OBA Constitution

        OXFORDSHIRE BOWLING ASSOCIATION

CONSTITUTION AND RULES (Ratified in November 2022)

 

  1. Title. The Association shall be called the Oxfordshire Bowling Association and it shall be affiliated to Bowls England and to Bowls Oxfordshire.
  2. Objectives. The objectives of the Association shall be:
    1. To promote, foster and safeguard the level green sport of bowls for males in Oxfordshire.
    2. To ensure a safe environment in which children and vulnerable adults, including those that are mobility impaired, can enjoy taking part in the sport by promoting the joint Child Protection Policy and Procedures, access for mobility impaired adults and safeguarding protocols of the National governing bodies.
    3. To adopt and enforce the laws of the game as published for the time being by World Bowls, and the rules and regulations of Bowls England.
    4. To hold County Championships in Competitions as a preliminary to the National Championships, and other Competitions that may be arranged.
    5. To arrange matches with other Counties and Associations.
    6. To interpret, support & advise affiliated clubs or their members, regarding difficult or doubtful questions of law or practice of the game and to arbitrate in all differences referred to the Association for that purpose, arising between affiliated clubs, between affiliated clubs and their members or between members of affiliated clubs. This includes BE regulations relating to safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults, anti-doping, discrimination, equal opportunities, human rights, health & Safety, insurance and indemnification, misconduct and the application of the right processes and procedures for resolving any of these situations.
    7. To advise affiliated clubs on all matters concerning the laying out of greens of the proper dimensions, in line with current best practice.
  3. Membership. The Association shall consist of male members of affiliated Bowling Clubs in the County of Oxfordshire whose greens conform to the rules of Bowls England.
  4. Admission. Application by Clubs for admission to the Association shall be made to the Honorary Secretary, accompanied by the name of the Club and the names and addresses of its officers. The annual subscription, as determined by the AGM must be paid before November 30th each year (or by any other dates determined by Bowls England), and any Club failing to pay the subscription by that date shall forfeit all rights and privileges so long as such subscription remains unpaid.

 

