TORBAY & DISTRICT BILLIARDS LEAGUE RULES

 

 

 

1. The League shall be known as "TORBAY AND DISTRICT BILLIARDS LEAGUE".

 

2. Members of the League shall be CLUBS, INDIVIDUALS AND HONORARY MEMBERS.

 

3. The object of the League is to promote the welfare of such games as are played on an English Billiards table and to arrange such competitions as shall be decided from time to time.

 

4. The organisation of the League shall be the responsibility of the Management Committee who shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting and shall consist of:-

 

(a) President


(b) Vice-President


(c) Chairman


(d) Vice-Chairman


(e) Secretary


(f) Fixtures Secretary and Press Officer


(g) Competitions Secretary


(h)Treasurer


(i) Committee members, any six of whom shall form a quorum, inclusive of (a) to (h), 50 per cent of which to retire annually.


Nominations for Officers and Committee must be made in writing and received by the Secretary at least 7days prior to the Annual General Meeting.

 

5. Meetings shall consist of the following:-


(1) The Annual General Meeting.


(2) General Meetings as and when required.


(3) Management and sub-committee meetings as and when required.


6. The Secretary shall call meetings under Rule 5 when requested to do so by the League President or Chairman or by six clubs who are members of the League. The Secretary shall ensure that each club which is a member of the League receives notice of a General or Annual General Meeting together with a copy of the Agenda not later than 14 (fourteen) days before such a meeting.

 

PROCEDURE AT MEETINGS


7. At all meetings of the Management Committee or Sub Committee thereof, all Management Committee members present shall be entitled to vote. Any member (see Rule 2) may attend a General Meeting or an Annual General Meeting but voting at such meetings will be restricted to Officers of the League, members of the Management Committee and one representative of each team entered in the League who shall be nominated by his team.


At all meetings the Chairman shall have the casting vote.


Only business shown on the Agenda shall be transacted at a General or Annual General Meeting, and only at the discretion of the Chairman may any other business be discussed.


Any item may be placed on the Agenda of a General or Annual General Meeting if sent to the Secretary in writing by a member of the League and seconded by another member no later than 7 (seven days)days prior to the meeting.

 

8. Alterations to the Rules may only be made at a General or Annual General Meetings and which is attended by at least 8 (eight) members who are entitled to vote at such meetings, (one member - one vote) provided there are two-thirds majority, either FOR or AGAINST. (NO POSTAL VOTES WILL BE ACCEPTED AT THESE MEETINGS).

 

In the event of a quorum level not being reached at a General or Annual General Meeting, the Secretary shall call another such meeting, which will have powers to transact the business of the meeting, whatever the attendance level.  

 

9. For the purpose of voting under Rule 7, a team registered in the League as at January 1st shall be deemed to be a member for voting purposes.

 

10. The League Management Committee shall have authority for the correct interpretation of the Rules of the League and shall have full jurisdiction on all matters not provided for in these Rules and deal with all matters that may arise.


11. Team Entry Fees shall be decided at the Annual General Meeting and shall be due with the team entry.

 

12. Match Fees and Cup Entry Fees, if due to be changed, shall be decided at the Annual General Meeting or at a General Meeting. The Management Committee are empowered to request any Team or Club to pay their Match Fees due for the season in advance of that season

.

13. Team Captains shall collect from each player of his team the sum decided at the Annual General Meeting for each League game played. He shall hand this to the League Treasurer monthly or at such other interval as requested by the League Management Committee.

 

14. Cup Entry Fees as specified under Rule 12 shall be paid to the Competition Secretary at the time of entry. No entry to a Cup competition will be accepted unless the correct entry fee has been paid.

 

15. All games shall be played under the Rules of the English Association for Snooker and Billiards (the governing body).

 

REGISTRATION OF PLAYERS 


16. All players must register in writing with the League to play for one club only, and must be a bona fide member of that club. Transfer to another club can only be made in accordance with (g) below.

 

STATUS OF PLAYERS

 

(a) Registered players will be awarded a status:-Premier, 1,2,3,etc


(b)A player's status may change from Winter to Summer Leagues.


(c)Status will be changed if a player is promoted, relegated, or if an application to change is approved by the Management Committee.


(d) A player who plays in 3 (three) matches of a HIGHER division status will automatically be up graded to that division.


(e) A player may not play for a team of a LOWER status than himself unless previous permission has been obtained to change his status.


