Snooker Rules

Torbay & District Winter League -

Administrator - Dan Lewis | danlewis87@hotmail.com |

League

Cups

TORBAY & DISTRICT BILLIARDS LEAGUE RULES

1. The league shall be known as "THE TORBAY AND DISTRICT BILLIARDS LEAGUE" .
2. Members of the League shall be CLUBS,INDIVIDUALS AND HONORARY MEMBERS.
3. The object of the League is to promote the welfare of such games as are played on an English Billiards table and to arrange such competitions as shall be decided from time to time .
4. The organisation of the League shall be the responsibility of the Management Committee who shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting and shall consist of :

(a) President
(b) Vice-Presideynt
(c) Chairman
(d) Vice-Chairman
(e) Secretary
(f) Fixture Secretary & Press Officer
(g) Competition Secretary
(h) Treasurer
(i) Ten members, any six of whom shall form a quorum, inclusive of (a) to (h). 50 per cent of which to retire annually.
Nominations for Officers and committee must be made in writing and received by the Secretary at least 7 days prior to the Annual General Meeting.
(AGM July 2010) Any committee member missing three (3) committee meetings in a twelve (12) month period will deemed to of vacated their position on the committee.
5. Meetings shall consist of of the following:
(1) The Annual General Meeting
(2) General Meetings as and when required
(3) Management and sub-committee meetings as and when required.
6. The Secretary shall call meetings under rule 5 when requested to do so by the League President or Chairman or by six clubs who are members of the League. The Secretary shall ensure that each club which is a member of the League receives notice of a General or Annual Meeting together with a copy of the Agenda not later than 21 (twenty one) days before such meeting.

7. PROCEDURE AT MEETINGS

At all meetings of the Management Committee or Sub-Committee thereof, all Management Committee members present shall be entitled to vote. Any member (see Rule 2) may attend a General Meeting or an Annual General Meeting but voting at such meetings will restricted to Officers of the League, members of the Management Committee and one representative of each team entered in the League who shall be nominated by his/her team.
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At all meetings the Chairman shall have the casting vote.

Only business shown on the Agenda shall be transacted at a General or Annual General Meeting, and only at the discretion of the Chairman may any other business be discussed.

Any item may be placed on the Agenda of a General or Annual General Meeting if sent to the Secretary in writing by a member of the League and seconded by another member no later than 7 ( seven) days prior to the meeting.

8. Alterations to the Rules may only be made at a General or Annual General Meeting and which is attended by at least 10 (ten) members who are entitled to vote at such meetings, ( one member - one vote) provided there is a two-thirds majority, either FOR or AGAINST. ( NO POSTAL VOTES WILL BE ACCEPTED AT THESE MEETINGS).
In the event of a quorum level not being reached at a General or Annual Meeting, the Secretary shall call another such meeting, which will have the powers to transact the business of the meeting, whatever the attendance level.

9. For the purpose of the voting under Rule 7 , a team registered in the league as at January 1st shall be deemed to be a member for voting purposes.

10. The League Management Committee shall have the authority for the correct interpretation of the Rules of the League and shall have full jurisdiction on all matters not provided for in these Rules and deal with all matters that may arise.

11. Team entry Fees shall be decided at the Annual General Meeting and shall be due with the team entry.

12. Match Fees and Cup Entry Fees, if due to be changed, shall be decided at the Annual General Meeting or at a General Meeting. The Management Committee are empowered to request any Team or Club to pay their Match Fees due for the season in advance of that season.

13. Team Captains shall collect from each player of his team the sum decided at the Annual General Meeting for each League game played. He shall hand this to the Treasurer monthly or at such interval as requested by the League Management Committee.
13a (AGM 2016 ) Players under the age of eighteen (18 ) do not have to pay leagues fees.

14. Cup Entry Fees as specified under Rule 12 shall be paid to the Competition Secretary at the time of entry. No entry to a Cup Competition will be accepted unless the payment has been received.

15. All games shall be played under the Rules of The English Association for Snooker and Billiards ( the governing body)

16. REGISTRATION OF PLAYERS
All players must register in writing with the league to play for one club only, and must be a bona fide member of that club . Transfer to another club can only be made in accordance with (g) below.