  1. Affiliation.
    1.  All member clubs of the Association must also be affiliated to Bowls England, the annual subscription being as determined by Bowls England per playing member. The subscription must be made to the Bowls Oxfordshire administrator at the same time as the County subscription.
    2. Every Club applying for affiliation to the Association shall make application to the Honorary Secretary and such application shall be accompanied by: ­
      1. a copy of the Constitution and rules of the Club
      2. the name and address of the Club Secretary
      3. the numbers and names of male playing members of the Club
      4. particulars of the green or greens on which the members play together with their location(s).
  2. Associate Membership. This shall be open to approved Associations on payment of an affiliation fee that shall be determined from time to time by the AGM.
  3. Annual General Meeting.
    1.  The Annual General Meeting of the Association shall be held in November. 14 days’ notice shall be given of all General Meetings and 30 delegates shall form a quorum. Each Club shall at all General Meetings be allowed 3 delegates (one of whom must be the Council delegate or his deputy) with power to vote. Any other affiliated member may attend and speak, but may not vote.
    2. Whereas 14 calendar days’ notice shall be given for all Annual and Special General Meetings, such notice shall be deemed to have been received on the second day following that upon which they have been posted, and in calculating such 14 days’ notice the day of receipt and the day of the meeting shall be counted.
    3. At the Annual General Meeting the Association shall elect from its members:
      1. President (who shall optionally be Chairman of General and Special Meetings, the Council and all Committees of the Council), and at Bowls Oxfordshire meetings shall, in rotation, share the Chair with the BOL President.
      2. Immediate Past President as a Life Member of the Association
      3. Deputy President
      4. Honorary Secretary
      5. Honorary Treasurer
      6. Honorary Assistant Secretary
      7. Honorary Match Secretary
      8. Honorary Competition Secretary
      9. Middleton Cup Team Manager (for a period of 3 years) who shall also be a Selector.
      10. Four other Selectors, not to include the President.
      11. Under-25s Team Manager (for a period of 3 years).
      12. Honorary Examiners (2)
      13. OBA Delegate to the Bowls Oxford Executive Committee.
      14. 5 Delegates to sit on the General Purposes Committee.
      15. Tournament Committee Members
      16. Home Counties League representatives (2)
    4. The President, Deputy President, Hon. Secretary, Hon. Treasurer, Hon. Assistant Secretary, Hon. Match Secretary, Hon. Competition Secretary, and all Past Presidents and Life Members shall have the right of voting at the Annual and Special General Meetings of the Association. No member is entitled to more than one vote, other than, if required, the Chairman’s casting vote.
    5. All nominations for office, approved by the Club Committee of the nominee, and any resolutions must be received by the Hon. Secretary by the October Council meeting. After that date nominations to fill vacancies may be made by the GPC.
    6. In the event that more than one nomination is received for any particular position, each of the nominated persons will be given the opportunity to submit a resume’ introducing themselves and making a statement about their competence and experience in fulfilling the role applied for. This will be circulated to OBA delegates to assist their club to indicate their preference when voting. An address to the AGM may also be permitted, if requested, and this will be done before a vote is taken (which may be by a secret ballot).
  4. Special Meetings. Any constituent Club may send a requisition to the Honorary Secretary to call a Special General Meeting of the Association. Such requisition shall state the nature of the business and be submitted to the General Purposes Committee who, if they consider the matter of sufficient importance, shall direct the Honorary Secretary to call a Special General Meeting. The notice of the meeting shall state the business for which it has been called, and this shall be the only business discussed.
  5. The Council. The affairs of the Association shall be conducted by a Council comprising President, Deputy President, all Past Presidents, Hon. Life Members, Hon. Secretary, Hon. Treasurer, Hon. Assistant Secretary, Hon. Match Secretary, Hon. Competition Secretary, Middleton Cup Team Manager (ex officio), Under-25s Team Manager (ex officio), Home Counties League Representatives (2) (ex officio), and one delegate (or his deputy) from each affiliated Club. The Council delegate or his deputy must be one of the three members nominated to vote at the Annual General and Special General Meetings.
    Fifteen members shall form a quorum.
    In case of illness or other unavoidable cause a deputy may attend in place of the Council Delegate.
    No member is entitled to more than one vote, other than, if required, the Chairman's casting vote. The Council shall meet on the first Wednesday in March and the second Wednesday in June (at the President’s discretion) and October.
  6. General Purposes Committee, shall conduct the routine financial and business affairs of the Association and shall comprise President, Deputy President, Immediate Past President (optional), Hon. Secretary, Hon. Treasurer, Assistant Secretary, Hon. Match Secretary, Hon. Competition Secretary, Vice Presidents’ Association representative (ex officio) and the five elected members. The quorum for a GPC meeting shall be 60% of all those entitled to serve on the committee at the time of the meeting.  If this calculation does not yield a whole number, then the required attendance shall be the next whole number of people above 60%.
    N.B. Nominations for this Committee must be made by clubs and be received by the County Secretary no later than the October Council meeting.
  7. Tournament Committee shall conduct the Association’s tournaments in accordance with the rules and shall comprise President, Hon. Secretary, Hon. Treasurer, Hon. Competition Secretary, Section Secretaries and Domestic Competition Secretaries.
    N.B. Nominations for this Committee must be made by clubs and be received by the County Secretary no later than the October Council meeting.
  8. Selection Committee shall comprise the Middleton Cup Manager and the four other elected Selectors. The President to be in attendance to chair the meeting with no power to vote, other than the Chairman’s casting vote, if required. The records of the meeting shall be kept by the Hon. Secretary or a person appointed by the Selection Committee, that person shall have no right to vote unless an elected Selector. At least three of the 5 Selectors must be present for the meeting to be quorate.
  9. Middleton Cup Team Manager. The Manager will select Middleton Cup teams after consultation with the other Selectors. The Manager will take sole responsibility for team management after selection.
  10. Committee Vacancies. The General Purposes Committee shall have power to fill any vacancy.
  11. Honorary Life Members. The Association shall have powers to elect, on the recommendation of the GPC, Honorary Life Members for outstanding services to the Association. These Life Members together with the Past Presidents will be officers of the Association and members of the Council with full voting rights.
  12. Under-25s Section. The Association shall authorise and encourage the formation, under its constitution, of an Under-25s section.
  13. Vice Presidents’ Association. The Association may authorise the formation within its constitution of a Vice Presidents Bowling Association, to be responsible for its own finances.
  14. Past Presidents Association. The Association may authorise the formation within its constitution of a Past Presidents Bowling Association, to be responsible for its own finances.
  15. Honorary Secretary. The Hon. Secretary shall keep a record of all the business transacted at meetings of the Association and Committees, and at each Annual General Meeting submit a report of the proceedings since the last General Meeting. He will be a member of the Bowls Oxfordshire Executive Committee.
  16. Honorary Treasurer. The Hon. Treasurer shall render a full account of the Association’s income and expenditure for the past year duly examined by two Members of this or another Bowls England affiliated Association appointed at the Annual General Meeting. He will be a member of the Bowls Oxfordshire Executive Committee.
  17. Misconduct, Disputes and Arbitration. Misconduct shall mean misconduct as defined in the relevant Bowls England Rules & listed in regulation 9. The Association will adopt the current policy / guidelines of Bowls England under Regulations 9 and 9A.     

