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LEAGUE RULES FOR 2025 / 26
The Cambs League is a competition organised by the CSMBA COMMITTEE for the benefit of it’s affiliated clubs and their members. This will be played in accordance with the current rules of the ESMBA “ Laws of the Game “
supplemented by the CSMBA “ league” rules.
1 Teams and Team structure
Before registering / entering a team into the CAMBS League, a club MUST ensure that it’s team or teams have sufficient players and reserves necessary to fulfil its fixture commitments. THIS IS AN ESSENTIAL requirement for entry into the CAMBS LEAGUE.
(a) An entry form for the forthcoming season will be sent to all club
secretaries. The entry fee set by the committee and the completed registration form should be returned to the League Secretary at a date set by the committee the registration form must be signed by the team captain or club secretary, this person or their successor is the only individual who may withdraw a team
(should it become necessary) during a league season. A letter or email explaining the reason / reasons for the withdrawal will be sent to both the league and association secretaries
(b) All players MUST be affiliated to the ESMBA and a member of a club registered to the CSMBA before they can be considered to be a team member. A player or players eligible to play may be added / substituted prior to the commencement of a match by their captain who should endorse the result sheet by signing alongside the player/s name(s) and ESMBA No ,then counter signed by the opposing captain. Any team subsequently found to have fielded an ineligible player will forfeit the game and the opposing team will be awarded the FULL 12 points and 30 SHOTS.
(c) Players can transfer to another team in their own club or another club
(if their clubs domestic rules so permit) , providing they have NOT played for the team for which they are registered. The league secretary / committee may relax this rule for players who move or change clubs.
(d) When a new team enters the League, it will automatically start in the lowest division for the first season.
(e) At the commencement of the new League season the top two teams in division 2 will be promoted to division 1 and bottom two teams of division 1 will be relegated to division 2. The league secretary / committee reserve the right to amend this rule for benefit of the stability of the league i.e., matching equal number of teams per division.
- 2 Fixture arrangements and administration rules
(a) TWO delegates from each registered league team MUST attend the preseason fixture meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to establish and fix the dates and venues with the delegates from the other participating league teams.
(b) It is imperative for team captains / delegates to have consulted with their club secretary and registered players on matters such as venue, team member availability and all other conflicting and already approved / arranged competitions etc That includes the CSMBA COUNTY ICC fixtures
At the end of the meeting all teams are to hand a copy of their fixtures to the league secretary before leaving.
(c) Amendments to these fixtures (if needed) must be made in writing 28 days of the fixture meeting and should have the agreement of the opposition. The league secretary and the opposition captain must be notified in WRITING of the change
(d) After the expiry of the 28 days any fixture changes can only be made with the agreement of both teams who must advise the league secretary in writing or email stating the reason for changing the fixture .This should only be done in the event of adverse weather conditions on the match day / date or the unavailability of the regular venue on that day /date , illness of player(s) WILL NOT be considered at all , See rule 6 (a) . Absence for holidays also WILL NOT be considered as a legitimate reason for change.
The league secretary will consider any amendments to the original fixture before agreeing the match can take place.
(d) If after having changed the date of this fixture it is deemed that it is still not possible to play this fixture on the re-arranged date already agreed, the offending team will be fined 6 points and 15 shots as well as 100% contribution towards any extra revenue costs incurred by the non-offending team, unless there is a justifiable reason. The game / fixture must still be played before the close of the season
(e) The Home team captain MUST confirm with the AWAY team captain that their scheduled fixture is to go ahead 7 days prior to the fixture date. If the AWAY team captain has not been contacted by 3 days before the fixture date, then they MUST contact the HOME team captain for confirmation.
(f) No fixtures can be postponed through illness (see 1 , teams and team structure ) , if illness / player unavailability reduces the team to 4 players ( see 6 playing short ) it must be played. Inclement weather making it unsuitable or unwise to travel or the unavailability of the home venue (at short notice) then the games MUST be re-arranged within 14 days by the Home team offering 3 dates for the re-arranged fixture. Should the postponement occur in the months of March or April then the fixture MUST be played before the close of the season on the 30th April.
(g) If a team postpones or fails to turn up at short notice and can offer no justifiable or reasonable explanation for the postponement or why they failed to advise the other team, the offending team will subject to ratification by the league secretary / committee and if appropriate be liable for the venue costs due to the postponement. 12 points and 30 shots will be awarded to the non-offending team. The fixture will then be DEEMED as PLAYED.
(h) Each team will play each other home and away with games spread out evenly throughout the season, with the recommendation that 50% of the games are played before Christmas. Clubs with two teams in the same division MUST play both games (home and away) before the 31st December.
- Games will normally be played when the home team has the use of their facilities with a start time agreed by the captains. All evening games MUST start by 7-15pm. It is however recognised that some clubs due to their high membership may need to hire their venue to play their fixture on a day other than a club night. Clearly this could incur an increase in venue hire costs, and this should be borne in mind if / when a team could be contemplating a postponement.
(j) All fixtures MUST be played by the 30th April. Any team not fulfilling their fixtures on time will be deducted 10 points.
