This league shall be called the Frank Smith Pool League, affectionately it will be known as Smithy’s pool league and confined to clubs elected by the management committee. Officers of the league shall comprise of: Chairman, Vice Chairman, General Secretary, and Treasurer.  These posts may only be filled by members who have served on the committee for a minimum of twelve (12) months.

The league management committee shall comprise of the above and a number of other members. These other members shall be from different clubs (where possible) and elected at an AGM.

Divisional Secretaries will be selected from the Management committee members, and (where possible) will not represent the divisions they compete in. The Divisional Secretary will be responsible for any problems in their division but may refer problems to the Management committee.

Entrance fees for the teams competing shall cover cost of trophies, management fees and expenses, and shall be £50 for summer league and £60 for winter league, as agreed at the 2025 AGM.

No refunds will be given if a team fails to start the season its paid for and has not informed the league two weeks before the start.

Each player shall pay £2 registration fee. A fee of £2 per person in singles & £2 per person in pairs competitions.

Any forms incorrectly completed will be rejected by the Committee.

All forms must be for the current season, have names and signatures of each player and be signed by the Captain and either the Treasurer, Chairman or General Secretary when handed in (if emailed a receipt will be sent).

In all matters put to a vote at an AGM, EGM or SGM, each club shall have only one vote. The Chairman, irrespective of club, shall have any necessary casting vote.

AGM, EGM and SGM meetings are mandatory, failure to attend means the team lose voting rights on any changes to the league and constitution.

A special General Meeting can be called by the committee or at the wish of 12 member clubs who must notify the General Secretary the nature of the business they wish to discuss.

Forms for these meetings may be obtained from General Secretary on request.

All competing clubs shall be advised of any such meeting in writing (email or text/whatsapp).

Any proposed changes to the constitution can only be heard at a special or Annual General Meeting and members clubs must be given 14 days notice of any such meeting. Any changes to this constitution will only be made on a vote carrying a two-thirds majority.

Home teams shall be responsible for the table costs. all games must be refereed by both teams on an alternative game basis, with the first game being refereed by the home team, the second by the away team and so on. Only registered players may referee games.

All league matches shall be played on Tuesday’s and commence at 8.00pm. No matches to be rearranged unless agreed by the Committee, the final decision is made by the Chairman.

Matches should begin as soon as there are players available, you do not need to wait for all players or captain to be in attendance.

If a team is not at the venue and ready to play or has not contacted to explain they will be late by 8.15pm it will be deemed as a non-attendance and rule 9 will apply.

In regard to overtime play the landlords decision is final. If either captain decides they do not wish to continue after 11.20pm this decision will be accepted. Any match not completed rule 6c will apply.

If play has not finished by the time called by the landlord, and a team has been found guilty of starting the match late then any outstanding games may be claimed by their opponents.

Any match started on time and not completed on the night (for any reason) must be concluded within 7 days. If players cannot agree within the original 7 days the committee will give a date and may select a neutral venue (if circumstances prevail). If either team fails to turn up points are awarded to attendees, only players present on original match night will be eligible to complete the match.

Teams shall inform their Divisional Secretaries of unfinished matches within 24hrs.

Only the players on the original match sheet can play the incomplete match, if they are not available the frame will be forfeit, no substitutions will be allowed.

A time limit rule has been introduced as per International Rules for taking shots in Singles and Pairs league matches and competitions alike.

This rule can be ignored if both captains agree or applied if one captain insists, the clock can be applied at any time during the match.

If the shot clock is being used you must use the official EPA clock and the timer must be shown to the player.

Match format to be decided at AGM.

At the AGM on 02/04/2025, 12 Singles and 3 Pairs was voted to remain.

This will be played as follows: Pairs, 6 Singles, Pairs, 6 Singles, Pairs.

A player may only play once in the Pairs in any match and only once in each set of singles matches.

Anonymous player selection is in place, at the start of each match two sheets are to be filled out (one per team) with the first pairs followed by 3 singles on each sheet then swop sheets, after the fourth frame three names on sheet, then in the second half; pairs followed by3 singles, then 3 singles and final pairs names.

Signatures should be attained before each game begins.

If a team is short of players the forfeited frame(s) can go anywhere, the opposing player will get 3 ranking points.

Names can be changed on the sheets if both captains agree.

The match result sheet must be signed by the players before the start of each game. Failure to provide a correct match result sheet or failure to notify the Divisional Secretary of a match result may result in points being docked.

Both teams must send the result to their Divisional Secretaries on the night and a copy of the match result sheet should be sent to the General Secretary and/or the Divisional Secretary. Failure to do this would result in no ranking points being awarded, and possible points reduction.

Failure to agree a match result (without a result sheet) will mean no points to be awarded to both teams.

Any team not attending or attending with insufficient players (a minimum of 4 players are required to complete a match) a score of 9-0 + bonus will be given to attendees, 3 ranking points will be given to each player (up to 9 players) in attendance, they must complete the match result sheet with their names and signatures and send to the General Secretary or Divisional Secretary on the night.

Any team found to have played a non-registered player in a match will lose all points gained from that match and the points will be awarded to their opponents.

For a player to be registered for a match his signature must be with the General Secretary or Divisional Secretary before the match starts.

All registered players will be available on the website for everyone to check, if a player is not listed then they may be deemed to have played a non-registered player and points could be lost for that match, this should be checked with the Divisional Secretary either during or after the match.

After the start of the season a player must not re-register for another team unless their original team leaves the league or a player has not played a league match for the original club.

Once a player has played for a team in the team knockout they shall be cup tied unless permission is granted by the committee for them to play for another club.

