Constitution

Bideford and District Pool League

Established 1977

Chairperson: Ali Davidson ☎07930 213149, Vice Chairperson: Neil Merrick ☎07970 451835

Secretary: Karen Edwards ☎07568 319726, Treasurer: Jamie Thompson ☎07990 596272,

Fixtures & Competitions Secretary: Magnus Ritzen ☎07890 888711.

Web Site: https://www.rackemapp.com/leagues/Bideford

CONSTITUTION & RULES 2025/26

A: General

It is expected that the players will always play the game in the true spirit and in a sporting manner. Violent and offensive behaviour will not be tolerated in Bideford and District pool League and any person/persons reported not playing the game in the true spirit will be dealt with by the committee. The committee will rule on any matters not explicitly covered by the constitution or any rules that are ambiguous.
The League shall be called the Bideford & District Pool League. The district is defined as a radius of seven miles from Bideford Bridge. The objective shall be to promote the interests of pool. To organise and carry out championships and competitive games between the registered teams and individual players in membership with the League and to award trophies etc. as may be from time determined. Trophies to be awarded to winners and runners-up.
All Captains of winning teams and Competition Cups are responsible for main Trophies and if they change venue during a season, they must notify the League secretary of this. All main Trophies, shields and competition cups must be returned cleaned, 14 days prior to finals night.
a) The officers of the League shall be the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Fixtures Secretary, Competitions Secretary and Treasurer. The affairs of the League shall be managed by a committee composed of members of the League who shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting or at a Special General Meeting convened for that purpose. The Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer shall be ex-officio members of all committees. The Committee may delegate all or any of their powers to Sub-Committees consisting of such members of their body as they think fit and shall have the power to co-opt. The Secretaries/Treasurer to be paid an allowance agreed at the A.G.M. The Committee shall deal with the day-to-day running of the League. Each committee member to have one vote, the person in the Chair shall have only a ‘casting’ vote. b) No votes shall be cast in any meeting unless a quorum is present. The quorum must consist of at least five voting members of the committee, or 50% of the entire committee, whichever is smaller. Two members must include elected officers (i.e. Secretary, Treasurer.) c) Competition draws may be completed outside of a quorate meeting providing use of the Rackemapp app by the fixtures secretary or another committee member.
Duties of Officers: a) Chairman and Vice-chairman: The Chairman shall preside at all Committee Meetings and at all General or Special Meetings. They will maintain order and see that the Rules of the League are obeyed. They shall instruct the Secretary to call any meeting they may deem necessary and shall perform such other duties as may from time to time arise. They shall not vote on any matter except where there is a tie of votes, when they shall have the casting vote. The Vice-chairman shall carry out the duties of the Chairman in the absence of the latter. b) Secretary: The Secretary shall receive all the ordinary correspondence of the League. They should keep minutes of all Committee Meetings, recording members present, apologies etc. They shall ensure that a true record is kept of all matters discussed and votes made, recording votes for, against and abstentions. They shall call meetings as necessary and shall carry out other duties as may be decided from time to time by the Committee. They should update the constitution after any amendments at an A.G.M. or Specially convened meeting. They should contact captains prior to finals night and arrange for trophy return and cleaning. They should distribute League entry forms prior to registration night. c) Fixtures Secretary: The Fixtures Secretary shall generate fixtures at the start of the season. They shall distribute the fixtures to each venue including scorecards. They shall compile league tables and player averages at least every four weeks. They shall carry out other duties as may be decided from time to time by the Committee. d) Competitions Secretary: The Competitions Secretary shall be responsible for the running of all League competitions. They shall distribute competition entry forms near the start of the season. They shall organise competition draws and distribute accordingly. They shall be responsible for finals night running order and with the assistance of the treasurer ordering trophies. They shall carry out other duties as may be decided from time to time by the Committee. e) Treasurer: The Treasurer shall be in charge of all financial affairs of the League. They shall see that the League accounts are ready for presentation at the A.G.M. They shall collect league entry and competition fees. They shall maintain a record of the bond money held by the league for each team. They shall carry out other duties as may be decided from time to time by the Committee.
The officers shall be elected at the A.G.M. and shall hold office until the following A.G.M. when they shall be eligible for re-election. The Committee shall have full power to fill vacancies among the officers of the League between annual meetings. The election of officers shall be decided by a show of hands.
The A.G.M. shall be held not later than the first of May in each year and shall be convened by the Secretary sending notice to each team stating the time and place at least twenty-one days before the date of the meeting. No rules may be changed except at the A.G.M. Any rule change proposals must be put in writing to the Secretary at least 14 days prior to the meeting. Upon a requisition supported by at least six members of the committee or six teams in membership, the Secretary shall within twenty-one days convene a Special General Meeting, but such a meeting shall only deal with the particular business for which the meeting is convened.
All disputes or protests should be put in writing and sent to the Secretary to be dealt with by the committee. All decisions will be responded to within 14 days after the subsequent committee meeting. At the discretion of the committee, parties involved in a dispute will be invited to attend the relevant committee meeting.
The Secretary must receive all correspondence relating to committee discussions before the meeting is convened. Correspondence received once the meeting has convened will be held over to the next meeting.
At the 1984 A.G.M. it was agreed to register the League as members of the English Pool Association. The committee to be responsible for selecting teams to represent our League at Inter-League level.

