Author: David Worton

CJ’s Thursday Bowling League Rules
This document is a quick write up of the rules and practices of the CJ’s Thursday Bowling League which can be passed to new members or prospective members. 
The league is a merger of the existing Thursday CJ’s league and the Cuthbert bowing league originally based in Southend.
We are currently playing doubles, although in the past we have run as a trios league and with teams of four. We play three games on each night and start at 8:00 on Thursday,
Scores are viewable on the league web site (originally the Cuthbert league web site) which can be viewed here:-
http://bowla300.freehostia.com/
This is updated with the latest scores on a weekly basis and shows the league table as well as various stats for players and teams.
We also have a facebook group which can be reached here:-
https://www.facebook.com/groups/228866697223729/
Scoring
The scoring system is a combination of team totals and individual matches. In each game you are in a head to head against your opposite number (first plays first, and second plays second) as well as contributing to your team’s total pin fall.
In each individual “head to head” game, two points are awarded for the winner of each game and two points for the series (both handicap), meaning that there are eight points to play for. Since there are two head to head competitions in doubles, this counts for a total of sixteen points.
The winner of the team handicap total in each game scores four points, and another four points is awarded to the winner of the team handicap series. This gives another sixteen points which means that every match has thirty two points in total to play for. In the event of a draw on any total the points are split.
The handicap calculation is 80% of the difference between your average and 200 (different percentages have been used in the past). 
The blind score is currently 180 (again different values have been used in the past). This applies when a team is unable to field a player (or both players).
Handicaps are calculated dynamically every week, however at the start of a season, carry forward handicaps for existing players are “locked” until they have played three matches. This is to discourage “sandbagging”.
Note that blind scores can contribute to the team totals and be used to award team points but they do not count for anything in individual head to head matches. So, for example, if you are playing against a blind and you are unable to win all three of your games, the games lost award no individual points to the opposition (and therefore the total score for the match can be less than 32 in this case).
We often play periodic “position nights” where 1^st plays 2^nd, 3^rd plays 4^th etc…. This is announced when the fixtures are published but there is always one at the end of the season as the final match.
Bowling Protocol
If you are new to league bowling then your captain should explain this to you as you go along. Most of the rules are just basic courtesies to the other teams in the league. 
We start at 8:00 with 10 minutes practice. It helps if you can be there a little bit earlier to enter your details into the computer. If you are not there by 8:10 your opposition will be entitled to start without you. If you are not there 5 frames after the opposition has started, then you will forfeit the first game (your scores for that game will be entered as blind) but you can still join in the later games. If you arrive before the first five frames are played then you can catch up.
As a courtesy to bowlers on neighbouring lanes, you should not bowl when they are actually running up to bowl themselves and usually we “give way” on the right, so let the person to your right bowl first if you are both ready at the same time.
We try to keep bowling flowing so that everyone can finish in reasonable time.
If you wish to go outside at any point (or between games) e.g. for a quick smoke then we allow a five-minute break between games. Be careful not to wear bowling shoes outdoors without covering them or changing to avoid brining water into the lanes.
Opposition players are entitled to restart their matches after five minutes in any game (if anyone taking a break is not back in time) and can continue for up to five frames. If their opponents have still not returned their scores shall be treated as blind and they will gain no individual points for the game, otherwise they may catch up.
Team captains can arrange postponements with the agreement of the opposing captain (and you must let the league secretary know) if you are unable to field a team. As far as possible it is very much appreciated if you can try and fulfil your fixtures on the scheduled dates, however experience has shown that there are always going to be cases where fixtures can’t be fulfilled. You can play a postponement at any mutually convenient time but ideally this should be before the original fixture and in any case no later than two weeks after the scheduled fixture. 
At the end of the season, postponed games must all be played before the final “position night”
Money
The cost of bowling is £10 per person per week. After the lineage (which goes to the bowling alley) the remainder goes to league funds. A spreadsheet of league funds is available on request. League funds cover occasional expenses such as the small annual fee for the hosting service of the web site but in the main (after deduction of some small expenses) they are distributed back to players at the end of the season in various ways.
There is a separate document that describes how this works in more detail so please read that if you are interested,
Contact Details
League secretary 	: 	Dean Furnell – bigdeano1987@hotmail.co.uk
Deputy	 	: 	Dave Worton - dave.worton@xuber.com
(former league secretary and web site technical advisor)