New England Amateur Pool League Rules

POOL ETIQUETTE

This league is about good sportsmanship. When playing in a match, you should follow the rules of pool etiquette as follows:

• When your opponent is shooting, you should sit or stand away from the table. You should stand out of the way of your opponent’s line of view and move as little as possible while he/she is taking a shot.
• You should not jingle keys or change, talk to the shooter or anyone else loud enough for your opponent to hear, take chalk from the table or interfere in any way with your opponent while he/she is shooting.
• You must pay attention to your game because it is not your opponent’s responsibility to tell you if a foul has been committed however, your teammates can inform you if your opponent has committed a ball in hand foul or if you are about to shoot the wrong ball.
• Breaking your cue stick (taking it apart) or making a big show of putting it away to distract your opponent while they are shooting will cause you to forfeit the game. Leaving your table and area without informing your opponent and calling a time out will result in a loss of game by forfeit. Most importantly, follow the league rules and shake your opponent’s hand at the end of each game.

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QUALIFICATIONS

The New England Amateur Pool League is open only to players that are Beginner to “C” player or #6 in a handicapped system.

• Any player that starts after the first week of play must start their first night in the #3 spot.
• Any player that can play as a substitute twice a month or more must join a team.
• You must play one half of the regular season to be eligible for the playoffs.
• You must play three quarters of the regular season to be eligible for cash prizes and the Top Ten. You can win as many awards as you have earned but no more than two cash prizes per person is allowed. You get the two largest cash prizes you’ve earned then the next person in line moves up. Substitutes are not allowed in the Top Ten or considered for any awards or cash prizes.

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COACHING

Coaching is important, especially for players new to the league who need to learn the rules and strategy of the game. Unfortunately, coaching often gets out of control with players being coached on every shot without asking for help. Two or more coaches trying to advise a player on different shots at the same time creates confusion as well as abuse of the 2-minute shot clock.

• Coaching is allowed throughout each game however, the player that is shooting must ask for help and from only one of their teammates for that particular shot.
• Only one coach per shot is allowed and only the teammate that was asked may coach the player for that shot. – Teammates that are actively involved in a match are not allowed to coach.
• A coach cannot physically point to or mark any ball or rail to help the shooter. The coach may only verbally explain where to hit the ball and/or rail. This avoids players being coached to shoot beyond their skill level and average.
• If a player or team is having a problem with excessive coaching by their opponent(s), the team captains should try to resolve the problem. If it cannot be resolved between the captains, the league directors must be called in to resolve the matter.
• Players from other teams are not allowed to coach.
• Repeated abuse of the coaching rule will result in a ball-in-hand foul against the player being coached.

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SLOW PLAY

The “Slow Play” rules are intended to encourage consistently slow players to speed up their play by complying with the 2 minute time limit and faster players to be patient, allowing slow players time to adjust and avoid implementing the 2-minute rule.

• This rule should apply only when a player takes an excessively long time to take their shot throughout the game.
• A player has 2 minutes to complete a shot. Time starts when balls have stopped rolling from the previous shot.
• There is one 2-minute time out per game that is added to the 2-minute shot clock if extra time is needed. Players should speak to their captain when a problem arises with their opponent abusing the 2-minute rule.
• A player should not speak to their opponent about abuse of the 2-minute shot rule. Once a player has notified their captain, the captain should discreetly observe the match and determine whether or not the two-minute shot clock is being abused. If it is determined that a rule is being abused, the captain should speak to the opposing captain to try and resolve the problem. If the captains cannot agree upon a solution, they must go to the league directors for an official ruling. If it determined that a match should be timed, one or both captains will time the match.
• If both captains are playing, a teammate will be selected to time the match. After 1.5 minutes, the timer will notify the player that 30 seconds remain.
• If a player insists on utilizing a full 2 minutes each time they shoot, their opponent has the right to have each shot timed. – Any play extending beyond 2 minutes in a timed match will be considered a ball-in-hand foul.

