DRAFT Constitution
(last updated 25/06/2026)
1. ORGANISATION
1.1 The name of the organisation shall be the “Cowes & District Pool League, hereafter referred to as C&DPL or ‘the League’.
1.2 C&DPL shall be responsible for the league pool conducted by registered teams on Thursday evenings in an area covered by the whole of East and West Cowes, Newport, with the boundaries extending from Porchfield in the West, the Hare & Hounds in the South and Wootton in the East.
1.3 C&DPL will organise and conduct all competitions as the League decide, on days within the area covered by 1.2.
1.4 C&DPL will also be responsible for occasional representative teams competing within/against other Leagues.
1.5 All teams represented by the C&DPL shall be registered by the pre-season meeting.
1.6 There is no minimum age for being a playing member of the C&DPL. It is the discretion of the venue on who is allowed on they’re premises.
2. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
2.1 The League shall be administered by an Executive Committee of five officers elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The officers shall be the Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Result Secretary and Competition Secretary.
2.2 The Chairman shall be responsible for the conduct of all meetings programmed by the League and for occasional meetings called within the constitution.
2.3 The Chairman shall also be responsible for occasional tasks so decided by the League, e.g. Dinner and Dance.
2.4 The Treasurer shall be responsible for all monies belonging to the League and will produce annually a set of accounts to show the financial transactions within that year. These accounts will be presented at the AGM, included within/appended to the ‘Treasurer’s Report’.
2.5 The Secretary shall be responsible for the general organisation of the League and its annual running. The Secretary will be responsible for distribution of fixtures, competitions and draws pertaining to such. The Secretary will also be responsible for dealing with disciplinary matters, complaints and other general queries.
2.6 The Results Secretary shall be responsible for the weekly running of the league, including the registration of players, setup of divisions, assignment of teams, creation of fixtures and draws pertaining to such.
2.7 The Competition Secretary shall be responsible for all competitions decided upon by the league and the organisation of a final’s night.
2.8 The Executive Committee shall be responsible for the purchase and the presentation of trophies as decided by the League.
3. GENERAL COMMITTEE.
3.1 The General Committee shall consist of the Captains (or his/her designated representative) of each registered team within the League.
3.2 The General Committee shall have the power to decide, by vote if necessary, on all matters governed by this constitution, and such matters decided through the correct channels at any meeting.
4. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM)
4.1 The AGM will be held each year at least two weeks after the end of each winter season, on a date decided by the Executive Committee. Notification of such meeting dates will be shared with all Teams via established social media platforms run by C&DPL.
4.2 The functions of the AGM will be:
a) To determine the composition and organisation of all divisions and competitions played within the C&DPL.
b) To determine the fees for registrations and competitions for each year.
c) To receive the annual report of the Secretary.
d) To receive the annual report of the Treasurer and the annual statements of accounts.
e) To amend the constitution as necessary. Any such amendments will be carried by a majority of 2/3 or more of the Executive Committee members.
f) To plan a calendar of meetings for one year.
g) To elect the Executive Committee for a duration of one year.
h) To elect a Disciplinary Committee for a duration of one year.
i) To amend and adopt a set of playing rules for the succeeding season.
j) To deal with any other business received by the Secretary. All items to be considered by the AGM should ideally be received in writing, properly proposed and seconded, at least 7 days prior to the meeting.
4.3 The meeting shall be conducted by the Chairman in an orderly manner. All motions will be properly proposed and seconded, and voted on by a simple majority (except for amendments to the constitution as stated in 4.2e).
4.4 All registered Captains (or his/her designated representative) present will have one vote. The executive committee members may have one vote for their respective team if they are the Captain of that team. THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTTEE COMMITTEE SHALL NOT VOTE. In the event of a tie, the Chairman will have the casting vote (in addition to his/her team vote – if applicable).
4.5 All teams registered with the C&DPL must attend. Failure to attend will result in the team being fined £10 to be paid upon re-registration to the League in the upcoming season. There will also be a 2-point deduction that shall be given at the start of the upcoming season.
