APA of New Mexico - BYLAWS

Effective – Spring Session 2009

AUTHORITY:

All players are governed by the rules and regulations of the American Poolplayers Association (APA) and the bylaws of APA of New Mexico (the league). Please refer to The Official APA Team Manual for items not addressed within these BYLAWS. BYLAWS can be revised anytime at League Operator discretion. The APA of New Mexico has final authority regarding the league operation, policies and rules.

APA MEMBERSHIP:

All players must be paid members of the APA. These memberships expire at the end of each calendar year (December 31). Players are required to pay the membership dues by the first of the year, or on the first match played.

Renewal or New Membership Dues are $27.00.

Pro-Rated Membership Dues are $16.20. (Amount owed appears on score sheet.)

If a player plays on a team (even one match) then that player must pay the membership fee. It this player does not pay, then the team will be held responsible to pay this past due.

Membership cards are placed in team packets or mailed to the team captain as soon as they arrive from the APA National Office. Replacement membership cards (needed for any reason) are $5.00.

PLAYER INFORMATION:

It is the responsibility of each member to provide current/accurate information to the league office. It is very important to have correct member information on record to ensure accurate mailings. Please make sure the APA office has the following information: mailing address, name, phone number.

PAPERWORK:

All scoresheets, weekly fees, membership dues, membership applications, team registrations, singles boards, etc. must be mailed to the APA of New Mexico. See mailing address at bottom of page.

Bonus Points: Late paperwork or payment of monies will result in bonus points not being awarded. No Bonus Point(s) are awarded to teams that play players and do not pay the membership fee. Paperwork MUST be postmarked by the day after play in order to receive bonus points. Make sure paperwork is mailed before the post office closes or before your carrier picks up mail. If paperwork is not postmarked correctly, no bonus point(s) will be given.

Additionally, bonus points will not be given for late paperwork, for paperwork that is not completed properly or for lack of payment. Bonus points are earned, not a guarantee.

                                Bonus point structure:

                8-Ball – 1 point                    9-Ball – 15 points

FEES:

Weekly Team Fees:  The weekly fees are team fees. This means that all players are equally responsible for the full amount of the team fees. The team fee amounts are based upon the division you play in. Contact the APA of New Mexico if you are not sure what your team fee amount is. The team fee must always be paid (in full) regardless of the number of matches played. If there is a forfeit, players should split the amount owed amongst the team members on their teams. The team captain is not solely responsible to pay for forfeits.

Playoffs count as part of weekly play and therefore the full amount of weekly fees apply.

If a team has a bye, no weekly fees are due from that team for that week.

Weekly Fees not received / not paid in full will result in loss of points (points earned and bonus points) until all fees are made current. If past due Weekly Fees are not made current within 3 weeks from initial delinquency, teams may be subject to suspension from the league.

If a team looses their packet (via mail, courier, drop box, etc), they are still responsible for all team fees and other monies due. Therefore, don not send cash.

Payment is not considered made until received by the APA of New Mexico and cleared by the bank deposited in. Once Again, please do not send cash. Check or money order is preferred (No coins allowed! If you send coins – no bonus points). If you send cash, check or money order and it is lost in the mail, via courier or other means, the team is still responsible to render payment. All players/teams advancing to the Playoffs or LTC must be current on fees/dues in order to be eligible to play.

GROSS RECIPTS TAXES:

All memberships and team fees are subject to the State of New Mexico gross receipt taxes (GRT’s). All applicable GRT’s will be paid by the League Operator at the end of each quarter from the player fund portion of the weekly fees.

FORFEITS:

Teams that show up to play and the opponent(s) do not (no show and no call to the APA of New Mexico is made during office hours), will be awarded all points for that night (5-points for 8-Ball and 75-points for 9-Ball), plus bonus points, provided the score sheets shows the team had five (5) players ready to play and meet the 23 rule. However, there will be no full team forfeits allowed the last two weeks of the session.

Points awarded will be determined by the APA.

Weekly fees still apply and are due by both teams.

