Penrith & District Pool League

CONSTITUTION 2019 / 2020

1.      General.
(a)    The League shall be run by an elected committee of 12.
(b)    An Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held during the month of July or August.
(c)    The League will affiliate to the Cumbria Pool Association (CPA).
(d)    Matches will be played to the rules as supplied by the Committee as agreed at past AGM’s, a copy of which should be displayed at all venues.
(e)    Complaints/disputes regarding any matter must be put in writing to the General Secretary and will be dealt with at the next committee meeting. Committee members will not be party to decisions involving their own team/s. Rule 1(f) applies
(f)    Any decisions made by the Committee in relation to any matter connected with the League and the format/rules of all other competitions (see 11) will be final.
(g)    The committee may co-opt new members when necessary.

(h) That a single participating winter league team can have no more than 3 representatives on the committee at the time of their election onto the committee.

2. League & Match Format

(a) The year will be split into Summer (June to August) and Winter (Sept to May) Seasons.
(b) The committee of the league to decide upon the formation of the winter league at the start of each season. Ideally teams entering the league will be split into divisions and if so, divisions of a similar size otherwise a single division may be created. Where a multiple divisional structure is used, at the end of each season the committee will assess which teams, if any, are to be promoted / relegated depending upon the number of teams entering the league in the following season. Ideally at least 1 team from each division would be promoted / relegated respectively. The format of the summer season will be decided upon by the committee.

(d) Matches will consist of six singles games and three doubles games.
(e) Teams must have 6 players to be able to play all 9 games.
(f) One aggregate point will be awarded to the winner of each singles game and two aggregate points will be awarded to the winner of each doubles game. Two points will be awarded to the winning team, 1 point will be awarded to each team in the case of a drawn match and no points will be awarded to the losing team.
(g) The winner of each division will be the team with the most points. If two or more teams in a division finish the season on level points, the team that has the best aggregate score finishes higher, should that be the same, the team with the better record against the other team/s during the season finish higher, if the same, a play-off will be arranged.

(h) That team knockout competitions are played using a minimum of 6 players rather than 4 and format to be agreed by the committee.

3. League Fixtures.

(a) Matches should be played on a Monday night as per the fixture list and should start at 8.00pm.
(b) The only time a fixture can be rearranged is if one of the teams cannot raise the minimum 4 players. The said team must write to the committee and explain the reasons why the minimum 4 players cannot be raised and the committee shall decide whether this is a valid reason for the game to be replayed. If the game is to be rearranged it must be played within 4 weeks of the committee’s decision or if this is near the end of the season the game must be played before the last league fixture. The committee’s decision is final and absolute.

(c) A team failing to attend a fixture they will concede the game 12 – 0 and have 2 points deducted from their total.
(d) If either team is late, games can be claimed at 15-minute intervals from 8:00 p.m. If either team are unable to supply 4 players by 8:30 p.m. the match should be abandoned. The offending team will have 1 point deducted from their total.
(e) If a match is abandoned due to insufficient time it should be rearranged for a later date with the match resuming from where it finished.
(f) If a match is abandoned due to dispute, details should be passed to the General Secretary. Rule 1(f) applies.
(g) A team may be expelled from the league or any other competition if it cancels more than 2 games, at the discretion of the Committee.

(h) If a team withdraws or are expelled, all results involving that team will be cancelled.

(i) The Singles and Doubles competition games must be played as per the fixture list generally. An alternative arrangement for the semi-finals and finals games can be agreed with the committee.

(j) Lag break in order to decide which team breaks first, as per EPA Guidelines.

(k) Limited talking to be allowed within the doubles frames. Discussions shall only be allowed for up to one minute per team visit prior to the first shot being taken. No talking between doubles partners between shots would be allowed. Discussions shall only be allowed for up to one minute after the break off shot.

4. Venues.

(a) Any house rules (i.e. age restriction) must be made known to the committee before the season begins.
(b) Teams will play in accordance with conditions at each venue.
(c) The home team pays for all the games and referees the first game. Rule 8(a) applies.
(d) Pool tables should be marked correctly and kept in good playing order.
(e) Venues with 7-foot tables must supply rests.

5. Team Registration.

(a) Registration forms must be with the General Secretary at or before the start of the AGM prior to the start of the winter league.
(b) New players can be registered at any time during the season.
(c) If a team uses an ineligible player (i.e. a player who has already played for a current team in the P&DPL or is serving a ban from the EPA/CPA) the games played by that player will be awarded to the non-offending team and the result of the match will be adjusted accordingly. The offending team will have 2 points deducted from their total.
(d) If a team withdraws, players of that team may re-register to another team. Rule 5(b) applies.

6. Team Captains.

(a) Each team must nominate a captain.
(b) Captains should be conversant with the League rules.
(c) The winning team captain must ensure the result sheet is delivered to the Grey Goat by 7.30pm on the Thursday following the match. Rule 7(e) applies.
(d) Captains must ensure that there is no coaching or barracking from members of their teams during play. See 8(d).

7. Result Sheets.

(a) Before each match starts the home team must enter a minimum of 4 players names on the result sheet. The away team captain must then also enter a minimum of 4 names on the result sheet. Once a name has been entered it cannot be changed without the consent of the opposing team captain. Rule 5(d) applies.
(c) Result sheets must be filled out correctly, with each player checking that their own name has been printed.
(d) Once the match is complete the result sheet should be signed by both captains as being correct.
(e) If the Competition Secretary does not receive the Results Card by 7.30pm on the Thursday following the match, 2 points will be deducted from the total of the winning team.

8. Referee Guidance.

(a) Home teams shall pay for all of the games and the games will be refereed alternately by both teams with the home team refereeing first. Where a match is played on a neutral venue, there will be alternate referees from each team with the first referee decided upon the toss of a coin.

(b) Once a game has started players must play their own game. Except 8(c).

(c) Doubles partners in Doubles matches are allowed to talk together for 60 seconds before the first shot of every team visit.

(d) If coaching/barracking is attempted the offender/s should be asked to stop. If coaching/barracking continues, the referee may award the game to the non-offending players.

(e) In all cup matches that finish 6-6, there should be a three player ‘play off’ to decide the outcome, instead of a ‘one game’ play off. Each frame in the ‘play off’ should have a lag for break.

(f) Doubles frames in league matches – players to play in the order which they appear on the team sheet.

9. Un-played/Rearranged Matches

Item removed from Constitution.

10. The Player of the Season and League Rankings.

(a) The Player of the Season of each division will be the player that wins the highest number of singles games. If two or more players have the same number of wins a play-off will be arranged.

11. Other Competitions.

(a) Player of the Season for each division, Annual Knockouts of Singles, Doubles, Martin Cup, Harrison Shield and respective plate competitions and 8-ball.

(b) Singles KO competition to be open to men and lady entrants. Separate Ladies KO to be omitted.

Doubles Competitions.

(a) Once a doubles pairing has played their opening round, the pairing cannot change for subsequent rounds no matter what the reason.

(b) The Doubles KO competition – Each team pairing to alternate the break per team visit.

12. Players conduct during matches or attending Penrith & District Pool League Events.

All players shall conduct themselves as per the World Rules Constitution. Any abusive or bad behaviour which is reported to the committee shall be fully looked into, all parties concerned will be invited to attend and if any player is found guilty of misconduct they can be banned from playing pool for a period of time decided by the committee. There shall be no appeal system. The committee’s decision is final and absolute.