Association Rules

The Association shall be known as the Southampton and District Billiards and Snooker Association (SDBSA).

The Executive shall consist of one representative from each team in the Association who is eligible to vote, with the Executive Committee, comprising of the President, Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary and Results Secretary, being elected at the Annual General Meeting.

The English Amateur Snooker and Billiards Association rules will apply.

All players are to be registered and handicapped for billiards and Snooker. Clubs must inform the Association if any players they wish to register are under 18 and must also ascertain from the host club whether they would be allowed to play.

Billiard league matches are to be played as follows:- *5 players per team, games of 200 points-up with the order of play being decided by the Home Captain and the opponents decided by the away captain'. All matches must commence by 7.30 pm with at least one game commencing at 7.30pm or 7.45pm at the latest. After 7.45pm two games must be playing. Unless there are extreme circumstances prevailing. All players must be ready to play by 8.45 pm. 

Due to the length of matches please make sure you have 2 players available at 7.30pm to start matches for away games, and 4 ready and available for home games (2 to play and 2 refs). If, for away games, only 2 are there by 7.30 then the away players will pair themselves with the first 2 opponents that are due to play.

*If a team can only field 4 players then they may play a player twice, the player to play twice is to be decided by his teams captain. The player who has been decided to play twice must play in one of the first pairings and the final game of the fixture, the fixtures will need to be arranged so that no matches are waiting around so ideally the player playing twice will play first and last. Home teams that play the 4 man rule must supply a referee for the game unless agreed by both captains. Please note that the ability to field a player twice is unlimited per league cycle but must be rotated throughout the available squad. Only players not being assessed for handicap may play twice in a match night. Only the first game of the 2 will count towards the Player Rankings and the 5 point handicap adjustment (in the event the player wins 1 and loses 1 then the handicap will remain unchanged for the following week).

Points shall be awarded for billiard league games as follows:- 6 points per match: 1 point per game and 1 'extra' point awarded for winning the team aggregate points total. Total team aggregate points total is based on the number of games actually played on the night.

League standings: in the result of a tie the position will be judged by Team Wins, Individual Frames Won (not including aggregate points), then a playoff if to decide the League Winner if teams are still tied.

Each individual player shall be given a points handicap. Maximum ceiling for a minus handicap is unlimited*. Maximum ceiling for a plus handicap is +125. Individual billiards handicaps will be adjusted after each match played (unless under assessment). If a player wins, he or she will lose -5 five points off of their handicap. If they lose, then they will gain +5 points, and so on throughout the season however if a player wins or loses by 40 or more points the handicap adjustment is +/-10 points. A new member or player who has been absent from the league for more than 1 year, who is registered during the season shall be 'starred ***' and have their handicap reviewed after the completion of 3 league matches. This will apply to all league matches. They will then be reviewed after each game as per standard rule. Any new players will have their handicap decided by a panel of 5 league captains and the league secretary with the captains judgement taken into account, Out of the 6 nominated handicaps the highest and lowest will be dismissed and an average of the final 4 nominated will become the starting handicap for the new player.

Although the maximum ceiling for a minus handicap is unlimited the player in question shall only play off a maximum of -200, if his or her handicap exceeds the -200 barrier then the excess handicap is taken off of the opponents score, i.e. If player A has a -230 HC and his opponent (player B) has a +20 HC then Player A would start on -200 and Player B would start on +50. Given the minimum handicap is set at +125 then a player cannot exceed this regardless, meaning if Player A had a -230 HC and Player B had a +110, then Player B can only start on the maximum +125 instead of +140.

If a team does not have the required 4 players for a match, the captain must inform the opposing captain within 24 hours of the match start time. The match can be re-arranged by mutual consent if the notification is made within 24 hours. Results must be sent by using the official website results uploader/WhatsApp/Message to the Results Secretary the following day after the match is played. In cases of dispute the Executive Committee’s decision shall be final.

If a match is played with a team playing with less than 4 players (not including the 4 man rule) the offending team will be penalised 1 match point for each player short of the 5 required and any unfinished matches must be brought to the attention of the Executive Committee who will make a decision accordingly.

All clubs taking part in matches sanctioned by the Association must have the unrestricted use of 2 tables maintained in fit match condition with special attention being paid to the cloth, lights, height of the shades and the condition of the balls. The tables must be brushed, blocked and ironed before the actual match games are played.

All billiards matches are to be played with (if available) a set of Pro Cup spotted yellow and spotted white cue balls, match balls must be within a weight tolerance of 500mg and must not be changed during the match, i.e. the set of balls used for the first game on table 1 must be used for the remaining games on that table. Similarly the balls used for the first game on table 2 must also be used for the remaining games on that table, unless both players agree to change the balls.

No 'snooker' balls are to be used for billiard matches. The home team shall always play with the yellow cue-ball, with the away team using the white cue-ball. The home team shall use the 'top/spot' marker of the tables scoreboard for ease of identification.

The two players will 'string' (playing up the table from the 'Baulk Line' in hand, hitting the top cushion, to see which cue-ball lands nearest to the baulk cushion) for who has the choice to play first.

Marking shall be by mutual consent of the captains although the onus of providing markers rests with the home team. 2 tables shall be used concurrently. If there is one game to play at the end of the evening and a table is free, then that game must be started on the free table.

All matches to be played within the season except with the permission of the Executive Committee.

The annual entry fee for the billiards league shall be £50 per team.

Employees of clubs may play for that club.

Where a club has more than one team they are regarded as entirely separate and players are not interchangeable.

