We welcome your team to the American Poolplayers Association. In order for us to enhance you 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 team manual. Breaking these rules could cost you a playoff spot and a chance to advance to the Local or National Team Championships.

These bylaws have been read and approved by the American Poolplayers Association. The local bylaws are secondary source of information created in accordance with and in addition to the Official Team Manual.

Office hours are Monday through Friday 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. If I am not available, please leave your name, phone number and a brief message. Your call will be returned as soon as possible.

Age requirement for league play is 21 years of age.

Team fees are due for all scheduled matches regardless of number of games played including forfeits and division playoffs. Please make checks payable to Smoky Mountain APA. There will be a $25.00 charge for any returned checks. APA player annual membership dues of $20.00 are due the first night a player plays or by the fourth week of the session, whichever occurs first. Any team that fall two weeks behind in paying their fees or membership dues will be sent a warning notice. If the team does not become immediately current upon receipt of the notice it will be dropped from the League for nonpayment.

Start Time is at 7:00 pm. Play will begin even if only one player from the team is present.

Bonus Points one bonus point will be awarded each week for the teams that have their envelopes postmarked 48 hours after play, have the correct money, and a completely and correctly filled out score sheet. Fees and dues must be up to date. If your team owes any type of fees or dues, you will not receive bonus points. There will be no exceptions. Be careful that you do not loss your bonus points...

Forfeits if a team fails to show for the match, the opposing team (provided 5 players are present and listed on the score sheet) will receive 5 points and 1 bonus point if all paper work is completed and fees and dues are up to date. Teams that do not show up for two consecutive weeks will be considered dropped from the League. Dropped teams or any suspended player will forfeit all benefits (trophies, awards, and/or prize money). If a team drops out before the session is over, matches played will stand. If a team forfeits one or more matches they are still responsible for the full amount of weekly dues. Teams that forfeit 6 or more games in the session will NOT be eligible for the wild card draw.

Byes are worth 3 points and 1 bonus point. No score sheets need to be returned and no fees are due.

Rescheduled matches all rescheduled matches must be made up within 2 weeks of the original match, unless preapproved by the League office. If not, 0 points will be awarded to each team. No matches will be made up the last two weeks of session play. The League office must be notified of any rescheduled matches. No exceptions.

Banned players/Sportsmanship if a player on your team has been banned from a host location, the team must play without him/her. The APA League has no right to insist a host location admit this player. Any player or team receiving more that two sportsmanship violations will be dropped from the League. Dropped teams or any suspended player will forfeit all benefits, trophies, and awards.

Disputes If a dispute cannot be settled between the two players then contact your Division Rep who is listed at the top of your score sheet. We strongly urge players to solve dispute themselves in the spirit of “Good Sportsmanship”.

Breaking down the cue stick before match has finished could result in loss of game. If a player is shooting, and his opponent cracks his stick (starts to take it apart) within view of the shooting player, this action could be considered a concession of the player. The shooting player should stop; ask the opponent if they have just conceded the game, if so he/she will be awarded the game. If the shooting player continues to play, he has forgiven this 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 obstruction.

Division Playoff and LTC In each division, the top three finishing teams plus a wild team will be in the Session

Playoffs. During the semifinals, the high points team plays the wild card team and second place team plays the third place team. In the finals, the two semifinal winners play each other to decide who the division champion will be.

Divisions of 7 or less teams, only the division playoff winner gains eligibility for Local Team Championships (LTC).

Divisions of 8 or more teams, the division playoff winner and the second place team gains eligibility for LTC.

If first and second place teams are already qualified, the next team with the highest points will advance to LTC.

All teams qualified will be required to remain in the top 50% of their standings or will be subject to review. All teams advancing to the Nationals will be required to play in the summer session. Teams advancing to National Team Championship (NTC) will receive Travel Assistance.

The travel assistance fund will be divided equally to the advancing teams. As the League Operator will be making the travel arrangements, if teams make their own travel arrangements, they receive funds for room only. Any player or team who accepts travel fund assistance and does not attend and play in the NTC will be responsible for repaying the travel fund for their portion within 30 days of the event. If not paid in full, they will be ineligible to join a team until it is paid in full.

Trophies will be awarded to first place winners in the Division playoffs and high points winner in the division.

Equipment only equipment provided by the host locations will be used for League play. This includes, but not limited to cue balls and racks of balls.

Falsification of score sheets any team caught sandbagging or sending in falsified score sheets will be subject to penalties handed down by the League Operator, which may include being dropped from the League as well as eligibility.

Inclement weather policy (snow, sleet, etc.) If a match is to be cancelled due to weather, the League Operator or other team captains must be informed. The League operator will resolve any disagreements. Team captains are to notify players if match is cancelled.

Miscellaneous: The cost of the table will be split evenly by both players, no matter who wins or loses and regardless of their handicap. If a team is stalling in excess between shots and the other team points this out, the League Office will consider it unsportsmanlike to continue to stall. Penalties may include points taken away. Time outs and time between shots are limited to one minute. Two minutes to put up a player. Remember to be ready to play to avoid delays and sportsmanship violations. All players sit away from their team when he/she is shooting his/her match. When marking your pocket, put your marker close to the pocket you are shooting. If the marker is on the diamond, this is acceptable. If a coach asks or calls for a time out, it must be taken. If a player calls a time out, it may refused by the captain or coach and no time out will be accessed.

Revised 01/20/07

               Fee Schedule

Annual Fee Per Player - $20.00

This $20.00 annual fee allows you to play in all APA formats thoughout year.

APA national discounts and membership benefits outlined at http://www.poolplayers.com/discounts.html

*Weekly Team Fee - $30.00

 Each team is composed of 5-8 players

 5 players play each league night (amounting to only $6.00 per player).

 Host Location fee: NONE

Player Benefits:

 Opportunity to play in a league that prides itself in sportmanship and fun. This league,using the Equalizer handicap system, players of all skill levels have a change to win.

 Regular awards such as patches, trophies, APA merchandise, and/or plaques.

 Chance to compete in National Team Champtionships in Las Vagas. Last year payout was over $1.5 million!

 Eligibilty to play in numerous Singles Tounaments thoughout the year.

 Eligibility for participation tri-annual division champtionships, thereby qualifying for Somky Mountain Local Team Champtionships,and ultimately National Team Champtionships.

*Players weekly team fees are applied towards the players fund, travel assistance, and awards, the National APA office, and administrative fees.

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