Last updated 28th August 2024

 

1. The league shall be known as "St. Albans and District Pool League".

2. The objective of the league is to promote and advance the interests of the game throughout the St. Albans and district area.

3. The league shall commence on 17^th September 2024

4. The league shall consist of 4 Divisions: Premier Division, Division 1, Division 2, Division 3. There are 8 teams in each division.

5. All but one of the committee members of the league were present at the AGM which was held on Friday 12^th July 2024. At this meeting, the team captain or representative of each could vote on matters directly associated with the league.

6. The committee comprises of seven people who are as follows: League Chairperson - Nigel, Vice Chairperson/ County Secretary - Andy, Fixtures & Results Secretary - Claire, Treasurer – Dave, League Development – Greig, Players’ Representative – Freddie, Tournament Secretary - Katie.

7. The committee will be expected to meet at least once every three months to decide on all matters relating to the league.  

8. The financial year of the league will end one week after finals night, when the League Treasurer will be required to submit a final statement of accounts for acceptance at the AGM – the end of year statement will also be available to all captains on request via email.

9. The league matches shall operate under the International eight ball pool rules, in accordance with the World Eight ball Pool Federation, the English Pool Association and the Hertfordshire Pool Association.  All match scores will be logged online using the RackEmApp app.

10. All players become registered to the league once they have been named on a match day in RackEmApp for that season. Once a player has registered for a team, he/she can transfer to any other team in the league during the same season until December 3^rd 2024. Requests must be put in writing to the committee for transfer requests after December 3^rd 2024. The committee will review in a meeting, if one is scheduled to take place, or will make a decision together over the phone and the Chairperson will provide the decision to both team captains.

11. New players can be registered at any point, including on match night, until December 3^rd 2024. After this date, new signings must be approved by the committee. Opposing team captains must be informed of any new signing/signings playing in a match.

12.  Each Team must have a different phone number for its captain and venue unless the captain resides at the venue address.

13. League matches will consist of 16 single frames – 4 x sets of 4. 3 points will be awarded for the team who has won 9 or more frames and 1 point each for a draw. 1 Point will be awarded for each frame won.

14. The league match format is 4 sets of 4 singles. Player selection is done on a set-by-set basis with home team selecting all 4 of their players for the respective set first, then the away team selecting their 4 players. The away team captain should ensure that no player is playing an opponent they have already played*.

*in a specific set of circumstances in a league match - when a team of 4 is playing a team of 5 and somewhere in sets 2-3 there has effectively been a ‘substitute’ from the team of 5 who plays an opponent that the player they were effectively ‘substituted’ for has already played – it may not be possible in the 4^th set to avoid two opponents playing each other twice. When there is a team of 4 playing a team of 5, both captains should be vigilant in sets 2-3 to try and avoid the ‘substitutes’ playing the same opponent that the player they’ve been ‘substituted’ for has already played. Only in the circumstance that it is entirely unavoidable in set 4 for two opponents to play each other twice will it be accepted.

15. The cup match format is 4 sets of 4 singles with the match ending when a team has achieved 9 frames. Player selection is done on a set-by-set basis with both teams selecting their 4 players 'blind'. Players may play each other more than once. If the match is a draw after all 16 frames have been played, each captain will select one of their players to play in a deciding frame.

16. The team registration fee will be £75 – this is payable in full by 20^th August 2024 to be registered in time for the 2024/25 season.

17. Any player who has been barred or expelled from any public house or club during a match must be reported to the League Chairperson and will be excluded from playing in the league until they are allowed back into the venue.

18. The match start time is 8pm. Matches can start earlier if both captains have agreed to do so.

19. The match table (and match balls) should be made available to the away team for practice 15 minutes prior to the match start time.

 

20. If the away team turns up after 7.45pm their practice time is reduced accordingly so that the match can still start at 8.00pm.

21. The home venue must provide a rest and, if there are any space restrictions around the match table, a short cue.

22. Each team will consist of a minimum of 4 players. A player, in usual circumstances, can play a maximum of four times in the match (once in each set of 4 frames). If you only have 3 players available, you will be able to play the match, but you will forfeit one frame in each set. Postponements will not be sanctioned if you have 3 players available. The forfeited frame will be the 4^th frame in each set.

