Snooker Rules

Fylde Private Clubs Snooker League - Thursday -

Administrator - Roy McElhinney | roysnooker147@gmail.com | 07951391445

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Fylde Private Clubs Snooker League Rules
Contents

League Rules:-
1. The League & Players
2. League Officers
3. Complaints/Executive Council (inc. EGM’s) – (League Rule 5 also refers)
4. AGM (League Rule 15 also refers)
5. Appeals – (League Rule 3 also refers)
6. Rules
7. Divisions (League Rule 9 & Bye-law 12 also refer)
8. Prizes (Bye-law 13 also refers)
9. New Team Applications)(League Rule 7 & Bye-law 12 also refer)
10. Accounts
11. League Fees (Club Fees)
12. Player Fees (Bye-law 5 also refers)
13. Bye-laws
14. Premises
15. Meeting/Official League E-mails
16. Conduct (League Rule 5 refers)

Bye-Laws:-
1. Format of Matches (Bye-laws 1, 7 & 8 also refer)
2. Match Times
3. Postponement of Matches
4. No Show for Matches
5. Player Registration (League Rules 12 refers)
6. Handicaps & New Players
7. Score Sheets (Bye-laws 1 & 8 also refer)
8. Order of Play/Markers/Refreshments (Bye-laws 1 & 7 also refer)
9. Fixtures
10. Markers/Miss Rule
11. Entering Results
12. League Placings (League Rules 9 refers)
13. Prizes (League Rule 8 refers)

