Official Rules and Regulations

AFA Official Rules & Regulations of Fowling Play

The following guidelines are the Official Rules and Regulations of the American Fowling Association (AFA). These rules and regulations have been developed to govern AFA sanctioned tournament play. The rules are not a mandate, but rather a guideline to promote consistent and standard Fowling play around the country. It is the responsibility of the American Fowling Association to strive to meet these rules and regulations in all AFA sanctioned tournaments.

OFFICIAL RULES OF FOWLING

Published By The AMERICAN FOWLING ASSOCIATION (AFA)

(Last Revision April 21, 2013)

RULE 1 – OFFICIAL FOWLING LANE FIELD OF PLAY

Section A. Dimensions – The Fowling Lane field of play shall be a level rectangular area setup either on grass, pavement, or asphalt that stretches between two regulation-sized fowling lanes at a distance of 48 feet apart. The width of the official fowling lane field of play shall extend to the sides of the Fowling Lanes indefinitely. The field of play should consist of two fowling lanes, with designated throwing lines for men and women. Men throw from behind that back edge of their Fowling Lane. Women may throw from behind the front edge of their Fowling Lane. A north-south orientation is recommended in outdoor venues to minimize the effects of the sun throughout the day.

Section B. Throwing Area – Players throwing the football are required to stand behind the imaginary foul line beginning along the back edge of the Fowling Lane (for men) or the front edge of the Fowling Lane (for women) and extending to infinity. If at any time during the throw, a player’s foot crosses the foul line, a foul throw occurs resulting in the loss of a turn & the replacement of any pins that are knocked down as a result of the foul throw. Throwers must remain in the throwing area while throwing the football in order to score an official knockdown.

Section C. Multiple Fowling Lanes – Although the influence of errant thrown footballs and other objects are a part of the game of Fowling, in order to minimize their effect, it is recommended that any Fowling Lanes adjacent to each other shall be a minimum of 15 feet apart.

Section D. Foul Lines – There are two sets of foul lines: (1) the Men’s play foul line and (2) the Women’s play foul line. These foul lines shall be defined as an imaginary line 48 feet from the back edge of the opponents Fowling Lane for men; or 32 feet from the back edge of the opponents Fowling Lane for women. For Fowling Lanes that meet AFA specifications, this foul line will be parallel to the back edges of the Fowling Lanes for men or the front edges of the Fowling Lanes for women. See the diagram below.

Section E. Covered Or Indoor Fowling Lanes - Section E. Covered Or Indoor Fowling Lanes - The regulations for covered and indoor Fowling Lanes are exactly the same with the additional stipulation that they shall have a minimum 30 foot vertical clearance to the lowest possible obstruction.

RULE 2 - PLAYING EQUIPMENT – FOWLING LANES, BOWLING PINS, AND FOOTBALLS

Section A. Equipment Standards - The AFA has adopted the following equipment specifications and standards for Fowling play:

The surface of each Fowling Lane shall be a 42" x 96" rectangle made of half inch plywood. In order to optimize transportation of the Fowling Lane, lanes made of two 42” x 48” plywood boards may also be used as long as they are fastened together during tournament play. AFA sanctioned tournaments should only be played on wooden Fowling lanes as there is significant variance in play between wooden and plastic or other surfaces.

The bowling pin arrangement shall consist of ten regulation sized bowling pins in the standard, triangular bowling pin arrangement with equidistant 12” spacing between each pin from center to center.

The Fowling Lanes shall have solid wood sides of 2”x 4” lumber fastened to the underside of the Fowling Lane edges.

The Fowling Lane play surface shall be finish sanded to a very smooth texture and there shall not be any blemishes in the wood surface that might disrupt or distort play.

The Fowling Lane play surface shall be painted with a high gloss latex paint resulting in a surface that is clean and free of blemishes. Fowling lanes can be painted in any color for tournament play.