B: League

All teams wishing to play in the League must send a representative to the A.G.M/Registration Night.
An entry fee of £50 per team, this includes team KO cup entry and the extra bond-money of £25 per team shall be paid before the first match is played. The bond money is a one-off fee and will be refunded at the end of the season if all fixtures are fulfilled. This money can be carried forward from season to season.
All matches must be played according to the international pool rules as sanctioned by the International Eightball Pool Federation (IEPF) rules.
Captains of all teams will automatically become committee members and will be informed of any committee meetings where a full committee is required. Any player and all players must be registered by the captain. Each captain must register no more than eleven and a minimum of five on registration. Six players may be added at any time during the season but not within the last three games of the season.
A team shall consist of five players, each of whom shall play four frames over the course of the match, all frames will be counted for match results adding up to 20 points. a) No games may be played for ‘double points.’ (i.e. 1 match counting for 40 points) Three Players are needed to constitute a team. b) The home team shall pay for all table expenses. c) The frames in any one match must be played on the same table. d) All matches shall start at 7.30pm. If a player is not available to play the first game, it may be claimed at 7.45pm. The next frames can be claimed every 5 minutes from thereon. e) All team captains must be over the age of 18 and is responsible for the entire teams conduct at all times. f) The matchups, both teams will enter names on the Rackemapp app first and the order for home teams will always remain 1-5 I each match section. The away team order is 1st Match ups: 1,2,3,4,5 2nd Match ups 3,4,5,1,2 3rd Matchups: 5,1,2,3,4 and 4th Match ups: 2,3.4,5,1 Breaks are to be done 1st and 3rd section Home team breaks, 2nd and 4th section Away team. If both teams have 4 players, the match will be played for 16 points. (i.e. no 5th matchup) The match order may be changed (but not the pairings) in order to accommodate for players needing to leave early/arrive late (for example, players going to/coming from work). g) Referees will be used with teams alternating players to ref. If both captains agree referees do not have to be used. h) Up to two substitutes may be used in a match. Once a player is substituted, that player will play no further part in the match. Substitutes must have been signed to the team prior to the start of the match to be eligible.
Any player may transfer from one team to another after they have played a game but must conform to the following conditions: a) She/he shall notify the Fixtures Secretary before playing. b) No player may transfer down a division. c) Players may transfer at any time, but not within the last three games of the season. d) Having signed for a team a player may play for another team without a transfer request provided they have not played for the team they originally signed for. e) A player is only allowed one transfer per season. f) If a request is denied, a written appeal may be made to the committee.
No team shall include more than two players who have played five times or more in a higher division the previous season except promoted or relegated players.
The away team may request the home team to provide a referee for each game as long as they give 7 days’ notice before the match starts. The referee may be changed from game to game if required. The referee’s decision will be final in any dispute.
Coaching, a player is required to play without receiving any advice from other persons relating to the playing of the frames. Any player receiving coaching should be warned by the opposing captain. If any further coaching occurs, the opposing team are entitled to claim the frame. All coaching should be reported to the fixtures secretary.
The League shall make all fixtures. To postpone any fixture the captain wishing to make the postponement must phone the opposing teams captain, the venue where the match was due to be played and the Fixtures Secretary at least 24 hours before the time of the match, failure to do so will result in a 7 point deduction. a) Home team’s captains must contact away team within 7 days with three new dates; at least two of the dates must be different days of the week and in separate weeks. League nights (Sunday & Thursday) cannot be used unless by mutual agreement. Failure to do so will result in a 7-point deduction for the defaulting team(s), the committee will rule if dates are not set. If offending team fails to turn up after committee decision, the offending team will be excluded from the league. b) All matches must be played within 28 days of the original date. Any games outstanding at the end of the season cannot be played after the last date of the fixtures, these games will be void. c) If a team cancels late, the offending team will be deducted 7 points. The captain making a late cancellation must also inform the Fixtures Secretary. d) If a team fails to turn up to a rearranged match, the match will be defaulted. The defaulting team will be deducted 7 points and the match must be rearranged. Failure to do this will result in the committee deciding a date for the match to be played.
The scorecards from all matches are to be confirmed by both captains on the Rackemapp app on the day of the Fixture being played. It is the responsibility of the winning team captain to ensure this takes place. Late score submissions will result in the fixtures secretary or another member of the committee finalising the result as it stands at that time on the app.
In the event of two or more teams being level on points at the end of the season, games shall be played between these teams on a neutral table to decide the outcome. The committee will decide which tables to be used.
Any team dropping out of the League for any reason during a season must inform the Fixtures Secretary immediately. If a team drops out of the League without good reason, all points gained against that team will be void throughout the season (up to half way) and the whole team will be banned for the rest of the season.
If a team drops out of the League, or doesn’t fulfil all fixtures, the team will surrender their £25 bond money.
If any player is reported or found to be playing under anyone’s name other than their own, they will have a two-season ban.
If a team or teams feel that a table or playing conditions in a pub or club are not suitable for the game of pool and three captains hand in a signed complaint to this effect, the committee have the authority to take appropriate action against that team or venue. Any action taken by the committee can only take place as a result of a unanimous decision by the committee.