Procedures for dealing with the above are set out in the afore mentioned BE Rules & Regulations. In the event of any alleged misconduct, dispute, difference or controversy arising between any affiliated club(s) and/or any member(s) of such clubs who do not have in place a policy within the rules of the club concerned, the misconduct and/or dispute may be referred to the County Association for resolution.

21a.  Disciplinary rules in relation to misconduct at county level Regulation 9a applies to county bowlers or officials when representing the county association. Examples of misconduct are listed in Reg 9a and they involve:

  • Improper interference with the functioning or activities of Bowls England or of any  members of Bowls England 
  • Action which otherwise, improperly damages Bowls England or any 

County Association or club thereof, or any member thereof or their reputation. 

Any person wishing to make a complaint of misconduct, by a Club affiliated to Bowls England, or a member whose misconduct is in relation to an issue under the jurisdiction of the county Association or a member of an affiliated club where, in the interests of natural justice, the issue cannot be dealt with by the club, they must do so

in writing to the President of the County Association. If after preliminary Investigation the President of the County 

Association considers that a case of misconduct exists the President of the County Association will refer the complaint to the 

County Disciplinary Committee. If the President considers that a case cannot be made, no further action will be taken at county level and the complainant shall be advised accordingly of the reason for the decision.

  1. Data Protection

The Oxfordshire Bowling Association has a legal and moral duty to protect the data of their members. Many points of the GDPR already apply under current data protection laws.   The GDPR became enforceable from 25th May 2018. It replaces the Data Protection Act 1998 and covers the storage and use of ‘Personal Data’. Personal data is defined as any piece of personal information that can be used to identify an individual, either directly or indirectly.

This includes information such as an individual’s:

 • Name

 • Telephone Number

 • E‐mail address

 • Date of birth

 • Health information

 • Location data

 • Bank details

 .Online identifier e.g. IP addresses or cookies.

 

The GDPR states that Personal Data can be held, without the need for consent, if it is adequate/relevant/non‐excessive. This means that as long as the OBA, reasonably considers the storage of Personal Data to be relevant and non‐excessive, they can continue to hold it. Under the GDPR, an organisation can lawfully process data only if at least one of the following conditions are met:

 • The data subject has given their consent;

 • If the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract;

 • For compliance with a legal obligation;

 • If the processing is necessary to protect the vital interests of the data subject;

 • Public interest purposes;

 • If there is a legitimate interest pursued by the data holder or a third party.

