Umpires’ Equipment

With the outdoor season starting, for those of you who have not officiated indoors now is the time to ensure that all you equipment has survived the winter. A few minutes spent now checking all your equipment could save you major embarrassments later on.

Box measures should be fully extended and re-wound to ensure that the spring mechanism and locks are in working order.

Spring callipers should be fully extended and a little light oil placed on the threaded area.

String measures should also be fully unwound to ensure they have no knots and the string has not frayed. Check that the pointers are securely connected to the string at both ends of the measure.

Long tapes should also be fully extended to ensure they have no twists or kinks and the winding mechanism is fully working.

Feeler gauges should be opened to ensure that the fingers are not stuck together and again a little light oil should be applied to the surface of each finger.

If you are thinking of replacing or replenishing your umpires’ kit, it would be worth you looking at the World Bowls Laws of the Sport Crystal Mark Second Edition (yellow book). ‘Law 10 Measuring equipment’ sets out the minimum that should be included in an umpires’ kit and states the following:

Law 10 Measuring equipment

The umpire should bring, or be provided with by the club on whose green the game is being played, suitable equipment to carry out the duties described in law 56. This equipment should at least include:

10.1 a copy of the current Laws of the Sport of Bowls

10.2 a tape measure at least 25 metres long;

10.3 equipment for measuring between the jack and bowls when the distances between them are beyond the range of a flexible measure (for example, a string measure).

10.4 a flexible measure (for example, a box measure or a bullet measure)

10.5 callipers;

10.6 feeler gauges;

10.7 wedges (for supporting leaning bowls; and

10.8 equipment (for deciding whether or not the jack or a bowl is within the side boundary of the rink when the side boundary is not marked by a green thread as described in law 5.9) such as:

10.8.1 a portable, retractable line;

10.8.2 a mirror and a square (both with a levelling bubble);

10.8.3 a boundary scope.

Law 5.9 is mentioned in the above law. This law states the following:

For outdoor play, the side boundary of the rink of play can be marked by connecting the

boundary pegs with a green thread drawn tightly along the surface of the green, leaving

enough loose thread to reach the corresponding pegs on the face or on the top of the bank.

For domestic outdoor play, Member National Authorities can decide not to use

boundary threads.

Due to few, but very unfortunate serious accidents, the use of strings to divide the rink of

play are few and far between these days.

That is a list of the minimum that should be carried in an umpires’ kit. You would also have noted that the law mentioned that the club on whose green the match is being played also has a responsibilily to ensure that measuring equipment is available. Therefore, I would advise all clubs to have an umpires’ kit available just is case.

Readers’ Letters

Indentations

In March’s edition I asked for information relating to the indentation on the bias side of crown green bowls and why flat bowls did not have the indentation. Well it appears that some flat green bowls do have indentations. I am grateful to Ron McArthur who sent me the following e-mail:

REPLY:

A slight depression within the small ring side is used by some total blind and visually impaired bowlers to identify the bias side of their bowl. This can be done by either the manufacturer on request or by a bowls tester after purchase. The only slight downside is, that on very rare occasions a tight measure could be lost because of the depression. However, this is outweighed by the visually impaired bowler being able to easily identify the correct bias of their bowl.

Ron Arthur

National Coach Scottish Association for Blind Bowlers &

Scottish Bowls Umpires Committee Member

Possessing The Rink

Peter Walker from Beccles Indoor Bowls Club sent the following e-mail in to the Editor in response to my article on rink possession.

I am a grass roots bowler at Beccles IBC where we play league games very much against the clock, so rink possession has to be modified somewhat. A game is 16 ends maximum and is limited to 2 hours. We play 3 wood triples in most of our leagues. When the bell goes 5 minutes before time the end in play is the last of the game. Firstly, we do not have umpires at this level and any dispute is sorted between the teams, with perhaps a senior ‘pundit’ who happens to be around to advise on the rules. Fortunatel,y I cannot remember a dispute that required any more than a discussion between teams and the game went on without any further problems.

To the points raised by David and I am not saying he is wrong: To save time between playing it is customary to move off the mat after playing a bowl to allow the next player to take up position even when the bowl in play is still moving. Sometimes, if it is obvious that a bowl is going to rest some way from the head the next bowl is delivered before the first bowl has come to rest, although I always wait but am usually poised to deliver my bowl. So who is in possession of the rink, the person whose bowl is still running or the person standing on the mat? I ask this because my skip had just delivered a very good drawing bowl that rested the shot wood and looked like it would fall to lie shot. I moved in front of the head to assess the situation and was warned by the opposing No 2 that his skip was about to play and had possession of the rink. He was probably right, but it goes to show that the rules do not always fit the way we play at club level.

Peter Walker

Beccles IBC.