5. GENERAL MEETINGS.
5.1 The General meetings shall be held once per season, that being the pre-season meeting – to be determined at the AGM. Additional meetings may be added or changed at the discretion of the executive committee.
5.2 All teams registered with the League must attend the meeting. Failure to attend such meetings in a year will result in the team being fined £10.00 upon re-registration to the League in the next season and also a 2-point deduction to be given for the coming or current season for each meeting missed.
5.3 Other players may attend and participate in meetings but may not vote.
5.4 The business of the meeting shall be on the agenda. All matters to be considered should be notified to the Secretary, in writing, at least seven days before the meeting.
5.5 Votes may be taken on any item properly proposed and seconded. Voting will be as per the AGM.
5.6 All teams wishing to register for a Winter League season must attend the pre-season meeting (See 5.2). All registration fees and fines are to be paid by the end of this meeting. There will be an amnesty of one week into the season for the payment of fees and fines. Any team not settling their accounts by this deadline will forfeit their matches until these are paid. Forfeiting their match means they will score no points, and the opponent team will be awarded a 5-0 (games) & 10-0 (frames) win; these matches cannot be rearranged to avoid this.
6. SPECIAL MEETINGS
6.1 Any player, on any item notified to the Secretary and signed by the team captain, may call a special meeting.
6.2 The meeting shall be called within seven days of the receipt of the notice. The only agenda item shall be the item which the meeting was called.
6.3 It is only each team captain who will be entitled to vote.
6.4 Any player connected with the item may attend and speak, if required, but they may not vote. Voting will be as per the AGM.
6.5 There will be no penalty for non-attendance.
6.6 If a special committee is convened to arbitrate on the dispute, it will consist of the Chairman, the Secretary, the Results Secretary and the Disciplinary Committee. Representatives of concerned parties will be invited to attend the meeting. All members may vote, except the Chairman, who shall have a casting vote in the event of a tie.
7. Finance.
7.1 All monies credited to the League shall be placed in accounts determined by the AGM on the advice and under the discretion and direction of the Treasurer.
7.2 The Treasurer shall be responsible for all transactions pertaining to these monies.
7.3 Any withdrawal from the funds must be authorised by any two of the Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary or other Executive Committee member nominated by the Treasurer.
7.4 Please see 5.6 for details of fee payment, timeframes, and punishments for non-payment.
8. CONDUCT OF THE LEAGUE.
8.1 All games shall be conducted in a sportsmanlike manner within the playing rules of the C&DPL.
8.2 A draw will be made by 8pm, and the match will then start.
8.3 All matches will be the best of three legs for five players.
8.3.1 For each game, the break will be decided by a ‘lag’ (both players play a coloured ball from the baulk line onto the alterative cushion aiming to return the ball to the baulk cushion – the closest players ball to the baulk cushion wins the ‘lag’ and breaks first, and also breaks in the 3rd frame if applicable). If the ball touches any side cushion (or pocket corners) that player loses the lag.
8.3b Both Premier League captains must disagree agree not to play the 60-second rule in their games as it is an automatically applied rule in this league. In all other Leagues, both Captains must agree to include this within their matches, as it is NOT an automatically applied rule in these leagues.
8.3.2 Players must play their games in a reasonable timeframe to enable the match to be played before the closure time of the venue. Any players taking a disproportionate time during their games may be prompted by the referee to speed up. If the game is not finished before the venue closure time, the League and Results Secretary must be notified of specific players who played disproportionately slowly. Teams/players may rearrange outstanding games to be played on a mutually convenient time and date. If these cannot be arranged, it is at the Executive Committee’s discretion to address this – who may award outstanding games as void or allocate the offending team a loss depending on the specific issues raised.
