Drawn Fours (& Millenium Triples) Rules

This is a Draft for review and comment.  Anyone may propose changes; any proposed updates or comments should be directed to a member of the Management Committee in the first instance.

The Drawn Fours (Millenium Triples) is a light-hearted in-house competition held during the outdoor season.  It is usually included on the Fixture List and advertised as an Event on the club website.  A couple of weeks before the day of the competition, an entry sheet is placed in the Equipment Room for bowling members to ‘sign-up’.  No payment is required.  As this is a Fours (Triples) competition, the ideal number of entrants is a multiple of 4 (3).  It is the organiser’s responsibility to manage the entries to achieve this, e.g. by gently ‘twisting arms’.  Dress code is ‘whites’.

The Draw

The draw shall be undertaken by the organiser immediately prior to the competition on the day.  Based on the Organiser’s perception of competitors' standards of play, the entrants are divided equally into four (three) ‘hats’ in decreasing order of standard of play.  That is, best players in hat 1, next best in hat 2 etc. 

One player is drawn from each ‘hat’ to form a Four (Triple).  This is repeated until all players have been drawn into a Four (Triple).

Format

Initially, the competition takes the form of a round-robin stage in which every Four (Triple) plays every other Four (Triple) in 6-end matches with 2 (3) bowls each.  Points are awarded as follows: - Win: 2pts, Draw: 1pt. 

Stage 2 is the final in which the two highest scoring Fours (Triples) from the round-robin stage play each other in a 4-end match.  In the event of Fours (Triples) being level on points after the round-robin stage the two progressing to the final will be determined by a count back, first on number of ends won, then shot difference, then total shots won.  A trophy is awarded to the winners of the final.

Playing

Normal bowls rules apply throughout except where indicated in these rules.

Each Four (Triple) may decide who plays in which position.  The order need not be the same in each match but shall not change during a match.

A coin is tossed for the mat at the beginning of each match. 

No trial ends are permitted and no visiting the head is allowed. 

In the event of a dead end, e.g. the jack leaves the rink, the offending Four (Triple) shall be deducted 2 shots but the end shall NOT be re-played.