FYLDE PRIVATE CLUBS SNOOKER LEAGUE
LEAGUE RULES

1. THE LEAGUE & PLAYERS
The League shall be designated "The Fylde Private Clubs Snooker League" and shall be open to all registered players of the clubs accepted by the League (Rule 12 refers). In addition the name of a League sponsor may be added where one is available. The term ‘registered player’ shall be deemed to mean a player who is a fully paid up member or junior member of the club he is representing. To be eligible to register for the Seniors, players must reach age 55 by 31st December of that season. Any loss or suspension of membership, temporary or otherwise, will also mean a similar loss of registered player status. To clarify, if a player is barred/suspended from their own Club, they are barred/suspended from the League for the same period – for home & away matches. Captains should inform the League Secretary if this situation arises. If a player should be banned or suspended from a club as a result of an incident that took place at a League match or League Competition match then as a result he will also be banned from playing in the League for the same period, and so will not be allowed to register for a different club during that time. Also, where given permission by the member club, employees of said club may also be registered as players. However, such registration will automatically be revoked if their employment is terminated. Whilst some clubs allow juniors and ladies to play, that is not the case for all clubs and any such players can only be used for away games with the permission of the home club. It is also advisable to check with clubs before taking ladies or juniors as spectators as private clubs do have the right to prohibit them.
2. LEAGUE OFFICERS
The Officers of the League shall comprise of the President, Chairman, Secretary/Treasurer and an auditor and shall be appointed by majority vote at the meeting held in January, for the following season.
3. COMPLAINTS/ EXECUTIVE COUNCIL (inc. EGM’s, League Rule 5 also refers)
Complaints – should be sent in writing (email) to the League Secretary in the first instance. If the Complaint involves the League Secretary another of the Committee should be contacted i.e. League President or League Chairman.
If the Complaint is minor (e.g. an interpretation of the Rules or a player playing off the wrong handicap etc) the League Sec will make a decision within 1 week.
Where a Complaint is more serious, or a decision cannot be made alone, the League Sec will organise a hearing with a ‘Complaints Panel’, made up of 7 randomly selected members of the ‘Executive Council’ (see next para’). Examples would be where it is felt that another club or player has acted in an unreasonable or unsporting manner or is alleged to have failed to comply with the League rules or bye-laws governing matches.
The affairs of the League shall be governed by an ‘Executive Council’ consisting of one Delegate for each member Club in the League together with the Officers of the League (President, Chairman/Treasurer & Sec).
In the event of a very serious Complaint, e.g. aggressive behaviour of player/team, repeat offences, or abuse to a League Officer, (physical or verbal abuse, either in person or conveyed electronically, harassment or intimidation) the League Sec may call an EGM. The entire Executive Council will attend such a meeting. In such cases the ‘accused’ may be subject to an immediate suspension from the League pending the outcome of the hearing.
At a Complaints or EGM hearing the Complainant & the ‘Defendant’ will have an opportunity to put their case forward (both may also have their Captain or Delegate with them for support), the League Officers will facilitate the meeting & the ‘Complaints Panel or Executive Council’ will decide the outcome & any punishment/sanctions where applicable. Punishments/sanctions may include fines, suspensions/bans from the League, points deductions or anything else the panel sees fit.
Complaints regarding the application of League Rules will not be heard (e.g. New Player Sanctions). League Rules may only be changed at the AGM.
4. AGM
The Annual General Meeting shall take place in August, as close to the start of the new season as the League Secretary feels appropriate. Any alterations of, or additions to, these rules or bye-laws shall only be made at the Annual General Meeting. At the 2025 AGM it was agreed that Rules changes may only be made if more than 50% of the total Delegate number vote in favour of a proposal i.e. 13 Delegates, 7 would have to vote in favour (even if not all Delegates attended the AGM). Any club or player wishing to propose additions or alterations must notify the League Secretary in writing, not later than June 1st. This notification shall be printed on the notice convening the Annual General Meeting. In addition an interim meeting of the Executive Council will be held in early January, this will enable any minor issues to be sorted out before the start of the second half of the season, and also the League Officers for the following season will be appointed. It is a condition of membership of the League that all member clubs will send a delegate to both the Annual General Meeting and the interim meeting and also to any EGM that may be called (League Rule 15 refers). When voting takes place at meetings each club will have one vote, with the League Chairman having the casting vote in the event of a tie.
5. APPEALS (League Rule 3 also refers)
Where a club or player disagrees with a decision made by any League Officer or the Complaints Panel, they have the right to appeal against that decision by requesting, in writing (email), an Appeals hearing. The Appeals Panel will consist of 7 different members (from the Complaints hearing) of the ‘Executive Council’ (League Rule 3 refers).
Any such request must be sent to the League Secretary within 7 days of the original Complaint decision (a copy will also be sent to the club or player etc protested against, by the League Sec) and must be accompanied by the sum of £20. This amount will be refunded if the appeal is upheld. If the decision of the ‘Complaints Panel’ is upheld by the ‘Appeals Panel’ they may decide to reduce, change or increase any punishment/sanctions previously made.
The decision of the Appeals Panel shall be final.
6. RULES (League Rule 4 also refers)
A copy of these rules will be published on the League’s website together with the League fixtures. If any club wishes to have a paper copy then they should request one from the League Secretary.
7. DIVISIONS (League Rule 9 & Bye-law 12 also refers)
From 2024/25 the League shall consist of three divisions; Tuesday, Thursday, and Seniors. Each Division shall consist of no more than 16 teams and they shall play to a system whereby each team plays all other teams in the division multiple times during the course of the season i.e. they shall play all other teams in their division once in the first half and once in the 2nd half.
8. PRIZES (Bye-law 13 also refers)
From 2022/23 all Prize Winners (apart from the Singles/Doubles Comps) must attend the Night Out to collect their prize (no exceptions).