8.4 The draw should be played in the correct order, although the captains may use their discretion in this matter.
8.4.1 A [random] draw will be made before the start of the match and any missing players will be drawn out as per the draw – if each team is missing one player, they should not automatically be drawn against each other. Captains may not use their discretion to play any non-random draws between players under any circumstances.
8.5 Should a player be late, an alternative game should be played to ensure that play is continuous. If all the available games have been played and players are still not present, then the remaining games may be claimed at the rate of one game per 15 minutes. This is, of course, unless the captains have agreed on a time for player/s to arrive late.
8.6 The home team will provide referees for each match. They MUST be alert, observant of the game, and aware of the rules of the game. The referee’s decision will be FINAL. Should teams dispute decisions or suspect cheating, then this must be referred to the League after the match.
8.7 Handing in the result card is no longer a requirement of the league. Instead, a photo of the result card must be sent as soon as possible after the match that same evening to the Results Secretary. The use of WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, email, or posting on the established social media platforms run by C&DPL are all accepted methods of submission of such results. This is the responsibility of the Home team captain to ensure this is done.
8.8 A team winning the most games, i.e. 3-2, 4-1 or 5-0 will be awarded 2 points. In the event of a tie at the end of the season, the game difference will be taken into account. Should this also be tied, then a count back of frames won will be made to determine the winner.
8.9 Postponement of a match requires a minimum of 24 hours’ notice, apart from exceptional circumstances such as vehicular accidents or inclement weather preventing travel generally or access to a venue. It is the responsibility of the home captain to ensure their venue is available for all matches, and to postpone/rearrange matches as soon as they are alerted to unavailability. The Results Secretary should be informed of any postponed games immediately.
8.9.1 If less than 24 hours’ notice is given, then the opposing team may claim the win as a 5-0 win during the initial conversation with the team captain who sought to postpone the game. In the event of any matches being claimed in this manner, no individual statistics will be recorded. Every effort should be made to play all league matches as scheduled, and to ensure the spirit of the league is maintained. The Results Secretary should be informed by both captains if a game is claimed in this way.
8.10 Teams have a limit of 3 games (total) that can be postponed throughout the course of a season, unless there is an exceptional circumstance as per rule 8.9. If a team postpones a 4th game, a 5-frame penalty will be added to their team (not player) league score. If a team postpones a 5th game, a 10-frame penalty will be added. If a team postpones a 6th game a 1-point penalty will be added. If a team postpones any further games, a 2-point penalty will be added per game postponed.
8.10.1 If a game is postponed by team A, the captain of team B has 25 days to offer the opposing captain a choice of 3+ dates (up to end of season) on which to play the rearranged match. If captain B fails to offer any dates in time, or if a new date cannot be mutually agreed, the captain of team A has a further 25 days to offer their own 3+ dates (up to end of season). If a new date cannot be mutually agreed between captains, or if neither captain offers any dates at any stage, the match will be awarded as a draw, 0 points to each team. Please note that the dates offered on which to play the match may be at any time throughout the rest of the season, not necessarily within the 25-day limit for making contact. Should there be less than 50 days left of the season, the time remaining will be halved for each captain to make contact.
8.10.2 Once a new date is confirmed, the Results Secretary should be notified by both captains, and this new date will then act as a scheduled date, with the same rights and protection as offered in rules 8.9 & 8.10 & 8.10.1, inclusive.
8.10.3 Any rearranged matches must be played before the end of the season. The last match played should be the final scheduled match, which must start at usual start time of 8pm.
8.11 Being unable to field 5 players is an inadequate excuse for the postponement of a match.
8.12 Should any team fail to turn up without prior notice, the match will result in a 5-0 win to the team present (10-0 in legs), the awarded team will complete a score card with their intended 5 players, and their statistics will be entered into the players consistency statistics. A 2-point deduction will be given to such team not turning up. Any team failing to turn up on two consecutive games, or two consecutive away games, or any three games in any one season will be removed from the League, until such time as the league's Executive Committee sees fit.