After the start of the season any new player must be or have applied to become a member of that club.

All players eligible to play at the start of the season shall be registered via email, text or writing to the League Secretary/Results Secretary. Teams may register as many players as they wish as long as they are members or applied to the club they play for.

Should a club have an objection to an opposing team's player they must lodge their complaint in writing to the President/Secretary within 48 hours of the match and state on the result email “Protesting”. In cases of dispute the Executive Committee’s decision shall be final.

Billiards matches are to be played in accordance with the fixture list except when weather conditions prevent this. Any postponed matches are to be played within 4 weeks of the scheduled date. But all league matches are to be played before the date of the last league match. Failure to comply will result in the defaulting team losing all points.

An Annual General Meeting shall be held at the end of each season and each team is entitled to two votes.


CUP COMPETITIONS

ALL PLAYERS ENTERING INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM CUP COMPETITIONS MUST HAVE PLAYED AT LEAST 3 BILLIARD LEAGUE MATCHES FOR HANDICAP TO BE EVALUATED, AT ANY TIME, IN ANY SEASON. UNLESS A NEW TEAM ENTERS WITH NEW PLAYERS IN WHICH CASE THE USHER SHIELD MAY BE COMPETED.

A penalty fine system of £2 per competition per player (or £5 for all 3)  has been introduced to allow for entries past the deadline and up until 4pm of the day of the draw, however no entries will be permitted after this deadline. All fines and monies previously owed must be paid by the first round date of the first seasons competition otherwise entries become void.

All cup matches must be played BEFORE the date stated on the website, the date stated is the conclusion of that round, if you know you cannot make the date stated because of holiday etc.  then please rearrange the match prior to that date at a convenience to both players. Exceptions will be made for illness or behreavement.

Usher Team Billiards Handicap Cup: Teams of 5, 200 points-up. Individual handicaps to apply and total aggregate wins. The order of play and pairings to be decided by a draw with the players that are available by 7.30pm

Gordon Lewis Senior Individual Billiards Championship: Seeded group stages of 3,4 or 5 players of which the top 2 players progress to knockout stage and the remaining players go through to the challenge cup, matches to be played at home players club except the semi final and final. Group stages are 300up with an optional time limit of 1hr 20 mins, If a time limit is agreed upon then match is started with a timer (on phone) and when timer ends the match ends and scores are recorded as they are... UNLESS the match is 90% complete (someone has 270 points) then the match is played to completion. Please note the time limit is optional and must be agreed before match starts, if players cannot agree then timed option would come into effect as the standard match rule. The knockout stages are 300up up to the semi final which is timed at 2 x 45min sessions and the final being 2 x 1 hour sessions. 

Challenge Cup knockout stages are 1hr timed up to and including the final.

Stuart Hamper Individual Billiards Challenge Trophy: Individual handicaps that are to be played off will be posted at the time of draw and all matches will be 200 points-up. Semi-finals and final to be played at a neutral venue during the season on one evening TBA. Semi-finals to be drawn on the night. All other rounds being played on a home or away basis. If a player wins the Stuart Hamper Individual Billiards Challenge Trophy they will have their handicap reduced by 10 points.

Billiard Pairs Championship: 200 points-up. Average handicap calculated by adding both players handicaps together and dividing by two (handicaps will be published at time of draw). Substitutes may be allowed in cases of illness, providing that player has not previously played. If the original player recovers and is then available for future rounds, then he or she may play again. Semi-finals and final to be played at a neutral venue during the season on one evening TBA. All other rounds being played on a home or away basis.

Summer Handicap Snooker League: Matches will consist of 4 players from each side playing 2 frames each making a total of 8 frames.  Handicaps will be decided by a committee panel and be adjusted at the start and mid season. The league is open to all teams and clubs within the Southampton District. League will run throughout the summer and start in April/May through to July/August.

Individual Open Scratch Snooker Championship: Matches are best of 5 with the Final being best of 7, Finals will be held at the club of the current holder of the competition unless otherwise agreed by the finalists. This event will be open to ANY player playing from a club in the Southampton District.

Individual Handicap Snooker Championship: Matches are best of 5 with the Final being best of 7, Finals will be held at the club of the current holder of the competition unless otherwise agreed by the finalists. Any new players will have their handicap decided by committee.

Snooker Handicaps: All handicaps are decided by committee and range from 0-49 in multiples of 7, players to start on their given handicap. Handicaps will be assessed at the beginning and mid summer league season.

Summer Open Handicap Billiards Championship: Matches are played off of league handicaps and using the current league format, Finals will be held at the club of the current holder of the competition unless otherwise agreed by the finalists. This event will be open to ANY player playing from a club in the Southampton District. Any new players will have their handicap decided by committee.


Unless otherwise stated by the President / Treasurer or agreed between the players, all cup competitions will start at 7.30 pm and failure to appear by 8.30 pm will forfeit the match. Failure to appear without prior notice at any individual or pairs cup match may result in the offending player(s) being banned from all of the following year's competitions.

All players wishing to take part in the above competitions must be registered.

Late starting of billiards semi-finals and finals:-
Up to 15 mins - 50 points, 16 to 30 mins - 100 points, 31 mins and over - Match conceded.

Any unreasonable / ungentlemanly behaviour must be reported to the Executive Committee. In cases of dispute the Executive Committee’s decision shall be final. NO COACHING ALLOWED AT ANY TIME DURING A MATCH.

All billiards and snooker matches sanctioned by the Association will be played to their completion unless mutually agreed. Plaques / medals or trophies will be awarded according to the number of entries received.

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