STATUS OF PLAYERS

(a) Registered players will be awarded a status : Premier, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc
(b) A player's status may change from Winter to Summer Leagues.
(c) Status will be changed if a player is promoted, relegated or if an application to change is approved by the Management Committee.
(d) A player who plays in 3 (three) matches of a HIGHER division status will automatically be up graded to that division.
(e) A player may not play for a team of a LOWER status than himself/herself unless previous permission has been obtained to change his/her status .
(f) Application to change status must be made in writing to the Fixture Secretary. Pending approval by the Management Committee, temporary permission may be given by the Fixture Secretary.
(g) Application to change clubs , must be made in writing,with fee and sent with the club membership card to the Fixture Secretary. Pending approval by the Management Committee, temporary permission may be given by the Fixture Secretary.
(h) A player may not play for another club other than the club to which he/she is registered without first obtaining permission (see (f) above ) .
(I) A player who wishes to change clubs for the Summer League only, must apply in writing to the Fixture Secretary. No charge will be made if his/her regular club/team is NOT entering a team for the SUMMER LEAGUE. Otherwise the normal fee will be charged.
(j) PLAYERS only will be relegated or promoted, not teams.
(k) A player may not play for another team in the same division unless he/she has obtained permission from the Fixture Secretary .
(l) No player will be permitted to play for more than one team in the Locock Cup or Dennis Andrews cup.
(m) Registration Fees
Initial registration of players Nil
Status change Nil
Club change 50 pence

(July2010) Any team entering more than six (6) players on an entry form will pay a �2:00 surcharge per player listed after the sixth player .
17. League snooker matches shall be played on Thursday except where authorisation has been given to play on some other day by the Management Committee.
18. Snooker and Billiards teams will consist of the number of players decided at a General or Annual General Meeting.
19. The number of points per frame shall be decided at a General or Annual General Meeting preceding the start of the season.
20. The CAPTAINS of each team , shall , before the commencement of the match , present each other with a list of their team members in order of play and this order shall be adhered to unless otherwise agreed by both captains. The first game shall start not later than 7.30pm . All subsequent games shall start not later than 15 minutes after the end of the previous game. There will be 15 minutes waiting time after 7.30pm before the frame can be claimed i.e not before 7.45pm. Subsequent frames to be allowed 15 minutes waiting time , so that the 2nd frame could be claimed at 8.00pm , the third at 8.15pm and fourth at 8.30pm. No waiting time is permitted after 9.30pm.
After the teams are matched no team shall introduce a reserve player unless one of the nominated players is unavailable. Only then can a reserve player play in place of the nominated player .
Any games not completed for whatever reason must be noted on the result card . Scores of the incomplete game(s) must be entered and the reasons for the non completion made known to the Fixture Secretary in a written report signed by the respective captains.
Rule 21) (AGM 2018)
Result Cards to be posted by the Home Side (or visitors if required) on either the Torbay Snooker League or Chit Chat Websites directly at the conclusion of the match, or by Text Message (Picture Preferably) direct to the Fixture Secretary.

Rule22)
Points will be deducted from the Home Side for late posting of results as follows

1 (one) point for results posted after midnight on the match day
2 (two) points for results not posted by 9am on the day following the match.

Rule 22a)
Home Captains to retain result cards for the current season (in case of any dispute or appeal) The Fixture Secretary will advise Captains when cards can be disposed of (expected to be the issuing of the final league tables of that season)

22b (AGM July 2004 ) No team will receive points for merely turning up for the fixture .
Matches will be played as per fixture list. Money fines may be imposed on teams for non attendance of a fixture and points will be deducted from the offending team.
23. (AGM July 1996) League players will automatically receive trophies for promotion or highest averages if they have played 60% of frames in a season.
23a ( AGM July 2000) Any player not collecting or making arrangements to collect a trophy on presentation evenings shall forfeit the trophy.
24. ( AGM July 1996) In the event of a tie at the end of a season the team with the most wins will be promoted or NOT relegated .
25. ( AGM July 1999) PROFESSIONAL snooker players are excluded from ALL CUP competitions except the Locock cup and Dennis Andrews cup
26. (AGM 2012) Some players in each division will play off a handicap as decided by the Management Committee ( or Sub Committee) . These players will be notified at the commencement of each season; this handicap will be their league match handicap and may be different from their competition handicap.

CONDUCT OF PLAYERS
(EGM November 2011) No player in the league should make any comments either verbally or in writing in any form or medium including social networking sites about other players/teams or clubs associated with the league that may cause offence to any other players/teams or clubs associated with the league . If an individual does this the committee may consider this misconduct and will have the power to either impose a monetary fine or suspend or ban the individual from all league and cup matches.

