Players Meeting Notes Spring 2012

Players’ Meeting Notes Spring 2012 (1-07-12)

 Good Morning and welcome back – hope everyone enjoyed the holiday break!  Moment of silence Phil Thompson and Bill Garter  What is a Players’ Meeting? An avenue for ALL APA players to be educated and have questions answered – it’s for every APA member!  Who is using the member login on our site (or the national site) to view their stats? Like it?  Can check standings, schedules, view scoresheets, etc. from there. Note that the scoresheets we print and send to you are however the official scoresheets relative to SL, etc. May say can’t view stats ‘til pay 2012 dues. Utilize site to pay dues also.  Start taking advantage of the free practice from 6-7 because days of having a free practice table all night may be gone on some nights @ some places – dues to location don’t change – dues are based on one table – having free practice all night was a bonus in our area. Locations will be deciding how many practice tables people get. Pay better attention to guidelines for shooting – throwing, time-outs, potty and smoke breaks, etc. to shorten length of league night.  Drop off time for returned packets is 7:00, not 8:00 – this info is always printed on your envelopes including that you need to check site for wildcards, etc.  Late packets are assessed penalties and these apply to final week as well. Many teams turned in final week packets late which was their 2nd or 3rd late and it cost some teams spots in playoffs.  Bye in final week and it’s not paid for – team doesn’t get points. This is only week you don’t have to pay for bye – but if you don’t you don’t get points (this also in bylaws). Not paying for bye in final week also kept some teams from getting into playoffs.  How to go about appealing handicap – are some folks here whose NLA would be lowered if appealed. Maybe others aren’t underrated, maybe you are overrated.  All captains/co-captains should complete app week 1 so we have correct info on file, plus app for all new folks & anyone who’s info has changed  Important Dates: - Session starts tomorrow, & days of the week to follow - Tomorrow is also the Ladies and Masters playoff (round one at noon and finals immediately following) (Masters here and Ladies at Diamonds) - 1-14-12, next Saturday, is playoff finals for everyone (see playoff information on site for when and where) - Ladies and Masters schedules are not done yet, but the start date is 1-21 - Tricup – February 24 – 26 at Sandston Moose Lodge

