SOUTH EAST LONDON POOL LEAGUE  CONSTITUTION

1.    INTRODUCTION
•    This Constitution forms the basis for the operation of the South East London Pool League.
•    All persons connected with the League (Officers, Captains and Players) must adhere strictly to this Constitution and the League’s Rules so as to ensure as few disputes as possible.
•    No person can act outside this Constitution and the League’s Rules in relation to a dispute or propose any different action than that stated in either document unless its approval has been obtained in advance from the Officers and Captains.
•    This Constitution may only be amended at an Annual General Meeting and only if such amendments are recommended in advance and included on the Agenda.
•    The League’s Rules may only be amended at an Annual General Meeting if required by incidents during the previous season and are recommended by Officers and Captains to benefit the game.
•    Teams and Players will be expected to abide by these Rules, whether they feel aggrieved or not, for the duration of the Season.

2.    CONDUCT OF THE LEAGUE
•    The League shall be administered by a Committee comprising Officers appointed at the Annual General Meeting and Team Captains.
•    It will not be expected that all Captains will attend every meeting but all Captains must ensure that their team is represented at all meetings.
•    Teams will only be permitted to have one person, the Captain, Vice-Captain or nominated deputy, to attend and participate in Officers and Captains Meetings.
•    Teams without a representative at an Officers and Captains Meeting will receive ONE penalty point on each occasion. 
•    Only prospective Captains/Vice-Captains will be invited to attend the Annual General Meeting. Each team will only have one vote. Where teams have not been established, Landlords may attend.
•    The Hon. President, Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary and Assistant Secretary shall be Officers of the Committee. Officers and Team Captains shall have voting rights except for matters involving their own team, with the exception that the Chairman always retains a casting vote.
•    Election of these Officer posts shall be at the Annual General Meeting.
•    The Officers shall be entitled to such payments for their respective duties carried out as deemed proper by the Committee.
•    The President (or in his absence the Chairman or Treasurer) shall preside at the Annual General Meeting.
•    The Chairman (or in his absence the Treasurer) shall preside at all Committee Meetings and any other meetings (e.g. Appeals Panels) as necessary unless he has an interest in the decisions to be taken. In such cases the Secretary shall take the chair.
•    The Chairman (or in his absence the Treasurer) shall at all meetings, in the event of a tie, have the casting vote.
•    The Secretary (or in his absence the Assistant Secretary) will convene all meetings when necessary and will minute all proceedings and ensure copies of Agenda and Minutes are circulated correctly.
•    The Treasurer will be responsible for the safe keeping of and maintaining the League’s Books of Accounts including any bank cheque books or building society passbooks, whichever is applicable.
•    The Treasurer will supply details relating to the League’s finances as and when required.
•    If the League decides to reintroduce a formal Committee instead of running through Officers and Captains, all Committee Members shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting by those invited to attend.
•    In such circumstances, any player may be nominated to serve on the Committee. Only one nomination per team may be made. Ideally any Committee should consist of no more than nine members including the officers and with no more than two representatives from any one team.
•    No person shall be nominated for any position on such a Committee who has been barred or suspended by any other league.
•    Any such Committee Members may resign voluntarily at any time.
•    All Officers and Captains will be required to organise and/or referee tournaments and other matches as specified by League officials.
•    Captains/Vice-Captains are also expected to help organise if requested. Captains/Vice-Captains and senior players are expected to help referee if it is necessary to maintain neutrality.
•    Refusal to referee if requested, without good reason, will be dealt with by the other Officers and Captains.
•    Officers and Captains shall decide whether or not to fill a vacancy among the League Officers without reference to a Special General Meeting of League Captains/Vice-Captains, with the exception of the position of Chairman.
•    The Officers and Captains shall be authorised to take whatever action it considers necessary to ensure the continued smooth operation of the League, with disciplinary powers ranging from the docking of points to expulsion of players or teams.
•    Winners of the League’s Perpetual Trophies will be expected to take care of the trophies while in their possession as they are effectively on loan from the League. Any damage to or loss of the trophy is to be paid for by the player or team concerned.

3.    CHANGES TO RULES
•    Each season, Officers and Captains will be invited to propose suggested changes to the Rules for the ensuing season at any Officers and Captains Meeting held during the season.
•    No changes other than those discussed at Officers and Captains Meetings will be debated at the Annual General Meeting.

