I hope you’ve all survived the festivities and are ready for SMB to get underway again. Our first fixture of 2025 is at Yorkley on January 10th.
Because we are now a ten team league, we have a new structure for the end of season playoffs:
1. The top four teams at the end of the season will go straight into the championship finals.
2. The teams in fifth and sixth position will go through to the plate competition final.
3. Teams in seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth places will play in the plate eliminators, with the top two going through to the plate final.
This format will give all teams a chance to take part in the playoffs.
The venues will be drawn at Yorkley on January 10th. As Yorkley and Longhope hosted last season’s finals, they will not be in this year’s draw.
All the finals will be played to a conclusion.
1. Should there be teams tied at the end of play in the plate eliminators, the results will be decided by a penalty shootout.
2. In the plate final, there will also be a penalty shootout in the event of a tie.
3. In the Championship final, should we have teams finish on equal points, they will play a sudden death end, if the jack is taken off or the end should be tied, it will go to a penalty shootout.
The Forest League has never been afraid of trying different ways of playing and making competitions more challenging and exciting.
A New Year quiz question:
When was the last time the ESMBA or the GSMBA came up with a new idea for Short Mat Bowls?
Clue: Peter Pan lives there.
Regards,
Mike E