23. The home venue will pay for all games & practice frames.

24. The home venue is responsible for ensuring that the table is as true as possible.

25. The home venue should provide food for both teams on league match nights.

26. The first player for each team must be ready to commence play at 8:00pm. If a team is late, for every 10 minutes after the official start time the late team will forfeit 1 frame i.e., 8:10pm lose one frame, 8:20pm lose two frames, 8:30pm lose the match.

27. Where other players are already at the venue, a player arriving after 8:00 pm may not play the first frame.

28. The order of play shall be decided by a lag before the first frame. The lag winning player/captain will choose to break or to pass the break to the opponent, thereafter the break will alternate between the teams with the team who are not breaking supplying the referee. All frames/matches should have a referee.

29. The first frame in the Daniel Dent Cup and Larry Hinrichs Trophy Matches will also be decided by a lag. If there is a draw and a one frame playoff is needed, the selected players for the deciding frame lag for the break.

30. Teams wishing to postpone a fixture must contact the opposing team at least 24 hours before the fixture and make a new mutually agreed date. A committee member must be informed of the postponement and of the new fixture date in the Fixtures & results group/chat in the WhatsApp Community (please tag the Fixtures & results secretary when doing so). If communicating within the Captains Chat, please tag the team captain – do not expect someone to see the message if you have not tagged them. Captains’ contact details are also available on RackEmApp.

31. Postponements with 24 hours or less notice need to be approved via a verbal conversation with either the Chairperson or Vice Chairperson. WhatsApp message is only acceptable as a last resort. Once this has been sanctioned, the captain of the team requesting the postponement must contact the opposing team captain as soon as possible - and at least one hour before the match is due to start.

32. Postponements after 7pm on match day will result in the match being forfeited by the postponing team.

33.  In the event of a team having no opposition to play (i.e., the opposition didn’t turn up or the match has been forfeited), the captain should contact the Fixtures & Results Secretary who will centrally administer a 9-0 walkover result. When this pertains to any of the last FOUR league matches of the season, the committee reserves the right to determine an alternative outcome/match result.

34. The team captain is responsible for the behaviour of their team during the match. There will be no coaching or disruptive behaviour during the frames. The referee is responsible for judging disruptive behaviour and can award loss of frame in accordance with the rules for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

35. Only the captains of each team can determine the order of their players, the opposition does not have a say in this matter

36. The venue and captains share responsibility for displaying/keeping the Fixture List, the International 8 Ball Rules, the Captains’ Guide and the League Rules – either on their notice boards or within a dedicated League Folder.

37. Scores are to be recorded live in the RackEmApp app; there are no paper scoresheets but it is suggested that both captains take a screen shot of the scorecard before leaving the venue for their own records. In the event of the RackEmApp site being unavailable or connectivity issues affecting every device in the venue, captains can handwrite a scoresheet or can record the results in the Notes app on their phone – both captains should submit a photo of the handwritten/Notes results to the Fixtures & results group/chat in the league WhatsApp Community within 24 hours of the match finishing. Refer to the FAQs in the Captains’ Guide for the required manual scorecard information.

38. If there is insufficient time to finish a match on the night then the frame in play must be finished and the remaining frames to be played at away teams’ venue at their convenience if this is not possible then the home team will forfeit the remaining frames.

39. By agreement of both captains and due to slow play, a shot clock may be introduced during a match. Whichever team is not refereeing the relevant frame should provide a timekeeper. Each player is given 45 seconds for each shot – the tip of the cue must have made contact with the cue ball within this time, or a standard foul shall be granted to the opponent. The allowed shot time is 45 seconds, the timekeeper gives a 5-4-3-2-1 countdown from 40 seconds. Each player is allowed to call one ‘extension’ per frame. When an extension has been called, the shot time increases to 60 seconds and the 5-4-3-2-1 countdown commences at 55 seconds. The shot time begins as soon as all of the balls have come to rest from the previous shot and it ends at the point the player strikes the cue ball.

40. Any dispute arising from games, if not settled by the 2 captains on the night, shall be reported to the League Chairperson by raising a Dispute when Submitting/Approving the match result on RackEmApp. If a dispute hearing is called, both the complainant and the accused (with any witnesses) will be called to attend.

41. Any team and their players removed from the league due to not completing the season fixtures will not be able to play in the end of season competitions.

42. Any team or players from a team that are deemed to have brought either the game or the league into disrepute will be answerable to the committee who will then decide upon a suitable course of action.

