The Annual General Meeting (AGM) took place at Egham & Hythe on 4th December, attended by all teams except Three Tuns B and Virginia Water (apologies noted).

All proposed rules and changes were discussed and voted on by team captains to ensure fairness and transparency.

----------------------------------------------------------

As all players are aware a vote was held to decide whether the league should move forward with two divisions or three divisions. The result was extremely close, with nine captains voting for two divisions and nine captains voting for three divisions, and only two votes difference in favour of three divisions across all players.

To resolve this, a new proposal was suggested and agreed upon by captains:

We will have a two-season year with Season 1 starting on January 8th:

• Season 1 will feature three divisions.
• Season 2 will feature two divisions.

All details of this structure and associated competitions are outlined below.

----------------------------------------------------------

💰 Fees:

• League Fees:
  • Season 1:
    • £65 which covers League Season 1, Cup Competition and Stats Top 32 Comp
    • Must be paid within 1 month of the season starting
  • Season 2:
    • £50 which covers the League Season 2
    • Must be paid by within 1 month of the season starting
• Singles & Doubles: Charged separately (£5 per entry/team).

----------------------------------------------------------

1️⃣ Season 1 Overview

League Structure:

• Three leagues of six teams based on last season’s finished positions.
• Each team plays every other team twice – one home and one away fixture – not four like last season.
• Points system remains unchanged, with league standings determining Cup group allocations.

----------------------

🏆 Cup Format:

• Three groups of six teams, drawn based on league positions.
• Each team plays others twice (home & away).
• All Cup matches will use a 45-second shot clock with one 15-second extension per frame. If Captains agree then this does not need to be forced but if one team wishes to keep the shot clock, a shot clock must be used.
• Shot Clocks can be found on the rack em app
• Qualification Path:
• Top 8 teams → Main Knockout (Martin James Cup).
• Teams ranked 9–16 → League Cup.
• Teams ranked 17 & 18 → Wooden Spoon Playoff.
• Quarter-finals: Higher-seeded teams enjoy home advantage.
• Drop-down Rule: Teams losing in MJC or League Cup Quarter-Finals enter Plate Quarter-Finals.
• Semi-finals: Played at neutral venues to maintain fairness.

----------------------

🔝 Top 32 Stats Competition:

A new competition will be introduced which will be a Top 32 Stats Competition.

• Scheduled for a Saturday (date TBC).
• Features the Top 32 ranked players across all divisions.
• If a player cannot attend, the next ranked player will be invited to ensure all 32 spots are filled.
• Competition format will be announced closer to the event.

----------------------------------------------------------

2️⃣ Season 2 Overview

League Structure:

• Two divisions of nine teams.
• Each team plays others twice (home & away).
• Divisions determined by Season 1 performance (top 9 and bottom 9 teams).

----------------------

🎱 Singles Competition:

• Entry fee: £5 per player.
• Capped at 48 entries (waiting list for drop-outs to avoid having byes).
• Random draw.
• First-round losers enter the Plate competition.
• Match formats:
• Round 1: Best of 3.
• Quarter-finals: Best of 5.
• Semi-finals: Best of 7.
• Final: Best of 9.

----------------------

🎱🎱Doubles Competition:

• Open Doubles: Players are not required to partner with someone from the same club. Mixing is allowed to maximise participation. Ideally, pair with a teammate, but flexibility is encouraged to drive up participation.
• Entry fee: £5 per team.
• Capped at 48 teams (waiting list for drop-outs to avoid having byes)
• Random draw.
• Match formats same as Singles.

Eligibility for Singles & Doubles:

• Players must have participated in at least six league matches to enter Singles or Doubles.

----------------------------------------------------------

‼️ Important Rules:

• Postponements: Maximum of two matches in the league and two in the cup per team.
• Player Transfers:
• A player may transfer to another team only once per season.
• Each team can accept only one incoming transfer.
• Transfers must occur within the first four league games of the season and not after.
• Registered Players:
• Maximum nine registered players per team.
• Teams cannot remove players and exceed the nine-player limit.
• Match Start & Practice:
• Players must arrive by 8:15pm.
• Away team receives 15 minutes of practice from 8:15pm.
• Late arrival forfeits practice time – responsibility lies with the away team.
• Table Conditions:
• Tables must be in good playing condition.
• Away team captains may request the table be levelled after practice if it is not playing true.
• Both captains must agree to adjustments to maintain a high standard of play.
• Doubles Matches:
• No player should talk once the hand has been placed on the bed of the table to play their first shot.
• Only the player striking the cue ball is allowed to touch the white ball in the event of a foul other than the referee. The partner should not be touching the white ball, if this happens it becomes a standard foul.
• Stopping the White in all matches:
• In the event a player stops the white with their hand or cue going into a pocket as a foul, this will be classed as loss of frame. The ball must travel down the pocket and be taking from the bottom of the table by the player or referee.