1. The league will usually commence early September and run through to the end of May.
2. The AGM/Presentation evening will be held on a Saturday evening between June-July each year.
3. There will usually be a two week break over Christmas, and Bank Holiday Mondays will be fixture free.
4. The league will wherever possible be made up of two divisions, league profiles will be decided at the AGM.
5. Usually, there will be two teams promoted from Division Two and two teams relegated from Division One each year.
6. Teams consist of a minimum 7 registered players, matches commence at 8.00pm Mondays whereby 6 players play two frames against a player from the opposing team, match ups are drawn randomly although the home team Captain has the prerogative as to the order of play and the choice of club tables used.
7. If teams finish the season level on points, positions will be determined firstly on number of matches won, then number of matches lost, matches head-head, and finally a play off at a neutral venue, best of 5, one frame each.
8. A team must be represented by a minimum of 4 players, if a team is short of players, the other team can field its strongest players.
9. A minimum of four players must be present and ready to play by 8.00pm, the latest arrival time for any player is 9.00pm unless otherwise agreed.
10. All league matches must be played on a minimum of two tables.
11. All frames must be refereed by a home team player, using the WPBSA rules Click Here.
12. Fees
    1. Team registration fee is £30 per season, payable at the AGM.
    2. 6-man team registration fee is £10 per season, payable at the AGM.
    3. Team annual subscription fee is £140, payable to the Treasurer no later than December 31^st.
    4. Failure to pay subs on time will result in a 2-point deduction per week until subs are paid.
13. Match results, match up scores, and breaks must be e-mailed by the home team Captain to the Web-Master (Gerry Barclay) by midday 7:30pm on the Tuesday after a match.
14. Dress code for all VHSL matches, including singles and doubles competitions is VHSL shirt, trousers, shoes. It is the team Captain's responsibility to ensure that all players are correctly dressed. Players incorrectly dressed shall be refused participation costing the offending players team 2 points.
15. A buffet is usually supplied by the home team, and we thank our member clubs for this service; this is not however compulsory.
16. Table charges are the responsibility of the home team.
17. Additional registration of players is available without charge prior to December 31st, after which there will be a £10 charge; all additional registrations require 24hrs notice and must be confirmed with the league Secretary (Mike Harvey) and Web Master (Gerry Barclay).
18. Any player wishing to transfer between teams once a season has begun must clear this with their Division Secretary.

1. All teams wishing to join the league must attend the AGM pre-season to register their team and pay their registration fees; new team’s registrations will be voted on at the AGM.
2. After the AGM, fixtures will be produced and published by fixtures Secretary, Chris Thatcher.

1. There will be a divisional singles and doubles competition each season, organised by the Competitions Secretary James Baylis.
2. Entry forms will be available at the AGM prior to the start of the season.
3. Entry fees are currently £5 for the singles and £10 per pair for the doubles.
4. Entry forms and fees must be returned to the Competition Secretary by the advertised date.
5. All draws will be completed by the Competitions Secretary and one other committee member.
6. The home player is responsible for organising the match but should be fair and reasonable in trying to agree a date and time for matches to be played, and table charges should be agreed prior to the match. However, the league recommends that table charges are shared for these matches.
7. Any requests for changes to the singles / double’s competitions after the AGM and/or draw has been made will require to go via the Competition Secretary.

1. This cross-division knockout cup competition will run throughout the season, organised by James Baylis.
2. Breaks made in this competition do not count towards the highest and most breaks awards but can still be posted on the web site.
3. If a team can only field 5 players on the night (from this point referred to as the shorthanded team), all 12 frames are required to be played; therefore, one player from the shorthanded team will need to play twice; this player will be chosen by the opposition team.
4. If a team can only field 4 players or fewer on the night, that team will be scratched from the competition. Should this happen in round one of a competition, the offending team may compete in the plate competition, subject to committee approval.
5. The knockout cup and plate competitions are played as two rounds of six random match draws between the competing team players. A single frame being played in each round match-up. The total number of frames won for each team decides the winner.
6. In the event of a of tied match (6 frames won by each team) a single player will be randomly drawn from each team to play a deciding frame.

