CONSTITUTION

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 2 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) Teams will be split into divisions. At the end of each season the top/bottom 2 teams in each division will be promoted/relegated respectively. In the event that the higher division is increasing in number, the next best-placed team/s will also be promoted. If a division is reducing the committee will decide which teams are promoted/relegated. The format of the Summer Season will be decided depending on the number of teams entering.
(c) Matches will be played on a home and away basis.
(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 1 team knockout competition is played using 8 singles and 2 doubles per match allowing a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 12 players per team as used in the Summer 2007 competition.

3. League Fixtures.

(a) Matches should be played on a Monday night or as per the fixture list and start at 8:30 p.m. An alternative evening can be arranged if both teams agree. Rule 9. applies.
(b) If either team wishes to cancel a fixture they must give the opposition 48 hours notice or they will concede the match 9 – 0. Rule 9. applies.
(c) A team failing to attend a fixture they will concede the game 9 – 0 and have 2 points deducted from their total. Rule 9. applies.
(d) If either team is late, games can be claimed at 15-minute intervals from 8:30 p.m. If either team are unable to supply 4 players by 9:00 p.m. the match should be abandoned. The offending team will have 1 point deducted from their total. Rule 9. applies.
(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. Rule 9. applies.
(f) If a match is abandoned due to dispute, details should be passed to the General Secretary. Rule 1(f) applies.
(g) A team missing 2 matches render themselves liable to expulsion from the League unless rearranged dates have been passed to the League Secretary. Rule 3(h) applies.
(h) If a team withdraw or are expelled, all results involving that team will be cancelled.

(i) The singles and doubles competition games must be played as per the fixtures list.

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 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 1 point 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 Beacon Social Club by 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).
(e) It is the responsibility of the home team captain to rearrange un-played games/matches. Rule 9 applies.

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 result sheet is not received by the Competition Secretary by the Thursday following the match, 1 point will be deducted from the total of the winning team. If the result sheet fails to be received by the Competition Secretary 2 points will be deducted.

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) Consultation between doubles partners is allowed until the balls come to rest following an opponents visit from which point no further consultation is allowed until the break (consisting of one or two visits) has finished. A ball leaving the table is deemed to have come to rest once it has hit the floor.
(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 man play off to decide the outcome, instead of a ‘one game’ play off. Each three frames should have a lag break instead of spinning a coin.

9. Un-played/Rearranged Matches

Any un-played matches/games must be played within 3 weeks of the original fixture date and before the last divisional fixture of the season. The home team captain must provide the away team captain with 3 alternative dates and inform the Competition Secretary of the revised date. If teams cannot agree a date the Competition Secretary will nominate a date.

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.
(b) League rankings will be calculated for the whole league and for individual divisions and may at the discression of the team captain be used for the Penrith Inter-League team. At the end of each winter and Summer Season players in the league will be ranked based on performance over that winter and Summer Season. 4 points will be awarded for a first division game won, 3 points for division 2 and 2 points for division 3. 1 point will be awarded for a singles game won in the summer league. 8 additional points will be awarded to the winner of the singles competition, 4 points will be awarded to the runner-up, 2 points will be awarded to each semi-finalist and 1 point to each quarter-finalist. To qualify for a ranking position a player must play at least 60% of available games over the previous season and win more than 50% of games played. The player that has the highest number of points will be ranked number 1. If two or more players have equal records, the player that has played the fewest games is ranked higher, if equal, the player with the highest existing rank is higher, if no existing rank, a play off may be required. To qualify for the Inter-League team a player must be affiliated to the English Pool Association (E.P.A.).

11. Other Competitions.

Player of the Season for each division, and overall winner. Annual Knockouts of Singles, Ladies, Doubles, Martin Cup, Harrison Shield and respective plate competitions and 8-ball.
2009/10 Season