CHESTER & DISTRICT POOL LEAGUE 

BYE LAWS & PENALTIES

 

League Information

League fees are £70 per team with a receipt given to all team representatives at the end of the AGM by the Treasurer. They may go up/down for next season but is dependent on a committee review of the finances closer to the time.

 

Teams that have won end of season trophies can have up to 9 free, if a team requires any extra, they will be £20 per trophy.

 

All Matches are to be played under the current Blackball Pool Association Rules. From the 23/24 season onwards, all league/cup matches will be completed via the RackEmApp website/app link sent to all team members set up with captain’s access.

 

As voted in at the 25/25 season AGM, all teams must have a minimum of 3 team members set up with Captain’s access to record match results in the App.

 

An AGM will be held after each season’s Cup Finals to register teams, review the Byelaws and vote in committee members for the following season. Captains can send AGM discussion points to the League Secretary up to a week before the AGM to be added to the Agenda, which will be distributed to all Team captains ahead of the meeting for their team’s vote. Each team will get 1 vote at the AGM but any teams who do not have a representative attend the AGM will lose the right to vote on any topics discussed or rules brought up and voted in on the night.

 

All teams/players are responsible for the trophies given to them to keep for the season and they must be returned at the following AGM. This means that if the trophies are lost/returned damaged, they are responsible for replacing/paying to repair them.

 

All Divisions must finish on the same fixture week date. As voted in at the 25/25 season AGM, a staggered start in Prem and/or Division 1 can be used if needed to avoid any unnecessary Byes across all leagues.

 

General League/Cup Format

League Matches are to be played on Thursday nights at 8:30pm, unless pre-arranged by both team captains and agreed with League Secretary with a minimum of 1 week’s notice (as voted in at the 25/25 season AGM unless under extreme circumstances), and all teams should ensure they are at the venue before that to ensure that matches start on time.

 

Each request will be dealt with on an individual basis. Any rearranged games must be played within 28 days of the original date. If a date cannot be agreed between the two captains, the committee will choose a date that the game must be played. No matches to be rearranged from, or into, the last 4 league games of the season without full committee approval.

 

League and Cup Matches consist of seven frames played by seven different players from each team. Home team to pay for games and must also provide a referee for each frame.

 

The break for all league/cup frames is to be decided by ‘The Lag’ and then inputted into the app.

 

One point is to be awarded for each frame won by either team, and then a further 2 points ‘bonus’ to the match winning team that wins at least 4 frames.

 

Home team captain to nominate player to play first and then Away team captain then picks their player once they have seen the Home team nomination. If a player doesn’t appear on a team’s list, please notify the League Secretary immediately.

 

For Cup games, the selections will be done blind so each captain will nominate and lock-in a player on their app.

 

Once both captains have selected and locked-in their player nominations, the players will show in the app so the referee/captains will call the 2 players out to then start the frame.

 

Cup matches are built into the league schedule and played throughout the season with a similar gap between each round. Cup matches are to be played by the deadlines so that the next round draw can be completed the following Thursday.

 

Any team that loses in the prelim or first full round of the Deva Cup will enter into the George Ashbrook Trophy. From the Last 16 round of each Cup, they are straight knockout all the way through to the Finals.

 

For the Cup semi-finals and finals, the committee will provide a referee.

 

Food is provided by the home team venue for league games, but there is no obligation to do so for cup games or rearranged league games.

 

As voted in at the 25/25 season AGM, all match tables must be brushed by the Home team before the start of a match.

 

If a team has an underage player on their team that will be playing in a match, the captain must contact the relevant landlord/landlady ahead of the match for approval of attendance.

 

Teams not fulfilling 2 fixtures during a season will be expelled for the rest of the season and the following season as well. Official warnings will be given to teams when 1 fixture is not completed.

 

If a team fulfils fixtures up to the half-way point and then drops out, the first half of the season’s results/merits will stand but if not, all results/merits will be taken out.

 

Code of Conduct/Complaints Process

Teams must, at all times during matches, conduct themselves in a manner so as not to bring the league into disrepute.

 

Any grievances must be brought to the committee within 7 days of incident by way of telephone or in writing to the League Secretary. Any grievances brought to the attention of the committee after 7 days will not be considered. Appeals will be heard by the committee, but the committee’s decision is FINAL in any dispute.

 

Any team or player involved in physical or verbal violence during matches can be fined a sum not exceeding the current league entry fee and/or banned for up to 2 seasons.

 

Any teams playing a banned or ineligible player(s) will be given a warning. If the match is a league game, then the frames, in which the player(s) in question has played, will be awarded to the opposing team and the team will be deducted 2 points. If the match is a cup game, then all frames in that match will be awarded to the opposing team.

 

As voted in at the 24/24 season AGM, any team that is found to have played a player under a different name (existing player or otherwise) will forfeit the match and be subject to committee discussion on any further penalties.

 

Also as voted in at the 24/24 season AGM, any venue that enforces away team members to have memberships to attend the match will not be eligible to be a league venue.

 

Any teams that receive 2 warnings in one season for different reasons will also be expelled for the rest of the season and the following season.

