Rules

1. The League shall be called ‘The Skipton Snooker League’, and shall be affiliated to any organisation that the Annual General Meeting of the league may decide.

2. Membership of the league shall be subject to the approval of the Annual General Meeting, which shall be held in August each year. This date shall be the last date for entry of teams into the league.

3. The affairs of the league shall be controlled by the League President, Secretary/Treasurer, Assistant Secretary and one representative from each constituent club, and shall be called ‘The Committee’. All the aforesaid shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting. The President, Secretary/Treasurer, Assistant Secretary and Hon. Auditor shall receive an honorarium each year, the amount to be decided by the Annual General Meeting, with due regard for league finances.

4. Entrance fees shall be decided by the Annual General Meeting, as will the match fees. The home team captain shall be responsible for the collection of match fees and will pass them to his club representative who will pay them to the Secretary at each monthly committee meeting. Team entrance fees must be paid before the commencement of the league programme. The handicap committee shall consist of ‘The Committee’.

5. The constitution of teams shall be at the discretion of the Annual General Meeting with regard to number of players per team and the number of players registered per team. Players can only play for the team with which they are registered and no player may play for more than one team in any season. Any changes in registration of players must be dealt with by the League Secretary and no registration may take place after the January Committee meeting, except in very urgent and pressing cases.

6. All matches shall be governed by the current rules of snooker.

7. League matches will commence not later than 7-30 p.m., no more than 10 minutes shall elapse between frames and no more than 30 minutes shall elapse after the completion of the fourth frame, whereupon the final frame will be awarded to the non-offending team. The home team captain must fill in the scorecard prior to the start of the match with the names of his five players plus at least one reserve. Reserves may only be used if any of the nominated players are unable to play when called upon. A nominated player who has been replaced by a reserve may not play later in the match.

8. The home team captain must appoint a referee and a marker for each frame played. The referee shall be in sole charge of the game in progress and his decisions shall be final. Players desirous of claiming foul strokes may do so to the referee who will then make his decision on the claim. Any disputes will be referred to the committee whose decision shall be final.

9. The method of scoring league points shall be decided by the Annual General Meeting. Match scorecards should be completed by the home team captain, and forwarded to the league secretary as soon as possible after the completion of the match. Home teams failing to submit a scorecard to the secretary within two weeks of completion of a match will forfeit all points from the match. The non-offending team will be awarded the points actually scored in the match or if no details are available three points will be awarded.

10. Any team fulfilling a fixture with less than the stipulated number of players shall forfeit all frames not played. Disagreements will be settled by the committee whose decision is final.

11. A team may request to re-arrange a league or cup match, providing that they give their opponents at least SIX days notice of such a postponement, and that their opponents agree. If no agreement can be reached then the match must be played on the scheduled date.

Teams giving less than SIX days notice to postpone a match, or failing to fulfil a fixture will forfeit all points from the fixture and will be fined the value of match fees for both sides. The non-offending team will receive four points for a home fixture and three points for an away fixture.
Any matches postponed must be played within one month of the original date. Failure to play within one month will result in the offending team forfeiting all points from the match and being fined the value of match fees for both sides. The non-offending team will receive four points for a home fixture and three points for an away fixture.
A team failing to fulfil a fixture for the second time in a season, or failing to fulfil a fixture in the last four weeks of the season will be expelled from the league and all results will be expunged from the league tables. The team will be suspended from the league for two seasons following the end of the current season.

12. No matches may be played after the date of the final league fixtures for that division and any such matches will be declared void. No points will be awarded and teams will be required to pay the match fees.

The League Secretary MUST be informed of all postponed matches IMMEDIATELY

13. Any team failing to fulfil a fixture, and on being ordered by the Committee to play the fixture, still fails to play the match, then that team and it’s constituent players will be suspended from the league for two seasons following the end of the current season.

14. Any team withdrawing from the league after the fixtures have been compiled or after the commencement of the league programme will be suspended from the league for two seasons following the end of the current season. The results of any matches played will be expunged from the league tables.

15. Players registered with teams who withdraw or are expelled from the league will also be suspended from the league for two seasons following the current season. They will not be permitted to register with other teams or take part in any competitions organised by the league. Individual players of a suspended team have the right to appeal to the committee, whose decision shall be final.

16. In the event of any match being unfinished by the time the home club is ready for closing the unfinished frame(s) will be declared void and the result of the earlier frames will stand. In the knock-out competition only the un-played frame(s) will be re-arranged by the two captains.

17. Mobile Phones: During a match mobile phones should be switched off or set to silent mode. Players must turn off their mobile phone when playing a frame. A player using a mobile phone during the course of their frame will automatically lose the frame. In aggregate matches the frame will be forfeited 147-0. Players requiring their mobile for emergency use, such as firemen, should inform the opposing captain prior to playing.

18. A balance sheet to be published and issued to members at the Annual General Meeting. The league financial year runs from June 1^st to May 31^st and any teams who have not paid all monies due by May 31^st will be suspended from the league for two seasons, or until outstanding debts are paid, whichever is the longer.

19. The rules override all previous rules and amendments can only be made by the Annual General Meeting. The committee shall interpret any of the forgoing rules, which fall vague during the season, until the following Annual General Meeting.