From 2025 the teams finishing 1st & 2nd in the League will be ‘Champions’ & ‘Runners-Up’ & automatically receive a prize.
The teams finishing 3rd to 6th will ‘Play-Off’ for the 2 remaining League prizes. 3rd will play 6th & 4th will play 5th (3rd & 4th will get home advantage – if they are both from the same Club a coin will be tossed by the League Sec to decide who plays at home).
However, where there are less teams in any division it may be decided at either the AGM or the interim meeting to vary this number.
A Team Cup will also run alongside the League. This will be a knockout Competition, with prizes for the Winners & Runners Up in each Division.
There will also be Singles & Doubles Competitions, further details & Rules of these & the Team Cup can be found separately on the League website ‘Documents’ link.
High Breaks - There will also be an incentive scheme to reward high breaks, whereby players of all abilities will have the opportunity to win a cash prize, the level of any such prizes will be on a sliding scale with the better players needing to make a much higher break than lesser players. The qualifying criteria and prize levels for the high break incentive scheme will be decided at the AGM for the forthcoming season and details will be posted on the website. Qualifying High Breaks will be paid out regardless of the Competition e.g. League, Team Cup, Singles/Doubles. Any player making a century break will receive £100 cash, a commemorative medal and be added to the ‘100 club’. Players may only receive one high break prize per season.
All team and individual prizes will be distributed by the League President at the Annual Night Out at the end of the season. They will be handed to the prize winner only, not his captain or representative. The Annual Night Out will be held, as soon as possible after the end of the season, and will be a ticket only event. Any trophies or prizes that have been awarded, in respect of a team’s final position, or as a result of a high break, or any other award the League see fit to bestow will only be given to individual players who attend the ceremony to collect their prize or award. Captain of the Year will be decided by the Committee.
9. NEW TEAM APPLICATIONS (League Rule 7 & Bye-law 12 also refer)
Where there is a vacancy in a League, New Team applications will be accepted on a strict first come, first served basis i.e. based on the date that a written application is received by the League Secretary. The only exception to this rule is where an existing ‘Team’ apply to move ‘Clubs’ – such applications may only be made in exceptional circumstances (in writing to the League Secretary), which may include but are not limited to:- the Club going under, a snooker table being removed from a Club, poor quality of tables, women not being allowed into the games room etc. In such cases the moving ‘Team’ will take priority over a New Team Application.
Should a team apply to join the League after the Season has started, they will be allowed to do so (up to the half way point of the League Season) under the following conditions (a) they do so at the start of the 2nd half (to ensure they play each team the same amount of times) (b) they start on the same number of points as the team at the bottom of the League.
10. ACCOUNTS
Accounts (Current and Deposit) shall be opened at a local branch of an approved bank. All monies shall be paid through the Secretary/Chairman into one of the accounts. The financial year end shall be June 30th. An audited statement of accounts shall be submitted to the Annual General Meeting. All cheques shall be signed by any two of the prime officers, President, Chairman and Secretary/Treasurer.
11. LEAGUE FEES (Club Fees)
The Annual fees per team will be decided at the Annual General Meeting and invoices sent to the clubs prior to the start of the season. From 2025/26 Club Fees will be £90 per team, which includes £6 entry into the Team Cup. League fees and any other monies owed to the League must be paid within 4 weeks of the start of the season. After that time the club will be invoiced for a new amount increased by 10%, and the outstanding invoice will be further increased by 10% each time a League match is played with the monies still outstanding. League Fees must be paid by Bank Transfer or Cheque, cash will not be accepted due to the large amount of money involved & to make reconciling of League Fees more manageable for the League Officers.
12. PLAYER FEES (Bye-law 5 also refers)
All players wishing to play in the League must be registered and pay a Player Registration Fee each season for the Club they wish to represent. The amount of this will be decided at the Annual General Meeting. For 2025/26 Player Fees are £12. Players can only be registered for one club for any given night. Players playing for more than 1 Club, across the different days/nights, pay just one registration fee. Player Fees must be paid by Bank Transfer or Cheque, cash will not be accepted due to the large amount of money involved & to make reconciling of Player Fees more manageable for the League Officers. In the event that a team plays an unregistered player, they will receive a 2 point deduction per unregistered player to have played, e.g. If a team has played 2 unregistered players in one match, they will receive a 4 point deduction.
Player Fees must be paid within 4 weeks of the start of the season. If a player plays after this time, having not paid their League Fees, the team will receive a 2 point deduction for each ‘unregistered’ player to have played.
From 2021/22 players may join the League up to the ¾ point of the League Season. They must pay their Player Fee before they can play (Bye-law 5 refers).
All Team Captains must confirm to the League at the start of the season, in writing (e-mail), which players need deleting from/adding to the website, which players play for more than one team/club & what they have paid & for whom.
13. BYE-LAWS
Matches will be played in accordance with the Bye-Laws which may only be amended by majority vote at the Annual General Meeting.
14. PREMISES
Any club applying to join the League must have suitable premises with the guaranteed use of two full sized snooker tables for match use and must also be in possession of a drinks license. In the event that a member club has their license revoked then they will also lose their League status with immediate effect unless their license can be re-instated within 14 days. If a club loses League status their teams are immediately withdrawn and any points scored against them are also removed from the table. In the Seniors League applications will be considered from clubs without a drinks license.
15. MEETINGS/OFFICIAL LEAGUE E-MAILS
As it is a condition of League status that all member clubs send a delegate to the two meetings each year, then there will be a penalty for non-attendance at these meetings. For the AGM two points will be deducted from all teams from the absent club. For the interim and any EGM the penalty will be one point.
Club Delegates will also be responsible for replying to Official League e-mails, followed up by a text message, by the deadline set. Failure to do so will result in a 1 point penalty for all teams at that Club.

