CANDLEPIN BOWLING

All competitors must be at least 55 years of age by December 31 of the year of the games.

AGE CATEGORIES / EVENTS:

AGE

EVENTS

NUMBER OF COMPETITORS

PER ASSOCIATION

55-64

65-74

75+

85+

55-64

65-74

75+

85+

55-64

65-74

75+

85+

Ladies’ Singles (Scratch)

Men’s Singles (Scratch)

Team (Scratch)

MAXIMUM NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS PER PROVINCE / TERRITORY = 56

RULES INFORMATION:

The International Candlepin Bowler’s Association Official Rules and Regulations will apply.

1. A round robin format will be used depending on the number of entries.

2. Teams must consist of five bowlers and may consist of any combination or men or women.

3. Singles Competition. The top three female and the top three male competitors in each age category with the highest scratch score will be awarded medals.

NOTE: As most provinces/territories will never have had the ultimate euphoria of ever bowling candlepin, it will be impossible for those outside of NB & NS to bring in with them established handicaps. As the game itself tends to be an ego buster to the best of bowlers, a good 5-pin bowler should fare well at candlepin as long as they remember that deadwood may be their best friend and that a score of 100 isn’t too bad!

4. Team Competition: The top three teams in each age category with the best scratch average will be awarded medals.

5. In the event of a tie, there will be a one game tiebreaker.

6. The decision as to whether bowlers playing singles can also participate on the team bowling will depend on the number of lanes available and thus as to whether singles bowling can be conducted separately from the team bowling. The host committee will inform the CSGA as soon as possible whether the schedule will allow for both events to be run separately. If this is possible, then bowlers playing singles may also play on a team.

INTRODUCTION

The sport of Candlepin is a bowling game unique to the Canadian Maritime provinces and New England. It is an exciting skilful sport, requiring minimal physical strength while demanding great timing, dexterity and patience of the bowler. It is a sport enjoyed by all, young and old, strong and handicapped, male or female. Further information on it can be found at www.bowlcandlepin.com. However, as many of the bowlers may not have had the opportunity to watch this version of the game, let alone play it, the following is a ready reference to the main aspects of the game.

SCORING

Candlepin bowling, although using a ball just slightly smaller than a five-pin ball, consists of 10 pins, or sticks, and thus is scored in the same manner that 10 pin bowling is scored. Therefore the maximum score is 300, but be forewarned, no one has ever officially recorded a perfect game – in fact the highest recorded score is in the low 250’s. The other thing that must be remembered is that ‘deadwood’ on the alley is in play, and often with proper foresight, can be used by the bowler to their advantage.

PLAYING RULES AND REGULATIONS

BALL RULES

1. FAIRLY DELIVERED BALL: A ball is fairly delivered when in its forward motion it touches the playing area before the 10ft. lob line. Any ball touching down beyond the 10ft. lob line is deemed a foul.

2. FAIR CONTACT: A ball shall be considered to have made fair contact only when it strikes a standing pin or playable wood before it (the ball) leaves the lane. A ball otherwise shall be considered foul and shall suffer the same penalties as for a GUTTER BALL.

3. REBOUNDING BALLS:

a) Should any ball, after making fair contact, for any reason rebound from any object on the deck or pit area, the pins so downed shall count in the scoring.

b) If the ball did not make fair contact, the pins shall not count in the score.

4. GUTTER BALL: If a ball leaves the lane without making fair contact and comes back knocking down pins; the pins downed by that ball shall not count in the scoring. Only pins downed by fair contact shall count.

a) If the first ball is foul and comes back to down pins, the pins shall be reset, and the bowler shall forfeit that ball and count only the pins downed fairly with the next two balls. (The first ball is considered foul even if no pins are downed by it).

b) If the first and second balls are foul and come back to knock down pins, the pins shall be rest after each ball, the bowler forfeits both balls and shall count only the pins downed by the third ball.

c) If the first and third balls are foul, but the second is fair, the player shall only count the pins downed by the second ball.

d) If all three balls are foul, the player shall score zero (0) for the frame.

e) If the first ball is fair and the second and/or third balls are foul, the pins shall not be reset. The player will forfeit all pins downed by the foul ball or balls and score only those downed by the balls that were fair. If no pins are left standing by the foul action of the second ball, the player shall score only those pins downed by the first ball.

5. EXTRA BALLS: Rolling extra balls in any frame will constitute a foul and the bowler will receive zero (0) for that frame.

6. BOWLERS DROPPING BOWLING BALLS DELIBERATELY on the approach shall be warned and if a second offence occurs, the bowler shall be penalized under the deliberate foul rule.

PIN AND DEADWOOD RULES

1. DOWNED PINS – DEADWOOD LINE: All downed pins, called wood, remaining on the lane entirely behind the deadwood line are live and playable. Those touching or forward (toward the bowler) of the deadwood line are dead and shall be removed. Wood shall be judged live or dead only after it has stopped moving.