(f) Application to change status must be made in writing to the Fixtures Secretary. Pending approval by the Management Committee, temporary permission may be given by the Fixtures Secretary.


(g) Application to change clubs must be made in writing, with fee, and sent with the club membership card to the Fixtures Secretary. Pending approval by the Management Committee, temporary permission may be given by the Fixtures Secretary.


(h) A player may not play for another club other than the club to which he is registered with out first obtaining permission (see (f) above).


(i)A player who wishes to change clubs for the SUMMER LEAGUE only, must apply in writing to the Fixtures Secretary. No charge will be made if his regular club is NOT entering a team for the Summer League. Otherwise the normal fee will be charged.


(j) PLAYERS only will be relegated or promoted, not teams.


(k) A player may not play for another team in the same division unless he has obtained permission from the Fixtures Secretary.


(l) No player will be permitted to play for more than one team in the Locock Cup or the Dennis Andrews Cup.


(m) Registration Fees

 

Initial registration of players                              Nil
Status change                                                      Nil
Club change          50 pence

17. League Snooker matches shall be played on Thursdays except where authorisation has been given to play on some other day by the Management Committee.


18. Snooker and Billiards teams shall consist of the number of players decided at a General or Annual General Meeting.


19.The number of points per frame or game shall be decided at a General or Annual General Meeting preceding the start of the season.


20. The CAPTAINS of each team, shall before the commencement of the match, present each other with a list of their team members in order of play and this order shall be adhered to unless otherwise agreed by both Captains.

 

The first game shall start not later than 7.30pm.

 

All subsequent games shall start not later than fifteen minutes after the end of the previous game.

 

There will be 15 minutes waiting time, so that the 2nd frame could be claimed at 8.00pm, the third at 8 15pm and the forth at 8.30pm.

 

As three frames constitutes a match then the match can be claimed at the conclusion of the 15 minute waiting time before the 4th frame at 8.30pm.

 

No waiting time is permitted after 9.30pm.

 

After the teams are matched no team shall introduce a reserve player unless one of the nominated players is not available. Only then can the reserve player play in place of the nominated player.


Any games not completed for whatever reason must be noted on the result card.

 

Scores of the incompleted game(s) must be entered and the reasons for the non-completion made known to the Fixtures Secretary in  written report signed by the respective team Captains.


21. (AGM July 1999) Result Cards for team League and Cup matches to be received no later than the first post on the Monday after the match.


22. (AGM July 2004) 2 (Two) penalty points will be deducted from any team whose result card is received after the first post on the Monday following the date of the match.

 

If a team sends a result card in late twice, the offending team will be fined £5.00 for every late card received.

 

For any frame not played the non-offending side will be awarded one point and the offending side will loose a point.


22a. (AGM July 2000) No team will receive points for merely turning for the fixture.

 

Matches will be played as per the fixture list.

 

Money fines may be imposed on teams for non-attendance of a fixture and points will be deducted from offending team.


23. (AGM July1996) League players will automatically receive trophies for promotion or highest averages if they played 60%of frames in a season.


23a. (AGM July2000) Any player not collecting or making arrangements to collect a trophy on presentation evenings shall forfeit the trophy.


24. (AGM July 1996) In the event of a tie at the end of the season the team with the most points will be promoted or NOT relegated.


25.(AGM September 2006) New teams/players to the League may be asked to pay some or all League Fees in advance of a new season,

subject to Management Committee discretion.


25a(AGM September 2006) The two top Divisions will play 6(six) frames in the Winter League, but will only play 5(five) frames in the Locock Cup matches.


26. (AGM July 1999) PROFESSIONAL snooker players are excluded from ALL CUP competitions except the Locock Cup and the Dennis Andrews Cup.

 

26a(AGM July 2003) LOCOCK CUP & DENNIS ANDREWS CUP team matches, players with a handicap of -25 or lower are allowed to play one frame only.

 

FIXTURES


All matches shall be played on the date shown on the fixture list – or before if both Captains agree. Regular infringement of this rule will render the team and its players liable to suspension from the League. The only exception to this rule will be if matches are called off due to inclement weather.


Any team falling to turn up for a scheduled fixture, except for extenuating circumstances as accepted by a sub-Committee convened for this purpose, shall be fined £10.00 (Ten pounds)  on the first occasion , £20.00 (twenty pounds) for failing to fulfil a fixture for the second time in a season AND WILL BE BARRED from the League If they fail to fulfil three fixtures in any one season. All League fee’s and fines incurred by the team will be expected to be paid in full for the season, irrespective as to what stage a team is barred from the League.

