Constitution (updated August 26th 2021.)
1. ORGANISATION
1.1 The name of the organisation shall be the “Cowes & District Pool League, hereafter referred to as C&DPL or ‘the League’.
1.2 C&DPL shall be responsible for league pool conducted by registered teams on Thursday evenings in an area covered by the whole of East and West Cowes, Newport, with the boundaries extending from Porchfield in the West, the Hare & Hounds in the South and Wootton in the East.
1.3 C&DPL will organise and conduct all competitions as the League decide, on days within the area covered by 1.2
1.4 C&DPL will also be responsible for occasional representative teams competing within/against other Leagues.
1.5 All teams represented by the C&DPL shall be registered by the first Thursday of August prior to the pre-season meeting.
1.6 There is no minimum age for being a playing member of the C&DPL. It is the discretion of the club/pub on who is allowed on they’re premises.
2. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
2.1 The League shall be administered by an Executive Committee of five officers elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The officers shall be the Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Result Secretary and Competition Secretary.
2.2 The Chairman shall be responsible for the conduct of all meetings programmed by the League and for occasional meetings called within the constitution.
2.3 The Chairman shall also be responsible for occasional tasks so decided by the League, e.g. Dinner and Dance.
2.4 The Treasurer shall be responsible for all monies belonging to the League and will produce annually a set of accounts to show the financial transactions within that year. These accounts will be presented at the AGM.
2.5 The Secretary shall be responsible for the general organisation of the League and its annual running. The Secretary will be responsible for fixtures, competitions and draws pertaining to such. The Secretary will also be responsible for dealing with disciplinary matters, complaints and other general queries.
2.6 The Results Secretary shall be responsible for the weekly running of the league, including the registration of players.
2.7 The Competition Secretary shall be responsible for all competitions decided upon by the league and the organising of a finals night.
2.8 The Executive Committee shall be responsible for the purchase and the presentation of trophies as decided by the League.
3. GENERAL COMMITTEE.
3.1 The General Committee shall consist of the Captains (or his/her designated representative) of each registered team within the League.
3.2 The General Committee shall have the power to decide, by vote if necessary, on all matters governed by this constitution, and such matters decided through the correct channels at any meeting.
4. ANNUAL GENNERAL MEETING (AGM)
4.1 The AGM will be held each year at least two weeks after the end of each winter season, on a date decided by the Executive Committee.
4.2 The functions of the AGM will be:
a) To determine the composition and organisation of all divisions and competitions played within the C&DPL.
b) To determine the fees for registrations and competitions for each year.
c) To receive the annual report of the Secretary.
d) To receive the annual report of the Treasurer and the annual statements of accounts.
e) To amend the constitution as necessary. Any such amendments will be carried by a majority of 2/3 or more.
f) To plan a calendar of meetings for one year.
g) To elect the Executive Committee for a duration of one year.
h) To elect a Disciplinary Committee for a duration of one year.
I) To amend and adopt a set of playing rules for the succeeding season.
j) To deal with any other business received by the Secretary. All items to be considered by the AGM should ideally be received in writing, properly proposed and seconded, at least 7 days prior to the meeting.
4.3 The meeting shall be conducted by the Chairman in an orderly manner. All motions will be properly proposed and seconded and voted on by a simple majority (except for amendments to the constitution as stated in 4.2e).
4.4 All registered Captains (or his/her designated representative) present will have one vote. THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTTEE SHALL NOT VOTE. In the event of a tie the Chairman will have the casting vote.
4.5 All teams registered with the C&DPL must attend. Failure to attend will result in the team being fined £10 to be paid upon re-registration to the League in the next season. There will also be a 2 point deduction that shall be given at the start of the coming season.
5. GENERAL MEETINGS.
5.1 The General meetings shall be two per season, those being the Pre season and the mid season meeting or as determined at the AGM.
5.2 All teams registered with the League must attend the meetings. Failure to attend such meetings in a year will result in the team being fined £10.00 upon re-registration to the League in the next season and also a 2 point deduction to be given for the coming or currant season for each meeting missed.
5.3 Other players may attend and participate in meetings but may not vote.
5.4 The business of the meeting shall be on the agenda. All matters to be considered should be notified to the Secretary, in writing, at least seven days before the meeting.
5.5 Votes may be taken on any item properly proposed and seconded. Voting will be as for the AGM.
6. SPECIAL MEETINGS.
6.1 Any player, on any item notified to the Secretary and signed by the team captain, may call a special meeting.
6.2 The meeting shall be called within seven days of the receipt of the notice. The only agenda item shall be the item that the meeting was called.
