Here is the most recent issue of our Rules, as kindly supplied in electronic format at the start of the season by League Secretary Jenny Edwards...........

1. This combination of bar billiards teams shall be known as the Mid-Sussex Bar Billiards League.

2. It shall consist of all bar billiards teams as elected at the A.G.M. or on registration as issued by the League Secretary and, at the discretion of the Management Committee, may be divided into divisions.

3. The A.G.M. shall be held each year; date and time as stated by the Management Committee and all members informed by the League Secretary.

4. The Management Committee, appointed at each AGM shall consist of a Chairperson, Treasurer, Secretary, Fixtures Secretary and Competitions Secretary. Together with ordinary committee members, with a vote as per the Management Committee,

 A President shall also be elected annually, as an ex-Officio member of the committee.

 The Management Committee may co-opt not more than two members as is deemed advisable.

5. The A.G.M. shall receive the financial statement for the previous season and transact any other business admissible.

6. The Management Committee shall have the power to appoint Sub Committees as they consider necessary, to whom they may delegate any or all of their powers and shall have the power to fill any vacancy thereon which may occur during its term of office.

7. Should any elected member of the Committee absent himself from three consecutive meetings without reasonable explanation, the post shall be declared vacant.

8. Each bar billiards team shall be represented at the A.G.M.

9. Membership shall consist of any number of players engaged in Bar Billiards, who must also be elected members of an elected team.

10. All registered members of the League are entitled to vote at the A.G.M. and all special General Meetings.

11. The President or Chairman shall decide before the start of the AGM whether the numbers attending represent a quorum. For Management Committee meetings, not less than one third of Committee Members including Officers; for any Sub Committee not less than three members shall be attending. The Chairman in all cases is entitled to a casting vote if required.

12. The annual subscription for membership, competition entry and any other fees shall be set at the A.G.M.

13. Honoraria for Officers of the League shall be set at the A.G.M.

14. An Auditor shall be appointed at the A.G.M.

15. All competitions that run by the League shall be managed by the Committee. The Competition Secretary shall be able to conduct competition draws before or after League and Cup matches in the presence of both teams.

16. Any proposed amendments to the rules of the League must be submitted to the League Secretary, in writing, not less than 14 days prior to the League Finals Night ( as arranged by the Committee each year) so they may be made known to all members at that time.

17. All (perpetual) cups and trophies shall remain the property of the League. Recipients of such a trophy will be deemed to have undertaken responsibility for its safe return, in the condition it was presented, and will be required to sign a receipt to this effect. All such trophies must be returned to the League on request, normally 28 days prior to the end of the season.

18. An Officer of the Committee charged with making a decision under the Rules may, if they wish, delegate the decision to the Committee. In the event of a decision being delegated to the Committee, the Committee may decide to impose penalties that differ from those stated in the rules where there are mitigating circumstances or there appears to be fault on more than one side of the issue. These penalties shall never be more severe than those allowed under the rules.

Rules of Play and Playing Conditions

The Rules of Play of the SUSSEX COUNTY BAR BILLIARDS ASSOCIATION apply unless specifically varied at the A.G.M. and specified herein. In the event of any apparent ambiguity or contradiction, Mid-Sussex Rules take precedence, else consult the Committee.

League Rules

1. All teams must have a set of the League Rules (including Sussex County Rules) in their Pub or Club.

2. A team shall consist of five players and every competitor must be a registered player for that League team.

A League match shall consist of five games of singles and the order of play shall be determined by a free draw carried out by the captains before the start of the match.

3. The number of registered players is unlimited. Registered players can only play for the specific team for which they are so registered. The Captain or Secretary of the team registering a new player or transferring a player to his or her team must give a minimum of 24 hours notice in writing or otherwise, to the Fixtures Secretary before the player is eligible to play for that team. If a player is registered but not in writing then written confirmation must be received by the Fixtures Secretary within 7 days of the match being played. Failure to comply will invoke Rule 14.

4. The Secretary from each team shall be responsible for co-operating with the landlords in seeing that their table is kept up to the required standard of play.

5. Change of team Secretary or change of address must be notified at once to the League Secretary.

6. The last game is to be completed on or before the Landlord calling time. Failing this, the Captain of a team can claim the points for any game(s) not completed, if this is caused by the late arrival of any player(s) from a team.

7. a) If a team is unable to field a team of 4 or more players for any match, then the Captain of that team may postpone the fixture provided that the circumstances concerning the unavailability of players are outside the influence of the Captain and players.

 b) I a rearrangement of a fixture has been agreed under the terms if rule 71 or 11b or 11c, the match shall be played in 28 days of the original fixture or date set out by the Fixtures Secretary or secondly by the Management Committee but, in either case, prior to the end of the league season.

 The Captain of the team wishing to postpone the fixture must contact the Fixtures Secretary and the Opposing Captain giving notice of at least 24 hours before the match is due to commence, except through weather conditions, the reason(s) for postponing the game. Failure to give sufficient notice or provide adequate reason for postponing the match will result in an automatic 5-0 points award to the opposing team if the match is not played.