 The OBA therefore suggests that, for example, should a Club or the OBA wish to ‘publish’ the telephone numbers of members they should obtain ‘consent’ for this purpose – this must be ‘opt in’ rather than ‘opt out’.

  1. Alteration to Rules. No alteration of, or addition to, the above rules shall be made except at the Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting called for that purpose. One month's notice shall be given in writing to the Honorary Secretary setting out in full detail such proposed alteration or addition, which shall be stated in the Notice of the business for the meeting.
  2. Other Matters. The Council, whose decision shall be final, shall deal with any matter arising not covered by the foregoing Rules. However, if an immediate decision is required the matter shall be dealt with by an Emergency Committee comprising the President, Senior Deputy President and Honorary Secretary, whose decision shall be final.

 

BADGES, FLASHES, SHIRTS AND SELECTION


Badges: First-game (‘colts’) badges are awarded to players on the occasion of their first County match.
Full County (‘six-game’) blazer badges are awarded to players who have played in six County matches. However, in any one season no more than two matches count towards the award of this particular badge, so some new players may take more than the minimum three seasons and/or play more than six matches before they receive their badge.
Since 1973, the County has awarded a six-game badge free of charge to any unbadged player who reaches the finals of the Bowls England National Championships.
Silver badges are awarded to those who have played in 50 matches.
Gold badges are awarded to those who have played in 100.
All qualifying matches, from the player’s first County game onwards, count towards the award of these badges regardless of the number played per season.
If desired by a qualified player, an approved multiple centenary badge may be purchased at his own expense.
(Note: President’s matches and President’s Tour matches are not qualifying games for the award of any County badge.)
All County match records are stored in a database carefully maintained by the Hon. Match Secretary, based on information relayed from whoever is the secretary in charge at each match. For obvious reasons, we must regard the records in this database as accurate and binding in the case of any query unless, exceptionally, a player can provide incontrovertible documentary evidence – during the season at issue – that there is an inaccuracy in his case.
Flashes: Middleton Cup flashes are awarded free of charge to bowlers who have played in three Middleton Cup matches.
Since 1994, any unbadged player who receives a Middleton Cup flash is automatically awarded a County badge.
Under-25 flashes are awarded to Under-25 players – whether badged or not – on the occasion of their first Under-25 match against similar County opposition.
Shirts: County shirts will be worn in all County representative matches and at the National Championships.
Clubs may apply for permission for their members to wear coloured shirts of an approved design. The County Secretary will, on request, supply a Bowls England form and instructions which, when completed and returned to him, will be submitted to the GPC. If conforming to Bowls England instructions and being approved, the club will then be notified that the shirt design is approved and registered. It is a requirement that, during an inter-club match or competition, all players from a particular club must wear the same matching design.
Selection procedures: Friendly and Home Counties League teams are chosen by the elected County Selectors exclusively, based on players’ declared availability, selectors’ invitation, or other availability system currently in force. (Please remember that returns from clubs are actually lists of club nominations rather than players’ self-nominations.)
The Middleton Cup squad and teams are chosen by the Middleton Cup Manager, who consults his fellow selectors, and are managed entirely by him.
Under-25 teams are selected solely and managed by, the Under 25’s Manager.
Invitations to players for President’s matches are made entirely at the President’s personal discretion. He also selects the teams, and his decision is final. Executive match invitations are sent to members of the Executive in the first instance and then to members of the Council, although other players may be invited if needed. The teams are then selected by the Secretary, whose decision shall be final.

CLUB DINNERS

The Association’s officers greatly appreciate the opportunity to join clubs at their annual dinners and welcome invitations from clubs. We request that all invitations be sent to the Hon Secretary of the Association by 31 July to enable the President to make his arrangements. Please provide times, venues and dress requirements, as well as the details of any toast or speech the guest should make (if any). The President for any year will continue to attend, if available, dinners until the end of that calendar year.
The Association will always endeavour to accept an invitation, however there are inevitably date clashes. Therefore, it cannot be guaranteed that your guest will be the current President; we assume that all invitations are made with this understanding in mind.