CHESTER & DISTRICT POOL LEAGUE 

BYE LAWS & PENALTIES

 

League fees are £70 per team with a receipt given to all team representatives at the end of the AGM. 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.

 

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

 

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.

 

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.

 

Any teams playing a banned or ineligible player(s) will be given a warning. 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 found to play 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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Appeals will be heard by the committee, but the committee’s decision is FINAL in any dispute.

 

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.

 

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 48 hours notice, 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 prearranged 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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

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

 

Players may only play for one team. Transfers and new signings are only allowed up until the last 4 league games of the season. A player wishing to transfer must give his request in writing to League Secretary, with both current & new captain notified. The player will not be able to play for new team until 7 days after League Secretary has received the written 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 and then transfers, they will NOT be eligible to play in ANY team cup competition for the remainder of the season. Players may play in a 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.

 

Players must have played in 3 matches or attended 6 matches, cup or league, to be eligible to play in a Cup semi-final or final.

 

During the season, teams level on points will be positioned in the table based on match wins and then, if still level, frames won. At the end of the season, if teams cannot be split via the above-mentioned rules, head-to-head records between those teams will be used. If not, then there will be a play off at a neutral venue as voted by the committee.

 

Teams Arriving Late – If a team is going to arrive late, the captain must inform the opposition captain via the relevant Captain’s WhatsApp group before 8:30pm.

 

The first frame will automatically be forfeited at 8.40pm if no player available, then the second frame at 8.50pm. If no player is available by 9pm, then the match will be automatically forfeited 7-0 as it is no longer on a captain’s discretion to claim the frames/match or not. Match results in the app to be marked accordingly and then the League secretary will complete the result in the app if needed.

 

Each frame is to start no later than 10 minutes after the last frame has ended. Teams must have a player ready within this time or they will forfeit that particular frame. Failure to field a player for 3 consecutive frames (ie 30 minutes) will result in the forfeit of the match.

 

Teams must have a minimum of 4 players to fulfil a fixture.

 

BOTH captains are responsible for ensuring the match result is submitted via the app. 15 Ballers and non-playing attendees are added as captain’s notes at the end of the match by respective captains but can also be sent to League Secretary at the end of each match on the relevant captains WhatsApp groups.

 

Any matches not completed within allocated times and dates will result in loss of all points available.

 

No more than four teams at any one venue. Any venue actively trying to take teams from another venue from this league, or found using the leagues name to benefit their own use, shall be expelled for life.

 

Venues can sponsor the league on the website and on the league fixture posters. These venues will be given Cup semi-final matches where possible and the semi-finals will be neutral venues. The committee will decide the venues for the finals.

 

All these venues will be determined/confirmed before the Cup semi-final matches.

 

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.

 

Any teams or players who do not attend the AGM will lose the right to vote on any topics discussed or rules brought up and voted in on the night.

 

Any grievances must be brought to the committee within 7 days of incident by way of telephone or in writing. Any grievances brought to the attention of the committee after 7 days will not be considered.

 

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.

 

The Singles, Scotch Doubles & Ladies Singles competitions will run through the season. Captains are responsible for submitting entries via the website/app before the deadline of Friday 12th April 2024. Double pairings from mixed teams must be sent to the competition coordinator 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 breaks, the same player in each pairing can break each time if they so wish.

 

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 Bye-laws 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.

 

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