Group. If, due to absence, a quorum is not achieved a Management member, nominated by the President, should be co-opted. This Sub-Committee can act in accordance with Bye Law 4(l) in extreme cases of emergency.
I The Management Committee may delegate any business to Sub-Committees.
j The first Management Committee Meeting will take place as soon as is practicable following the AGM to appoint members to appropriate Sub-Committees.
k All Sub-Committees will elect their own Chairman.
l The Management Committee shall have powers to apply and act upon and enforce the Rules of the Association and shall also have jurisdiction over all matters affecting the Association, including any not provided for by Rules. Decisions of the Management Committee shall be final and binding on all Member Associations and Constituents.
5 General Meetings
a The Annual General Meeting shall be chaired by the President or, in the absence of the President, the Deputy President.
b Nominations for the position of Deputy President must be sent to the Chief Executive by the first Saturday in January preceding his proposed year of Office and during this preceding year the nominee will be expected to attend all Management Meetings as an observer, unless he is a delegate. The position shall be offered to each County in turn.
c One General Meeting shall be held annually on the Third Saturday in January. The morning session will be utilised for the Election of Officers and the transaction of business for the ensuing season, and the afternoon session for the consideration of the Bye Laws and of the Laws of the Game. Notice of the Annual General Meeting together with full details of all agenda items to be considered shall be sent by the National Administrator/Chief Executive to all County Associations in membership at least 42 days prior to the date of the meeting.
d Each County Association shall be entitled to send four representatives to any General Meeting in addition to its representative on the Management Committee. Each shall have the power to vote, together with Officers of the Association, Past Presidents, Honorary Life Members and four BCGBA Ladies Competitions Committee representatives.
e The Chief Executive shall convene a Special General Meeting at any time on receiving a requisition to that effect, signed by the Secretaries of not less than three County Associations, the contents of which shall be circulated to all County Associations at least 28 days prior to the date of the Special General Meeting.
6 Finance
a The Accounts of the Association shall be subjected to an independent examination annually and a copy included, in full, in the Association Handbook. Printed copies of the Balance Sheet shall be sent to the Secretary of each County Association in membership together with the notice convening the General Meeting at least fourteen days prior to the General Meeting.
b Five Trustees shall be appointed by the Management Committee with no more than one Trustee to come from anyone affiliated County body.
c The Trustees shall appoint their Chairman from amongst themselves.
d Trustees may only be removed from office by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting at a duly constituted Management Meeting.
e The reserve funds of the Association shall be placed under the control of the Association’s Trustees who shall not unreasonably refuse any request by the Management Committee to draw on those funds in the case of major projects or emergencies.
f The Trustees shall determine the investment policy in respect of the Association’s Reserve Funds.
g The Trustees shall have power to enter into borrowing arrangements on behalf of the Association and shall have the power to pledge the Association’s Reserve Funds as security against any such borrowings.
7 Safeguarding
a Every Club must have a named Safeguarding Officer who holds a current DBS. Failure to comply will result in an appropriate penalty. This Bye Law will not take effect until 1 March 2019. Good practice DBS should not exceed 3 years old. Applications should be carried out in accordance with BCGBA guidelines which is Crown Green Bowls Specific, Official DBS applications and BCGBA & GDPR Data protection forms are completed and checked by BCGBA Counter signatures or BCGBA Trained Evidence Checkers then forwarded to BCGBA National Safeguarding Officer. The DBS process is only complete when the DBS Certificate is witnessed by the evidence checker and details recorded, failure to complete the process will be determined as “failure to comply” in Bye Law 7(a).
b BCGBA and County Officials having any supervision duties of Junior Bowlers, running of Competitions and Junior County Teams must go through the DBS procedure. Details of the Disclosure scheme can be obtained from your County Signatory, Safeguarding Officer, County Secretary or the BCGBA National Safeguarding Officer (phone number of the latter in the BCGBA handbook).
c Each County Association will appoint a trained County Safeguarding Officer, a Counter signatory or evidence checker. The BCGBA has safeguarding policies and procedures and further information can be found at www.safeguardingbowls.org. Any allegations in respect of Safeguarding should be referred to the County Safeguarding Officer or the County Secretary who will refer to the National Safeguarding Officer.
