Walter Cross Memorial Trophy (Inter Area Competition)

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County Aims:

This competition is intended to promote a keen competitive team game between the Areas and will provide contacts between Clubs and players in all parts of the County of Surrey, with emphasis on the selection of players of promise, whether badged or unbadged, to bring them to the notice of County Selectors for County representative matches.
 

Areas' Aims:

a)  to be a channel of communication between the Club and the Surrey County Bowling Association Executive.

b)  to promote a higher standard of bowling within each area, and

c)  to encourage the individual Club bowler towards a higher level of individual and team achievement through appropriate competition.
 

Rules - in brief - full details in the Surrey Hand Book
 

1.  The competition shall be called the Walter Cross Memorial Trophy, to be carried out in accordance with the Bowls England Laws of the game.
 

2.  The competition to be contested on Sundays by teams of six fours from each of the Surrey County competition Areas, all of which players shall be members of affiliated Clubs in those Areas.  Each Area will contain no more than three current Middleton Cup players.
 

3.  No player shall play for more than one Area in any one playing season.
 

4.   In the event of a tie an extra end/ends shall be played.  The home side will nominate one four to play one extra end before the draw is made for rinks and opponents.
 

5.   Method of scoring:

Points to be awarded as follows:  FOUR points for a win; TWO points for a tie; ONE point for each winning four; HALF a point for each drawn four.  In the event of a team failing to turn up for any one match in that season, then the team be disqualified from the competition for that year, any points previously awarded be expunged from the record and they be placed last in the competition which shall then be competed for by the remaining three Areas.  The Area gaining the greatest number of points, the one having the best aggregate of shots shall be the winner.   Should two Areas be equal in points and also in shots up, the winner will be ascertained by the result of the game between those two Areas.  If this game results in a tie the extra end/ends shall decide the winner.
 

6.   In the event of adverse climate conditions, and subject to agreement by the two Captains or by appeal to the Umpire, if a total of sixty ends or more have been played, then the actual score at the time of termination shall be taken as the result.  If fewer than a total of sixty ends then the total points be equally divided.
 

7.  An Umpire shall be appointed by the home Area Committee.
 

8.  The result of the game and all scorecards shall be forwarded within three days to the Assistant County Secretary who is in charge of this competition on behalf of the Council.

 

9.  The Areas shall conduct the draw and will do so to provide equal home and away fixtures over a period of two years-that the teams which play two home and one away in the first year will play one home and two away the following year.

 

9a  All games to be played on THREE Sundays (10.00am starts) at agreed intervals with each Area playing on the same specific day - home and away - avoiding Middleton Cup, Home Counties League and Under 25's fixtures.

 

10.  A meeting of representatives of Clubs shall be arranged in each Area each year by the Area Secretary.  Such meeting to take place by 31st December.  At this meeting a Chairman, Secretary and Committee shall be elected to carry on the affairs of the Area, select teams and arrange venues of games.  The number of persons elected to Committees and the method of team selection shall be at the discretion of each Area Committee.

 

11.  In the event of one or two players being absent from the side, then one or two rinks play three players with eight bowls, and concede 25% of that rink's score.  In the event of three or more players being absent from the side, the Area defaulting shall concede the game, and their opponents receive four points.

 

12.  A joint meeting of the Area Committees may be called by the Assistant Secretary as and when necessary.
 

13.  The competition shall be financially self-supporting.  The charge per player for each match for the ensuing season shall be agreed at the Annual Meeting of Area Committees in January.  A commemorative plaque will be presented at the County Annual Dinner to each Club who had a player or players representing the winning Area team in that season - with the names of those players engraved thereon.