Constitution & Rules

The League shall be known as the City of Norwich Winter Pétanque League.

Its aim shall be to improve standards of play and to broaden social contacts between groups.

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) shall be held before mid-October.  Proposals and amendments to be received one week prior to the AGM.  Nominations will be accepted at the AGM if there are insufficient received beforehand.

Executive Officers of the League shall comprise: Chairperson, Hon. Secretary, Hon. Treasurer, Results Secretary. Up to 3 additional members will complete the committee.

The League shall bank at Barclays. Cheques to be signed by any two of the four League’s Executive Officer signatories.

Each team of players shall pay a League Registration Fee to be fixed by the committee prior to the AGM each year. Registration fees must be paid within four weeks of the League’s commencement. 

Composition of the League and Fixtures to be finalised by the Committee.

A minimum of three players is required for a team but it is recommended that teams register at least one additional player to avoid rearrangement of matches.

A team’s players shall be registered with the Results Secretary (or Hon. Secretary) at least seven days prior to the first match.  Additional registrations may be made during the season.

Unless a league contains less or more than six teams, matches shall be played on alternate Sundays starting at 10.30am.  It is permissible to change dates of fixtures if both teams agree and every effort must be made to rearrange the fixture as soon as possible.  The Results Secretary must be informed of both the postponement and also the rearranged date at the earliest opportunity. Matches may be played prior to the date set out in the fixtures if both teams agree. 

If an umpire is not officiating, disputes should be settled by the Team Captains.

A league match shall comprise of one triple, a pairs and a singles, thereby enabling teams to field up to six players. Matches cannot be played unless both teams have at least two players.  Singles and Pairs Games must be played simultaneously.  A team fielding 2 players will play 2 players in the triples; 1 player in the pair; 1 player in the single.

Each game will be played to 13 points and in accordance with the “Official Rules of the Game of Pétanque” as adopted by the English Pétanque Association.

One point will be awarded for each game won. If points are equal at the end of the season overall game point differential decides.

The Home Team is responsible for informing the Results Secretary of the outcome of the match. The preferred method of recording the match outcome is using the “Match Score Form” on the website. In this case the signed cards should be retained by the team captain. (Amendement from AGM 3 Oct 2022). The signed match score card can be forwarded by the home team not later than 2 days after the match (this can be by post or electronically).

The end date of the season will be defined as the date of the last scheduled match of the season. 

If a match is not completed by the end of the season, the team that did not cause the cancellation will be awarded a 3-0 victory (39-21 points). The final decision will be made by the Committee.

No teams will deliberately forfeit a match.

Should a team be unable to complete its fixtures – for whatever reason – and therefore resign from the League,

1. all matches played by that team will be declared void and deleted from the results list. The League will be calculated accordingly.

2. any future application by that team will be declared void and will be reviewed by the Committee, and if accepted, the team will be placed in the lowest Division of the League at the commencement of a new season.

3. the team unable to complete its fixtures should advise the League Secretary in writing.

The League will operate a two up two down promotion/relegation system.

Three postponements are allowed per season. Once a 4th postponement from any one team is received, that team will be deducted one point.  The only exception to this rule is extreme bad weather.  If a game is brought forward or if it is played on the Sunday immediately following a postponed match, this will not count as a postponement.  All postponements should be reported to the Results Secretary asap with a rearranged date if known. (This rule adopted at AGM 8/10/2019)