Bowls Ladder Rules

The following are the rules for the Ormskirk Bowling Club’s Winter Bowls Ladder for 2022/23.

  • You may challenge anyone on the ladder.  In March only you must only challenge anyone up to three places higher (or lower if you wish) than yourself (see below)
  • Try to play a variety of players – matches will be monitored to ensure that the ladder is not manipulated by a stronger player playing a weaker player multiple times in order to move up the ladder.
  • If you win you move up 3 places.  There is no penalty for losing
  • Games are 21-up.
  • Results (including score and date played) should be sent to Ian Gill by email and this is the responsibility of the winner.
  • The Bowls Ladder will be updated every few weeks (usually Sunday evening) and published on the website.
  • The Ladder ends on 31st March 2023  (No End of Season Knockout this Winter)
  • The rules may be amended and tweaked to suit situations that may arise through the season – competitors will be notified of any such changes

In March only the following rules will apply

  • Once a person is contacted a game must be arranged within two weeks . Should the person you challenge already have a game arranged then the clock only starts ticking on this deadline once they have played that game
  • Once a challenge is arranged a match can take place even if positions on the ladder change due to other results (for example your opponent becomes 4 places above due to another result).  However, you can only move positions up the ladder where the person challenged was originally situated (ie if they moved further up due to another match the other player cannot move up to the new position). The beaten player , if the higher of the two, will always drop a place.
  • If a game has to be cancelled due to weather then the timescales set out above apply for organising a rearranged match
  • If the higher placed person wins there is no change.
  • Should you challenge and lose, you must then challenge and play someone else before challenging the same person again.
  • If the lower placed person wins then they move into the higher placed person’s position and the loser drops down one place.
  • Anyone who doesn’t play a game in a March drops down two positions at the end of that month.

Example (March Only)

  1. Amy Smith
  2. Alan Jones
  3. Ray Johnson
  4. Andy Simpson
  5. Graham Cavendish
  6. Mandy Stevens

In the example above Mandy Stevens could challenge anyone in positions 3, 4 & 5, but no-one higher than that .  Should she challenge and beat Ray Johnson then she would move into position 3 and Ray would move to position 4, Andy to position 5 and Graham to position 6.  Simples!!

A second example would be where Mandy had challenged Amy Smith (who had been in position 3) to a match.  However, before they played Amy had played another game and moved 6 places above Mandy.  The game  goes ahead, but if  Mandy wins she would go Mandy wins she will only move to Position 3 and Amy would drop down one place to Position 2.