6.3 One player per team who will be entitled to vote should attend the meeting.
6.4 Any player connected with the item may attend and speak, if required, but they may not vote. Voting will be as for the AGM.
6.5 There will be no penalty for non-attendance.
6.6 Pre-season meeting. All teams wishing to register for a Winter League season must attend the pre-season meeting (See 5.2). All registration fees and fines are to be paid by the end of this meeting. There will be an amnesty of one week into the season for the payment of fees and fines. Any team not settling their accounts by this deadline will forfeit their matches until these are paid.
7. Finance.
7.1 All monies credited to the League shall be place in accounts determined by the AGM on the advice of the Treasurer.
7.2 The Treasurer shall be responsible for all transactions pertaining to these monies.
7.3 Any withdrawal from the funds must be authorised by any two of the Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary or other nominated by the Treasurer himself.
7.4 The registration fee should be paid prior to the season commencing. In the event of late payment exceeding 2 weeks, subsequent games played will be awarded nil points.
8. CONDUCT OF THE LEAGUE.
8.1 All games shall be conducted in a sportsmanlike manner within the playing rules of the C&DPL.
8.2 A draw will be made by 8pm and the match will then start.
8.3 All matches will be the best of three legs for five players.
8.3a Both Premier League captains must disagree not to play the 60 second rule in their games and that all other Leagues, both Captains must agree to include this within their matches.
8.4 The draw should be played in the correct order, although the captains may use their discretion in this matter.
8.5 Should a player be late, an alternative game should be played to ensure that play is continuous. If all the available games have been played and players are still not present, then the remaining games may be claimed at the rate of one game per 15 minutes. This is, of course, unless the captains have agreed a time for players to be arriving late.
8.6 The home team will provide referees for each match. They are to be alert and aware of the rules of the game. The referee’s decision will be final. Should teams dispute decisions or suspect cheating, then this must be referred to the League after the match.
8.7 Handing in the result card is no longer a requirement of the league. Instead a photo of the result card must be sent as soon as possible after the match that same evening to the Results Secretary. The use of, WhatsApp, Messenger or email are all accepted in the sending of such results. This is the responsibility of the Home team captain to ensure this is done.
8.8 A team winning the most games i.e. 3-2, 4-1 or 5-0 will be awarded 2 points. In the event of a tie at the end of the season then the game difference will be taken into account. Should this also be tied then a count back of legs will be made to determine the winner.
8.9 Teams are asked if possible to post they’re results on the C&DPL Facebook group page.
8.10 Cancellation of a game requires 24 hour notice, except for Acts of God e.g. accidents, inclement weather. A deduction of 2 points shall be given to such team cancelling.
8.11 The team who cancelled shall be responsible for organisation the re-arranged match and the new date proposed, must be at the convenience of the other team. Should no notification be given the opposing team may claim the match and all points. If there are difficulties, then the Result Secretary should be notified as soon as possible. All League matches are to be completed by the ‘official’ end of the season, i.e. by the last League week date on the fixture list of each division.
8.12 Being unable to field 5 players is an inadequate excuse for the cancellation of a match at short notice.
8.13 Should any team fail to turn up without prior notice, the match will result in a 5-0 win to the team present (10-0 in legs). Any team failing to turn up on two consecutive games, or two consecutive away games, or any three games in any one season will be removed from the League, until such time as the Leagues sees fit.
Players registering with the team being removed from the league must abide by the following rules:
a. If a team is removed, current players and any players registered at the beginning of the season will be banned from playing for any other team in the league for the remainder of the season.
b. Any players that have transferred away from the team being removed will be exempt from the above rules (a) unless the transfer was within 1 MONTH previous to the ban.
Example:
Should a team be removed from league on 8th Dec; player has transferred away from team by the 1st Nov. Player is exempt from ban.
8.14 If a team is removed from the League for the above or any other reason, then all previously recorded results will be removed.
8.15 Players must be registered in writing to the Results Secretary by the pre-season meeting. Additional registrations will be acceptable up to 7pm the date of the match as long as the Results Secretary or other member of the committee have been notified. Captains are still to add player’s names to the bottom of the photographed result card. Players may transfer at any time up to the commencement of the second half of the fixture for the season. Players from other leagues may not be registered solely for the purpose of competitions.