There will be no full forfeits allowed/scored the last two weeks of the session (to prevent manipulation of team standings). Full team forfeits will result in the following points being awarded:

Team getting forfeit (provide team fees are paid and on-time):

                        8-Ball – 3 points

                        9-Ball – 60 points

                        Not on-time, not paid: 0 Points

Team causing forfeit (provide team fees are paid and on-time):

                        8-Ball – 1 point

                        9-Ball – 15 points

                        Not on-time, not paid: 0 Points

RETURNED (BAD) CHECKS:

If a returned check covers weekly fees or annual membership of someone or both, all parties will be considered delinquent and must reimburse the league for their part. There will also be a fee of ten ($10) dollars assessed for a returned check. Returned checks not reimbursed within three weeks will result in loss of points and or suspension from the league.

DIVISIONS:

Divisions must have a minimum of 5 teams. Divisions can be either traveling or in-house. For traveling divisions and playoffs, the HOME team has choice of table to play on.

The League Operator will decide the number of teams in each division and will do their best to accommodate teams on which division they would prefer to play in. The League Operator has the final decision regarding team placement in a division placement and division size.

SESSION CALENDAR & TOURNAMENTS:

Each session calendar and schedule is established by the APA of New Mexico. All tournaments - locations, dates and times are set forth by the APA of New Mexico.

The APA of New Mexico will make best efforts to avoid play on certain dates; however, the final calendar and schedule are set forth by the APA of New Mexico.

PLAYOFFS:

At the end of each session there is a playoff in each division among the top finishing teams. The team that wins the Playoffs wins the trophies and the division title for that session, and gains eligibility into the Local Level of the Team Championships. A team does not win the division title and eligibility by winning the most points during the session. Those points only gain you a slot in the Playoffs. The Playoffs will normally take place during the break between sessions, and full weekly fees will be collected from each team.

Only the teams that make the playoffs will be contacted (phone or e-mail).

If your team did not get contacted, your team did not make the playoffs.

In each division, the top three finishing teams plus a wild card team will be in the Session Playoffs. During the semifinals, the first place team plays the wild card team and the 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.

Exception: For Divisions with less than 6 teams, the playoffs will be one week only. The team that finishes the regular session first in points and a wild card team will make this one week playoff.

The top team in each divisional playoff will advance to the STATE CHAMPIONSHIP (a.k.a. LTC – Local Team Championship).

The team that wins the divisional playoffs will win the awards.

If a team repeats as a division winner, that team will again receive the trophies and the team that comes in second that session (playoffs) will advance to the LTC.

Session ending playoffs will be single elimination format.

In order to be eligible for playoffs, teams must be current on all team fees, dues, memberships, and registered for the next session, etc.

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP (LOCAL TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP – or - LTC):

The LTC will be played after the Spring Session is completed. 

The number of teams that advance to the APA National Team Championships is based upon the overall number of teams participating in our league. These amounts vary and are determined by the APA National Office headquarters.

Masters and Doubles Divisions do not qualify/participate in the LTC.

PLAYER FUNDS:

ASSISTANCE FUND:

This fund will be built from the player portion of the weekly fees. Each team from the LTC (8-Ball & 9-Ball Divisions) that advances to the Nationals will receive an assistance amount based upon the number of teams advancing and number of teams participating in the league year. There will be a registration fee deducted from the awarded amount. This amount will be sent to the APA National Office to register the team advancing. The advancing teams will get this registration amount back when they register their team at the Nationals. Teams must go to the Nationals in order to receive the travel assistance. If a team does not go to Nationals they must return the awarded amount. This amount will be added back into the player fund for the rest of the league members. Any awarded amounts not returned will result in team/player suspension from the league.

The league assistance funds are not provided to the specialty team events (i.e. pre-registered events) and Masters Division.

The League Operator has final determination on all assistance fund disbursements.

AWARDS FUND:

Awards will be provided from the player fund portion of the weekly fees. Awards may come in different fashions such as: patches, trophies, plaques, money. These awards are subject to change and are at the discretion of the League Operator.

