Ellwood City Inter-Club Pool League Rules 2024-25

 

It is the duty of each team’s Captain or representative to know and understand the rules in their entirety. Ignorance of the rules will not be a consideration for any violation. New rules are added every year…please review carefully.

 

Definitions:

 

Game: A single contest between two (2) opposing teams of two players each. Eight ball with modifications as outlined herein is the name of the game.

 

Roster: The list of teams (club) members representing a club for the season.

 

Match: A set of best of thirteen (13) games. The win and loss records of matches will determine the standings of the teams.

 

Line-Up: The list of teams (club) members representing a club for a single match. A minimum of seven (7) men will constitute a complete line-up.

 

Player: Any one of four (4) men participating in a game in progress.

 

Foul: Any illegal moving of any ball during the progress of a game.

 

Legal Ball: A ball of the shooting player’s set (i.e. if you have high balls, then any high ball is a legal ball) and, per Rule Number 17, the eight ball is neutral and therefore is a legal ball. Note that per Rule Number 16, when a player has choice, any ball is legal, but they must call their shot.
All team members must be on the roster to be eligible to play in any match. Rosters must be submitted to the league President upon completion of the second match, and in no case, later than 7:00 pm on the night of the third week’s match. ANY MATCH PLAYED AFTER THAT TIME WITHOUT A VALID ROSTER WILL BE FORFEITED. Players will not be permitted to change teams at the half. Rosters will re-open after the first half and will remain open until the start of the second match of the second half.

a.      For the 2024-2025 season, rosters will open for 2nd half additions on Friday, Dec 19th and close at 7:00 PM on Jan 9th.

 

  1. There is a $75.00 entry fee for each club for the year to pay for trophies which is payable by the start of the third week of the season. Note that failure to pay club dues as set forth in the rules will render the roster invalid and the team will FORFEIT any games until such time as the dues are paid.

 

  1. All games will be played by league rules, not house rules. NO MASSE SHOTS.

 

  1. All matches will be played on Thursdays unless an alternate date is established on the schedule and approved by a majority of the team captains.

 

  1. A team member must be a male, 21 years of age or older, and must be a member in good standing of the club for which he is playing. Any person who is suspended from a club may not play for that club. A person under the age of 21 may be on the roster if he will turn 21 during the season and he may not play until after turning 21.

 

  1. To be eligible to play in a match, the man must be on the roster legally. Any team using an ineligible player during the match loses that match to its opponent upon protest to the league President.

a.      You can only shoot on 1 Thursday night team / league.

 

  1. The line-ups are set and exchanged by opposing Captains just before the first game of each match.

 

8.     Starting time for the first game of each match is 7:00 pm. The visiting team will have the game table from 6:45 pm until 7:00 pm. A grace period of 15 (fifteen) minutes for the match to start is allowed. Any team with less than seven (7) players on its line-up at 7:15 forfeits the match to the opposing team. If a team is playing with seven players instead of eight, the team will forfeit three (3) Games. If a team has a player ‘s on the way to the match you can start playing as long as the player/players show up before there turn to play there match. If such player does not show up on time and you only have 7 players then you will forfeit 3 games at that time. A full team line-up is considered eight (8) players and the use of seven (7) players should be avoided if possible.

 

9.     If you club has 2 tables no league player may use / practice during a match.

 

10.  No Sharking allowed. No grabbing chalk from table while players are shooting.

 

11.  A player who is not present may be included in the line-up. However, the said player must be in the club when it is his turn to shoot. If not, his name will be passed, and his vacancy is filled by moving everyone on the line-up forward one place. Late comers to the match can be added to the line-up and can play if the first round has started. Once all players have shot one game and the team has gone back to the “top of the line-up.”, late comers may not be added.

