General Rules of the Devizes and District Pool League

as Amended at the A.G.M. Held on 14th June 2002.

1(a).	All players and their addresses must be registered with the Fixtures Secretary. The Captain shall be named. No player may be registered after the halfway point without permission of the League Committee. No player may play for more than one team in any one season.
1(b).	Use of an illegal player will result in a penalty of one point per frame player by that player. A one match ban will be imposed on the offending team captain.
1(c).	No player from outside a five mile radius of the centre of Devizes can play in the League or its competitions without first receiving written permission from the League Committee. All requests must be writing, permission is only valid for the season for which it is granted and a player's natural place of residence shall be applied to all such applications.
2.	Matches will be played on Monday nights unless rearranged by prior arrangement with the Fixtures Secretary and only in exceptional circumstances.
3(a).	Fixtures may be postponed under exceptional circumstances, provided that 24 hours notice is given and with the permission of the Fixtures Secretary, provided that the game is played by the Thursday following the original Monday of the fixture. The result card must be handed in to the collection point by that Thursday night. A team without their full number of players shall still play the match with the players present, and will forfeit the frames not played. Should any player be late due to work or car travel complications, etc, and arrive before 9pm then he/she must be allowed to play his/her game. Any fixture not played, the Committee will decide the scores. For individual/team matches, the player/team concerned will be eliminated from the draw.
3(b).	Should any player be late due to work or car travel complications, etc, and arrive before 9pm then he/she must be allowed to play his/her games.
3(c).	Any fixture not played, the Committee will decide the scores. In general this will be based on an average of the games played so far or at the half way point if the fixture is in the first half of the league.
3(d).	For individual/team matches, the player/team concerned will be eliminated from the draw.
4(a).	Each match shall commence at 8pm except for Individual Matches where the start times will be notified in advance. If at least one player (or both players in the case of a double match) fails to show up within 30 minutes of the start time then this will be deemed a "No Show".
4(b).	Only the names of the players present will be written on the result card. Failure to comply will result in a 5 point penalty and a one match ban on the team captain.
5.	Home team to pay the table fees for each frame played. For Individual Games the cost of the games will be split evenly.
6.	The League shall run two seasons, Summer and Winter.
7.	All major trophies remain the property of the Devizes Pool League, and are held by the winners only for that season. The holders are responsible for insurance and upkeep of the cups.
8.	Each match will consist of three sets of four frames. The home team will play in the same order in each set. The away team will play 1 to 4 in the first set; 2,3,4,1 in the second set; 3,4,1,2 in the third set. Up to four reserves may be used by either team in the final set, but existing players must play in the same positions.
9.	Each frame won will count as one point. In addition, two extra points will be awarded for a home win, three for an away win and one for a draw.
10.	The League shall operate under the English Pool Association rules as amended and agreed by the committee. A copy of these rules will be distributed to each pub within the league when it joins. Further copies are available from the committee and are also published on the web site.
11.	The winning team captain is responsible for the result card. In the event of a draw, the home team captain is responsible for the card. This card is to be handed in at the end of the advised collection point and is to arrive no later than 10pm on the Thursday after the match. Committee Members are not empowered to accept cards. Failure to comply with this rule on more than one occasion will result in a one match ban.
12.	During the Winter season the following competitions will be held:   Team Knockout Wadworths Challenge Cup (formerly the Singles Cup) Doubles Cup Captains Cup Tony Hibberd Cup   Winning players are responsible for the result cards, as per Rule 11. Match results as played will stand. A result card can be handed in as a block card for a venue. This is acceptable as long as the winner signs the result card. Only the Captain can play in the Captains Cup.
13(a).	No player may play in more than one cup competition.
13(b).	Nominations for these competitions must be received 14 days before the date of the first round, with the exception of the Team Knockout, whereby teams registered in the Winter League have automatic qualification into this competition.
14.	All the above competitions will be played on a knock-out basis with the Prelim and Round 1 as best of 3, Round 2 as best of 5, Semi-finals as best of 7 and finals as best of 9 frames.
15.	Team knock-out will be played under League rules. In the event of a draw, the first named player on each team will play again.
16.	The League Committee will arrange the draw for competitions and venues.
17(a).	All knock-out matches will be played on neutral tables.
17(b).	The semi-finals and finals will be held on separate nights.
18.	In the event of a team withdrawing from the League, all points will be deducted all matches played by that team. In the event of a player having already played at least one round in an Individual Match then they may continue to play. If a player withdraws from an Individuals Match then this will count as a BYE and no other players knocked out will progress as a result of them withdrawing.
19.	At no stage during a match will coaching be allowed. For doubles matches the doubles pair may only consult with each other prior to the start of the visit to the table but at no point is the player not at the table allowed to touch the table to assist with a shot.
20.	At the break, the black ball will be spotted.
21.	The set up before the break will be as follows (although the colours are interchangeable):
22(a).	All tables shall be situated so that a full cueing action is available, using a 3' 6" cue around at least three quarters of the table.
22(b).	Home team captains are responsible for the condition of the table, including cup competitions, etc.
23.	In the event of teams finishing level on points at the end of the season, the league winners will be decided by:   1. The aggregate against each other. 2. Team that has won the most games. 3. Team that has won the most away games.