8.16 Any team attempting to play, or found to have played any unregistered players will have four points deducted.
8.17 Any teams changing venues between season’s, will be permitted to retain their League placing from the previous season, providing at least four of the original players remain with the team. Should the ‘old’ team be refilled then it will be registered in the division for new teams.
8.18 In the event of a team moving in its entirety or splitting and moving to another venue, the existing League position shall be retained by the captain of the team. Any objections made by the management of the venue or appeals from players should be directed to the Secretary. The officers shall then decide if the objection/appeal needs to be heard by a committee. If a committee is convened to arbitrate on the dispute, it will consist of the Chairman, the Secretary the Results Secretary and the Disciplinary Committee. Representatives of concerned parties will be invited to attend the meeting. All members may vote, except the Chairman, who shall have a casting vote in the event of a tie.
8.19 The number of promotions and relegations to and from each division each season will be 2 per division.
N.B subject to confirmation at each AGM, the Result Secretary will have the right to determine the new position of teams in the League at the start of each Winter Season to achieve the best playing balance. This will not normally include the Premier division, but may do. The Result Secretary will also have the right to exceed the normal rules on promotion and relegations in the interest of the overall structure of the League for the new season. The AGM will confirm the relative sizes of the divisions and shall be kept for 5 years subject to the number of teams registering.
8.20 Eight Ball Clearance. An eight ball clearance is defined as the clearance of all of a player’s set and the black in one visit, (the first visit of two visits following a foul). This must be completed at the player’s first visit to the table in any frame.
8.21 In the event that both teams only have 4 players it is acceptable for the overall result to end as a draw with 1 point being awarded to each team.
9. Competitions.
9.1 In normal circumstances, i.e. not a fixed night, it is the responsibility of both players to try and make contact with their opponent and provide two different days at least seven days apart. Should neither date be acceptable, the players should try again to arrange a date before the match is attempted to be claimed. In all cases of difficulty, please contact the Competition Secretary for advice. If a player has made every effort to contact their opponent, i.e. leaving messages via Facebook, Messenger etc. but receives no reply, he/she may claim the game. Leaving messages behind the bar is not acceptable. Players who enter competitions are asked to give their mobile phone number when completing the entry form. (Players are reminded of the value of telephoning opponents on Thursday evenings).
9.2 In the event of results not being returned, neither player will be awarded the game, resulting in a bye in the next round.
N.B. If you leave it too late to contact an opponent within the specifications above, it is at the discretion of your opponent if they claim the game or not. All protests must be with the Competition Secretary before the draw not afterwards.
9.3 Scotch Doubles additional rules:
Played as per the normal game and rules, yet the pair of players must take alternate SHOTS each time a ball is played or potted – even at break or when 2 shots are granted.
Example:-
if you are on a team with Boris, and you pot a ball, your team’s visit continues, but Boris takes the next shot. You and Boris continue to rotate shots until one player misses. At this point, the other team’s visit begins.
Players MUST alternate with partner. If not played in turn this will be deemed a foul and two visits shall be awarded to the opposing team; with normal foul rules applying.
TALKING / DISCUSSING for team in play shall be ALLOWED at any time between shots. All shots must be played within 60 seconds from the end of the previous players shot. The referee shall be responsible for such time keeping. A call of FOUL shall be given to any breach of this rule.
Breaks are to alternate between players, and alternate between teams (break shot does count as a shot) – e.g. Frame 1: team A, player A. Frame 2: team B, player A. Frame 3: team A, player B. Frame 4: team B, player B. There is no change for any decider frame it just goes in turn.
9.4 Five-a-Side: The 5-aside competition format shall be the best of 3 frames for 5 players. Once draw has been made it must be adhered to unless both Captains agree otherwise.
*If the set date cannot be made by all players then the match may be arranged to be played on a date before but not after the set date*
** Should no result be submitted neither team will go forward to the next round**
9.5 Six-a-Side: The 6-aside competition format is not restricted to 6 players; up to 12 players can be played i.e. 6 in the singles and 6 in the doubles.
The complete draw is to be made before the start of the match. The singles may be played in any order, but MUST be completed before the doubles begin. The Doubles MUST be played in the order of the draw and SCOTCH DOUBLES rules shall apply. ( 60 second rule applies to the doubles only)
In the event of a 6-6 score line at the end of the singles and the doubles, a player who has already played must be nominated to play a single frame sudden death playoff.
*If the set date cannot be made by all players then the match may be arranged to be played on a date before but not after the set date*
** Should no result be submitted neither team will go forward to the next round**