FOOT FAULTING

An in-depth analysis on the rules of foot-faulting

IN last month’s edition we looked at the placement of the mat and its movement during the course of play. This month we are moving forward to look at the position of the player on the mat, looking at what is legal and what constitutes a foot-fault.

Both the World Bowls and the World Indoor Bowls Council law books address the issue of foot-faulting. They answer issues such as whether your foot needs to be planted on the mat, over it, partly over and all the other grey areas associated with this controversial subject.

There are slight differences in the wording of the two books and indeed disparities in the rulings, so this month I shall cover both versions of the laws.

Law 20: Position on the mat (World Bowls)

Before delivery, a player should be standing on the mat with one foot fully on the mat. At the moment they deliver the jack or a bowl, the player should have all or part of the foot on or above the mat.

Note: Before delivery you must stand on the mat with at least one foot fully on the mat. It does not matter if you stand with both feet on the mat or not.

When you deliver the jack or bowl you should have all or part of your foot on or above the mat.

Some bowlers still believe that all the foot has to be in contact with or above the mat, but THIS IS NOT THE CASE!

Before delivery, a player using an approved wheelchair should have one wheel on the mat and, at the moment they deliver the jack or bowl, the player should have all or part of one wheel on or above the mat.

Note: The same applies as above, but substitute wheel for foot.

Any player not meeting the terms of this law is committing a foot fault, and Law 21 will apply.

Note: Therefore, if the umpire finds that a player is delivering a jack or bowl with all their foot fully off the mat or not above it, they declare that the player has committed a foot-fault and invokes Law 21: ‘Foot-Faulting.’

Here is the version from the World Indoor Bowls Council (WIBC) on the ‘Stance on the mat.’

Law 19: Stance on the mat

A player, at the moment of delivering the jack or a bowl, shall have all or part of one foot within the confines of the mat. Failure to observe this law constitutes foot-faulting.

Note: Although the WIBC’s version is labelled ‘Stance on the mat,’ they do not require the player to take a posture on the mat before delivery. This is where the two versions differ. In the WIBC version, you could walk straight on the mat without pausing and deliver your bowl. This could make a significant difference when playing the drive, because in theory you could run onto the mat and deliver your bowl and this would enable the player to generate more speed.

For wheelchair users, the WIBC has a separate law:

Law 21: Wheelchair – Position on the mat

At the point of delivery of the jack or bowl, wheelchair players using an approved wheelchair must have one wheel of the approved wheelchair on or over the confines of the mat.

Failure to observe this law constitutes foot-faulting.

NOW that we have determined what constitutes a foot-fault, we can look at the law which explains what to do if, as a player, you commit a foot-fault, or as an umpire you discover that a player is foot-faulting.

Law 21: Foot-faulting (World Bowls)

If the umpire, either by their own observation or on appeal by one of the skips or opponents in singles, decides that a player has not met the terms of Law 20, the umpire should, on the first occasion, warn the player in the presence of the skip and advise the manager or the coach when they are present that a warning has been given.

Note: As an umpire, if you are approached by a player, team manager or coach that a player is foot-faulting, I would advise you thank them for bringing the matter to your attention and tell them that you will investigate. At a suitable time, take up a position where you can clearly observe the player and determine for yourself whether the player is actually committing a foot-fault.

If they are, you take the necessary action. If they are not, inform the person who brought it to your attention that in your opinion the player is not foot-faulting. Do not enter into a debate, but if necessary explain the law. In some cases people may be confused about what constitutes a foot-fault.

On each occasion after this, the umpire should have the player’s bowl stopped and declared dead.

Note: The first time a player foot-faults you must warn the player in the presence of the skip and if a team manager or a coach is present you should also inform them. If the player who foot-faults is the skip and no team manager or coach is present I would warn the player in the presence of the third and inform the team captain of your actions.

If the player persists you can have the bowl stopped and declared dead. If you are working with another umpire this is easy to do, but if you are working alone it is much more difficult. You, as the umpire, have to be at the mat end to witness the foot-fault taking place, so you would need an assistant at the jack end to be able to walk onto the green to stop the dead bowl before it disturbs the head. If it is not possible, adhere to the following law:

If it has not been possible to stop the bowl and it disturbs the head, the opponent should choose whether to:

replace the head;

leave the head as altered; or

declare the end dead.

Note: The opponents have the option, not the umpire or the offending team. As umpire, your role is to inform the non-offending team of the three options.

If a player has been given a warning and still fails to meet the terms of Law 20 while delivering the jack, Law 23.2 will apply.

23.2 If a player improperly delivers the jack, the opposing player should place the mat as described in Law 19.1.1 and re-deliver the jack, making sure that it is centred, but the opposing player should not play first.

The WIBC’s law is less complex and states the following:

Law 20: Foot Faulting

Should a player infringe the conditions of Law 19, the umpire shall, after having given a warning, have the bowl stopped and declared dead.

If the bowl has disturbed the head, the opponent shall have the option of:

resetting the head, or

leaving the head as altered, or

declaring the end dead.

When I qualified as an umpire around thirty years ago we were advised not to involve ourselves in foot-faulting issues unless you felt that a player was ‘gaining an advantage’. In recent years, umpires are taking more of an active role in enforcing the foot-fault law.

What do you think? Should players be pulled up if they foot-fault, or should umpires take a back seat?

CHANGING BOWLS

I WAS recently asked if a player could use different sets of bowls during trial ends, as they thought that a player could only use one set and not change during the course of the game.

The answer to this question can be found in Law 18.1.5 in the World Bowls law book, under ‘Trial Ends.’

Each player can use any combination of bowls taken from different sets of bowls.

Note: In short, a player can use any combination of bowls from any set of bowls during the trial ends. However, once the game has commenced, a player cannot change his/her bowls. This is covered by Law 47.3 ‘Changing bowls,’ which states:

Law 47.3: Changing bowls

If a player changes their set of bowls during an interrupted game, or during a game that has been stopped as described in Law 50 and continued on the same day, the game should be forfeited to the opponent unless the player changes their set because a bowl has been damaged.

If a game has been stopped as described in Law 50 and is continued on another day, a player can use a different set of bowls to the set they used during the game that was stopped.

The WIBC’s laws are not so clear on the subject of using different bowls on trial ends. In a resumed game, the laws state the following:

Law 17A: Trial Ends

Before the start of play in any competition or game, or on the resumption of an unfinished competition or game on another day, not more than one trial end each way shall be played. The trial ends should be played on the rink that the game will be played on.

Note: There is no mention of the number of bowls or the combination of bowls that can be used, so as it is not mentioned it is fair to assume that you can use bowls from different sets of woods, because the game does not start until the first to play has delivered the jack on the first end.

Law 53C, ‘Changing bowls’ has one major difference to the World Bowls laws:

Law 53C: Changing bowls

A player shall not be allowed to change his set of bowls during the course of the game, or in a resumed game, unless:

they be objected to as provided in Law 9D, or

when a bowl has been so damaged in the course of play as, in the opinion of the umpire, to render the bowl or bowls unfit to play.

Final Note: So, if you play the sport using the World Bowls law book you can change your bowls in a resumed game played on another day, whereas if you play your bowls using the WIBC law book you cannot change your bowls in a resumed game, unless damaged.