Code of Conduct

The primary objective of the club, according to the constitution, is to provide facilities for, and to promote participation in, the amateur sport of outdoor bowls and carpet bowls for the whole community in the East Bergholt Area and Suffolk.

As such, members are expected to behave in a manner that reflects well on the club and its reputation, especially when interacting with other clubs.

Dress Code

Roll Ups – You can wear whatever you like although to prevent damage to the green, which includes bring possible disease, or other chemical on, so normal outdoor shoes or trainers are not permitted, please wear smooth soled flat bowling shoes without any tread. The exception to this is when potential members have a go and should wear flat soled trainers or should with very little tread. Open toed footwear is not permitted at all. For internal club competitions and any organised club event members are expected to wear a white top and if a jersey or other outerwear is necessary, this too, should be white, grey bottoms skirt, trousers or shorts and actual bowls shoes white, grey or brown.

For league team matches we want members to wear club tops etc, as above, and grey bottoms. If you don’t have a club top a white one is normally acceptable, plus smooth soled flat bowling shoes. If no standard kit is worn, as a courtesy, your team manager will confirm this is acceptable with their opposite number. If it is not, then the player will be asked to leave the green. This is in line with the league and county rules.

For County competitions, club tops etc as above, grey bottoms and smooth soled flat bowling shoes are required If semifinals are reached, it is a requirement that the bottoms be white together with club shirt and bowling shoes.

For our tours we are normally required to wear whites – i.e. top and bottoms plus smooth soled flat bowling shoes.

Bowling shoes are probably the most important part of the kit. They are designed for bowling on grass and artificial surfaces they have smooth soles and flat to prevent damage to the green, they must not worm outside of the club so will not bring a range of foreign objects or chemicals on the green causing possible damage. The green is the most expensive piece of the club and needs protecting especially by its own members.

Etiquette Guide

The unwritten code of conduct is that one bowler never seeks an unfair advantage over another and. On the green. All players are regarded as equal.

RESPECT FOR OPPONENTS AND THEIR FACILITIES IS VITAL

Proceedings start with friendly handshakes and all-round introductions that quickly put players on first name terms.

The guiding principle for all bowlers and particularly those just starting the sport is that a player should never do or say anything on or off the green that fails to hold the tradition and dignity of the game.

1. Always be well on time for matches and in the correct attire.
2. Stand still and remain quiet when other players are about to deliver and always remember that only the player on the mat is entitled to ask for instructions from the skip.
3. Remain behind the mat or the head when it is not your turn to play.
4. Always keep to the kink on which you are playing – never wander.
5. Avoid distracting players on adjacent rinks, especially when changing ends – never wander.
6. If the jack is moved to within one metre of the ditch you should, if possible, move off the green and onto the bank behind.
7. When playing on a sunny day or evening ensure that you don’t cast shadows over the head especially the jack.
8. Avoid obscuring rink markers or boundary pegs.
9. Avoid standing in the ditch or edges of the green to prevent damage.
10. Pay attention to what is going on during the game and especially to your skip’s instructions.
11. Always be prepared to admit a lucky shot (wick) and never pretend that it was intended.
12. If you follow a wood after delivery keep within the rules. You must be beyond the head when your wood comes to rest or back on the mat, so as not to delay your opponent’s turn. Try not to obscure your opponent’s view of the wood running up the green. When your wood is at rest control of the mat passes to the next player. Never bowl until the previous wood has come to rest.
13. When a skip decides on a firing shot it is well to stand well back and make sure that all players are warned so that they can avoid woods that may scatter about the head.
14. Never openly criticise players (their woods and their green) and always appear to be enjoying the game despite your misfortunes.
15. Try, in the sprit of the game, to be complementary to your opponents.
16. Avoid wasting time discussing the shot count. If there is any doubt, get down and measure. Tradition goes that if you are giving the shot then you do the measuring.
17. When measuring takes place, those not involved should stand well back and not remove any woods until the shot count is agreed. If any woods are removed before the count is agreed, then any contentious issue counts against the offending team.
18. Don’t walk through the head.
19. Don’t sit on the bank.
20. No smoking or vaping on the green – at some clubs it is banned on the premises.