Players registering with the team being removed from the league must abide by the following rules:
a. If a team is removed, current players and any players registered at the beginning of the season will be banned from playing for any other team in the league for the remainder of the season.
b. Any players that have transferred away from the team being removed will be exempt from the above rules (a) unless the transfer was within 1 month before the ban.
8.13 If a team is removed from the League for the above or any other reason, then all previously recorded results for the team for that season will be removed. Individual player statistics will remain.
8.14 Players must be registered in writing to the Results Secretary by the pre-season meeting. Additional registrations will be acceptable on the date of the match as long as the Results Secretary has been notified, or this is completed via the C&DPL official App or website before the start of the match. Captains are still able to add players’ names to the bottom of the photographed result card.
8.14.1 Players may transfer at any time before the commencement of the second half of the fixture for the season.
8.14.2 Players from other teams may not be registered solely for the purpose of playing competitions.
8.15 Any team attempting to play, or found to have played any unregistered player/s will have four points deducted.
8.16 Any teams changing venues between seasons will be permitted to retain their League placing from the previous season, providing at least four of the original players remain with the team including the team captain. In the event of a team moving in its entirety or splitting and moving to another venue, the existing League position shall be retained by the captain of the team.
8.16.1 Any objections made from players should be directed to the Secretary. The Executive Committee shall then decide if the objection/appeal needs to be heard by a separately convened special committee.
8.17 The number of promotions and relegations to and from each division each season will be 2 per division.
N.B. Subject to confirmation at each AGM, the Result Secretary will have the right to determine the new position of teams in the League at the start of each Winter Season to achieve the best playing balance. This will not normally include the Premier division but may do. The Result Secretary will also have the right to exceed the normal rules on promotion and relegations (set out in Rule 8.17) in the interest of the overall structure of the League for the new season.
8.18 Dish / Reverse Dish (R.dish). A Dish/R.dish clearance is defined as the clearance of all a player’s on-ball set and the black in one visit - this includes any free ball shot following a foul. This must be completed at the player’s first visit to the table in any frame and includes the break shot for a ‘Dish’.
8.19 In the event that both teams only have 4 players, it is acceptable for the overall result to end as a draw, with 1 point being awarded to each team.
9. Competitions.
9.01 The ‘Lag’ procedure should be applied to all competition games as per rule 8.3.1.
9.1 In normal circumstances, i.e. not a fixed night, it is the responsibility of both players to try and contact their opponent and provide two different days at least seven days apart. Should neither date be acceptable, the players should try again to arrange a date before the match is attempted to be claimed. In all cases of difficulty, please contact the Competition Secretary for advice. If a player has made every effort to contact their opponent, i.e. leaving messages via Facebook, Messenger, etc., but receives no reply, he/she may claim the game. Leaving messages behind the bar is not acceptable. Players who enter competitions are asked to give their mobile phone number when completing the entry form. Players are reminded of the value of telephoning opponents in advance of their game to arrange a mutually convenient time.
9.2 In the event of results not being returned, neither player will be awarded the game, resulting in a bye in the next round.
N.B. If you leave it too late to contact an opponent within the specifications of Rule 9.1, it is at the discretion of your opponent if they claim the game or not. All protests must be made to the Competition Secretary before the draw, not afterwards.
SINGLES
9.3 These are to be played as best of 5 frames in a knockout fashion. Any player knocked out of their first game (including any preliminary round) will be entered into the Timpson Cup draw. A player conceding their first game will not be entered into this Cup draw.
DOUBLES
9.4 Scotch Doubles additional rules:
Played as per the normal game and rules, yet the pair of players must take alternate SHOTS each time a ball is played or potted – even at break or when 2 shots are granted.
Example: -
If you are on a team with Boris, and you pot a ball, your team’s visit continues, but Boris takes the next shot. You and Boris continue to rotate shots until one player misses. At this point, the other team’s visit begins. If shots are not played in turn, this will be deemed a foul awarded to the opposing team, with normal foul rules applying.
