A crown green bowls association has been forced to issue a new code of conduct after a surge in booze-related rows between middle-aged spectators.
Shropshire Crown Green Bowls Association is now warning members that anyone found guilty of anti-social behaviour faces lengthy bans.
The crackdown comes after a rise in the number of matches being halted due to foul-mouthed abuse from players and supporters.
Shropshire Crown Green Bowls Association has been forced to issue a new code of conduct after a surge in booze-related rows between middle-aged spectators (file photo)
Last year a spectator in his 40s was banned from playing and watching games for four years after he swore at officials during a county cup final match last August.
The game at Battlefield Bowling Club, in Shrewsbury, was stopped for 20 minutes while officials escorted the man from the ground.
Other incidents include Welsh teams being branded ‘sheep s*******’ and some larger players being mocked over their weight.
The bowling association has now sent out a beefed up code of conduct to all 6,500 members reminding them not to ‘render themselves unfit through alcohol or drugs’.
The code says: ‘Accept the decisions of officials of the event. Act in a sportsmanlike way at all times. Treat officials with respect.
‘Refrain from verbal and physical abuse including swearing, shouting and threatening behaviour.’
The association also warns members they face disciplinary action and bans of up to four years if they breach any of the rules.
Other sanctions include fining players and docking points from clubs which fail to control their members’ behaviour.
The tougher code of conduct was distributed to members following an AGM at Bagley Bowls Club in Shrewsbury on Monday night.
Shropshire’s crackdown comes after a rise in the number of matches being halted due to foul-mouthed abuse from players and supporters (file photo)
Outgoing county president Mike Caddick said: ‘The 2017 season saw an increase in anti-social behaviour around the greens.
‘It started to creep in a bit last year, mostly among spectators.
‘They were being over-enthusiastic mainly as a result of alcohol.
‘Alcohol-fuelled spectators were becoming the norm and I heard people saying ‘we don’t want this in bowls’ no end of times.
‘When it starts to get a bit too noisy and a bit too personal with the bad language then it spoils everybody’s enjoyment.
‘The general opinion is that it is not wanted in bowls, it is not what bowls is about.
‘The ugly part of this season was this problem and we have had to have a disciplinary committee meet and hear witnesses and go through all the thing and make decisions.
‘That was November, December last year.
‘One has been banned for four years the other just for six months.
‘I’ve not seen either of them but they are both good bowlers and it’s a great shame.
‘It’s a great shame it had to happen.
‘It was the back end of last season which would be August, September when the finals were being held.
‘The individual we banned for four years turned up several times and disrupted proceedings.
‘It wasn’t as enjoyable as it should have been.
‘Hopefully the action taken by the county will be sufficient to deter future incidents.
‘Bowls is a very gentle game but it is also very competitive.
‘The teams that play, they play to win, they are not playing for the fun of it.
‘Unfortunately the supporters, they are very vociferous but in recent years it’s been more and more that alcohol makes people say things that they wouldn’t say if they perhaps hadn’t had a drink and because of that, last year it put a downer on a couple of finals, competitions that we held.
‘Where you have got everybody there from ten year olds to 90 year olds, male and female, and they are there to watch and support their teams and you end up with people shouting things nobody wants to hear and spoiling the atmosphere.
‘It is a minority but it is getting to be that it was becoming the norm rather than the exception.
‘The good players do ignore it but they can’t ignore it all the time.
‘It’s usually derogatory to the actual player, if a player is overweight it’s a nice one to pick on, if they are Welsh it’s usually some mention of sheep.
‘It’s very easy if you want to upset somebody.
‘It’s always been (happening) but it’s now exacerbated, or it seems to be, by alcohol.
‘We’ve also had a big problem of people bringing their own alcohol into premises.’