2. QUESTIONABLE DEADWOOD: Any questionable deadwood shall be removed by a designated official.

3. PIN – PIT AREA: A pin that sticks up out of the pit area is not playable.

4. WOOD – ACROSS PLATE AND GUTTER: Where wood is partly on the plate or lane and partly in the gutter, the ball must make fair contact with the wood while the ball is still touching the lane for any pins downed to count in the scoring.

5. BALL HITS DEADWOOD IN GUTTER AND CORNER PIN: If a ball makes contact with wood in the gutter (deadwood) at the same time as making fair contact with a corner pin or playable wood, the pins downed by such action shall count.

6. DOUBLE DEADWOOD IN THE GUTTER: When there is double deadwood in the gutter, it shall remain.

7. REBOUNDING PINS: Pins knocked down by pins rebounding from the sidewall, machine, rear cushion or any other object in the deck or pit area shall count as pins down.

8. PIN DOWNED, THEN STAND UP: If a downed pin is caused to stand erect again in the playing area, it shall be judged as down and shall remain on the lane to be played as wood.

9. PINS THAT FALL AFTER THE RESET BUTTON IS PRESSED, or the pinsetter sweep is in motion, shall not count.

10. MOVING WOOD: A bowler must wait until all wood has halted motion under penalty of foul. (Pins felled by ball shall not count). However, if the wood has apparently stopped rolling and then starts rolling again while the player is in the act of delivering the ball, or while the ball is in motion, there shall be no penalty.

11. PINS FALL BEFORE FAIR CONTACT: If a pin or pins fall after the ball is fairly delivered but before making fair contact, the following shall apply:

a) ON FIRST BALL: The bowler resets and is entitled to three balls in the frame.

b) ON SECOND OR THIRD BALL: Bowler is credited with making fair contact. (Example: Bowler knocks down nine pins with the first ball. Second ball is fairly delivered but before making contact, the remaining pin falls over. The bowler is credited with a SPARE).

FOUL RULES

1. FOUL LINE RULE: A player in delivering the ball must not let his action cause him to slide over, step on or over the foul line, nor permit any part of his body or clothing to come into contact with the lanes, gutters, ball returns, division boards, walls, uprights or floors which are beyond the foul line, at any time after the ball passes over and beyond the foul line, nor until he shall have picked up a ball and completed his succeeding delivery, under penalty of foul. (See foul line and lob line penalty).

a) Any object which falls from the pocket or person of a bowler shall not constitute a foul.

b) Bowlers are not allowed beyond the foul line under any circumstances.

c) When a bowler, while in possession of a ball accidentally fouls while taking a practise slide, the bowler will lose that ball. The penalty is the same as the foot foul rule.

2. LOB LINE RULE: Bowling is a game of rolling, not throwing balls. Any ball that does not, in its forward motion, touch the playing area before the lob line, shall be considered a lobbed ball and shall suffer the foul penalty. See foul line and lob line penalties below. Continuous infractions of this rule will result in disqualification.

3. FOUL LINE AND LOB LINE PENALITIES are the same as for gutter balls.

4. CLEARED GUTTERS: Both gutters must be cleared of any pins or balls before the first ball is delivered in any frame. The penalty is the same as if the first ball is a foul.

ETIQUETTE

Like duelling, Candlepin bowling requires a certain degree of savoir faire before one attempts to kill their opposition. A few of the basic laws of etiquette are as follows:

a. Before you throw the first ball of the first game, shake hands with the person in the adjoining lane. Remember this person well, as you will be bowling beside them for the entire game (unless there are an unequal number of bowlers on the two lanes).

b. Bowlers bowl two frames at a time on the same lane, and then on the following turn switch lanes to bowl the next two frames, and so on.

c. The bowler on the right hand lane will normally bowl his first ball before the bowler in the left lane does. Depending on the speed of the two bowlers, this is not necessary for the remaining balls, but bowlers should try to avoid delivering their ball at the same time that their opposing bowler is delivering theirs.

TEAM COMPOSITION

1. Teams may consist of any combination of men and women.

2. The age bracket for a team is determined by the age of the youngest bowler on the team. (for example: if four men all aged 75+ team up with a younger lady of the age of 55, they must bowl in the 55-64 age category – and they will be HAPPY!).

THE DRAW:

Participants come to the Canada 55+ Games for a variety of reasons, but most importantly to play the 'sport' of their choice. When making the draw up for this event, it is important for the Host to remember that this event should be spread out over all three days of the Games, and may, dependant on the number of lanes available, have to be extended into some of the evenings. Each Bowler (in Singles & in Teams), should expect to be scheduled to bowl, at the very minimum, 4 games.

Revised May 2011