BYE-LAWS GOVERNING MATCHES

1. Format of matches (Bye-laws 7 & 8 also refer) - Teams shall consist of SIX players who are eligible to play for ONE team in the Thursday League and ONE team in the Tuesday League, and all players may only play in one match on any given day, apart from a re-arranged game in the same division. Where a club have two teams on any given night, a player may play for either team in the first half of the season. However, in general he will become ‘tied’ to a team once he has he played six games for that team, and can only play for the other team on that night with prior permission from the League. However, due to the serious player shortage prevalent at most clubs, this rule will be relaxed to ensure that teams are able to complete their fixtures by ‘borrowing’ players from the other team where needed. It is hoped that this flexibility will not be abused. Also, players who start the season with one club may request a transfer to another club so long as they have played on no more than three occasions for their old club in the current season. However, their transfer to the other club will only take effect after the Xmas break.

(6v5 Rule) It shall be permitted for teams to play with less than six players, subject to certain conditions, in all divisions. This should be purely an emergency measure and not done on a regular basis. Any team who is consistently playing with less than six players will be subject to scrutiny and where necessary the League Secretary may call a meeting of the committee who shall decide if any action should be taken against the team. Where a team have less than six players then one of the players will be allowed to play twice. In order for any advantage to remain with the captain who has a full team, then the decision as to which player will play twice rests with the captain of the full team. Also, the said captain may choose which of his players the chosen player must play his additional game against. The ‘extra’ game should be written on the score sheet first, after which the remainder of the ‘short’ teams players are to be entered in the correct order, above and below the ‘extra’ game. Where the player chosen to play twice is a new player, his handicap as shown on the website will be adjusted after the 1st match & used for the 2nd match. Their handicap will be adjusted twice on the website after the match (the website does this automatically).
*From 2019/20 this rule was extended to allow, in exceptional circumstances, a team to play with just 4 players, with 2 players playing twice, as described above. Prior permission should be obtained from the League in these cases. A team will only be allowed to play with 4 players a maximum of twice in a season, to prevent teams with 4 strong players taking advantage of this rule.

If both teams are only able to name 4 or 5 players at the start of the match, then players will play in handicap order, as normal, and the aggregate will be worth an extra 1 or 2 points, to ensure 7 points were available on the night.

If there is a 5 v 4 situation, the 6v5 Rule should be applied, and the aggregate will be worth an extra point.

2. Match times - Matches will be played on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7.30 and the Seniors League shall be played on Wednesday afternoons at 2.00 pm. Matches will always be played on two tables unless mutually agreed by both captains.