 

If the aforementioned fine is not paid within 14 days of the scheduled fixture date, the Management Committee shall be empowered to take such action as deemed necessary including the levying of penalty points to a maximum of six and/or suspension of player (s). In the event of any dispute, a protest must be sent to the Secretary in writing, which will subsequently be dealt with by the Management Committee. Home teams shall be responsible for providing a referee, E.A.S.B. referee to take precedence.

 

DRESS


The various clubs within the frame work of the Torbay and District Billiards League have rules pertaining to dress which may vary from club to club. Some clubs insist on the collar and tie mode of dress, whilst others accept the more casual but neat standard.
IT IS THE RESPOSIBILITY OF EACH PLAYER TO CONFORM TO THE STANDARD OF DRESS REQUIRED BY THE CLUB HE MAY BE VISITING.


27. Any team which, for any reason, fails to complete, or take part in, any season for which it has been properly entered, and accepted, by the Committee, shall be liable to a fine of £5.00 for each match which remains unfulfilled. The fine shall apply equally to both the team itself and to the players as individuals and any fine which remains unpaid after one month of its levy shall bar such teams and/or players from entering in any from of competition run under the auspices of The Torbay and District Billiards League. For the purpose of this rule – where the fine is to be divided between players, the split in dues shall be either:-


1. Equally between the team’s registered players.


2. Between the players in proportion to the number of games played for that team.


3. In such other manner as the Committee deems fair.


In addition to nay fine levied under the rule, all Match Fees due from completed games will still remain due and must be paid in full to the Treasurer in accordance with Rule 13.


28. Should a player be due to play a match from which he is barred, for any reason whatsoever, that player will forfeit that particular match.

 

CUP COMPETITIONS

 

Conditions of entry

 

 

 

  1. Registered players only will be accepted for competitions.
  2. Players must reside with in a 15(fifteen) mile radius of Paignton G.P.O. at the time of entry.
  3. Entries may be limited.
  4. Subject to availability of tables at any one club.
  5. Only entries submitted in writing together with the correct fee will be considered.
  6. Under age players will only be accepted on the proviso that, should that under age player be drawn away to a club, which does not permit under age players to play at the club, then that under age player must forfeit the match.
  7. Any player, at the commencement of any season, who is classified as being of professional playing status ( a member of the W.P.B.S.A.) shall not be allowed to compete in any individual or pairs cup competition.
  8. No player shall be able to play for more than one team in the Locock Cup and /or the Dennis Andrews Cup.

 

CUP RULES

 

  1. Home games are to be played on the table of the club from which the first named player applied. This rule may be deferred subject to mutual agreement by players concerned
  2. Home player(s) to be responsible for providing a referee. E.A.S.B. referee to take precedence.
  3. The calendar of dates must be strictly adhered to.
  4. All cup competitions will be played on the knock –out principle unless decreed by the Management Committee.
  5. All matches to be arranged in conjunction with the date published on the draw sheet. It is the responsibility of both players /pairs/teams to make contact and arrange match by the set date. Failure to make contact will result in the elimination of both players/pairs/teams.
  6. Dates offered must not conflict with the opponent’s Torbay League commitments.
  7. Times offered must be between 7.00pm and 9.00pm or by mutual consent.
  8.  The Competition Secretary must be notified of the result of the match or a WRITTEN reason why the game should be awarded to one of the players, not later than the date indicated on the competition sheet.
  9. It is the responsibility of the winner or claimant to notify the Competition Secretary of match results, including the Locock Cup Competition.Faliure to notify will result in the elimination of both players/teams.
  10. Match results not received by the Competition Secretary on the published closing date of the round may cause the elimination of all players.
  11. Reasons for claiming a match may include:-
    1. Dates and /or times not correctly given.
    2. Dates / times not accepted.
    3. Opponent(s) arriving more than the permitted 30 minutes late.
    4. Ungentle manly behaviour or conduct by an opponent.

 

       Method of claiming a match:-
WRITTEN claims must be submitted and must include:-

  1. Date and venue of match.
  2. Date claim is made.
  3. Details of claim.
  4. Signature of claimant.
  5. Signature of witness (if possible).
  6. Must be made prior to next draw.