3. SOCIAL MEDIA
(AGM 2017)
The league will use various platforms to promote our league its affiliated clubs and members for the purpose of generating interest in snooker playing in and around Torbay.
Currently we have an official Facebook page. This page will publish things like cup draws, league fixtures and results, minutes to meetings and general news. People are free to comment on this page and communicate to the league if required.
The league also has a 'chit chat' page, this to we will be used to communicate the same information, however this page is meant to be more engaging and lighthearted at the same time. However the league management committee expect a reasonable standard of behaviour on both and future platforms we may decide to use.
Foul and abusive language will NOT be tolerated, also bringing the league or any clubs or members of the league into disrepute or unduly criticising any clubs or members will be deleted by administrators of those pages. The league will punish offenders, punishments could and will range from temporary blocking of sites, to suspension and or fines or banning from the league.
The league can not monitor all forms of social media but ask all its members to be respectful of others members of the league and its clubs, even on other platforms.
If the league feels that members are being rude and disrespectful to other members and it is bought to our attention then the league reserve the right to punish individuals accordingly.

FIXTURES
All matches to be played on the date on the Fixture List - or before if both Captains agree. Regular infringement of this rule will render the team and its players liable to suspension from the League. The only exception to this rule will be if matches are called off due to inclement weather.
Any team failing to turn up for a scheduled fixture, except for extenuating circumstances as accepted by a Sub-Committee convened for this purpose , shall be fined �10.00 (Ten Pounds) on the first occasion, �20.00 (Twenty Pounds) for failing to fulfil a fixture for the second time in a season AND WILL BE BARRED from the League if they fail to fulfil three fixtures in one season. All leagues fees and fines incurred by the team will be expected to be paid in full for the season, irrespective as to what stage a team is barred from the League. If the aforementioned fine is not paid within 14 days of scheduled fixture date , the Management Committee shall be empowered to take such action deemed necessary including the levying of penalty points to a maximum of six and /or suspension of player/s . In the event of any dispute , a protest must be sent to the Secretary in writing , which will subsequently be dealt with by the Management Committee. Home teams shall be responsible for providing a referee. E.A.S.B. referee to take precedence.
Four frames of snooker constitutes a game. However any team failing to for fill the fixture in full will have two points deducted for every frame not played. Points in the final three fixtures and will be carried over to the following season/seasons .
(E.G.M. 2022)
If a team only has 2 players then 6 frames are still played but the offending team who only have 2 players can only take a maximum of 4 points from the match but the opposing team can still take the maximum 6 frames available.
The first 4 frames played are the only 4 points the offending team can take and the last 2 frames are void if the offending team win. They still get penalised 2 points for not fielding a full side but the other team don�t get any free points

(AGM 2010) Teams failing to for fill their fixtures near the end of a season will have points deducted that season and points will also be deducted the following season, players deemed to be responsible may carry the points deduction with them even if they change team or club. Monetary fines may also be applied.
(AGM 2017) 1. The Miss rule be fully applied ( as per professional standard) in all Premier Division matches for two consecutive shots only.

Covid rule for postponed games
(A.G.M2021)
If a club or venue gets closed due an outbreak of Covid and games can not be played on due date, then firstly there will be no penalties ( either monetary or points) imposed by the league to either teams. All games however must be played within four weeks of original fixture, teams should consider playing the fixture in reverse if possible ,i.e. the home team would play away.
If the fixture is in the last three weeks of the season then the game has to be completed before the end of the season otherwise the committee will decide the result and its decision will be final and can not be appealed.
It is the responsibility of the team captain to inform the fixture secretary of the situation and where possible to inform the opposing side of the situation

Covid rule for teams effected by players tested positive with covid

If players test positive for covid obviously they must not play whilst testing positive and or ill, if a team is short of players and can not call on a reserve player, then as per rule for clubs or venues then the match has to be played within four weeks of original fixture. It is the responsibility of the team captain to inform the Fixture Secretary of the situation.