1. Failure to pay league registration fee at or prior to the AGM will result in removal from the league.
2. Failure to pay singles or doubles entry fees prior to commencement of events will result in removal from the competition.
3. Any team dropping out of the league during a season will face a two-year ban from the league (subject to committee decision). Individuals from any banned team may only play for another team subject to committee approval.
4. Match Cancellations:
   1. All teams are allowed one cancellation of a league match during the season without penalty (this does not apply to the Knockout Cup / Plate which are separately run internal competitions).
   2. Further cancellations will result in points deductions as detailed below:
      1. A second cancellation will incur a 6-point deduction from the offending team.
      2. A third cancellation will incur a 9-point deduction from the offending team.
      3. Fourth and all subsequent cancellations will incur 12-point deduction form the offending team.
   3. Cancellation on the day of a game, due to adverse weather, power cuts, bereavements, etc. will not be subject to sanctions, subject to committee agreement.
   4. The first cancelled game must be replayed within 30 days, it will be the privilege of the team that did not cancel the game to offer three alternative dates for the game to be played; these three dates must not be in the same week; the game must be played on one of these days; unless of course a separate mutually agreed date is available. If the cancelling team turn down all offered dates to play the postponed game, and the game cannot be played; the 'innocent' team will receive a 9-0 result and the cancelling team will receive a 6-point deduction.
   5. Second and subsequent cancellations by a team will result in a 9-0 win being awarded to the 'innocent' team.
5. Misconduct

6. Teams dropping out of league during a season:
   • Should any team drop out of the league during a season, all match results previously recorded by the team will be voided and the league table will be reset accordingly.
7. Failure to fulfil Singles and Doubles matches:
   • Any player(s) failing to fulfil a Singles or Double fixture will incur a £10 penalty for their team (from the team points total prize money) and be excluded from entering the following years competitions.
   • This penalty may be avoided if failing to fulfil the fixture is due to exceptional circumstances (e.g., family bereavement or illness) at the discretion of the committee.
8. Results submission
   • Failure to submit results on time (prior to 7:30pm on Tuesday after a match) will incur the following penalties:
     1. First offence: A warning e-mail will be issued to the team by the appropriate Division Secretary.
     2. Second offence: A 6-point penalty will be deducted from the offending teams’ points score.
     3. Third offence: A 9-point penalty will be deducted from the offending team’s points score.
     4. Fourth and subsequent offences: A 12-point penalty will be deducted from the offending team’s points score.

• There is a maximum of three miss calls in any given situation, such that any shot (escape from a snooker etc.) will only be attempted 4 times, a miss will not be called for a fourth failed escape.
• That said, it is absolutely the case that not every failed attempt to escape from a snooker should be called as a miss, even if it is the first attempt. Please adhere to guidelines below.

Guidelines for Administering the ‘Miss’ Rule

Official definition of a 'Miss'
"A miss is when the cue-ball fails to first contact a ball on, and the referee considers that the striker has not made a good enough attempt to hit a ball on."

Further to this, Section 3 of the official rule book, sub-section 14 describes the 'foul and a miss' rule, thus:

'The striker shall to the best of his ability, endeavour to hit the ball on or a ball that could be on; if the referee considers the rule infringed, he shall call Foul and a Miss'.

The key wording here is 'to the best of his ability'; that is to say that to administer this rule fairly, as the referee of any game, when a player fails to escape from a snooker, please ask yourself this:

Is that player based on his ability expected to have got closer to hitting the ball on; if your honest assessment is, No; then you should Not call 'Foul and a Miss'.

Some hints for administering the Miss Rule:

When a striker fails to first hit a ball on, when there is a clear path in a straight line from the cue-ball to any part of any ball that is, or could be on; the referee should call 'foul and miss'; unless snookers were already required prior to the shot being played.

When escaping from a snooker, if the cue-ball falls short, (does not reach the ball on) the referee should call 'foul and miss'; unless snookers were already required prior to the shot being played.

When failing to hit a declared colour (the yellow for example) after first potting a red, when it is quite evidently easier to hit a different colour (the black for example) the referee should call 'foul and miss'; unless snookers were already required prior to the shot being played.

Please understand that these hints and tips are meant only as a guide and are by no means designed as exhaustive.

Most important of all is to remember this:

The Miss Rule is designed to ensure that players make a genuine attempt, a best effort based on ability, to hit a ball on; if you honestly assess that a player has done this, then it is unfair on the player to call a 'Foul and a Miss'

I can only ask that everybody refereeing matches in the VHSL is honest and fair minded when administering this rule