3. Postponement of matches - Matches may not be postponed for any other reason other than circumstances at the club being such that one or both tables are unavailable due to some kind of technical problem with the table or lights etc. Clubs must not make arrangements for other events, or for the tables to be used by some outside agents or allow activities to take place within the snooker room that would make the playing of the match at the correct day and time impossible. If this is unavoidable, then the club must request a postponement and such a request will be considered along with the reasons given by the home team for the incident, and where a club have organised something without consulting the team then consideration should be given to leniency. In the event that a team are struggling to raise a team for a fixture due to bona-fide reasons e.g. illness etc, then a postponement may be requested of the League Secretary. He will then take into account various factors including how many registered players the club has before deciding whether or not to grant a postponement. Where a team are short of players because a number of team members have chosen to take part in some other activity e.g. have chosen to take a holiday, then normally a postponement will not be granted. However, due to the drastic shortage of teams all such situations have to be carefully considered. In many cases where a captain has genuine player shortages due to some players having made arrangements to attend some sporting event etc then a postponement will be considered. The alternative, where a team simply decide to ‘gift’ a 7-0 win to their opponents is not a viable proposition and could lead to another team losing out and possibly leaving the League. Where a home team request and are granted a postponement they then lose home advantage. Where an away team request and are granted a postponement then the penalty will be that the match score shall be adjusted so that a point from their total shall be awarded to the home team. Where the circumstances are considered to be a ‘special case’ then the League Secretary may decide to postpone the match in which case neither team is given the extra advantage as outlined above. These measures are designed to discourage teams from postponing matches. Where a postponement is not granted then the team must field as many players as they can for the said fixture. If a postponement is granted then the two captains must agree on an acceptable date for the match to be played, within 14 days of the original fixture. If they cannot agree then the League Secretary will set a date that will be binding on both teams who must play with as many players as they can muster.

4. No show for matches - Should an instance arise where a team fail to turn up for a match then an application should be made to the League Secretary by the opposing team requesting that they be awarded the match. The Secretary will then investigate the circumstances and, where he is satisfied that the offending team had genuine reasons for not turning up, then he may order the match to be replayed on another date. If, however, there does not appear to be any reason or unusual event which prevented the team from attending the match then they shall be penalised. The agreed penalty in the past has been to award that game 7-0 to the opposition and at the same time penalise the offending team by a deduction of points that will take them level with the bottom team in that division. However, should the team already be at the bottom, then a meeting of the Executive Council shall decide what action to take. The problem is that with such small divisions the awarding of a 7-0 to any one team can have a negative effect on one or more teams who are vying for honours and is therefore not a fair outcome. It will be in the best interests of the League and the teams involved to arrange to play the match on another date. Any team who fail to turn up for either of their first two matches will be removed from the League, unless a decision made by the Executive Council allows them to stay. Additionally, any team who fail to turn up for two matches during the course of the season will be removed from the League for the remainder of the season and will have to re-apply to join the League the following year. In such instances all the points scored against an expelled team will be removed from the tables. Where a team is expelled in this manner there will be no refund of fees of any kind.

5. Player Registration - At the start of the season each team captain must e-mail the League to confirm if any players need adding or deleting from their player list on the website, and must at the same time send the registration fees, the level of which shall be set at the Annual General Meeting, for each player (League Rule 12 refers). Players will only pay one fee per club irrespective of how many teams within that club they play for. The completed lists and monies must be received by the Secretary before the team’s 5th match. If, during the course of the season, a captain wishes to register new players, he may do so by sending their details in writing to the League Secretary together with their player fee. This must be done at least 24 hours before they are needed to play. Players may only be introduced up to the ¾ point of the season i.e. not after League match 21 (or pro-rata if not fully subscribed) & must play before this point too, or they will be deleted from the website. However, in exceptional circumstances (e.g. loss of players due to illness, injury or worse), players may be registered in the last quarter, but only if they have a current (fixed) handicap on another night or from the previous season. ‘New Players’ i.e. those going up/down 3 each week, cannot be registered at all after the ¾ point under any circumstances.