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SHOT AND SAFETY RULES

• If a player scratches on the break, all balls pocketed remain in the pocket, the table is open, and your opponent shoots the next shot from behind the line. All other fouls are ball in hand. If the eight ball is pocketed on the break. without a scratch, it is an automatic win. If the eight ball is pocketed and you scratch, you lose.
• The table is always open immediately after the break shot until a player legally pockets a called object ball. When the table is open, it is legal to hit a solid ball first to make a striped ball and vice versa, or use the eight ball first in a combination to make a called object ball.
• On all shots (except on the break) the shooter must hit one of his object balls and
  • pocket a called object ball, or
  • cause the cue ball or any other ball to contact a rail.
• Safety play is defined as a legal shot. If the shooting player intends to play safe by pocketing an object ball, then prior to the shot, the shooter must declare a safety to his opponent. If this is not done, the shooter will be required to shoot again.
• Combination shots are allowed however; the eight ball cannot be used as the first ball in any combination except when the table is open.
• If any object ball is jumped off the table, it is a miss and loss of turn, not a foul, and the ball is pocketed unless it is the eight ball, which is an automatic loss of game.
• The following infractions result in fouls:
  • failure to execute a legal shot as defined above
  • a scratch shot (shooting the cue ball into a pocket or off the table)
  • a scratch on the break
  • shooting without at least one foot touching the floor
  • moving or touching the cue ball in any fashion that is not legal such as adjusting the cue ball with the tip of the cue stick or coming in contact with the bridge or your body once the balls are in play.Accidentally contacting any other balls with your stick, bridge or body, is not a foul. Your opponent has the option of leaving the ball where it ended up or moving it back to where it was,
  • excessive coaching
  • abuse of the two-minute shot clock
  • You cannot attempt a jump shot by “scooping” the cue ball You must shoot down on the cue ball for a legal shot.
• Three fouls does not result in loss of game.
• The player loses the game if he commits any of the following:
  1. pockets the 8 ball when it is not the legal object ball
  2. jumps the 8 ball off the table at any time
  3. pockets the 8 ball in a pocket other than the one called
  4. pockets the 8 ball and scratches
  5. breaking your stick or making a big show of putting it away before the match is over

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INCOMPLETE TEAMS & THE USE OF SUBSTITUTES

• It is important to notify a teammate or the league by no later than 7:00 PM by calling Country Club USA at 978-934-9700 if you’re going to be late or absent so we know if we need to assign a sub to your team or if we should wait for you.
• Starting time for league matches is 7:30pm with a 15-minute grace period to 7:45pm. If you know a player is going to be late and you want to wait for that player and not play short-handed or get a substitute player, you can begin your match moving the late player’s first match to the end of the first round. If that player has not arrived by the end of the first round, their first game will be forfeited. You can continue to move that player’s additional matches to the end of each round until they show however, you will continue to forfeit missed matches as they come up. Late players will not be allowed to make up forfeited games.
• If a team knows they will be short a player(s) and there are substitute players available, they must utilize a sub unless the subs average is 200 points or more below their lowest player’s average. We try to be as fair as possible when placing substitutes but when it happens that a short-handed team gets a substitute with a high average that has to play a member of a full team with a low average, that sub will be handicapped so that the short-handed team does not have an advantage over the full team.
• Any substitute that plays against a regular team player will play handicapped only if the sub’s average is 200 points or more over their opponent. Handicapping is as follows: 200 points equals 1 game forfeited, 300 points equals 2 games forfeited, 400 points equals 3 games forfeited, 500 points equals 4 games forfeited. Players play all five games and forfeited games are deducted at the end of the match. The player’s and substitute’s averages will be based upon the games played that count and will not include games that are forfeited. Subs do not qualify for the Top Ten, team or individual awards.
• Provided both teams have 3 or more players present, they must play their match. Teams with fewer players than their opponent will need to play extra games as outlined on the sheet attached to the schedule. Extra games played will not count toward individual player averages on the team with fewer players however; these games will count against the individual player averages for the players on the full team. In the event both teams play extra games since each is missing players, extra games do not count toward individual averages. Only those games played in each player’s ranked position in their roster count against individual averages.
• If neither team has a minimum of 3 players present, no match will take place and no score will be recorded.
• A team with fewer than 3 players will forfeit their match. The winning team gets the match win and 25 points but no individual wins are added to player averages.