The committee reserve the right to refuse a player registration if it feels that unfair advantage would be gained by a team signing a player from a higher division. 

A transfer window will be made available between the 1st -31st December for a player who wishes to change teams, only one player per team may transfer in this window. Transfer forms can be obtained from the General Secretary and must be filled in signed and handed back before a player is eligible to play.

No registrations will be accepted with less than four weeks of the season remaining, the date will be set on the Diary, no exceptions will be made.

League competition rules will always apply in matches, all rules are available on the FSPL website.

All singles and pairs knockout matches shall be played on a Wednesday. Players must be at the venue and ready to play by 8.30pm at the latest. All games must be completed by the date set for each round, to enter competitions £2 singles and £4 pairs in all competitions.

Substitutes will be allowed before the first round of any pairs competition, once the competition begins, regardless if you have played or not, substitutions will not be allowed.

Results must be phoned to the Comps Secretary within 24 hours of date set for the competition or the match will be forfeit.

Any player playing in the Frank Smith Pool League Winter Singles Competition must have played a minimum of 8 frames at the Quarter Final stage, if not they will be expelled from the competition.

As of the AGM in 2019, scotch pairs will be played in all pairs matches and competitions.

In pairs matches if a ball is potted on the break players will be allowed to confer (once) to decide which colour to take.

On finals night if you are late you will lose a frame for every 10mins after the stated 8 o’clock start time, at the discretion of the Committee.

The league presentation of trophies shall take place at the home of the Frank Smith Pool League; Plumstead Common Working Men’s Club, Kirkham Street, London, SE18 2JS

Trophies may only be collected on presentation nights and will only be awarded to teams and individuals attending the presentations.

In the winter season the first three teams will receive trophies. The three top and bottom teams will be promoted and relegated respectively (unless unforeseen circumstances). 

In the summer league the divisions may be formed (where possible) on an area basis, therefore promotion and relegation will not apply. Trophies will be awarded to winners and runners up in each division.

If a team withdraws from the league in order to avoid promotion/relegation and then attempts re-join the league the next season with virtually the same team they will be placed in the division (where possible) they should have gone in when they withdrew.

In the event of a club being obliged to withdraw from the league, providing the withdrawn team has completed the first half of the season and played each team once all results and rankings will stand. If not, the results will be voided and all ranking points revoked.

Players from a withdrawn team are free to join another team in an appropriate division and free to continue in competitions that they have already competed in.

Any team failing to fulfil a fixture throughout the season which may affect promotion relegation or divisional trophy places for no apparent reason will be expelled from the league.

Any team failing to fulfil more than two fixtures will be expelled from the league. All players involved in said team will not be allowed to register for any other team for the rest of that season.

Further registration requests by such teams/players can only be accepted by letter to the committee.

During the course of the season if a team fails to turn up for a match and by doing so it affects the trophy placing of the offended team at the end of the season the committee shall have the power set a date for the fixture to be played if the offending team fails to turn up on the fixed date set by the committee, Rule 9 will be applied.

No club shall change its normal venue for homes matches unless permission has been granted by the league committee.

No new team will be allowed to enter the league after the first match has been completed (unless special circumstances prevail). All new clubs will only be allowed in at the committee’s discretion.

Arguments at pool matches will not be tolerated by the committee and any such behaviour could result in players or teams being expelled from the league. Any complaints must be put in writing (email or text/whatsapp) to the Divisional Secretary within 24hrs of any such event.

Any member of a competing clubs found guilty of any disruptive behaviour towards the league will be expelled immediately and not allowed to enter in future seasons (unless agreed by the committee).

The landlord and team captains must be responsible for the players and spectators match nights

It is considered unsportsmanlike to take your cue apart or throw your cue around as per International Rules.

If a player involved in a frame answer’s their mobile phone whilst in control of the table this will be an automatic loss of frame.

Although table standards and sizes vary, the standard and the upkeep of tables must be maintained to avoid complaints.

Any complaints about the standards of tables or lighting must be made within 24hrs of the event in writing to the General Secretary. These complaints will be investigated and any team found to be playing on an unfit table (and ignore committee requests to improve it) may be asked to change their venue for home matches.

A cue rest must be provided for seven-foot tables and a short cue must be provided by clubs who have a cue length restriction adjacent to the table.

Minimum age for players is 12 and they must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. The committee requires written consent from a parent/guardian for any person aged between 12-17 wishing to play in the Frank Smith Pool League, we also require the name of parent/guardian who will be accompanying them. We strongly advise captains to check the venue for age restrictions.

The licensee/manager (providing they are registered) may play for any team which is based in their venue on any given night but they may not play for more than one team on any one night, or in an unfinished game if they were not listed on the original match night. They may only play for one team in the Team Knockout in any given season.

They may not participate in any playoff matches unless for the team they originally registered for.

If teams finish level on points there will be a play off at a neutral venue (where possible), using the TKO format.

If the same team wins the top division & TKO a playoff between runners up in league & TKO will take place, this determines who represents the FSPL at National Finals.

For a player to be eligible to play in the team ko they must be registered and played a minimum of 1 game prior to the quarter final stage.

A referee’s job is to watch the frame and see that it’s played fairly and in a sportsmanlike manner, they are not there to advise players of loose jewellery or clothing that may cause a foul.

If a complaint is made about such behaviour and is proved, the referee will be warned about their conduct. If a warning has already been issued, they could be expelled from league, this includes both playing and refereeing.

• Picking the white ball off the playing surface is as per International Rules.
• Picking the white out of the resting place (e.g. exit hole in table) can be done with no penalty.
• Picking the white ball out of the pocket after it has left the playing surface is deemed loss of frame.