Weekly Update - 9

Winter Season Update – Week 9

Top Gun Ranking: we have been asked a few times what is the Top Gun in the rankings, Top Gun is based on your first match only, we are trialling this this season to see if this is a preferred method for our rankings. This means that players who only play 1 game a week have a chance to be top of the rankings, for example: Player A has played 20 matches, won 14 and won 8 of their first matches; Player B has played 14 matches and won 8, all of which were their first match; in Ranking Points and Percentage Player A would be clear of Player B, but in the Top Gun they would be tied:

Name	Played	Won	Lost	Points	%	TopGun
Player A	20	14	6	36	70%	8
Player B	14	8	6	18	57%	8

 

Ongoing Rule questions: as everyone knows there has been several questions around the rules so we are trying to organise a member of the International Referees Organisation to run a seminar to cover all the rules and for a Q&A session, it will be a ref you will have seen on the Ultimate Pool matches on tv, once we have a date booked we will invite all captains to attend.

Rule Clarifications: we have had some calls over the last week about clarifying certain rules, we have always anticipated these particular questions so added links to videos from Professional Referees advising on the correct calls, these can be found in the Rules Clarifications section on the website.

Deliberate Foul: while a deliberate foul is subjective there are instances where this is not the case, for example forgetting which colour you are, in this example the term deliberate will still be the case as it is a direct action of hitting your opponents ball, regardless of whether it was accidental or not. here is an example:

Player A is on yellows and forgot their colour choice and potted a red ball, the Ref called Foul, ball in hand - the ref determined that this was a pure accident and not intended as a deliberate foul and exercised discretion and playing the game in a sportsmanlike manner, however, while this is commendable this is the incorrect call and should be loss of frame, intent and advantage should no longer form part of the decision, if the player directly/deliberately played the wrong colour then loss of frame should be called. please refer to Rule 6f (1).

Coaching: any player deemed to have been coaching during a match will be given a first and final warning, any further coaching and a Standard Foul will be called and the player will be asked to leave the match and venue, if the player refuses to leave the venue then any further calling out will be deemed as coaching and result in a Standard Foul for every offence.

Refereeing - Breaks

After a foul on the break, it is the referee’s duty to advise the incoming player of cue ball placement:

·  If the white is potted, the call is: Ball in hand from baulk (i.e. behind the line).

·  If the white leaves the table, the call is: Ball in hand (anywhere on the table).

The referee may call this at any time prior to the cue ball being struck. This is not considered coaching - it is the correct procedure; we are also allowing both captains to advise the player of either team that this is incorrect, this should only be done if the referee has not called it, if the ref makes the correct call and the player still places incorrectly and someone calls out then this will be coaching and the coaching rule will apply.

Foul Break - resulting in a re-rack: this is specifically for pairs matches

If the break does not meet the legal requirements and a re-rack is needed the option to break is handed over to the opponents, if you choose to put the team back into break they have the option to change who breaks, this is because the frame is restarting.

Refereeing: The Referee does not need to make any calls during a match, unless announcing a foul, touching ball/cushion etc., they should not tell any player which colour they are on, whether they are doing this for both teams or not it will be considered coaching, players cannot ask the ref which colour set they are so the ref should not say this when play turns over.

picking up the white ball

After a foul the referee will call Foul, ball in hand; the player is then free to:

·  pick the white ball up

·  play from where it lies

·  ask the referee to hand them the white ball if they feel moving it could impact balls nearby

the referee does not need to immediately collect the white ball.

All players are required to have a good knowledge of the rules and not knowing certain rules is not an excuse for mistakes; such as handling balls after the black is potted from the break or not knowing where the white should be placed after a foul from the break or not knowing when to nominate colour choice.

Both Simon Stevens and Tony Clarke are qualified referees and can assist at any time with any rule anyone is unsure of (please be aware that both are actively playing and referring on match days so calls/messages may not be answered immediately).

Pairs Matches: players may only talk before their initial shot and must stop talking once either player touches the table, this includes putting chalk down, leaning on the table, touching the cloth or handling the cue ball during a foul. If you do talk you will be given a warning for Coaching, a further warning will result in Loss of Frame.

When a player pots a ball and walks away from the table and they or the team-mate say 'good shot', 'sorry for the poor position', or anything of this nature are not classed as talking/coaching as it is not telling the player anything, only commenting on the outcome of the shot, obviously if they say 'sorry mate i meant to leave you that ball but now you can tuck him up', then this is coaching and a warning should be given.

Spectators: Any spectator, whether a player or fan, should not be calling out during any match except for encouraging any player or commentating on a good shot, however, we have had several questions on what is coaching from the crowd, calls such as 'think about it', 'take your time', 'it's all there', is not coaching as these are open to interpretation and not direct advice, calls such as 'tuck him up, 'flies in up the top', 'pot it in the middle' are coaching as they imply a direct shot or action.

Competitions 

We have had questions about who can break in Pairs matches, this has never changed; any player can break, this means the same player can break every time it is their turn, their is no order to the matches once each game ends, it is a reset and you can choose to change who players after each player.

Re-arranging matches; the League has always set fixed dates for competitions but allowed players to play whenever they can before the fixed date, players are free to ask to reschedule but the players are not obligated to re-arrange, players will always try to be accommodating but the League cannot force it or allow matches to extend passed the fixed date, unless extreme circumstances prevail.

Updated Transfer Policy - amended

Players can now transfer at any time during the season until the registration cut-off.

Fees & Conditions:

·  No fee if signed but not played

·  £10 fee if less than 50% of singles matches played

·  £20 fee if more than 50% of singles matches played

·  Max 2 player transfers in or out per team

·  All transfers must be approved by the FSPL Committee.