Each team from the 8-Ball, 9-Ball and Masters Division will receive awards for winning the session ending divisional playoffs Teams will also receive awards at the LTC. Patches will be distributed throughout the session as warranted.

The League Operator has final determination on all awards and their disbursements.

23 RULE:

Teams must adhere to the rules set forth in the official team manual regarding the 23 rule. Furthermore, for teams that violate the 23 Rule and do not get caught, bonus point(s) will not be issued to the team breaking the 23 Rule. If both teams conspire to violate the 23 Rule, then neither team will receive the bonus point(s).

MAKE UP MATCHES:

If a team requests a postponement, the opposing team may refuse only if less than 24 hour notice from the original scheduled date of play is given. If the teams agree, make-up matches must be completed within two weeks of the originally scheduled date of play. Both teams must call the league office to approve the rescheduling and receive updated score sheets. Makeup matches or matches played in advance must play players at their most current skill level.

The League Operator has final approval on all make up matches.

MATCH START TIME:

Start times are listed on your team score sheet. If no player(s) are present at the posted start time, teams have 15 minutes after the official start time (real time; not bar time) to arrive and begin their matches. If there is a player present, that player must play. If no opposing player(s) are present after these 15 minutes have passed, then the 1st match is forfeited. Subsequent matches will be a forfeit for each additional 5 minutes that pass without an opponent present. If no opponent is present 30 minutes after the official start time, then the entire night is forfeit. If any player from the opposing team is present at the start time and they are asked to begin play the match, they must play or forfeit. Please also see the BYLAWS section on FEES.

TIMEOUTS:

Timeouts are to be one minute. Please try to adhere to this to keep play flowing. Players or teams continuously taking excessive timeouts will be subject to penalties.

Only the designated coach may approach the table to discuss what to do during a timeout with their player. If the coach wants another opinion from a teammate, then the coach must step away from the player and table (and keep to the time limit). The player having the coach should not talk to anyone during a time out other than the designated coach. This helps to avoid any misunderstandings.

ACCIDENTAL BUMP:

If a player is accidentally bumped during their shot causing balls to move or be pocketed, all balls will be replaced as close as possible to their original location before the bumping happened. No Foul occurred.

MARKING THE TABLE:

Do not mark the surface of the table or cushions to assist in making a shot. Doing so is representative of poor sportsmanship and may result in penalties being assessed from the APA.

DOUBLE JEOPARDY:

One coin flip determines which team picks the first player for each match of 8-Ball and 9-Ball. The home team flips the coin and the visiting team calls the coin flip. If a player is in a match, that player cannot be used as a coach in the other match.

Play must be continuous in both formats. Matches will not be held up. If a player is playing the 8-Ball format and is needed for the next match on the 9-Ball table, the match for 9-Ball will not wait for that player to end the 8-Ball match.

Exception: for the last match of either format, if a player is needed to play the last match and that player is still playing in the other format, play of the last match will wait no more than 20 minutes until the player has finished the match in the other format. This is only to be used if there is not another player that can be played or to avoid breaking the 23 rule.

BANNED OR SUSPENDED PLAYERS:

If a player is banned from a host location, then that team must play without them. If a player is under league suspension, then they are not allowed to participate with their teams(s) until the suspension is over. Suspended players are also not allowed to participate in any APA event.

DISPUTES:

Disputes should be resolved by the two players and not by the Coaches or Captains. If a dispute cannot be settled by the two players, then contact your Division Representative or Area Manager. Players are strongly encouraged to resolve disputes amongst themselves in the spirit of Good Sportsmanship. However, if a resolution cannot be made then an Official Protest can be filed with the League Operator. All play must cease at the point no resolution can be made. If the match is continued and or paperwork signed and sent in, the match will stand. On the last week of regular session play before playoffs and on any playoff s all disputes must be resolved at the time they happen. Disputes during the LTC will be resolved on site by the League Operator or designated representative.

Remember that in each situation the ruling must go for one side and not the other side, and it is required each team or player be able to accept being ruled against without causing a scene.