DRESS
The various clubs within the framework of the Torbay and District Billiards League have rules pertaining to dress which may vary from club to club.
Some clubs insist on the collar and tie mode of dress, whilst others accept casual but near standard.
IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH PLAYER TO CONFORM TO THE STANDARD OF DRESS REQUIRED BY THE CLUB HE/SHE MAY BE VISITING.
27. Any team which, for any reason,fails to complete , or take part in , any season for which it has been properly entered, and accepted,by the Committee, shall be liable to a fine of �3.00 for each match which remains unfulfilled. The fine shall apply equally to both the team itself and to the players as individuals and any fine which remaimpns unpaid after one month of its levy shall bar such teams and or players from entering in any form of competition run under the auspices of the Torbay and District Billiards League. For the purposes of this rule - where the fine is to be divided between players , the split in dues shall be either :-
1. Equally between the team's registered players.
2. Between the players in proportion to the number of games played for that team.
3. In such other manner as the Committee deems fair.
In addition to any fine levied under this rule , all March Fees due from completed games will still be due and must be paid in full to the Treasurer in accordance to Rule 13.
Should a player be due to play a match at a club he/she is barred , for any reason whatsoever, that player will forfeit that particular match.
28. CUP COMPETITIONS
Conditions of entry
(1) Entries to be submitted in writing to the Competition Secretary
(2) players must reside within a 15 (fifteen) mile radius of Paignton Post Office at the time of entry.
(3) Entries may be limited
(4) Subject to availability of tables at any one club.
(5) Entry to all competitions will be free and open to all with the proviso that to qualify to win any Trophy or Cash Prize the player(s) have to have participated in at least one third (33.3%) of the preceding Summer or Winter League�s fixtures (or 1 years league fixtures) however all players will qualify to be presented with the Competition�s Perpetual Trophies.
(6) Under age players will only be accepted on the proviso that, should the under age player be drawn away to a club which does not permit under age players to play at the club ,then that under age player must forfeit the match.
(7) Any player , at the commencement of any season , who is classified as being of professional playing status ( a member of WPBSA) shall not be allowed to compete in any individual or pairs cup competition.
(8) No player shall be able to play for more than one team in the Locock cup or Dennis Andrews cup.
(9) (AGM July 2012) In the quarter final and further stages of the Locock and Dennis Andrews cup only players who have played a minimum of fifty per cent of the league matches for which they are registered for in that season can play.
10(AGM July 2012) In the Dennis Andrews and Locock cup matches any team with a minus handicap player ( as per competition handicap) must play their matches off the team handicap against their opponents who will also play off their team handicap no matter what division either side play in .

CUP RULES
(a) Home games are to be played on the table of the club from which the first names player applied . This rule may be deferred subject to mutual agreement by players concerned.
(b) Home player/s to be responsible for providing a referee .E.A.S.B. referee to take precedence.
(c) The calendar dates must be strictly adhered to.
(d) All cup competitions will be played on a knock out principle unless decreed by Management Committee.
(e) All matches to be arranged in conjunction with the date published on the draw sheet. The home named player/s will offer 2 (two) dates for completion of the match. This may be done either by direct contact or by letter to the opponent's club. A Sunday may only be offered as a third alternative. Both home and away players are equally responsible for making contact in all competitions, if the match is not played within the specified time both players may be scratched from the competition.
(f) Dates offered must not conflict with opponent's Torbay League commitments
(g) Times offered must be between 7.00pm and 9.00pm. or by mutual agreement.
(h) An away player MUST accept one of the dates offered within 7 (seven) days of receipt offer.
(I) The Competition Secretary must be notified of the result of the match or a WRITTEN reason why the game should be awarded to one of the players not later than the date indicated on the competition sheet.
(j) It is the responsibility of the winner or claimant to notify the Competition Secretary of match results , including the Locock Cup Competition. Failure to notify will result in the elimination of both players/teams.
(k) Match results not received by the Competition Secretary on the published closing date of the round may cause the elimination of all players.
(l) Reasons for claiming a match may include :-
(1) Dates and/or times not correctly given
(2) Dates/times not accepted
(3) Opponent(s) arriving more than the permitted 30 minutes late.
(4) Ungentlemanly behaviour or conduct by an opponent.
Method of claiming a match:-
WRITTEN claims must be submitted and must include :-
(1) date and venue of match
(2) date claim made
(3) details of claim
(4) signature of claimant
(5) signature of witness ( if possible)
(6) must be made prior to next draw
(m) All claims will be brought before the League Management Committee or Draw Sub-Committee who will in turn render any verdict necessary, taking into account any extenuating circumstances.
(n) Semi-Finals and Final matches will be played wherever possible on a neutral table. These matches will be arranged by the League Management Committee or Draw Sub-Committee.
In the event of the absence of a player or players at the appointed starting time at a Final, the offender/s will be allowed another 5 minutes grace, if not present at that time , the offender/s shall forfeit one frame/game. If not present after a further 15 minutes , the offender/s shall forfeit a second frame/game and if not present after another 16 minutes (i.e 35 minutes after the official starting time ), the match.
(o) All clubs , teams and individuals accept adherence to these rules as a condition of entry to any competition organised by the League.
(p) The League Management Committee shall have the authority to modify or change any Cup competition rules at the request of a sponsor.u
(q) (July 2005) All semi-finals to be best of 5 frames
(r) (July 2005 ) Powe Cup to be open to all players of a handicap of plus 10 .
(s) (July 2005) The Sutton cup to be open to all players over the age of 45 years.
HANDICAPS
Handicaps to be reviewed at the end of each season and will be altered by a sub committee by +5 or -5 ( or more at the discretion of the committee), depending on average achieved in each season with a GUIDE line of 70% upper and lower than 30%
games won .
Each division will have a minimum handicap ( or at the discretion of the League Handicap Committee). All players will play off scratch in all divisions unless a minus handicap is given. All new players will play off scratch until they are accessed and given a handicap by the League Handicap Committee.