Secretary’s Pairs

1. The competition shall be known as the “Secretary’s Pairs” and shall be played for annually between pre-entered teams of TWO players, playing any combination of 2 Men, 2 Ladies or Mixed, both in the preliminary and final rounds, both of whom shall be registered members of the Stamford & District Bowls League. Both members of the team should be available to play on finals day. The format will be 3 woods played over 18 ends.

2. Competing teams shall solely represent their registered club and shall remain together in every round of the competition. There is no restriction on the number of teams which can be entered by each club.

3. All competing teams are required to enter their own applications through the official entry forms supplied to each club secretary before the start of the playing programme. Names of players must be included on the entry forms. 

4. Entry fees shall be decided at each successive Annual General Meeting.

5. The competition shall be played to EBF rules and (in all other respects) to the requirements of the Stamford & District Bowls League.  

6. Having once played in a competition a player shall then be “cup-tied” to any other team. 

7. The competition shall be under the direct control of the Competitions Secretary and any dispute shall be referred to him / her for adjudication.

8. All entries are to close on the date stipulated by the League Executive Committee when the draw shall then take place to determine the first round matches. 

9. All matches to the date of the semi-finals will be played on the greens of the home-drawn team who will offer their opponents three suitable dates for play-off which must not coincide with normal league fixtures. 

10. HOME TEAM SKIP will be responsible for entering the results directly into the results website, under 2023 Competition Results, AND for returning the match result card SIGNED BY BOTH SKIPS to the COMPETITIONS SECRETARY clearly marked “Secretary’s Pairs”. 

The card can either be scanned and emailed to Peter Linnell ([email protected]) or posted the next day.

11. Teams failing to meet play-off dates without the approval of the Competitions Secretary shall forfeit their continuance in the competition.

12. The venue for the above finals day tournament will be decided by the committee.  

13. Any player doubting his or her availability on the day of the finals is advised to refrain from initial entry. Failure to compete on the scheduled day may carry an automatic 12 months suspension from the competition. 

14. Any player entering the competition and then transferring to another Stamford League team during the course of the playing programme should notify the Competitions Secretary without delay. 

15. The presentation of the Secretary’s Trophy shall form part of the annual competition awards. Suitable individual trophies to the winners and runners-up will be at the discretion of the League Committee. 

16. Any eventuality or condition not specifically covered in the above rules or not dealt with under item 7 shall be referred to the League Committee whose decision shall then become absolute and in precedent.      

The final will be played on Sunday 1st September 2024 at 2 pm at Market Overton Bowls Club.

Should any player qualify for both the Secretary's Pairs Final and the President's Triples Final, either the two finals will be played consecutively, with a short break, or one final will be played in the morning and one in the afternoon.