6. Handicaps & New Players - All players will play off a handicap and that handicap will be shown on the League’s website. Any maximum and minimum level of handicaps will be set at the AGM for the coming season. Likewise, it will be agreed at the AGM what the maximum start a player may receive, in either the night or Seniors leagues, and that again must be adhered to even where the two players handicaps suggest a higher figure.
2025/26 Handicap Rules:-
Night Leagues – no max handicap, maximum start 50. New players +/- 3 after each match
Seniors Leagues – no max handicap, maximum start 30, the exception being for ‘Super Seniors’ (players with a H’Cap of -35 or lower) who (from 23/24) give a maximum start of 60. New players +/- 3 after each match
The system of handicapping shall be that a player’s handicap shall be altered according to the number of games he has won and lost, at a rate agreed at the AGM, normally this will mean adjusting a players’ handicap by one point. Adjustments will be made to all ‘regular’ players handicaps four times a season, after 7 matches, 14 matches, 21 matches (or as near to this as possible where there is an odd number of teams) and finally at the end of the season. All players will have a separate handicap for Tuesdays, Thursdays and Seniors. From 2019/20 New Seniors players, coming in from the Night Leagues, will have their handicaps set based on their ability & other comparable players who are both in the Seniors & Night Leagues.
All other New players (i.e. those who have either never played in the League, or not played in the last 5 years, Captains to check both these criteria, Night & Seniors Leagues to be treated separately) are to be handicapped on ability and the Captain registering a new player must give an honest account of the players’ ability and experience, comparing him to existing players as a guide. (If a Captain has not seen a ‘New New Player’ play, he should not register him until such time he has seen him play enough in practice to assess his ability). If in doubt, a captain should err on the cautious side and start the player on a lower handicap initially. New players handicaps are adjusted after every game, again at a rate agreed at the AGM, going up or down after every win or loss.
If a team using the ‘5 player rule’ or ‘4 player rule’ has a New Player selected to play twice by their opponent, the said players handicap will be adjusted up or down 3 after the 1st match & will be adjusted twice on the website after the match. (Existing players playing twice would play off the same handicap twice but be adjusted twice at the quarterly handicap change). A player will remain classed as new until such time as it is felt that his handicap has settled at the correct level, this generally will take a full season i.e. 24-28 games. If a captain realises, after a player has played one or two games, that he has started a player on the wrong handicap then he may request of the League Secretary that the players’ handicap be altered immediately.

From 2019/20 all New Players will be assessed after the first 7 games they have played. Such players will be identified with the ‘#’ symbol (25/26 Season) before their name on the website, as opposed to the existing ** symbol (used for New Players outside the 7 game review period). If they have won an excessive amount of games, they will be deemed to have been put off too high a handicap to start with. The sanctions for this will be as follows:-

Won 7, lost 0 –Players h’cap reduced by 14 points, in addition to the natural adjustment of 21 points
Won 6, lost 1 - Players h’cap reduced by 10 points, in addition to the natural adjustment of 15 points
Won 5, lost 2 - Players h’cap reduced by 6 points, in addition to the natural adjustment of 9 points
Won 4, lost 3 – No adjustment

From 2022/23, in addition to the above Player Sanctions, Teams will also be subject to sanctions where ‘New New Players’ have won excessive amounts of games, as follows:-

New New Player wins 7 of 1st 7 – Team are deducted 7 League Points
New New Player wins 6 of 1st 7 – Team are deducted 5 League Points
New New Player wins 5 of 1st 7 – Team are deducted 3 League Points

The correct handicap for all players, including those classed as new, will always be shown on the website prior to the match in question. If a player is played off a handicap higher than that shown on the website, then any point gained by the said player will be automatically removed from his teams total and added to that of the opposition. It is perfectly acceptable for a player to be played off a lower handicap than the one shown.

Should a player suffer a health issue, which affects their snooker ability (e.g. partial blindness, stroke etc), then their handicap may be adjusted to reflect their ‘new level of ability’. They may also be adjusted to a ‘New Player’, until they find their new handicap level.

