1. The league shall be known as” The Widnes & District Billiards & Snooker League”.(WDBSL)

2. The league shall be governed by a council. This council will consist of 1 Chairman, 1 Treasurer and 2 secretaries. These together with one representative from each club will meet as and when required. Representatives of at least 6 clubs must be present to form a quorum.

3. The retiring Chairman automatically becomes an ex-official member of the council.

4. The executive Committee shall consist of the officers of the league together with the elected members who will meet when required. Three members need to be present to for a quorum. Attendance records will be presented at each annual General Meeting.

5. The Annual General Meeting will be held no later than 31st July for the consideration of the rules and byelaws to agree the yearly accounts and to elect the President, Vice Presidents and officers for the ensuing season. All the members of the league are welcome to attend but each team is only allowed one vote.

6. Proposals for new rules or amendments to exiting rules must be received in writing by the secretary not less than 14 days prior to the AGM. No rules or byelaw shall be altered unless agreed by at 51% of those voting at the Annual General Meeting.

7. The Secretary shall call an Extraordinary General Meeting on notice to him signed representatives of 3 clubs, or upon request from the executive committee.

8. Any club failing to send a representative to the scheduled meetings will be fined. Executive Committee members are eligible to represent their club at such meetings and when own representative is present will still be allowed to vote.

9. Any matters arising whether covered by the rules or not shall be dealt with by the executive committee whose decision will be final.

10. All Fees & fines will be set by the executive committee.

11. Any Club or team infringing the rules will be liable to expulsion and/or fine if decided upon at any scheduled meeting or annual general meeting.

12. Any team playing an unregistered player will forfeit the frame, aggregate, a further 4 points and be fined.

13. Any team failing to fulfil a fixture will forfeit the match by the maximum amount, deducted a minimum of 3 points and be fined £20. This will be at the discretion of the executive committee taking into account any relevant circumstances.

14. Referees using mobile phones etc: If a referee is found to be using a mobile phone during the match he will be asked to stop, on the second occasion he will forfeit the frame for his team and lose the value of all the remain balls on the table. It is the responsibility of the captain to ensure that referees do not use mobile phones while refereeing.

15. Players are requested to be supportive of billiards & snooker in our league. The onus is on each player to play their part in this overall goal. We would ask players to refrain from the use of media (including social media on the Internet) for the following:

a. Communicating negatively about Widnes & District Billiards & Snooker League
b. Communicating negatively about committee members
c. Communicating negatively about sponsors
d. Communicating negatively about snooker clubs
e. Engaging in disputes with other players e.g., about disputes in the match etc.
f. Posting Photos on Media.
g. The Facebook page is a vital tool for circulating information and any abusive comments or personal attacks will be dealt with by the executive committee.

Any player found not to be in adherence to this behaviour off the table will be subject to disciplinary procedure.

16. The registration sheets must be received by the secretary on or before the annual general meeting. Clubs must have a minimum of 8 bona-fide members per team.

17. Requests for late registrations will be reviewed by the executive committee and will take a minimum of 7 days before the new player is eligible to play.

18. The committee reserve the right to refuse registration of any club or member.

19. Matches to commence at 7:30pm except for one table venues which will start at 7pm.

20. Should a team not have a player present within 15 minutes of the start of the match then they will forfeit either one or two games depending on the number of tables registered. They will also forfeit the match aggregate.

21. After commencement of a match play can not be suspended for more than 15 minutes of the defaulting team will be penalized as above (22).

22. All league and cup matches must be played on the appropriate date specified in the fixture table apart from two exceptions:-

a. Where a player or team is involved in another competitions which takes precedence.
b. Both parties agree on the fixture change and that the fixture is brought forward. This must be put to and agreed by the executive committee in the first instance.

23. The handicap for a team knock-out competition will be assessed on the team registrations except where a request has been made to de-registrate a player for the remainder of the season. Only applicable to a scratch league.

24. The executive committee reserve the right to override any rule if it is deemed in the best interest of the league.
Scoring System

25. League matches in all divisions will have 9 points available, 1 point for each individual frame and 3 points for the aggregate (including any handicap). The most any one player can concede in a league game is 50 points cap on the individual handicaps. In cup competitions handicaps will not be changed and there will be no cap.

26. Frames ending in a draw will have the black ball re-spotted to decide the frame, but the points will not be added to the aggregate score. Where a match ends in a draw the aggregate will be decide two players re-spotting the black ball.

27. In the event of a drawn game and match in the last frame the re-spotted black will decide the frame and match aggregate.

28. Any team not providing the correct number of players will lose 1 point per frame and 3 points for the aggregate regardless of the outcome of the other frames.

Billiards

29. All players will be allocated a individual handicap with games played to 130up with handicaps on the board. All games will be played on a roll on roll off basis (any available table must be used for the next frame). One point will be available for each frame and two points for the team aggregate. In total 7 points per are available per match.