 

Player Transfer Process

Players may only play for one team at any given time. Transfers and new signings are only allowed up until the last 4 league fixture weeks of the season.

 

A player wishing to transfer during a season must give his request in writing to League Secretary, with both current & new captain notified for approval to be confirmed with the League Secretary. The player will not be eligible to play for their new team until 7 days after League Secretary has received the written transfer or a fixture has been missed during that period. The League Secretary will inform once the transfer has been confirmed as completed with both captains and the player.

Transfer requests must be submitted before 8:30pm on a Thursday to be eligible for the following week.

 

If a player has played in ANY team cup competition for a team that season and then transfers, they will NOT be eligible to play in ANY team cup competition for the remainder of the season for their new team.

 

Players may play in a league/cup game for a team providing they have not played in the league for another team that season without putting in a transfer request and waiting the 7 days required to be eligible for their new team.

 

Chairman’s Cup

At the end of the season, the top 2 players in each team’s merit list will be invited to attend the Chairman’s Cup competition, maximum 2 entries per team.

 

If more than 2 players are tied 1st on wins, then those not with the highest percentage must be determined between themselves (normally an internal play-off match) for who will attend. If 2 or more players are tied 2nd on wins, only 1 will be able to attend along with 1st so who attends must be determined between themselves (normally an internal play-off match). However, if 1st can no longer attend, then 2 players who are tied 2nd can then attend.

 

Singles/Doubles Competitions

The Singles, Scotch Doubles & Ladies Singles competitions will run through the season. Captains are responsible for submitting entries via the website/app before each season’s deadline set by the relevant competition’s organiser. Double pairings from mixed teams must be sent to the competition organiser to submit manually.

 

Restrictions/round qualification requirements for the Singles, Ladies Singles and Scotch Doubles competitions will be as follows:

  • Entries are free but the ‘home’ player/pairing will pay for the table the match is being played on.
  • Matches are best-of-5 throughout (first to 3) with the finals night being Quarter’s onwards (Semi’s and Final for the Ladies Singles).
  • Quarter’s & Semi’s best-of-7 (first to 4) & the Final will be best-of-9 (first to 5) subject to time constraints and is at the organiser’s discretion.
  • Venue dependant, there can be an extra round incorporated into the season for the Quarter Finals round but it must have at least 2 weeks for completion before finals night.
  • There will be an ‘FA Cup’ style draw for each round - generating a ‘home’ player/pairing and an ‘away’ player/pairing. 
  • It is down to BOTH players to make contact & organise games. Contact should be made within a week of the draw being published.
  • All matches are to be played at the ‘home’ player’s/pairing’s choice of league venue & results to be text in by the winning player/pairing. This text should include the winning player’s/pairing’s names and the match score.
  • Any queries/disputes will be sent to the relevant competition organiser.
  • If a game isn’t played & neither player/pairing has made any effort to organise it or let the organiser know they are having problems, then both players/pairings will be eliminated.
  • There will be at least 4 weeks given to complete each round before the Quarter Finals.
  • To be eligible to play all players/pairings must represent a team in the Chester & District Pool League & must supply a contact telephone number.
  • As per the rule changes voted in at the AGM on 13/10/2022, all players in the singles MUST have played in at least one (or attended two) league/cup match(es) by the deadline of the preliminary round in order to qualify for subsequent rounds and MUST have played in at least three (or attended six) league/cup matches in order to qualify for singles finals night.
  • Similarly in the doubles, at least one player from each pairing MUST have played in at least one (or attended two) league/cup match(es) by the deadline of the preliminary round in order to qualify for subsequent rounds and MUST have played in at least three (or attended six) league/cup matches in order to qualify for doubles finals night.
  • As it is ‘scotch’ doubles and not ‘normal doubles’, please remember talking is allowed at ANY time.
  • Whilst players must alternate shots during frames, this order is considered reset at the start of each new frame so although alternate pairings break, the same player in each pairing can break each time if they so wish.

 

AOB

As voted in at the 24/24 season AGM, neutral venues (cup matches) are free for all to practice on until 8pm. For league matches, tables are free for all to practice on UNTIL a home team player arrives.

 

As voted in at the 22/23 season AGM, the committee can overrule any of the above Byelaws if they deem it sensible and to the benefit of the league. There must be a full committee vote on any matter to do this.

 

As voted in at the 25/25 season AGM, all team matches to use best set of match balls available provided by home team venue. Prem teams must use a pro-cups set but can borrow a League owned set if needed for the season.

 

As voted in at the 25/25 season AGM, all league tables should have suitable table lighting. Any issues to be brought to committee’s attention for inspection. Once a match has started, away team cannot complain after that.

 

Teams are judged to be a continuation from the previous season if they maintain 4 or a majority of its established team members and therefore will continue in their relevant league. As voted in by Committee meeting ahead of the 25/25 season, an established team member is determined by them playing 3 or attending 6 team matches. If they have not met either of these criteria by the end of the following season, the team will be relegated to Division 2 after a committee review for exceptional circumstances. This will be reviewed at the next AGM and voted on by Captains for permanent Bye-law introduction/amendment.

 

Any permanent changes to these Byelaws must be voted in at each AGM and the league secretary will then edit this document accordingly.