DPAB Rules 'n' Stuff

[Brief Rules] [Our Rules] [Skittles Glossary] [Score Assessor] [Types of Skittle]

Brief Rules

 

DPAB Local Rules

These apply only to our team. Other teams will usually have their own variations.

Registration
Players are registered by the Captain before the season commences, or during the season if necessary
No player may play in a match until registered
All players are expected to provide £1 towards the cost (currently £20) of registering the team

Start Times
All matches are scheduled to start at 8:30pm.
For home matches players should be present by 8:20pm
For away matches, players not making their own way must be at the Cross Keys by 8:00pm for the bus.
Players not turning up on time or providing a valid excuse (Captain’s discretion) will be dropped for the following match.

Mini-bus/Taxi to Away games
Players travelling to away games in mini-bus or taxi are expected to cover the cost of the fare between them

Reserves
Lowest score(s) on the night are dropped for the following match depending on the number of reserves present. E.g. if there are 2 reserves, the lowest 2 scores will be dropped for the following week.
Dropped players will miss the following match for which they are available to play, unless there are insufficient other players available.
Reserves are expected to turn up unless working.
Someone who cannot play because they are working will be considered available for the next game

Bolters
Every ball that does not hit a pin is classed as a “Bolter”. After the final roll of the match players must pay 20p for every bolter on the night.
Balls that go “off the alley” before the pins may cost 50p. The decision about an “off the alley” ball lies with the alley adjudicator and Captain Mark “Sparky” Hughes.
Bolter money collected over the season is evenly distributed amongst all players who have played 5 matches or more on the last match of the season when subs are returned

Diddler
All those playing on the night can win the “Diddler”.
All 12 players on the night (not reserves) pay 50p into the pot (total £6 on the night).
A score of 34 or above wins the “Diddler”.
If no score of 34 or over is made, the pot rolls forward to the following week.
If two or more players tie scores on 34 or over the pot rolls forward to the following week.
If the “Diddler” is not won on the final match of the season the pot will be won by one of the following means, the decision to be made by the Captain.
The highest score on the final night
By a roll-off on the final night
By a “Diddler” competition to be played at a later date

Nines
If a player scores 9 or over in a single roll, all players present, including reserves pay him 20p each

 

Skittle Terms/Glossary

Alley

What you roll on. One of the intricacies of the game is that no two alleys are the same. There are long ones, short ones, those with wooden pins, some with plastic pins, some with heavy balls some with light balls.
Anchor Man............................ 12th, and last man to roll on the team - normally put there because you can rely on him when you need a score to win.
Beer......................................... Curious fermented brew frequently drunk (or is that drunk frequently?) by skittlers
Bird in the cage...................... Centre pin in a new frame. Knocking out this pin alone is known as getting the bird in the cage, and as it's usually accompanied by shouts of "tweet, tweet" it's also known as a "tweeter"
Bolter....................................... A ball which misses all standing pins
Bolter King.............................. A set of bolters. A rubbish effort, but you do make the Penarth Times!
Copper..................................... The two outermost pins of a new frame
Diamond.................................. What the pins are set up on/as
Diddler..................................... Score of 34 or more (local rules) which wins you the pot (50p per week per player, £6 per night in total, rolling over until someone hits that elusive 34
Drive......................................... An original nickname for the mini-bus driver who takes us to away games
Eddie......................................... A score of 15 or less (because Nick "Eddie Stobart" Morgan is the only player to regularly hit this score or less!)
Frame....................................... The set of pins (or what's left of them after some have been knocked down)
Grub.......................................... Not the term for a dodgy effort on the alley - this is the traditional after match repast - usually cheese sandwiches, pickled onions and other local delicacies. Who does the best - let us know!
King Pin.................................... Front pin - also known as the "Grumble and Grunt" - geddit?. To help you, (and by God our lot need all the help they can get), it's usually marked by a stripe or two around it's neck
Lead Off................................... Speaks for itself really - first man off
Nine........................................... Flooring all nine pins with a set of balls (obvious really). Another way to make the Penarth Times.
Pin............................................. A skittle
Quarter.................................... The second row of pins
Roath or Roath Park............. 1) an area of Cardiff 2) Cockney rhyming slang for Brains Dark beer.............lovely!
Set............................................ 3 balls rolled
Spare....................................... A score of 10 or more
Splash...................................... Knocking over several pins (usually 5 or more) with 1 ball
Sticker-up............................... The unlucky lad tasked with sticking up anything up to 700 pins all night long - we do pay them though!
Sunshine................................. A set of 3 bolters - see "Bolter" and "Bolter King"
Top Dog ................................... The night's top scorer

 

Score Assessor

Use this handy reference to assess individual scores for a match

35+ Make him take a blood test. He must be on something (other than beer!)
30+ Excellent nights work, and a mention in the Penarth Times
25-30 Good effort. Keep it up
20-25 Not bad. Must try harder
15-20 Try rolling with the other hand, or better still blindfolded.
Less than 15 Transfer listed

Different types of skittle from around the UK

Wales / Glamorgan - the smallest of the pins at 6 - 8 inches high, thin with a bobble on top Gloucester - Barrel shaped pin about 10 inches high Bristol - A bulge in the middle about the same height as the Gloucester variety. Sometimes with a king pin

Devon - Very large pins with a bulge in the middle. 12 inches high with a kingpin that can be up to 15 inches high

Pictures courtesy of "Puppy Dog"