 

12.  Once line-ups are turned in, there will be no changing of positions. You will start with number one and play every man on your line-up then start again at the top. If the line-up includes an odd number of players, the odd player must shoot before the first person on the line-up can shoot again. For example, if the line-up has nine players, player nine must shoot before player one in the fifth game. If the odd player does not shoot first, it is a foul, and he loses his turn. The odd man must shoot when it is their teams next turn.

 

 

13.  If a player on the line-up leaves the club and is not available to play in the subsequent rounds, his vacancy is filled by moving everyone on the line-up forward one place. If a player misses his turn and returns to the club, he is not eligible to play in the rest of the match.

 

14.  You must start with a minimum of seven (7) players. If a team plays with only seven or eight players, a player may leave before the end of the match only if his name will not reappear in the rotation of play. If a player does leave and his name would appear in the rotation again, then you would revert to rule# 9 regarding playing with only 7 players and the spot that the player would have appeared in and every time thereafter would be a forfeit. If you only started with 7 players and this occurs, the entire match results in a forfeit because you cannot play with less than 7 players. If your team start with 7 players you are starting the match 0-3.

 

a.      Exceptions to this rule: Medical and family emergencies or getting called out to work will not cause you to forfeit 3 matches. Having to get up early does not apply. The league President can review this rule to determine if it is being abused or not properly being applied and make a ruling on any situation that may arise because of it.

 

 

15.  The team breaking will rack their own racks for all the games of the match.     Breaks will alternate with guest team breaking first.

 

16.          If you miscue on the break, you may shoot again if the cue ball does not touch the rack, even if you scratch. If, after such a miscue, you can try to deflect the cue ball and it hits the rack, a foul may be called by an opposing player. THERE WILL BE NO RE-RACKS.

 

17.  Choice of balls – You are to take what balls goes in pocket. If you put 2 High Balls in and 3 Low balls in you are low.  If you put in 1 High ball you are high. This includes if you scratch.

 

18.  The eight ball is neutral and can be used in combination to make any of your balls.

 

19.  If you foul on the eight ball and it goes in, you lose the game. If you foul on the eight ball and it does not go in, you lose your shot.

 

20.  You lose your shot if the cue ball is moved before a shot is made. Moving the cue ball with the cue stick, hand, body or in any way accidentally, will cause you to lose your shot. The ball is then returned as near as possible to the spot from where it was moved. After the eight ball is made, you will lose the game if any remaining balls are disturbed.

 

21.  Ball in hand will be in effect if a player scratched, except on a break and the player loses his turn and the next player must shoot from behind the line. The cue ball leaving the table will be considered a scratch. Fouls are not ball in hand.

 

22.  YOU MUST CALL THE EIGHT BALL. The game will be lost if you fail to inform the opponents verbally, as well as physically pointing to the pocket to which you intend to make the eight ball.

 

23.  The eight ball must be the last ball called and made. None of your balls can be on the table when calling the eight ball. If the player scratches when shooting the eight ball, the shooting team loses the game.

 

24.  The game will be lost if you shoot out of turn, except on the break, in which case balls will be re-racked.

 

25.  Players will shoot and call their own game, including any calling of fouls. They will settle disputes among themselves. If they cannot come to an agreement, the game will come to a complete halt, at which time they will summon the Captains to the table to reach a decision. No one else is to approach the table. There is a five (5) minute limit on all arguments. If no decision can be reached at that time, the Captains will immediately call the President for a ruling. If the president cannot be reached, the treasurer may be called. Any decision made that night is final. Protests cannot be made once the match has been completed. Note that pool is intended to be a “gentlemen’s game” and players are urged not to call “petty” fouls. In the event a foul is called, the captain of the team member who called the foul has the authority to “over-rule” his player and allow play to continue.

 

26.  There will be no verbal helping of players who are shooting except there partner. This Means Keep you voice low if your talking about the game. DO NOT TALK SO LOUD THAT THE WHOLE CLUB CAN HEAR YOU.  No coaching from the back ground. This is and can be considered a foul that can be called by the teams captain.       ( Don’t say your team doesn’t do this. 😊 )

 

27.  The losers of each game will pay the winners two dollars ($2.00.)

 

 

28.  The league Board of Directors consists of all team Captains and Co-Captains, with the league President as Chairman of the Board. If any Captain or Co-Captain cannot attend, a designated substitute from that club should replace him.

 

29.  If you are shooting for the eight ball and the eight ball goes off the table, you lose the game. If not shooting the eight ball and any other ball leaves the table, they are pocketed, and you lose your turn.

 

30.  Teams should notify John Dengel of final scores. It is the responsibility of the winning team to send in scores.  This May Change During the Year.

 

31.  Each Captain will keep a log on all games and have the log signed by the opposing Captain. All logs must be kept the entire season.

 

32.  Players must shoot a minimum of (6) Games in the season to be eligible for playoffs. Players that join the team in the second half of the season must play (4) of the games of the second half to be eligible for playoffs.

 

33.  Matches will be cancelled due to weather conditions if:

    1. both Captains agree before 6:30 pm the day of the match
    2. or league officers cancel all games
    3. if neither team has seven players the match may be rescheduled

d.     In all cases, the match must be played before the next Thursday.

 

34.  Members of the opposing team are not permitted to approach the table for any reason while a player is in the shooting position. If an opposing team member violates this rule, he will be warned and if a second offense occurs, the shooting team wins the game, except if the violation occurs while the shooter is shooting the eight ball. In this case, the violating team loses the game without the benefit of a warning.

 

35.  Special Roster Additions: If a person is a new resident of the area or was a member of the armed forces when the rosters were due, they can be added to the roster after, if permission is granted from a league officer.

 

36.  If any time during a game, a player calls a foul against the opposing player, the game must come to a halt. If the opposing player continues to shoot, he loses his shot. If the opposing player is on the eight ball, he loses the game.

 

37.  Call your pocket. You must call the ball and the pocket you are shooting. If the ball you call goes into any other pocket, you lose your turn to the opposing player.

 

 

38.   The home team will provide one complimentary drink (or voucher, chip, etc.) for each player on the opposing team’s roster. The value of the voucher shall be, at a minimum, the standard cost of a single bottled beer at the home club.

 

39.  Playoffs – For the 2024-2025 season, the top 8 teams will make the playoffs based on overall record. In the event of a tie, the first tie breaker will be the head-to-head record. If still tied, the second tie breaker will be most overall game wins. If still tied after that, it will be a coin flip between the two teams. 1st and 2nd round of playoffs will be best of three and the championship will be best of 5. All games must be played in a weeks’ time (Monday thru Friday) except in the championship round where they can be split over two weeks. Highest seed always has home field advantage throughout playoffs. Due to several clubs having two teams and women’s league, playoff scheduling can become difficult and teams MUST work with one another when determining what nights the games will be played and where the games will be played. There may be a need for the highest seed to start away first and play games two & three at home. If teams cannot come to an agreement, the league president will make the final decision of when and where games are played. Payout for the playoffs will only be for the first and second place teams. First place will receive $500 and second place will be awarded $200. Awards may change if the number of teams in the league changes.

 

  1. Trophy – The league treasurer will order the engraved plate for the Trophy from Mr. Trophy. The winning team is responsible for taking the trophy to Mr. Trophy to have the engraved plate p ut on the trophy. The winning team is also responsible for picking the trophy back up from Mr. Trophy when it is completed. The team that holds the trophy is responsible for the care of the trophy. The holding team will be responsible for repair of any damages or replacement if needed. The team holding the trophy is responsible to make sure that the trophy is present at the last match of the playoff season.

 

Note:    The 2025-2026 season starts Oct 2nd, 2025

The first meeting before the start of the 2025-26 year is Thursday Sept 4th, 2025, at the Saxon at 7:00 pm. A representative for each team MUST attend the meeting to be eligible to be on the league for next year.