POOL PLAYER ETIQUETTE:

Have fun. Be courteous; show respect to your fellow players and host locations and take pride in yourself. Please remember that you are playing for fun while enjoying friendly competition. Good sportsmanship is something to be proud of and what we want in our members. Enjoy yourself, play within the spirit of the rules as well as the written rule. Win at the table and not from the chair.

BEHAVIOR:

Poor sportsmanship-like behavior or cheating will not be tolerated. Examples of such poor behavior are: sandbagging, sharking, falsifying scores, cheating. If you honestly believe someone is cheating, write that person up. Please provide details and any witnesses. Any player or team caught cheating or not adhering to the Rules of Conduct may be subject to handicaps being increased, league suspension or other penalties being levied.

If anyone witnesses a team or player behaving badly, please report this to the APA of New Mexico with details immediately. Actions will be taken on every reported incident and players and teams can be subject to penalty for reported bad behavior. Penalties are subject to the discretion of the APA of New Mexico and these rulings are final.

Breaking down your cue before the match is over is not loss of game. It is considered poor sportsmanship and may result in penalties.

The APA of New Mexico does not assume any responsibility for the actions of it members.

All members are of legal age and responsible for their own behavior/actions.

RULES OF CONDUCT:

1. No loud, abusive or profane language will be tolerated.

2. Unsportsmanlike conduct toward the opposing player, team, host location staff, League Operator or designated official, or anyone else will not be tolerated.

3. Anyone involved in an incident that includes either physical abuse or the throwing of an item will be disqualified immediately, and required to leave the premises and will be disciplined.

4. Anyone caught hitting a cue against the table, wall, floor, etc., or recklessly swinging a cue will be disqualified immediately and required to leave the premises and may be subject to league suspension.

5. Excessively slow play will not be tolerated. You will be warned and may incur penalties.

AGE REQUIREMENTS:

Players must be at least 18 years of age. If a host location does not allow people under 21, then teams must abide by their requirements. Players under 21 will not be allowed to play if a host location does not allow people under 21 to enter. However, no matches will be made up because a person under 21 could not enter an establishment to play. Therefore, teams must take this into account when filling a team roster.

TEAM SURVIVAL RULE:

If a team is in jeopardy of folding or constantly forfeiting matches due to such things as players moving away, job schedule changes, life changes, etc. then it is possible to add members to that team after the fourth week of play during a session; but only with approval of the APA of New Mexico. Teams must first contact the APA of New Mexico and explain their situation and get approval from the APA of New Mexico League Operator before adding a player or players.

SMOKING POLICY:

Effective June 15, 2007 the Smoking Ban went into effect. If you play in a location that does not allow smoking, the following applies:

Once an individual match has started, players are not allowed to take breaks to have a smoke. Time-outs may not be used for smoke breaks. There is no going out for a quick smoke between racks or in between shots. Once a match has started, play must be continuous. We allow bathroom breaks because these are necessary. Smoking breaks are not necessary (although some people might think otherwise).

Please keep play going to avoid delays. Teams or persons that violate this policy will be subject to penalty. Please have your smoke before your match is called or starts and then hold off until your match is completed before going out to have another. Also, please go early enough before your match is to start so that you do not hold up play. When the match before you play is over you have 2 minutes to have your smoke and begin play. Team Captains; please keep your teams on track with time. If a match is getting close to ending, tell the player you are going to play next to go have their smoke and bathroom break now so that once the other match is over the next match can begin right away.

INCLEMENT WEATHER:

During bad weather (snow, sleet, etc.) away teams should inform the league office and home teams of a possible delay. If teams decided to play during inclement weather, no forfeits will be awarded for either team.  If either team wishes to reschedule for the night because of severe weather, then the match will be rescheduled & must be made up within two weeks.  If either team cannot reach the opposing team captain then you should call the host location of the match at the start time to make sure they received notice that you wanted a make up match; and you should also leave a message with the league office and division rep.

If a host location is closed, teams can go play at the opponent’s location.