8 Promotion of Contests
a No approval shall be granted at any level for any contest which does not possess the Public Liability cover defined in Membership Policy 2(b).
b Promoters of bowling contests accepting or inviting entries from Clubs within the County of promotion, must apply to the County Authority for affiliation and approval.
c Promoters of bowling contests inviting or accepting entries from outside the County staging the event, must apply to their county association for approval and pay an annual affiliation fee of £10 at least 28 days before the commencement of the contest. If approved, the county will then issue an ” Open Contest Certificate ” and submit an annual return to the BCGBA. The application must state the name of the Club and venue where the contest is being held and the Secretary of the local County Authority must be notified that such application has been made. Such contests shall be deemed ‘Open Contests’. No final stages or qualifying rounds of open competitions shall be contested on the date of and within the County Association where the BCGBA Senior Merit Finals are taking place. Where the contest is to be televised there should be consultation with the BCGBA and a television fee negotiated before an open certificate is issued. The name(s) of the referee(s) shall be submitted to the Referees Society for approval.
d Promoters of contests referred to in clause (b) must display on entry forms and all forms of publicity relating to the event the words ‘Affiliated to and Approved by the British Crown Green Bowling Association’, the maximum number of entries, t entry fee and the total prize money. Promoters accepting female entries must clearly indicate it is a mixed competition. Any promoter, Club or player taking part in a contest referred to in sub-clause (b) not affiliated to and played under the Rules of the British Crown Green Bowling Association shall be liable to a fine not exceeding £50.00 or suspension or both, by the BCGBA. Failure to notify the County Secretary under sub para (a) or (b) will be liable to a fine of £20.00.
e All competitors taking part in televised invitation competitions do so only with the approval of the BCGBA and their parent County. The qualifying criteria for these competitions should be made clear and be consistent for all Counties.
f A team or player who withdraws from a team, individual or pairs competition shall be li le to forfeit any prize which he/she would otherwise have been entitled to at the time of such withdrawal.
g No bowling contest’s intermediate/final date shall be altered after the said contest has commenced other than for inclement weather or unforeseeable problems. Failure to observe this rule shall result in the loss of its BCGBA approval certificate for one year, also all expenses shall be reimbursed, and any prize money due shall be paid to the participants who have qualified for the later stages, but who are unable to compete due to the Club/promoter rearranging the intermediate/final date.
9 Rules
a The Rules Revision Meeting shall be chaired by the Chairman, or, in the absence of the Chairman, by the President.
b Notice of any proposed amendment or alteration to the Bye Laws and Rules of the Association, or to the Laws of Game, can be made by either the Management Committee or a County Association. If a County Association is proposing such amendment or alteration, the notice, signed by the Secretary or Chief Executive of the County Association, must be sent to the National Administrator/Chief Executive of the British Crown Green Bowling Association by the 16th November prior to the General Meeting at which such amendment or alteration is to be brought forward. If the Management Committee is proposing such amendment or alteration, the amendment or alteration must have been proposed and passed by the Management Committee at least 44 days prior to the General Meeting at which such amendment or alteration is to be brought forward. No proposal will be accepted without a seconder.
c Notice of any such amendment or alteration shall be sent out by the National Administrator/Chief Executive to the County Associations in membership at least 42 days prior to the date of such General Meeting. No County Association or the Management Committee shall be permitted to second their proposal.
d An Association wishing to move an amendment to a notified amendment or alteration shall notify the National Administrator/Chief Executive of the BCGBA and each County Association in membership seven days prior to the date of the General Meeting at which the motion is to be considered.
e None of these Bye Laws, Laws of the Game, County Championship Competition Rules or Individual Merit Competition Rules shall be altered, rescinded or added to, without the consent of at least two-thirds of those voting at a General Meeting. Any change relating to the Laws of the Game shall come into effect from the 1st March following the General Meeting at which such a change was adopted.