43. Teams that fail to complete a full season or are disqualified from the league may not reform for the following season (at the committee’s discretion). No more than 2 players from a disqualified team may play for the same team in the following season. Any disqualified team’s captain will be banned from captaining another team for the following 2 seasons.

44. The final league position of teams will be decided upon by the number of points won. If 2 (or more) teams finish on equal number of points, their final position will be determined by frame difference then (if still tied) by frames won then (if still tied) by matches won.

45. All teams joining St Albans & District Pool League for the first time will enter the league in the lowest division. The League committee will use its discretion if this rule appears to be unfair to any existing league team.

46. The league will run the following competitions: - 1. Open Singles - open to all registered league players who have played at least 2 league matches prior to the competition commencing. 2. Ladies Open Singles – open to all registered female players who have played at least 3 league matches prior to the competition commencing. 3. Doubles (in a Pairs Cup style format) - open to all registered players who have played at least 3 league matches prior to the competition commencing (choose partners from any team). 4. Mixed Doubles (in a Pairs Cup style format) - open to all registered players who have played at least 3 league matches prior to the competition commencing (choose partners from any team, each partnership comprises one male and one female player). 5. 3 Player/Trebles - open to all registered players who have played at least 3 league matches prior to the competition commencing (choose teammates from any league team) 6. Divisional Singles - open to all registered players from their respected divisions who have played at least 3 league matches prior to the competition commencing. 7. The Showdown – a single match between the winner of the Open Singles and the winner of the Premier Division Singles. Should the same player win each competition, they are automatically crowned The Showdown Champion. 8. Daniel Dent Cup – automatic entry for all registered teams; players must have played at least 1 league match to be eligible to play in a Daniel Dent fixture. 9. Larry Hinrichs Trophy – automatic entry for all registered teams that do not progress to the quarter finals of the Daniel Dent Cup; players must have played at least 1 league match to be eligible to play in a Larry Hinrichs fixture.. 9. Top Gun – player who wins the most ‘first frames’ in their division.  10. MVP – player with the highest % of frame wins in their division (criteria: must have played in at least 60% of matches). 11. 8 Ball – player with the highest number of (combined) Break & Dishes and Reverse Dishes in their division.

47. Competition fees will be £5.00 per person except for Open and Ladies’ singles which are both £3.00 per person. All entry monies will be non-refundable. Any players not available to play by the end of the first round will be scratched from the competition. Registration for the competitions will be made via RackEmApp; the registration window for each competition will be communicated in good time with the deadline being 7-10 days prior to the start date of the competition. Any entries that have not been paid for by the registration deadline(s) will be removed from the respective competitions.

48. Golden break and golden duck rules apply for all singles, doubles and 3 player competitions.

49.  League Fines and Penalties can be imposed during the season for the following: 1 point deducted for team fixing - Teams playing non-eligible players or ringers. 9 points deducted, if a team fails to turn up for 3 League and/or Cup matches. This team will not be allowed to re-enter the League for a minimum of 1 season.

50. All teams must play any postponed or rearranged matches no later than 2 weeks before the end of the league season. Failure to do so will result in both teams getting a 6-point deduction. If you have outstanding matches at the end of the league season no players from the team will be able to play in the end of season competitions.

51. If any team fails to attend an away match in the first half of the season, they will forfeit their home advantage in the return match.

52. No team may postpone or rearrange any of their last FOUR league games or ANY of their Knockout Cup or Knockout Trophy Matches, without committee approval and a plan to finish all matches 2 weeks before the scheduled league end.

53. If any team is found to have conceded any frames during a match for any reason, except not having enough players, the committee will impose any penalties they feel are required.

54. Affiliation to the English Pool Association (E.P.A.) and the Hertfordshire Pool Association (H.P.A.) entitles the league to enter one or more super league teams into the Hertfordshire County League to compete against teams from fellow affiliated leagues. We can also enter teams and individuals into the annual national Champion of Champions event (the criteria for this is outlined in the Captains’ Guide). There are also several other tournaments available to all registered players; details of these events will be sent out at the appropriate times or made available on the League WhatsApp Community.

55. All registered players in the St. Albans and District Pool League will be eligible to enter the HPA County trials in January of every year. Details to be sent out at the appropriate time or made available on the League WhatsApp Community.