7. Score Sheets (bye-laws 1 & 8 also refer) - Before the commencement of a match, team captains shall exchange score sheets with the names of their players entered thereon in handicap order. If either team has less than six players this must be declared at the start and the captain can then not complete his sheet and must give the names of his players to the opposing captain as detailed in bye-law 1. If, however, 6 names are entered and a player then subsequently fails to turn up (or falls ill etc & is unable to complete the frame), then that frame cannot be played and the point will be awarded to the opposition, unless of course the team have a ‘reserve’ player who they can substitute (in the case of illness etc the frame should be re-started). He must play off his own handicap. If they have no reserve then 100 points will be awarded to the opposition for that frame (in the case of illness etc the points on the board at the time are used as a final score), in order to make it unlikely that the team that are a man short can win the aggregate. A point will be awarded for each of the six players who win their frame and additionally a point will be awarded to the team whose total aggregate score is the greatest. In the unlikely event that, at the end of the match, the aggregate scores are level then the black ball of the final frame must be played again to decide the winner of the aggregate point. If adding the extra 7 points to the last players score will in fact alter the result of his frame, then they should simply be added to one of the other players where it makes no difference. All players to play off a handicap no higher than their allotted handicap shown on the website. If a player wins a frame playing off too high a handicap then the point will be awarded to the opposing team. In addition, if having been played too high has changed his position on the score sheet then the margin he has won by will be examined and if it is considerable then the team will also forfeit the aggregate point if they have won that. In all cases where a player has been used who is not registered (see bye-law 5), the team will automatically have 2 points removed and added to their opponents total, irrespective of whether the player won his frame or not.

8. Order of Play/Markers/Refreshments (Bye-law 1& 7 also refer) - Matches will commence promptly at 7.30 pm except for the Seniors who will normally start at 2 pm. For all matches, both night and Seniors, the captains should exchange sheets with their players names and handicaps thereon and the home captain shall choose the order of play. However, the rule is that each team must have a minimum of 4 players there at the start of the match. It is unacceptable that the visiting team have only two players at the start. Additionally, ALL away team players must arrive by 8.15 pm at the latest, in order to be available for the home captain to select them to play in the 2nd frames. The home captain must choose from the 4 players when deciding who shall play first. It is not permitted to delay the match start time waiting for any ‘late’ players to arrive, as they may not arrive until 8.15. However, where it is reported that teams are regularly turning up with just 4 players and thereby influencing and restricting the home captains advantage in deciding the order of play, then such teams will be given a verbal warning and, if the practice continues, may be brought before a meeting of the Executive Council who will decide what penalty to apply. The home team should ensure that their premises are open and ready to accommodate the visiting team at least 15 minutes before the match start time. Where a club is not open on time this should be reported to the League Secretary. Where there is still no sign of the home team at 7.25 pm then the visiting team should leave the venue. In such a case the delegate and team captain concerned will be called before a meeting of the Executive Council who will decide what penalty to impose. The same basic principles apply to visiting teams who should be arriving at the venue prior to 7.30 in order for the match sheets to be completed and the match started on time. In the event of a visiting team not arriving, then 15 minutes after the start time the home captain may claim the two opening frames. After a further 30 minutes, i.e. at 8.15 pm, the time that all players should be present, then it can be assumed that the team are not turning up and this must then be reported to the League Secretary as soon as possible (see bye-law 4). All the above applies to Seniors matches adjusting the times given to comply with the 2.00 pm start time.
As well as deciding the order of play, the home captain must also provide a marker/scorer for each frame. The person undertaking this task must give his full attention to the game he has been asked to mark. The use of mobile phones by players, either playing or marking, during the course of a match is forbidden. Play must be continuous on both tables, it is not acceptable to wait to see the outcome on one table before starting the final frame on the other. If the home team fail to start the next frame then after 5 minutes has elapsed the visiting team may claim the frame. Any team failing to provide the player called for, within 5 minutes of the cessation of the previous game, shall forfeit that game 100-0. If a player has left the building for any reason then he is deemed to have left the match if he does not return within the 5 minute time limit.
Finally, for the night matches only, it is customary for the home team to provide refreshments of some kind. This is purely voluntary but in the keeping of the spirit in which we seek to play, it is something that should be reciprocated when the players visit your club. The time honoured practice of buying your opponent a drink after the game is something that is purely voluntary and is down to the individual player.