30. Any team not providing the correct number of players will lose one point per frame and forfeit the aggregate points. Cup games will be -130 for each player absent.

31. Any player playing off an incorrect handicap and gaining an advantage will lose the frame points and will also forfeit the aggregate points.

32. If a team drops out of the league having played less than half of the fixtures then teams record will be expunged. If however the a team drops out having played more than half of the fixtures their records will be maintained up to the halfway point will remain and any matches after the half way point will be expunged.

33. In the event of teams tying for places governing prizes the deciding game will be played on a neutral table and no practicing will be allowed on that table before the match.

34. In all team games the order of play be decided by the captains. In 1 3 5 for the home team and 2 4 6 for the away team.

35. The home team has the choice of tables.

36. Referee of matches will be shared. In Billiards the away team will ref just 2 frames.

37. The home team will play with the yellow ball and be marked spot (top of board).

38. The away team will play with the white and be scored on plain (bottom of the board).

39. Where a match is played at a neutral venue the nomination of players will be alternative with the first name being decided with a coin toss.

40. All games will be played using the EASB rules (English Association for Snooker & Billiards).

Promotion and Relegation

41. Promotion and relegation will apply to the snooker league with two teams usually being relegated and 2 teams being promoted from each division. Should a team wish to remain in the current division and not get promoted then the higher placed team from the division above will remain in that division and not be relegated.

42. The executive committee reserve the right to amend or alter the number of teams relegated o0r promoted to ensure the smooth running of the league.

43. The Executive committee reserve the right to place any team in the division deemed most suitable for their strength of team.

44. The captain of the winning team must send an image of the match result to the records secretary (Phil Whitehead) by 12 midnight on the day of the match.

45. Failure to send in the result could result in a fine.

46. Where an objection occurs during a match the sheet should not be signed as this would confirm the result to be correct. Any objection should be made in writing to the secretary not later than 48 hours after the match. The executive committee’s decision will be final in all cases.

47. All monies due to the league from clubs and individuals must be paid by the 31st December unless otherwise agreed with the Treasurer (Chris Achilles). Failure to pay fees by the agreed date could result in the team being suspended until the outstanding payments are received.

48. Players who register for different clubs in both snooker and billiards must play their singles competitions at the club relevant to the match being played.

49. Home fixtures must be played at the correct club unless both player mutually agree to play at an alternative venue.
Competition Rules

50. Competition Winners will be handicapped -10 points for the following season.

51. Competition runners up will be handicapped -5 points for the following season.

52. In all individual and pairs competitions play should start at 7:30 unless agreed by both parties.

53. In the event of a player not showing up within 30 minutes of the agreed start time the match will be forfeited.

54. It is the responsibility of both parties to make contact with the opponent in good time.

55. The home player must offer 3 non-consecutive dates to play the match.

56. If no game is played both players will be removed from the competition unless a player can prove that they made reasonable attempts to play the match. The decision of the executive committee will be final in all cases.

57. It is the winning players resistibility to communicate the result.

58. Any handicaps must be agreed by the players before the start of a game. If there is and error spotted after the match the result still stands.

59. The Billiards Handicap will be played 250 up and a player off double their handicap.

60. The full miss rule will only be played in the semi final and final of the snooker championship.

61. Dress code for all individual finals will be smart casual. Collared shirt, pants and trousers. This will be strictly enforced by the committee. Failure to follow the dress code will mean a player will not be allowed to compete. No Jeans no Trainers.

62. Dress code in 61 also applies to semi finals of the billiards championship and snooker championship.

63. The 6 reds competition will be played off half league handicaps best of 3 up to the semi-final which will be best of 5. The final will be played at a venue selected by Jay Bright’s family and be played best of 7.

64. The semi finals and final of the billiards championship will be played over two hours with a 15-minute break after the 1st hour.

65. The Quarter Final, Semi final and final of the snooker championship will be best of 5 frames.

66. The snooker handicap competitions and doubles competitions will be best of 3 throughout.

Team Cup Rules

67. It I the twinning team captains responsibly to send in the result of the match.

68. Members of the league can only play for one snooker team and one billiards team in any one season.

69. All Individual trophies must be handed back to the committee by no later than end of Match.

70. There is a mandatory dress code for all league finals. Trousers, shoes, and a collared shirt. No jeans or trainers allowed.

71. A scheduled match can be played on a different night if both team captains agree and make the committee aware of the re-arranged date. This date must be before the scheduled match date.

Additional Voted in Rules (July 24)

72. Snooker - Shared refs for matches.

73. Snooker - Championship quarters increased to best of 5.

74. Snooker - Championship Quarters Miss Rule capped at 3.

75. Snooker - Championship Semi Final & Final - Full Miss Rule.

76. 14 Day cap on any sheet errors being reported/corrected.