 

  1. All claims will be brought before the League Management Committee or Draw Sub-Committee who will in turn render    any verdict necessary, taking in to account any extenuating circumstances.
  2. Semi- Finals and Final matches will be played wherever possible on a neutral table. Theses matches will be arranged by the League Management Committee or Draw Sub-Committee.

In the event of the absence of a player or players at the appointed starting time at a final, the offender/s will be                                                                                    allowed another 54 minutes grace, if not present at the time, the offender/s shall forfeit a second
Frame / game and if not present after another 15 minutes (i.e. 35 minutes after the official starting time), the match

  1. All clubs, teams and individuals accept adhere to these rules as a condition of entry to any competition organised by the league.
  2. The League Management Committee shall have the authority to modify or change any Cup competition rules at the request of a sponsor. Should a player be drawn to play a Cup match at a club from which he is barred, for any reason whatsoever, a mutually agreeable neutral venue must be arranged.

HANDICAPS


Handicaps to be reviewed at the end of each season and will be altered by a sub-committee by +5 or -5( or more at the discretion of the committee) depending on averages achieved in each season with a guide line of 70% upper and lower than 30% games won.

 

Each division will have a minimum and a maximum handicap (or at the discretion of the League handicap Committee).

 

All players will play of scratch in all divisions unless a minus handicap is given.

 

All new players to the League will play off scratch until they are accessed and given a handicap by the League handicap Committee.


Premier Division  -55          +15
Division One                  scratch          +20
Division Two                         +5           +30
Division Three                      +10         +35
Division four                         +15         +40
Division five                          +20         +45

 

 

 

COMPETITIONS

 

NEWMAN CUP                    An individual snooker (scratch) competition played during the Winter Season. Early rounds will be   played over the best of 3 frames, semi- finals over the best of 5 frames, and the final over the best of 7 frames.


POWE CUP                          An individual snooker competition played during the Winter Season, open to all players of a handicap of +10 or more. Early rounds to be played over the best of 3 frames: semi-finals and the final to be played over the best of 5 frames.


JUBILLEE CUP                   An individual snooker handicap competition played during the Summer Season. Early rounds to be played over the best of 3 frames:-semi finals and the final to be played over the best of 5 frames.


TOOTHILL CUP                   A snooker pairs (scratch) competition played during the Summer Season. Early rounds to be played over the best of 3 frames: Semi-finals and the final to be played over the best of 5 frames


BOLT CUP                            An individual billiards handicap competition played during the Winter Season. Early rounds to be played 300 points up : the final 500 points up.


LOCOCK CUP                     A team handicap snooker competition played during the Winter Season. Aggregate scores to decide the winners.  All Winter League teams automatically entered.


DENNIS ANDREWS CUP A team handicap snooker competition played during the Summer Season. Aggregate scores to decide the winners.  All Summer League teams automatically entered.


HILL CUP                              A youth snooker (scratch) competition, open to any youth who is under 20 years of age on January 1st of the year of the competition. Residential qualification is the only necessary condition of entry. Early rounds will be the best of 3 frames: Semi-finals and the final will be played over the best of 5 frames.


SUTTON CUP                      An individual snooker handicap competition open to all payers of 45 years of age and over played during the Winter Season. Residential qualification is the only necessary condition of entry. Early rounds to be played over the best of 3 frames: Semi- finals and the final will be played over the best of 5 frames.


JOE DAVIS CUP                 An individual snooker handicap competition open to players in the two lowest divisions played during the Winter Season. Early rounds will be over the best of 3 frames: Semi- finals and the final will be played over the best of 5 frames


LES JENNINGS                   A snooker pairs (handicapped) competition played in the Summer Season. Early rounds will be played over the best of 3 frames, semi finals and the final will be played over the best of 5 frames.


FRED JARVIS CUP            An individual snooker handicap competition played in the Winter Season. Early rounds will be played over the best of 3 frames: Semi- finals and the final will be played over the best of 5 frames.


JOE GILL CUP                     A snooker pairs handicap competition played during the Winter Season. Early rounds will be played over the best of 3 frames: Semi- finals and the final will be played over the best of 5 frames.


JOHN VASEY CUP             A snooker pairs handicap competition( new format of two singles matches, then one double match followed by two singles matches) played during the Winter Season. All rounds to be played over the best of 5 frames.

 

DON YENDLE CUP            An individual, snooker handicap competition open to all players that is played during the Winter Season with a money prize (dependant of entries). Early rounds will be played over the best of 3 frames the final will be played over the best of 7 frames.