4.    ADMINISTRATION
•    A Registration Fee will be agreed annually by Officers and Captains and must be paid to the Treasurer or the Secretary at or before the Annual General Meeting of the League or by another date specified by the Secretary. The annual figures will include consideration of a discount for venues entering two or more teams.
•    Teams failing to pay by the specified date will be allowed a maximum of SEVEN days only to send the whole Registration Fee to the Treasurer or the Secretary (or Assistant Secretary).
•    A penalty charge of £5.00 may be levied against teams failing to pay within the time allowed. Teams failing to comply may forfeit matches at the start of the season at the discretion of Officers and Captains.
•    The Registration Fee will include entry to all the League’s competitions except the Sid Burgess Singles and the Joe Farrell Pairs knock out competitions for which players will pay entry fees as below, as well as the trophies to be presented to winning players and teams on Finals Day.
•    Finals Day will be held at the end of the season on a date and at a venue to be determined by Officers and Captains, published at the start of the season, and will be open to all players and their families. It will conclude with the League’s annual Presentation Night.
•    All entries to the Joe Farrell Pairs Trophy and the Sid Burgess Singles Trophy must be paid as notified. Failure to pay within SEVEN days of the due date will result in expulsion from the relevant tournament. Entry fees to all competitions will be decided by the Officers and Captains and will be notified to all Captains by the Secretary (or in his absence by the Assistant Secretary).
•    The names of Captains, Vice-Captains and Governors (or appropriate Club Officials) as stated on the Team Registration form (provided at the Annual General Meeting) will be assumed to be correct for the Season.
•    The named persons will be allowed to enter the Captains’ Cup and the Governors’ Shield on this basis. Players may only enter one of these tournaments even if they are eligible for both, with Governors expected to enter the Governors' Shield rather than the Captains' Cup.
•    It will be the responsibility of the Captains or Vice-Captains to notify the League if there needs to be a change of player in either tournament. If the League is not notified of such a change within SEVEN days prior to the fixture concerned the new incumbent in the post will not be allowed to play.
•    In relation to the Governors’ Shield where a Governor does not wish to enter he/she may select a bona fide member of their bar staff to represent them.
•    Captains must hand in, with their annual team registration, a team and player Registration Form listing the full names of all players in their squad.
•    This form should also be signed by as many of those players as possible.
•    Captains may add additional players to their squad during the season provided that they, or their principal e-mail contact, submit the full names of additional players to the League Secretary within SEVEN days of each player’s first appearance for the team.
•    No additional players may be added to any team’s squad after the deadline for new player registrations issued by the Secretary other than in exceptional circumstances and, even then, only with the full approval of Officers and Captains.
•    Dispensation requests must be submitted to the League Secretary as early as possible before any match in which such dispensation may be required. Failure by any Captain to abide by this Rule will result in forfeiture of the match (see Rules on points awarded where matches are forfeited).
•    All competitions forming part of the League Calendar shall be organised and played in accordance with the appropriate Rules (see relevant League Rules).
•    The Secretary and Assistant Secretary will decide on the format of the League (i.e. the number of teams per division) in consultation with the League Chairman once it is known how many teams have registered to take part in any given season.
•    Promotion and relegation issues will be decided by the Secretary and Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the League Chairman, when the number of participating teams is confirmed for the next season.
•    Should teams be tied on points and need to be separated to decide promotion or relegation issues, the following criteria will be used to decide which team finishes the highest:
1) If one team has more wins overall;
2) Whichever team has the advantage in total frame difference in all that season's League matches between the two;
3) Whichever team has achieved the better total frame difference in all that season's League matches against the best placed other team in the division, and so on down to the worst placed other team;
4) Play-Off between the two teams (standard KO Cup rules will apply).
•    Captains will be kept advised of events, etc., by the Secretary on a regular basis.
•    League Tables will be circulated or uploaded to the League website every week, where possible, by the Secretary or Assistant Secretary.
•    All table fees for League matches to be paid for by the Home team. The fees for Knock Out Cup matches and other competitions should be shared in all fixtures up to and including the semi-finals. The League will meet table costs for all Finals.
•    A player may not play for more than one team for the duration of the season in all of the competitions. If a player wishes to change teams he/she should submit a transfer request to the Secretary who will invite him or her to explain the reason to the Officers and Captains – the only exception to this Rule will be if a team folds mid-season in which case their players may choose another team to join with advice from the League Secretary or Chairman.
•    The Officers and Captains (excluding those from the teams involved) will then consider the request and make a decision on it and inform the player accordingly. This decision will be binding on all parties.
•    If the decision is to not grant the transfer, the player concerned may only play for his/her registered team for the remainder of the season.
•    Where a Pub or Club has more than one team a player may only play for one of the teams. If a player is proven to have played for more than one team, the current team he/she is playing for will forfeit the frame concerned. Frames forfeited by one team will be awarded to the other. Repeated offences may result in teams forfeiting matches – this will be at the discretion of Officers and Captains.
•    In the event of other pool tournaments, etc., clashing with League fixtures, whether on the regular Monday night or other nights as programmed, the South East London Pool League fixtures take priority.

5.    CODE OF CONDUCT
•    In the event of a team being expelled from the League or voluntarily withdrawing from the League all match results involving such a team will be classified as VOID. The Secretary (or in his absence the Assistant Secretary), in such instances, will amend the League Tables, etc., as necessary.
•    Any player barred from 2 pubs or more should not be allowed to play in the league.
•    While team members and supporters may give encouragement to the players, they will not be permitted to give technical advice (e.g. which ball to play first or the best way out of a snooker, etc.). In such cases the Referee can award the frame to the opposing team.
•    Players should refrain from using insulting remarks (including sexually) or bad language during matches. Any complaints should be sent to the Secretary.
•    It will be the responsibility of the Captain to ensure that their team and supporters behave in a proper manner during the evening that matches are being played. All players should conduct themselves properly. The Officers and Captains (excluding those from the teams involved) will take appropriate action when necessary.
•    No betting or illegal drug use is allowed. Any complaints made to the Officers and Captains will be reviewed and appropriate action taken.
•    No abuse of the Organiser or Referee at tournaments must occur. Should any abuse occur the Officers and Captains will decide what action is taken.
•    The Referee’s decision is final.
•    In cases of a disagreement over a Referee’s decision or the conduct of a match, an Appeals Panel will be convened by the Secretary. The Members of the Panel will not be connected with either team involved in the disagreement.

Last updated by the AGM on 29.1.2024, this Constitution was adopted by the Annual General Meeting held on 7/1/2019 and is subject to review on an annual basis at the AGM.