Following the AGM and any legislation changes the BCGBA Officers Working Group should appoint a review committee to check the validity of all BCGBA Rules and Bye Laws within one month. In the event, any “Tidy Up Process” be required these may be endorsed by the BCGBA Management Committee for adoption without the need for a full AGM.
g The Working Group should continue to review necessary “housekeeping amendments” that are essential to the continuous running of the Association. Amendments may be made to the handbook provided they are written in a Notice to each County and Officer of the Association and there are no objections made to their inclusion within four weeks of the Notice.
10 Policies and Procedures
a The Management Committee, as necessary, and adopt policies and procedure as required to a Policy and procedure appendix.
b To formally adopt:
c (i) Safeguarding Policy
d (ii) Ex-offender Policy
e (iii) Discipline and Punishment Policy
f (iv) GDPR Policy
g (v) Expenses Policy
h (vi) Human Resources Policy
I (vii) Membership Policy
j Policy updates and additions to be approved by the Executive/Management Committee between AGM’s to comply with any legislative amendments where necessary and to be formally approved at the next AGM.
11 Misconduct
It shall be misconduct if any Association, League, Club, Official or player is proved to the satisfaction of the Management Committee to have committed any act (including violation of the Laws of the Game and Rules of the Association) or made any statement either verbally or in writing or been responsible for conduct or any matter which, in the opinion of the Management Committee, is considered to be ungentlemanly, insulting or improper behaviour or likely to bring the game into disrepute.
12 Anti-Doping
The anti-doping rules of the BCGBA are the UK Anti-Doping Rules published by UK Anti-Doping (or its successor), as amended from time to time. Such rules shall take effect and be construed as rules of the BCGBA.
13 Development
All County Associations are required to appoint a County Development Officer or County Representative in lieu. The persons appointed will be required to support the development of both local and national objectives.
14 BCGBA Competitions
Non-appearance by any Club or County at BCGBA team competitions will incur a fine of £50.00 with no refund of entry fees.
15 Players Dress
1 The following is the only permitted dress for all bowlers in competitions organised or run by the British Crown Green Bowling Association.
2 (a) Shirts: Must be collared, with sleeves, and are to be worn for County representative games and finals days of all competitions.
(b) County Associations to determine the style and design of their county shirt, which must conform to 2a and may include the County’s insignia, player’s name, Club insignia, sponsor’s insignia and/or manufacturer’s insignia.
3 (a) Trousers: These shall be black or navy, single colour, full-length tailored trousers, tailored shorts (knee length), skirts (knee length), tailored cropped trousers and straight trousers.
(b) Nothing in the above rule shall be interpreted to allow the wearing of tracksuits, shell suits, denim, combat trousers, jeggings or skinny jeans. External pockets on the legs are not permissible.
4 Where necessary, and in accordance with the pertaining weather conditions, sweaters which conform to the above and/or wet weather gear may be worn (correct dress must be worn under wet gear).
5 In team contests uniform clothing must be worn by team members.
6 Where permitted practice on the day this will only be allowed to those conforming to this standard. Any player failing to conform to this standard will be prevented from playing (or continuing) in the competition and may be liable to forfeit any entry fee for, or prize money earned in, the competition.
7 In the case of team contests any offending player must be substituted before the commencement of the game. However, if the player’s game has commenced, the player shall score nil and the opponent shall receive the maximum score.
8 Nothing in this rule shall prevent exceptions from being made for individuals with a relevant disability.
9 It is strongly recommended that this be adopted by all subsidiary organisations and other organisers of competitions and that players’ notice be drawn to it on the entry forms for all such competitions.
16 Assents
Each Association, League and Club shall be deemed to have given its assent to the foregoing Bye Law(s) of the Game and agree to abide by the decisions of the Management Committee subject to Discipline and Punishment Policy 1.
17 Dissolution Clause
Should the Management Committee, by a majority, decide, on grounds of expediency or otherwise, to dissolve the Association, it shall call a meeting of all member Associations giving 21 days’ notice.
At this meeting, if a two thirds majority of those present and eligible to vote decide to dissolve the Association, the Management Committee shall have the power to dispose of the assets of the Association after all liabilities and debts have been cleared.
The beneficiaries of such assets shall be the member Associations or such charities as decided by a majority of the member Associations.
LAST UPDATED – Saturday 21st January 2023