As agreed at the P&D 2022 AGM, League Divisions 2 & 3 fixtures have been redrawn so that teams now only play each other 3 times rather than the 4 times previously annotated in the draft proposals.   Our website has been updated to show these changes.

Rebalancing League Divisions for the 2023 Season  

Rebalancing League Divisions if Less than 21 Sides are Entered

The SGM voted that if we get to the position of having less than 21 sides, then the league was to be run with 2 divisions. In order to achieve this, the Competition Committee further decided the following:

· Post 2023 Season
i).      The side who finishes bottom of division 1 in the season just ended will be relegated to division 2.
ii).     The top 4 sides from division 2 will be promoted to the new division 1.
iii).    Division 2 will then consist of: the relegated division 1 side, the remaining division 2 sides & all division 3 sides.

· Post 2022 Season
i).      The side who finishes bottom of division 1 will be relegated to division 2
ii).     Only the top 2 sides from division 2 will be promoted to the new division 1.  

2022 Combination League Divisions

As only 32 sides have been entered by the Clubs for 2022, then the Competition Committee also agreed that the combination league would consist of 4 divisions of 8 Sides. This has been achieved as follows:
· Only the 2019 divisional winners have been promoted (shown in upper case below)
·  Further sides have been relegated (shown in italics below), based on the final 2019 tables, as follows:
i).      Division 1 - bottom 3
ii).     Division 2 - bottom 4  
iii).    Division 3 - bottom 4

All of which means that the sides in the 2022 divisions are as follows:

Only 21 clubs have indicated they would be running a league side for the 2022 season after Crofton, Hayling Island & Emsworth dropped theirs. This means that, based on the promotion & relegation after the completion of the 2019 season, the clubs that make up each division are, currently, as follows: Division 1 - 9 sides, Division 2 - 6 sides & Division 3 -6 sides. This imbalance of numbers was addressed at a SGM on 9 December so that each Division has the same number of sides (7).

Three options were proposed:

1). Rebalance immediately so that the 2022 League would consist of 3 Divisions of 7 sides.

2). Run 2022 with Div. 1 having 8 Sides; Div. 2 with 7 Sides; Div. 3 with 6 sides

3). Run 2022 with the Divisions made up of 9, 6 & 6 sides, rebalancing would take place over three years.

Option 3 was overwhelming voted for.

Question 1: Whilst most members would prefer to play 4-rinks, it is thought that as a small club with a small membership it could cause problems with team selection throughout the season.  Therefore the consensus of opinion to question 1 is that S&C would say NO to playing 4-rink matches.

Question 2: Playing 3-rinks is the preferred choice of the membership because it would be more manageable  with less problems on team selection and also that we could put out stronger teams (on paper). So, the results to question 2 is YES the club would prefer to play 3-rink league matches

Question 3: The replies for this question was 7-6 in favour of 21 ends to be played.  Some members pointed out that 21-end matches played on artificial surfaces take much longer and sometimes it is difficult to complete these games in good light. The answer to question 3 is that the club does  not mind playing 18 or 21 ends.

• Singles (including Junior Singles) – 21 up

• Pairs (including Junior Pairs) – Four bowls 18 ends

• Triples – Three bowls 18 ends

• Fours (including Senior Fours) – Two bowls 18 ends

• Two-bowl singles – Two bowls 21 ends

As the 2021 season closes the build-up to 2022 season has started and as such the County competition entry forms are now available. The closing date for entries is 31st January 2022. Unfortunately, Bowls England (BE) haven't been forthcoming on if they are changing entry fees for 2022, so at the moment the entry fee has been set as last year i.e.£4.00 per person per entry. When BE get round to making their minds up then Bowls Hampshire will let us know. Also, be aware that the playing formats for 2022 are in line with the above BE formats

However, the P&D are aware that after the last two years, clubs may have problems in meeting these formats. Consequently, they need input from each club on their thoughts. So the questions that I'm asking you, the members, are : 1) Do you think that the club will be able to run a League team of 4 Rinks of 4 Bowlers?, 2) Do you think that the club will be able to run a League team of 3 Rinks of 4 Bowlers? and 3) In League & Combination games would you prefer playing 18 or 21 Ends? I would be very grateful if you can reply to those questions ASAP.

To be able to plan for 2022 the P&D require replies from each club by the end of October 2021, so that the responses can be put before the clubs when the next P&D Executive Meeting is held.