If league play needs to be postponed because of the weather, the league office will make every attempt to inform teams.

If any individual player feels unsafe playing on a night where the weather is potentially questionable, the league office will not force that player to attend. However, play may not be cancelled because one or more players do not want to go. The other team players may still go and play. The APA of New Mexico is not responsible for players that decide to play when weather is questionable. All members are adults and can make their own decisions. No one is ever forced to play.

CANCELLATION OF LEAGUE PLAY:

Cancellation of play will be done with the well being of all its members in mind.

The league office will receive current weather reports from local media and internet sources and make a determination of safety based upon the common/average person standard and common sense.

The APA of New Mexico does not assume any responsibility for the actions of it members.

All members are adults and can make their own decisions. No one is ever forced to play.

All members are of legal age and responsible for their own behavior/actions.

TEAMS DROPPING FROM THE LEAGUE:

If a team drops out during the session the team must have all their dues/fees/monies paid in full or they will be billed for monies owed to the league.  The team captain MUST call the office (not division rep) to notify the office of their team dropping and reason for dropping. If you get the answering machine, please leave a message. An e-mail is also acceptable notification.  If notification is not received then the office will follow the rulebooks guideline for teams dropping and bill the team for the remainder of the session.

If a team drops and owes dues/fees/monies and does not pay these in full, no player from that team will be allowed to play again until all past dues are paid in full. If a player is a member of a team that drops with past dues and also on another team, that player will be subject to suspension from league play until the past dues are paid in full.

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DOUBLE JEOPARDY RULES:

One coin flip determines which team picks the first player for each match of 8-Ball and 9-Ball. The home team flips the coin and the visiting team calls the coin flip.

If a player is in a match, that player cannot be use as a coach in the other match.

Play must be continuous in both formats. Matches will not be held up. If a player is playing the 8-Ball format and is needed for the next match on the 9-Ball table, the match for 9-Ball will not wait for that player to end the 8-Ball match.

Exception: for the last match of either format, if a player is needed to play the last match and that player is still playing in the other format, play of the last match will wait no more than 20 minutes until the player has finished the match in the other format. This is only to be used if there is not another player that can be played or to avoid breaking the 23 rule.

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PLAYOFFS FOR DIVISIONS WITH LESS THAN 6 TEAMS

For Divisions with less than 6 teams the playoffs will be ONE WEEK only. 

Standard APA Divisions are at least 6 teams.

Divisions with less than 6 teams will have the following playoff format:

            ONLY the team in first place and a wild card team will qualify for the playoffs.

 The team winning this one week playoff will advance to the State Tournament and will also receive the trophy awards and money.

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TOP SHOOTER / TOP GUN

The APA has a program to award the top performing player in each division with an award. I’m proud to bring this program to New Mexico. The APA, the originator of the TOP GUN award will be awarding to one person in each division of play a TOP SHOOTER trophy. Along with this award the player awarded will have bragging rights for the session.

This award is based upon winning percentage.

If there is a tie, the tie will be broken by TOP GUN points. TOP GUN points are equal to you opponent’s skill level. Therefore, if you play 8 matches against a 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5 & 5 and win each time you will have 33 TOP GUN points.

These points are only awarded for wins.

HOW TO QUALIFY:

In order to qualify for the TOP SHOOTER award, a player must play a minimum number of matches for a team during a session (see below).

The player with the best record (win percentage) after this point will receive the
TOP SHOOTER award. 

      Session Length       Player must play at least

              Less than 10 weeks              6 Matches

              10  Weeks                           7  Matches

              11  Weeks                            7  Matches

              12  Weeks                           7  matches

              13  Weeks                           8  matches

              14  Weeks                           8  matches

              15  Weeks                           8  matches

              16  Weeks                           8  matches

              17  Weeks                           9  matches

              18  Weeks                           9  matches

HAVE FUN!

GOOD LUCK & GOOD SHOOTING!

Thank you!  To all of our members for your wonderful support!  You are all greatly appreciated!

                                                                     Effective – Spring Session 2009