 If the Fixtures Secretary is satisfied that there is good reason for postponing the fixture, then the match will be rearranged in accordance with Rule 7(b)

 The home team Captain shall contact the away team Captain within 7 days of the start of the 28 days period offering, if necessary, a minimum of 3 alternative date each on a different weekday and with a minimum of 7 days notice. Failure to do so shall result in forfeiting the match 5-0

 The away team Captain shall agree to play the postponed match on one of the alternative dates offered. Failure to do so shall result in forfeiting the match 5-0

8. Score cards must be received by the Fixtures Secretary by 12 noon on the Saturday after the match, this being the responsibility of the winning team. Full result details may be submitted by email but the signed score card must be forwarded within a reasonable time after the match.

If results are not received by the Saturday deadline, the offending team will receive a warning. Subsequent offences will result in one point being deducted from their league points total.

9. Team Captains must try to settle any dispute arising during matches. If no agreement can be reached, a complaint must be made to the League Secretary in writing within 48 hours, when it will be dealt with at the next Committee Meeting. If necessary, the two Captains concerned will be asked to attend. The Committee's decision shall be final. Complaints other than in writing will not be considered.

10. Where any team commences playing with one or more players short and cannot provide one by the time the fourth game has commenced, the points shall be awarded to the opposing team. No player shall play two games in any one match.

11. a) If prior to the commencement of the match or before the start of the second game it is decided by one or both Captains that the conditions of either the table or venue is not suitable for play, the match should be abandoned and the Fixtures Secretary notified within 48 hours by the objecting (or Home) Captain.

 b) If both Captains have agreed to abandon the match, the original match will be declared null and void and all associated match records will be expunged. The match will be rearranged under the terms of Rule 7 (b). A new match draw will be conducted on the day of the match which may contain players not declared in the original draw.

 c) If only one Captain has elected to abandon the fixture, he or she will be asked to submit in writing the reason for the match being cancelled to the Fixtures Secretary.

 If the Management Committee find in favour of the objecting Captain, both Captains will be instructed to replay the match under the terms of Rule 7(b). The original match will be declared null and void under the terms of Rule 11(b).

 If the Management Committee find against the objecting Captain, the match will be concluded by declaring the original fixture null and void and awarding the match 5-0 to the opposing team.

12. The visiting team shall have the odd number breaks and the home team the even number breaks.

13. That when the pub or club has more than one table available, the home team shall have the choice of table.

14. Any team which plays an unqualified player, that is, a player who is not registered as a member of the League, or is registered for another League team ( including another team at the same pub or club) will have 1 point deducted from their League Games Total for each unqualified player fielded. The player will remain unqualified under the terms of Rule 3 Rules of Play (League)

 In addition, in the event of an unqualified player winning or drawing their game, the game point will be awarded to the opposing side. Any score or breaks accumulated by the player of the opposing side will stand.

15. Winners and runners up of all divisions ( except Premier Division winners), shall be promoted automatically and teams occupying the two bottom positions shall be relegated each season. In the event of any reorganisation of the league, no newly elected Club shall take precedence over the winners of the respective divisions to the detriment of these clubs. Likewise, only the bottom two clubs of each division may be relegated.

If the number of teams in the League total less than 12, only one team shall be relegated and one team promoted.

16. Each team shall play home and away matches with each team in its division. Points shall be awarded as follows: 1 point per player for a win, ½ point per player for a draw. Whilst the Premier and First divisions play as a combined league, First division players who win their game against a Premier division opponent shall be awarded a further ½ point.

16a. In league matches only, an additional point shall be awarded to the team that wins the match. In the event of a draw, this additional point shall not be awarded.

17. The team having the highest number of points in its division shall be declared the champions. In the event of two or more clubs finishing level on points, the number of matches won will decide. If still equal, the position shall be decided by a replay. This rule shall also apply to teams finishing bottom of their division where a relegation issue needs to be decided.

18. In the event of any team withdrawing from the League before it is halfway through any one season, all records appertaining to that team shall be expunged from the League Table. In the event of its withdrawing after the first half of a season, the Management Committee shall decide the course to be adopted.

19. All new teams will commence in a division decided by the Management Committee. Any Pub or Club newly joining the League will only be allowed to enter one team for the first year unless the Management Committee decide otherwise.

20. The Highest Away Break, Highest Away Game and Player of the Year trophies are awarded based on League matches and will not include any competitions apart from Team Cup & Plate matches up to and including the semi-finals. Players must play 60% of the league programme to be eligible for these awards.

21. The Player of the Year trophies (overall and division one) shall be awarded based on League matches only. Winners shall be determined as follows : games won, if tied then consider games lost, if tied then consider average scores.

Competition Rules

1. a)The competitions shall be held annually and shall be confined to those teams and players who are registered members of the League.

 b) The competitions are only open to registered players where Mid Sussex is their PRIMARY playing league on a Wednesday night.

2. a)The Committee shall have the entire control of the competitions, shall make the draws, each round to be drawn separately and fix the dates for playing the ties.

 b) The Competition Secretary, draws out the Venues for the competition matches to be played at (neutral tables). These can be changed to an agreed neutral table between the players prior to the match, BUT the competition secretary MUST be informed before the match is played. In the event that the players cannot agree on a neutral table they must play on the tables drawn by the Competition Sectratry/Committee.