Bowling pins used for Fowling tournament play must be of regulation size and weight and meet the standards of the United States Bowling Congress (USBC).

NFL footballs used for Fowling tournament play must be of regulation size and weight and meet the standards of the National Football League.

Section B. AFA Seal Of Approval - The AFA shall issue its Seal of Approval to any Fowling Lane equipment manufacturer or reseller of Fowling products that agrees to abide by the AFA standards for design and play. Fowling equipment carrying the AFA Seal of Approval is preferred for AFA sanctioned tournaments and is recommended for all Fowling events to assure more consistent play.

RULE 3 - THROWING DISTANCES

Section A. Men - Section A. Men - All open male contestants shall throw from the throwing area behind the 48 foot foul lines. Physically impaired adults or seniors may, if agreed by all contestants, observe the 32 foot foul lines.

Section B. Women – All open female contestants may pitch from any place, but must observe the 32 foot foul lines.

RULE 4 – FOWLING LANE PREPARATION AND MAINTENANCE

Section A. Fowling Lane Maintenance - Every effort shall be made to keep the Fowling lane play surface in perfect playing condition. Fowling lanes should be free of anything that might distract a contestant during play. Each player is responsible for making sure the lanes are in good playing condition prior to starting the match. During a match, players shall not be allowed to alter the Fowling lanes in any manner without the consent of the opponent or a tournament official.

Section B. Distractions During Play - Every effort shall be made to keep from distracting players during Fowling tournament play. Drinks and other personal belongings should be placed behind the Fowling Lanes in designated beverage holders or other secure locations to keep from distracting other players.

RULE 5 - PLAY OF THE GAME

Section A. Singles Or Doubles Play - Fowling can be played as doubles or singles. In doubles play, two players are partners against another team of two players; in singles play, a single player competes against another player. In doubles play, team members throw from the same Fowling lane to their opponent’s Fowling Lane. In singles play, players throw from opposite fowling lanes.

Section B. Start of Match – Each Fowling match begins with a coin toss. The winner of the coin toss can either choose to take the first or last throw OR choose which lane to defend. The team that throws first also chooses the first thrower. Each team alternates throwing the football to their opponent’s bowling pins attempting to knock them down. Within each team, players also rotate as thrower.

Section C. Frames - Every Fowling match is broken down into frames of play. During each frame of play, opponents alternate throws, ending the frame when one team knocks down all of their opponent’s pins. Winning two out of three frames wins the match.

Section D. Football Throws

In doubles play, the team that throws first begins by throwing to their opponent’s bowling pins. If the football clears the Fowling lane field of play, it may be handled at that time by the opposing team. Any football that remains in the field of play, must be left alone until it comes to a complete stop. Upon completion of each throw, the opposing team may now throw to their opponent’s bowling pins. The two teams alternate until all of the bowling pins from one team are knocked down, thereby ending the frame.
If the team throwing first is first to knock down all of their opponent’s bowling pins, their opponent is allowed one more throw, called an Equalizer, to try to tie the frame. If they knock down all of their opponent’s bowling pins on this Equalizer Throw, the frame goes into overtime. (see Overtime below)
Delivery in singles play is handled in the same manner with each of the two players alternating throws until all of their opponent’s bowling pins have been knocked down. Overtime rules apply the same as in doubles play.

Section E. Overtime – If a tie occurs at the end of a frame, overtime rules are invoked. Overtime is a sudden death contest to determine the winner. At the beginning of Overtime, each team places one pin on any position on the Fowling Lane for their opponent to throw at. A coin toss determines which team throws first and the first team to knock down the overtime pin wins. There is no Equalizer throw by the opposing team in overtime.

Section F. Downing of Pins – Pins can be knocked down in a number of ways that result in a legal downing. Apart from knocking down pins by throwing a football during normal Fowling play, pins that are knocked down due to an errant throw of another set of players, wind, rain, or any other act of God, are also considered legally down. All downed pins are to be cleared by the thrower's opponent after each throw once the ball has stopped moving. The following is a summary of legal downing by category.

Down by Throw – Pins that are knocked down by a legal throw involving a player throwing from the throwing area are said to be down by throw. These pins can be knocked down either by direct contact with the football or by direct contact with other pins.
Down by the Elements – Pins that are knocked down by an errant throw from other Fowling players, wind, rain, snow, earthquakes or any other act of God are said to be down by the elements.
Down by Clearing – Any pins that are knocked down during the act of clearing pins after a throw are said to be down by clearing.

Section G. Throwing Position

A player may throw the football from anywhere in the throwing area behind the foul line, but, in any one frame, each throw must be delivered from the same throwing area. A player shall pitch the entire tournament with the same hand or arm, except in the case of a medical emergency.
Each player shall throw the football within 20 seconds. The time shall start when the player steps onto the throwing area with the intention of throwing.

Section H. Throwing Rotation During The Match - The team who won in the preceding frame shall throw first in the next frame.

Section I. Position Of Players During Delivery

The thrower must maintain constant contact with the designated throwing area (See diagram above) during the entire address and release of the football. The opponents, while not throwing, shall stand at least 2 feet behind the Fowling lane while the thrower is throwing.
If both players use the same spot in the throwing area to deliver the football, the player throwing next should stand two feet behind his/her teammate while they are throwing.

Section J. Foul Throws - A foul throw is a throw that is taken in non-compliance with one of the rules of the game. A foul throw results in a loss of turn and the replacement of any pins knocked down by the foul throw to their original upright position.

The following are rule violations that must be spotted and called by a player or assigned judge. The penalty is to declare a foul throw, which requires the downed pins to be returned to their original upright position prior to resuming play.

(a) Any football thrown when the player has made contact with or crossed over the foul line before the football is released.
(b) Except as provided above, any football thrown when the player has started or stepped completely outside the throwing area before releasing the football.
(c) Any football not thrown within the twenty second time limit.
(d) Any football that leaves a player's hand once the final forward swing of the delivery process has started shall count as a thrown football. A football that is accidentally dropped by a player before the final forward swing has started shall not be considered foul and may be picked up and thrown.

Section K. Protests - If a player desires to make a protest, the protest shall be made to the judge or tournament official at the time the problem occurs. The tournament judge shall make the final ruling on all protests.

RULE 6 - LENGTH OF THE GAME

Section A. Point Limits - The Fowling match shall be played until the first team of players wins two frames. The winning team does not need to win by two or more frames to register a match victory.

Section B. Equalizer Throws - The Fowling match cannot end if the team that throws first also knocks down all their opponents bowling pins first. Their opponent must be allowed an Equalizer Throw to attempt to force overtime. If this team knocks down all of their opponent’s bowling pins with this one throw, overtime rules are invoked. If they do not, they lose the frame.

Section C. Overtime – If the Fowling frame is tied, one pin is setup on each Fowling Lane and play continues in a sudden death format until one team knocks down their opponent’s remaining pin to win the frame (see Overtime rules).

Section D. Winning - The Fowling match continues until two frames are won. Winning by two frames is not required to register a match victory.

RULE 7 - APPROPRIATE AFA MEMBER CONDUCT

Section A. On The Lanes - An AFA member, while in competition, shall make no disturbing noises or movements that would distract the opponent or competitors on adjacent lanes. The first offense shall call for a warning from the judge or tournament official. A second offense shall call for a forfeiture of the match being played. Any further offenses shall call for a forfeiture of all games.

Section B. Off The Lanes - Any AFA member who indulges in heckling, unfair rooting, or any other form of unsportsmanlike conduct toward any AFA member or tournament official, shall be subject to expulsion from the tournament and the tournament site. This covers any inappropriate behavior (including profane or abusive language) in, or around, the lane area. The member shall also be subject to a one year suspension from the AFA.