REPLY:

Peter, thank you for your e-mail which has been passed on to me for comment.

I think it is fair to say that most of the readers including me are grass root bowlers and we all play to a time limit at indoor clubs all over the world, so the bowlers at Beccles are no different. In most clubs in Wales we play to a 2 hour time limit with a bell to start and finish each session. As with you, umpires are not present and 99.9% of the problems are sorted out amicably by the players. However, there is that very odd occasion when the problem is not sorted out and we have committees to deal with those problems. The main reason why the problems are sorted out is because we have the ‘Laws of the Sport’ and while we may be able to stretch them slightly we cannot play the sport without them and we cannot pick and choose when to apply them.

In response to your specific questions:

There is nothing wrong with moving off the mat to allow the next player to take up their stance on the mat. Let’s face it most players are yards up the green chasing after their bowl to worry about the next player moving onto the mat.

If the next player delivers his bowl before the last bowl comes to rest, there is no doubt as to who is in possession of the rink – it is the player who last delivered and he remains in possession until his/her bowl stops and the player on the mat has to wait.

With regards to your skip whose bowl rested on the shot bowl and looked like it would fall in for shot – providing that the bowl was still in is original course i.e. had not stopped, your team was still in possession of the rink and you were entitled to be still in the head. However, if the bowl had stopped, possession moved over to your opponent and you were wrong to move into the head and your opposing number 2 was correct in warning you.

Finally, you say that rules do not always fit the way we play at club level. I am sorry but I cannot agree with this statement. If you cannot play the sport as laid down by the ‘Laws of the Sport’ the club has the option to use ‘domestic’ rules that fit your particular need. But you must have rules in place!

Time’s Up (Or Is It?)

LETTER:

Could you please settle a problem for me.

While umpiring a game indoors a skip goes off the green, is gone for seven minutes, comes back but sits on the chair on the bank. Not going on the green, his number three is on the rink controlling the head, the lead had bowled his bowls also the number two had bowled his. Does the time he was sitting on the bank add to the seven minutes he was off the green? If so, this would have taken him past the ten minutes you are allowed.

Barbara Smith

South Benfleet

REPLY:

Thank you Barbara for your letter. As the incident happened at an indoor game I will quote the World Indoor Bowls Council’s Laws of the Sport of Indoor Bowls (Green book).

I know that in your particular incident the player was not ill but I will quote the full law in relation to leaving the green and highlight the particular part relevant to your question.

Law 55 Leaving The Green

(i). If during the course of a Side, Fours, Triples or Pairs game a player has to leave the green owing to illness or other reasonable cause, his place shall be filled by a substitute, if in the opinion of both skips, or failing agreement by them, then in the opinion of the Controlling Body, such substitution is necessary. Should a substitute not be available, in Fours, Triples and Pairs the game will be forfeited to their opponents. In a Side game the provision of Law 52B shall apply from the end where the substitution became necessary.

Law 52 B ‘In a Side Game’ states the following:

If within a period of 30 minutes from the time fixed for the game, a single player is absent from one or more teams in a side game, whether in a friendly club game or a game for a trophy, prize or other award, the game shall proceed but;

(i). in the defaulting team, the number of bowls shall be made up by the lead

second players playing three bowls each, and

(ii). one fourth of the total shots scored by each team comprising three players

shall be deducted from their score at the conclusion of the game. Fractions

shall be taken into account.

(ii). Should the player affected be a skip, his duties and position in a Fours game shall

be assumed by the third, and the substitute shall play either as lead, second or

third.

(iii). In the case of Triples the substitute shall play as lead or second, but not as skip.

(iv). In the case of Pairs the substitute shall play as lead only.

(v). Such substitute shall be a member of the club to which the team belongs.

(vi). In domestic play Member National Bowling Authorities may decide the position

of any substitute.

(vii). If, during the course of a Singles game, a player has to leave the green owing to

illness or reasonable cause, and they cannot return within 10 minutes, the

defaulting player will forfeit the game to their opponent.

(viii). No player shall be allowed to delay the play by leaving the rink or team, unless with the consent of his opponent, and then only for a period not exceeding 10 minutes.

(ix). Contravention of this Law will result in the match or game being forfeited to the

opponent.

Referring back to the question asked, clause (viii) covers that situation. You have not mentioned in your letter if the player asked his opponent if he could leave the green in the first place, so I will assume that he did. The important part of the Law is:

“No player shall be allowed to delay the play by leaving the rink or team.”

You state that when the skip had gone for 7 minutes his number three was controlling play and his lead and second had played their bowls, so in fact the skip, although off the green had not delayed play – play had in fact continued in his absence. Therefore, he had not delayed play by leaving the green and had not contravened the Law. I would only apply the 10 minute rule to a player if play was stopped due to the player being off the green.