3. The Rules of Play will be normal Mid Sussex League Rules.

4. Results to be notified to the Competitions Secretary within 48 hours after play, the onus of making such a return shall be with the winning team or player(s).

5. In any competition where fewer than eight entries are received, the competition will be run at the Committee's discretion; if run, only perpetual trophies will be awarded, with no other trophy presented

6. For the KO Cup and Plate competitions a team shall consist of five players registered for that League team. The first named team is the 'home' team and the order of play shall be drawn for in the normal way. The 'home' team has breaks 2 and 4 and 'away' team has breaks 1 and 3. The fifth game to have even breaks on the toss of a coin.

7. All games in individual and pairs competitions except the senior singles competition, to be best of three. A toss of a coin to decide who has the first break. On the third game each (first) player will have the break and a toss of a coin to decide the first striker.

8. In the event of a third game, the second player shall be entitled to insert additional coins to allow his or her first break to continue (with no time limit) in an attempt to equal or exceed the score of the first player, this to decide the result.

9. In the event of a tied third game, a fourth game is to be played, again each (first) player will have the break and a toss of a coin to decide the first striker, to decide the result.

10. The League is affiliated to the Sussex County Bar Billiard Association and therefore all clubs and individual players may enter for their competitions.

11. The final matches of all individual and pairs competitions shall be played on finals night, the date of which shall be made known at the start of the season. In exceptional circumstances, the Committee may allow finals to be played on other dates but under no circumstances shall those dates be after the date of finals night.

12. In the event of the first named player/pair not making contact with his/her/their opponent(s) by the contact date stipulated on the draw notice, the second named player/pair may opt to play the match at another venue than that laid down, including their home venue.

13. In all doubles matches, where a third leg is required to be played, the players who took the opening breaks in legs one and two shall NOT take the breaks in the third leg.

14. Matches in the senior singles competition will be played on a home and away basis with two legs being played at each venue. The first match will be played at the venue of the first named player. In each match, the home player will break first. The player winning the most legs wins the tie. Should the tie be even after the 4 legs have been played, a deciding leg shall be played at the second venue with even breaks, the first breaker to be decided by the toss of a coin.

The Charity Cup

Rules of Play

 All matches

 1. All matches will consist of 3 singles and 2 doubles games requiring a minimum of 4 players per side.

 2. The order of play will be 2 singles, 2 doubles, 1 singles.

3. Each opening break will be made by the player representing the away team

 4. Handicapping will be used in all matches.

 5. Should a black peg fall during a match the player’s handicap will not be eradicated.

Pool matches

6. In all pool matches, Captains will nominate player(s) prior to each game; the Away Captain will nominate first.

7. Final Pool positions will be decided on individual games won and, if necessary, total aggregate score.

 Semi-finals and the final

 Semi-final venues

 The winners of pool 1 shall play the runners-up of pool 2 on the table of the winners of pool 2 

 The winners of pool 2 shall play the runners-up of pool 1 on the table of the winners of pool 1 

Should the venues as described above not be available, then the runner-up’s tables shall be used. Should this not be possible, a decision regarding venues shall be made by the committee.

In semi-finals and finals, the teams shall toss a coin before the start of matches to decide who shall be the Home and the Away sides. The Away side shall have the break in games 1 and 3, the Home side shall have the break in games 2 and 4. The team that has the break in the first four games shall nominate first There shall be equal breaks in game 5 with the choice of breaking first or second being decided by the toss of a coin. The nomination for game 5 will be carried out after the toss of the coin to decide the order of the breaks. The team that decides to take the first break will be the first to nominate their player.

In the event that the competition is played with more or less than the 2 pools referred to elsewhere in the rules, then the committee shall decide on the best way of arranging the fixtures.

Handicap banding

The setting of handicaps is made at the beginning of each season and is based on the players average score in league matches only for the previous season.

Individual player handicap bands can be altered each year by the Fixtures Secretary and are restricted to : promotion - 2 bands, demotion - 1 band

Captains introducing new players to the Mid-Sussex League must declare the new players standing in other leagues with performance details where possible. If the new player has played before but not for three seasons or more, the captain must assess his ability and mark it on the team registration form. This is being done to help make the handicapping fair. New players to the game who have not played competitive bar billiards anywhere before will be given the maximum handicap.

If a player’s previous history is not declared and subsequently comes to light, the handicap will be reassessed . Any alteration will be applied retrospectively to any games already played in the season, with points being deducted and added to other teams where the reassessment changes the result of any games.

The value of each handicap band will vary according to the table on which the match is being played. The points scored on a particular table during the previous season’s League programme only will be added up and the average points score for a game calculated from the total. This sum shall be the basis for deciding the value of the handicap bands and the final calculations will be decided by committee before the start of the season.

For the competition final when played on a completely neutral table, the H band will be taken at the mid point between the highest and lowest of the H bands on League tables with the intermediate bands being calculated as before.

 Players will be awarded the following handicap band according to their average league score for the previous season: