Suffolk County APA Local Bylaws We welcome you to the American Poolplayers Association, Inc.! In order for us to enhance your enjoyment and the service of the League, we must enforce local bylaws, which are designed to allow a smooth operation of the League. Read these bylaws carefully and keep them with your Official Team Manual. Breaking these rules could cost you a playoff(s) spot and a chance to advance to the APA World Qualifier or APA World Pool Championships. These bylaws have been read and approved by the American Poolplayers Association, Inc. The Local Bylaws are a secondary source of information created in accordance with and in addition to the Official Team Manual. Office Hours are Sunday through Friday, 12 noon to 10:00 PM. If we are not available, please leave your name, phone number and a short message. Your call will be returned as soon as possible. Team Fees are $40 per week per team for all scheduled matches regardless of number of games played or forfeits. Division playoffs are $30 per week per team. Please make checks payable to the APA. If you pay by cash, please understand that we cannot be responsible for missing monies and the team will be responsible to repay the amount lost. There will be a $10 charge for any returned checks, plus loss of the Bonus Point (see next page) for that week. Annual APA player membership dues of $25 are due the first night a player plays or by the 4 th week of the session, whichever occurs first. Any team that falls more than two weeks behind in team fees or membership dues will be sent a warning notice. If the team does not become current upon receipt of the notice (or contact the League Operator to discuss payment options) it will be dropped from the League for non-payment. Teams that have an outstanding balance will not receive any session awards or cash payments. Age Requirements: All players in travel divisions must be at least 21 years of age. For in-house divisions players 18-20 years old must get permission from the League Operator to play on a team. Start Time is 7:00 PM (4:00 PM on Sunday). Play will begin even if only one player from the team is present. Play must be continuous; otherwise forfeits will be awarded to the team with players present. Scoresheet Pick-up/ Drop Off/Mailing: It is extremely important that Team Captains return their scoresheets in a timely manner in order for the League Office to process them and get scoresheets out for the next week of play. If you play in a division that mails the scoresheets, you must put them in the mail by two days after your match is played. If you play in a division that you drop off your scoresheet at a designated location, then you must drop them off by 5:00PM no later than two days after your match is played. Bonus Points (3 points per 8-Ball match) (12 points per 9-Ball match) will be awarded each week for teams that return their scoresheets on time according to the above rules. Scoresheets must be filled out completely and correctly in order to receive your Bonus Points. If your team owes any type of fees or
dues, you may not receive a Bonus Point. Be careful that you do not lose any Bonus Points. It could cost your team a chance to play in the Playoffs. Forfeits: If a team fails to show for a match, the opposing team (providing 5 players are present and listed on the scoresheet) will receive 8 points plus 3 Bonus Points per 8-Ball match and 55 points plus 12 Bonus Points per 9-Ball match if all paperwork is completed and fees are up to date. Teams that do not show up for two consecutive weeks will be considered dropped from the League and a new schedule will be issued. Dropped teams or any suspended players will forfeit all benefits, trophies, awards and prize monies. If a team drops out before a session is over, matches played will stand. If a team forfeits one or more matches, it is responsible for the full amount of weekly dues. Teams that forfeit 3 or more matches in the last week of play will NOT be eligible for the Wild Card draw. Ghost Player Rule. In an attempt to eliminate forfeits while teams are still forming, Teams can use a Ghost Player during the first 4 weeks of each Session. This rule allows one player to play twice in a Team match. Teams can only use this rule if they do not have 5 players at the match that conform to the 23 Rule. A player may not be sent home or made unavailable in order to use a Ghost Player. Teams must notify their opponent of their need or potential need to use a Ghost Player prior to the start of the 4 th individual match. The opposing team gets to pick which player from the other team who will play twice as long as it does not go over 23. Once a Ghost Player has played an individual match, the Team match is over and the remaining matches are forfeited by the Team that had to use the Ghost Player. Byes are worth 7 points plus 3 Bonus Points in 8-Ball and 50 points plus 12 Bonus Points in 9-Ball. No scoresheets need to be returned and no fees are due. Byes may not be awarded during the first two weeks of any session while new teams are still being added. Make-up matches may be required for the two weeks that were missed. If a team drops out, thus creating a Bye in the Division, all matches played to that point will stand. Division Playoffs and APA World Qualifiers (Team Regionals): The Division team highest in points prior to the Division playoffs will compete in the Division playoff(s) along with the teams that have the second and third highest points, and a Wild Card team to be determined by drawing from the remaining teams in the Division. The winner of the Division playoff(s) will be considered the Division winner and will qualify for the APA World Qualifiers. The Division winners and their Host Location will receive trophies. If the Division winner has already qualified for the APA World Qualifiers in a previous session of that league year, then the second place team from the playoff (s) will advance to the APA World Qualifiers. Once a team has qualified for the APA World Qualifiers, it must remain active for the remainder of the league year. A team that qualifies from the Summer Session must continue to play during the Fall and Spring Sessions; a team that qualifies from the Fall Session must continue to play during the Spring Session. In addition, once a team qualifies, it must remain in the top 50% of its Division standings until the WQ event or its participation will be subject to review.
The winning teams that advance from the APA World Qualifiers to the APA World Pool Championships will receive travel assistance to the National Championships in Las Vegas. The Travel Assistance is awarded to the top 2 Teams from the APA World Qualifiers and consists of $6250 per team minus the $250 entry fee into the APA World Pool Championships. Team Captains must provide the League Operator with the travel itinerary of their team before the League Operator will release the money to them. However, if a team elects not to go, the Travel Assistance will be awarded to the teams and players that actually attend the APA World Pool Championships. Trophies: In Divisions with 8 or less teams, trophies will be given to the Division winning team and Host Location. In Divisions with 9+ teams, the second place team s Host Location and the Host Location of the team that got the most points during the regular season will also receive a trophy. Rescheduled Matches must be made-up within 2 weeks of the original match, unless preapproved by the League Office. If not made-up, 0 points will be awarded to each team. No matches will be made up during the last 2 weeks of session play. The League Office must be notified of any rescheduled matches. No exceptions. Player ID s: Players must be able to show a valid picture ID to the League Operator or any opponent at all times. Teams that play a player under a false name will receive 0 points for the night and will be at risk of suspension from the League. Their opponents will receive all points won plus 2 points for any match involving an illegal player. Ask for ID s prior to the match. Protests must be in writing and include a $25 protest fee from both teams. The League Operator will inform both Team Captains of the outcome of the protest and return the $25 to the team that wins the protest. The other $25 will be added to the Players Fund. Placing the Cue Ball during a Time Out: ONLY the player or the coach may place the cue ball in a ball-inhand situation. The player DOES NOT have to be the last one to touch the cue ball. Banned Players/Sportsmanship: If a player on your team has been banned from a tavern or location, the team must play without him/her. The APA League has no right to insist that a Host Location admit this player. Any team or player receiving more than two sportsmanship violations will be dropped from the League. Dropped teams or any suspended players will forfeit all benefits, trophies and awards. Disputes should be resolved by the two players, and not by the coaches or captains. If a dispute cannot be settled between the two players, or with help from Team Captains, call your Division Rep. Their contact numbers are at the top of your scoresheet. We strongly urge that players resolve disputes by themselves in the spirit of Good Sportsmanship. Breaking-Down the Cue Stick before a match is finished could result in loss of match. If a player is shooting and his opponent cracks his stick (starts to take it apart) within view of the shooting playing, this action could be considered a concession of the game by the opponent. The shooting player should stop shooting; ask the opponent if they are conceding the game, and if so, should be awarded the game. If the shooting player continues to play, he has forgiven his opponent. If he misses, the opponent will be
permitted to take his turn. The intent is to eliminate a non-shooter attempting to intimidate or distract the shooting player. This rule does not apply when a player needs to change their cue stick for a short stick when there is a wall/post distraction. Equipment: Only equipment provided by the Host Location will be used for League play. This includes, but is not limited to, cue balls, racks, and racks of balls. If there is a situation where you are playing on a pay table and it is opened for League play, then it is permitted to replace the rack of balls and/or the cue ball with other ones if both teams agree to do so. Falsification of Scoresheets: Any team caught sandbagging or sending in falsified scoresheets will be subject to penalties handed down by the League Operator, which may include being dropped from the League. APA Members Only: Only APA members are allowed to play in the League. Paid applications for each new player must be sent in on the first night that they play. We must receive this application (and membership dues) the same week that the new player plays. Unpaid players will receive zero (0) points. Inclement Weather Policy: If a match has to be postponed due to bad weather (or any other emergency), the League Operator and the other Team Captain must be informed. All disputes that arise will be resolved by the League Operator. Matches should be rescheduled and made-up within 2 weeks. If the teams cannot get the match played within 2 weeks, the League Operator must be notified as to when it will be played. Miscellaneous: You are encouraged to enjoy the fare available at the Host Location. Please do not bring any food and/or beverage into the Host Location. The only exception to this rule is if the Host Location does not serve food and allows you to bring food in. Please ask before assuming that it is all right! If your match is on a pay table, the cost of the table will be split evenly between the 2 players. Good Luck and Good Shooting! Suffolk County APA Rick Burt, League Operator suffolkcountyapa@comcast.net 978-430-6534 April 05, 2018