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11/23/2010

Dear Bill:

First of all happy holidays.

We are getting ready to start the Fall 24 team session. We had our players meeting last Tuesday, we have issued the minutes and we are already hearing from our captain of the winning team from the summer session with regards to the "slow players" ruling, #5. By the way he wasn't able to be at captains meeting to vote on it because of work schedule. Here is the ruling in discussion, 

5) There is now a time limit on slow players.• If a player is playing slow the captain of the opposing team is to go to the captain of the slow player and notify them.

• The captain of the slow player is to tell his/her player to speed

up his/her play or a shot clock of 45-60 seconds will be placed

on him/her.

• The time limit should not exceed 60 sec totals and should be

agreed upon by the captains.

Could you give me your feeling on it, does BCA have any ruling on slow players? 

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Hi Cony 

Happy Holidays to you as well! 

I see no problems with your slow play rule. However, I would make it a 45 second shot clock as that is what is in our rule book.

Bill Stock 

Director of Referees                  

Rules Administrator

 

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11/21/2010

Time limit being set case by case basis  is BS. If you set a time limit, it must be enforced to all players not discriminated to a single player. I never complained about someone taking their time and I have waited for over 3 min on several occasion because we know the game is critical when you give weight. The format is very difficult because we worry about making the required points instead of just winning the game thus it takes longer for us to analyze how to run out without giving the opponent duck shots when all they need is a couple of balls. Again, if you set a time limit, it must be enforced to all players.  Please let me know the final decision before league starts.      

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Since you asked for opinions, I’ll chime in.

People are definitely looking at their watches and not looking forward to playing certain teams in the women’s league. This is a fun hobby but we still all have our day jobs and when we play certain teams we can consistently expect to leave the bar at least an hour later than when we play other teams. This game is meant to be played with a certain rhythm and speed about it, while we all come across certain shots that might take a few seconds longer to look over and shoot, this should not be the norm for every shot. The men’s league doesn’t have this rule because you don’t find this problem of someone standing and staring down every shot and sometimes ultimately talking themselves out of the shot anyway. I think we should take everyone’s time into consideration and keep the game moving at a decent pace. Think of what would happen if all four players from both teams did this, the match would end at 2 a.m. when the bar closed. Due to certain folks taking too long on time outs and deciding on shots I think we have to create some guidelines.

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I would like to register some opinions on the rules for the DVP league that differ from BCA rules. 

1.        Timing on shots – shortening the time to take shots favors the better players and discourages new players on the teams.  We have many good players, which is a good thing, but timing limitations make it hard for us coming up through the ranks.  BCA rules say that there is no time limit on a shot unless a player feels their opponent is being deliberately slow.   I ask my opponent if I need more than a minute to shoot if it is okay, and everyone has been consistently gracious.  I am firmly opposed to any limits on timing of shots and definitely any decreases in the timing from the current 1 minute .  (The men’s league does not have a time limit – why would the women have one?) 

2.       Timing on time-outs – a rule of 30 seconds on a time-out is impossible.  It takes 30 seconds to have your coach assess the table.  All the players, even the best teams, use time-outs.  I have seen  even excellent players take 2+  minutes to plan a shot. Pleasure in pool is the strategy.  Why shouldn’t we be patient while someone figures out the shot?  I have never felt that someone was being deliberately slow to be annoying. 

It is also important to consider the practicality of enforcing the rules.   Rules on timing will necessarily be enforced intermittently whenever your opponent chooses to do so.  I hate to think about playing someone who is looking at her watch while I am lining up a shot.


                                                             L.H
Thank you for posting my comments.  I also read and appreciate the person with the opposite sentiments about timing of shots.  I can understand that it is annoying for the better or faster players.

However, time limits were set before and apparently have not been applied consistently.  Players must be upset or timing would not be up for discussion again.   Lowering the time limits without a plan for implementation will likely not be effective.  Some Captains will try to adhere to the rules but others may not.

I have some suggestions for implementation.

Set  time limits, whatever the Captains agree on with the following options:

1) Have the Captains agree at the beginning of a match as to the acceptable length of shots and timeouts with the home team Captain having the final say, or

2) Make it the responsibility of a player who feels the game is going too slowly to ask her opponent to meet the time limit during any particular game, or

3) Have the players for each game agree ahead of time on whether a time limit needs to be  observed and if so, what that time limit should be, or

4) Have the player that breaks set the time limits

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