(k) Any teams having problems in completing their fixtures in time MUST contact the league secretary who with the committee will attempt to re-arrange the fixture. This may be at a neutral venue with the cost being met by both clubs and then only after having discussed the reason for the original postponement. Anything which is perceived to be pertinent and occurs outside of these simple rules should be immediately brought to the attention of the league secretary in witing or by email.
Team captains are requested to copy-in their respective club secretaries with any correspondence to the league secretary and CSMBA general secretary.
- The Home team will be responsible for the venue hire fees. Tea / coffee should be provided and served between the second and third disciplines
(m) It is the HOME team captains responsibility for sending in the completed result sheet within 7 days (preferably by email) to the league secretary signed by both captains and counter signed if a replacement player (s) are used, their names and ESMBA No to be on the face ”side” at the bottom of the result sheet. Non-compliance will result in a two-point deduction ALSO a TWO-point reduction will be applied to the HOME team (it’s their responsibility) for seeing that the TOTALS and all the INFORMATION ie players names and ESMBA no’s are correct on the result sheet.
See 1 (b) “Team and team structure” regarding playing an ineligible player.
THE AWAY team to retain a copy for their records.
- 3 DRAW
(a) Prior to the draw, the mats to be used for the fixture will be marked 1 and 2 . If a second fixture is running concurrently on adjacent mats these will be marked 3 and 4 with both the away captains being advised of the mats for their fixture
(b) The Home captain to lay his 6 scorecards with the players’ names face down on the table in a row (left to right) marked on the reverse side with
S ( singles 2 cards) , P ( pairs 2 cards) , T (triples 2 cards ) .
The AWAY team captain will place his completed cards on top of the home team (half covering) cards in the same sequence ie, S on S / P on P / T on T . He then with a pen will mark each discipline 1 & 2 on each pair. Then when the scorecards are turned face up it will determine who plays who on mat 1 or 2 in each discipline
(c) The captains will toss a coin before starting. The winner of the toss will have the choice of the “jack” and consequently who goes first in each discipline.
- 4 ARRANGEMENTS of PLAY
- Matches will consist of three disciplines, 4 Wood Singles, 2 Wood Pairs and 2 Wood Triples. All games over 12 ends with each discipline played on adjacent mats at the same time. PRIOR to the start ALL players are allowed “two up and two down” practice. Except in the third session (triples) for if you have played on the mat in the singles or pairs which you are about to play triples on you CANNOT have two up / two down. If you haven’t played on the mat, you can.
Please note,
If a team or teams do not or refuse to play the stipulated number of ends (12) in any discipline the follow action will take place.
The result of the completed matches ( 2 singles, 2 pairs , 2 triples ) for
the evenings play will STAND. This result to be emailed to the League secretary as usual along with a Note explaining who and which discipline failed to complete or play the required 12 ends.
The joint league secretaries will then have the authority to deduct 5 points from the offending team’s league points total. If this occurs again by the same team / club the offence will be brought up at the next committee meeting
Should a player be unable to attend before the start of the match or may have to leave early due to reasons out of their control the order of the disciplines may be altered. If all the players are present at the start of the match the order of play MUST be as the result sheet.
(b) A substitute player may be used through illness of a player. The substitute must not have been playing and must be correctly registered with their name(s) ESMBA No filled in on the result sheet.
(c) NO PLAYER is to play in more than TWO disciplines per fixture
5 SCORING TWO points for a win, 1 point for draw on each mat. The winner of the league / divisions will be decided on points then shot difference and total shots in that order. Please note that score cards should be filled in “on “the mat. See ESMBA “laws of the Game “Page 19 E players and their duties, page 21 (10 ) scoring
6 PLAYING SHORT
In a team is not able to field a full squad of 6 players a player can still only take part in TWO disciplines. The playing order will be as follows: -
FIVE (5) PLAYERS
2 Singles games, 2 Pairs Games and 2 Triples with 2 players
In the triples the playing order will as follows depending on who bowls the first wood.
Order for team playing FIRST-- --with THREE players in capital letters
LEAD lead SECOND LEAD lead SECOND SKIP skip SKIP skip
Order for team playing SECOND ---- with 3 players in capital letters
Lead LEAD SECOND lead LEAD SECOND skip SKIP skip SKIP
FOUR (4) PLAYERS
2 Singles / 2 Pairs and 1 Triple with two players playing as above
(b) The team playing short must notify their opponents in advance to allow them time to sort out their teams prior to the fixture.
(c) FOUR Players – Before the start of the match the team fielding a full team will be awarded 2 points for the game of Tiples which cannot be played.
7 WINNERS
The winners of both divisions will be presented with the appropriate division trophy to keep for one year and a cash prize, runners up of both divisions will receive a cash prize. The trophies and cash prizes will be presented at the ASSOCIATIONS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETTING.
8 DISPUTES
Any disputes regarding interpretation of these rules should be addressed to the league secretary and association secretaries who will bring them to the attention of the committee. The committee has the authority to adjudicate on such disputes and their decision is final.
Revised April 2025