9. Fixtures - Each team will play each other team twice, once at home and once away. However, where the numbers of teams in the divisions have been reduced, it may be the case that this number will be increased at the AGM. All teams must play the number of games allocated to them in the fixture list shown on the League website.

10. Markers/Miss Rule - THE MARKERS DECISION SHALL BE FINAL. All games will be played in accordance with the latest version of the W.P.B.S.A. rules. The only exception to this will be the ‘miss’ rule. It has been agreed that the markers will not apply the miss rule. However, where the players are of a high standard it is expected that they will voluntarily call a miss on themselves when they know that the rule would have been applied. It must be volunteered by the player himself and not prompted by the other player or the marker. Where a captain or player feels that another player deliberately abused the lack of a miss rule by playing a blatant miss that he knew would go unpunished, then they should report the incident informally to the League Secretary. No action will be taken initially, however, if a certain player gets reported on a few occasions then this will be followed up and may result in a warning. The only exception to these rules shall be where the appointed marker is in fact a qualified referee, in which case he is duty bound to apply all the rules including the miss rule. This, however, must be notified to the visiting captain prior to the match. If no such notification is made then the game must be marked as ‘normal’.

11. Entering Results - The system of result reporting shall be that after each match the Home captain (or his appointed representative) must go online and log in to the League website www.leaguesnooker.co.uk with the User Name & password allotted to the club. It is important that, at the end of the match, the two captains compare score sheets to ensure that they have exactly the same information on them. The correct player names, handicaps and scores must be entered. Once the Home Captain has entered the result both they and the League Administrators (Chairman & Secretary) will receive e-mail confirmation of the result, they will then enter it onto the website. The deadline for logging on and entering the match report is Friday night at midnight for all the games that week but IT IS ADVISABLE TO ENTER YOUR RESULT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE and not leave it till the Friday night. Any captain having technical problems may request from the League Secretary a further 24 hours to get his match report entered. Any team who fail to log their match score by the deadline, and who have not applied for an extension, will automatically have two points deducted from their total. Where a result has been entered on time, but it has in fact been entered incorrectly then it will be deemed to have not been entered and will receive the same penalty unless during the course of the weekend the mistake is rectified by the team that made it. It is, therefore, important that Away captains check the website to ensure that their result has been entered correctly and that the Home captain/League Administrator has entered the result correctly. ALL RESULTS MUST BE SHOWING CORRECTLY BY MIDNIGHT ON THE SUNDAY NIGHT, any result not displayed by that time will be subject to a 2 point penalty for the team whose incorrect entry is responsible for it not being posted on the website.

12. League Placings (League Rule 9 refers) - In the event of a ‘tie’ in any Division, for one of the prize places at the top, then the order of finishing will be based initially on the number of wins. If this should also be the same then the ‘head to head’ meetings between the two teams will be examined and the team that gained the most wins (e.g. Team A won 2, Team B won 0) from those games will go above. In the unlikely event that the most wins in the ‘head to head’ matches are also level a play-off at the end of the season (likely during Team Cup Final week) will determine who finishes higher.

13. Prizes (League Rule 8 also refers) - At the end of the season, the League Winners & Runners-Up will be given a trophy that they may keep to display at their club during the following season. Trophies will also be given out to the Team Cup Winners & Runners Up & the Singles & Doubles Comp Winners & Runners Up. These trophies must be returned to the League Secretary by April 1st. It is the winning team/club’s responsibility to keep them clean and return them in a fit state so that they are ready to be presented to the next winners. Where trophies are returned late and the League Secretary has to go chasing them or they are returned in dirty condition then there will be a charge of £20 for the club concerned. This will be added to the club’s League fees for the coming season.