C: K.O. Competitions

Players must have played at least one game in the first half of the current season to be eligible to compete in the first round of competitions of the Singles/Pairs/Threes competitions. TWO league games for second round onwards, and THREE league games for the Quarter-finals onwards. This rule does not apply for the Ladies singles and Mixed Pairs.
Players must have played at least one game in the current season for a team, to play in the K.O. Cup/Plate competitions for that team. New players cannot be signed on the night.
Team K.O. Cup/Plate matches will be played as per league format but with alternating break for every frame (Home team to break first), i.e.: each player playing one frame at a time against four different players. Team K.O. Cup/Plate matches may only be cancelled by bringing the match forward. Up to two substitutes may be used in a match. Once a player is substituted, that player will play no further part in the match. Substitutes must be named prior to the match starting. If the match is tied after 20 frames a deciding frame will be played with the captains pick of both teams playing with a lag to decide who breaks this frame.
The committee will decide which tables to be used and dates for all finals. All finals matches to be played on neutral tables (except for finals played on finals night).
Competition Draws (Singles, Pairs & Threes) will have deadline for the matches to be played by (usually at least 3 weeks after release date). a) Home player(s)/team to contact away player(s)/team to give 3 dates. At least two of the dates must be different days of the week, and in separate weeks. League nights (Sunday & Thursday) cannot be used unless by mutual agreement. b) Failure to give dates or play match in time will result in a walkover given against to the offending player(s)/team.
For the pairs competition, Talking between partners is allowed from the point balls stop moving at the end of your team’s turn (throughout the opponent team turn), and until the cue ball is struck at the beginning of your teams turn. I.e. talking between partners is only allowed when your team is not in play at the table. This rule does not apply for the shot immediately after the break shot. However, only the player whose turn it is, is allowed to touch the table.
All open singles, ladies singles and open pairs and mixed pairs matches are the best of 9. The finals the best of 11. The pairs matches to be played under scotch pairs rules. Plate singles and pairs matches are best of 7 all the way through.
All matches played on finals night shall be played to time (60 seconds per shot), where practical.

Constitution last amended 9.6.2025