9.4.1 TALKING / DISCUSSING for the doubles team in play shall be ALLOWED at any time between shots.
9.4.2 Breaks are to alternate between players, and alternate between teams (break shot does count as a shot) – e.g. Frame 1: team A, player A. Frame 2: team B, player A. Frame 3: team A, player B. Frame 4: team B, player B. There is no change for any ‘decider frame’, it just goes in turn.
3-A-SIDE
9.5 These games are to be played as such and consist of one frame per set, with all draws to be repeated after the first ‘set’; totalling two frames per set.
Home Team v Away Team
SET 1 [and then] SET 2
Player A v Player 1
Player B v Player 2
Player C v Player 3
Player A v Player 2
Player B v Player 3
Player C v Player 1
Player A v Player 3
Player B v Player 1
Player C v Player 2
5-A-SIDE
9.6 The 5-aside competition format shall be the best of 3 frames for 5 players. Once a draw has been made, it must be adhered to unless both Captains agree otherwise.
6-A-SIDE
9.7 The 6-aside competition format is not restricted to 6 players; up to 12 players can be played i.e. 6 in the singles and 6 in the doubles. The complete draw is to be made before the start of the match unless otherwise agreed by the captains.
9.7.1 The order of play is 6 singles games is one frame to be played per pair fixture, with 3 doubles games of two frames which can be played consecutively (including only the 6 players who played the singles games). The singles games must be played before doubles games begin.
9.7.2 The Doubles games MUST be played in the order of the draw and SCOTCH DOUBLES rules shall apply. In the event of a 6-6 score line at the end of the singles and the doubles, a player who has already played must be nominated to play a single frame to decide the winning team.
9.8 For all competition games (where applicable), if the set date (for preliminary rounds) cannot be made by all players, then the match may be arranged to be played on a date before but not after the set date.
9.9 For all competition games (where applicable), should no result be submitted, neither team will go forward to the next round
Seniors Cup
9.10 Entry requirements for the senior’s cup is the player must be over 50 years of age as of September 1st of that season starting.
Youth Cup
9.11 Entry requirements for the junior’s cup is the player must be under 21 years of age as of September 1st of that season starting.
AGM VOTING PLAN & COMMENTS
|
Agenda Voting Ref |
Constitution Para |
Comment |
|
1 |
4.4 |
Allowing executive committee members to vote on behalf of their team, if they are the captain. |
|
2 |
5.6 |
Clarification about forfeited games scoring, owing to a lack of payment. |
|
3 |
8.3.1 |
New clarification about the ‘lag’. |
|
4 |
8.3.2 |
Replacement of 60 second rule to ‘reasonableness’ time rule. And provision for rearranging, or committee decision. |
|
5 |
8.4.1 |
New clarification about the ‘draw’. |
|
6 |
8.9 |
Change of ‘cancellation’ to ‘postponement’ for clarity.
|
|
7 |
8.10 |
New rearranged games framework. |
|
8 |
8.10.1 |
New timeframes for offering new dates, and responsibilities, for rearranged games. |
|
9 |
8.10.2 |
New notification to Results Secretary for rearranged game dates. |
|
10 |
8.12 |
Player stats clarification for ‘failure to turn up’ situations. |
|
11 |
8.18 |
Changes from “8-ball” to “Dish” / “R.Dish” wording & framework. |
|
12 |
9.3 |
New addition to clarify singles play format. |
|
13 |
9.4.2 |
New addition clarifying alternate breaks for doubles. |
|
14 |
9.5 |
New addition clarifying format for 3-a-side games. |
|
15 |
9.7.2 |
Removal of 60 second rule from doubles & link to rule 8.3.2 (timeliness of play) |
|
16 |
9.10 |
New clarification about senior’s cup requirements. |
|
17 |
9.11 |
New clarification about junior’s cup requirements. |
|
18 |
N/A |
Various spelling and grammar changes throughout the constitution with no material rule changes (otherwise detailed above). |