 There IS NOT a 2nd Jack & Jill qualifying tournament for Vegas, or a 2nd 9-ball doubles – new LO’s need a slot.  We will have two 8-ball Doubles qualifiers this year & are sending two Masters teams  Go over smoking situation at bars that have no smoking – don’t smoke during league matches  Playoff dues  Comparing sheets – keep own score – record transfer scores properly  Pulling object balls out of rack to see if space – nothing says you can’t, so you can – many questions like these can be found answered on the National site at www.poolplayers.com.  Don’t put money for Tuesday in a Thursday packet – put appropriate money in that weeks’ packet  Membership renewals: Dues are $25. Pro-rated renewals for those who joined the league after 8-15 of last year is $15. Please pay what’s listed on your sheet, it is correct! And, please be sure to designate whose dues you are paying – don’t just send $100 and ask us to figure it out! Team credits will be given until you designate whom you want to be marked as paid. And, don’t pay partial dues – again, overages will be marked as team credits – we don’t do individual accounting. Dues must be paid on the team that reaches week 4 first. ). Ex. if you play on Tues and Thur, and Tues is week 4, your dues must be paid then. And, byes do count as a week – so, if you have a bye in week 4, you need to pay them before or on the bye week to avoid penalties. Even if you pay on line, we must have notification of such when we are processing your week 4 packets.  Do not write handicap, dues discrepancies, and questions of any nature on your scoresheet – we don’t see it & therefore can’t address it. Please address under separate cover, or contact our office. Ex. if you think Joe’s dues are paid and we haven’t marked him as such, and it’s week 4……………….don’t write on the scoresheet, “Joe’s dues were paid in week 2.” You are in jeopardy of losing points if haven’t cleared this up with us properly.  Website should have been checked under congratulation section for teams that qualified to Vegas Cup from Summer – just like it will need to be after Fall Tricup (especially for TP winners that didn’t finish high enough in Tricup). It is your responsibility as a team, or player on a team, to know if you are in this tournament and if you and your team meets the eligibility criteria to stay qualified.  Remind Reps to print off and carry with you on league night your rulebook/bylaws and schedule for your division and capt/co-capt phone list  Playoff dues: has been changed for years now and has been in local bylaws – round one pay full dues but playoff finals are free!  Plyr mtg notes are printed on our site, as a guide, for your review but are not reflective of everything that may have been discussed and/or clarified at the meeting.  Captains are responsible for sharing league info with players – and knowing rules. All new captains have been given rulebook and bylaws – anyone else can request one for $5.00. Still though – ALL players are responsible for themselves, for knowing rules, etc, and if you didn’t receive a rulebook/by- laws, it’s your responsibility to let us know  All memberships should be paid the 1st night a player plays, but MUST be paid by week 4 or lose points – refer to by-laws! Captain responsible for any dues not paid by members of his/her team who played and didn’t return, and must pay before he/she plays.  If your team is already qualified for the Vegas Cup from Summer: to remain eligible you must have carried on in the Fall and Spring with at least 4 original members from the team that qualified! If you did not, you are not eligible, and no other team can take your place.  Additionally, if your team is qualified for the Vegas Cup from the Summer Session, you CAN NOT add any players to your team in the Spring Session, unless they have @ least 20 scores in that format, and you must contact our office to verify and approve the addition(s)!  Vegas Cup qualified team rosters are frozen in week 4 (no adds or drops). So, if you qualify for Vegas Cup from upcoming Tricup, your rosters are frozen already as it’s after week 4. Bottom line: protect yourselves and make any roster changes PRIOR to 4th week (that also includes byes).  Patches from final week of session & playoffs will be sent out this session usually within the first 3 weeks.  Existing teams that ended with a past due or credit will see that in week one (with exception of round one playoffs)! Teams that quit but owed us money will have that money divvied up and will appear next to players’ names. Don’t play anyone with individual money next to their name unless it’s paid that night and packet turned in on time.  This session: Spring: is the final one to qualify for 2012 Vegas! To be eligible for playoffs: again, must play 4 times w/ your team during the session. For Tricup and beyond: must have the 4 AND a total of 10 overall! Playoff scores can count towards the 10 needed, but next session’s scores CAN NOT in the Spring session! All players must have their 10 scores in, in a particular format, including 4 with the team, by the end of the Spring playoffs! Review by-laws for all criteria pertaining to eligibility – or ask any questions now!  No headsets during league play – this just eliminates any controversy and is the national rule.  Cell phones should be on vibrate during league matches and players should avoid talking on the phone or taking excessive breaks during their matches.  Little things: - don’t leave rulebooks in packets – they jam box - carry rulebook/by-laws with you on league nights - packets are delivered by 8:00 pm evening before your match – this info is printed on each Richmond area packet, to include our phone number and website address! - packets must be turned in by 7:00 pm the evening following your match to a secure APA lock box located @ ML, ML II, BR, SP, Diamond Billiards and the original Hard Times in F’Burg (heavy metal, blue box with APA logo) – if you play in-house where a drop-box is available, then you must drop your packet that night to not be late - Out of the Richmond area: if no drop box, must be postmarked the day following your match - penalties are clearly outlined in by-laws & are non-negotiable for points lost! - Scoresheets are to filled out completely (to include total innings, total defensive shots, player names and numbers, games/points needed to win, etc.), even if your opponent kept score in a particular match, and the scorekeepers initials. Scorekeepers should know how to keep score and what defensive shots are – watch video on our site! - Teams are required to mark 9B, 9B/R, 8B and 8B/R in the appropriate boxes on the sheet. If not, and earned, the fee is $3.00 to receive the award. We handle the N/R awards, though do appreciate those who mark it! Questioning of awards earned, but not received the following week, MUST be questioned that week, via phone call to our office, same goes for monies owed that are questioned and Matches Played (MP on the sheet) for players. - *’s next to your team name indicate # of times your team has been late turning in DUES AND/OR scoresheets that session - $$$ and money next to a players name means that player owes money for either being on a team that ended owing money that is no longer playing or for bad checks, etc. That money must be paid and rec’d on time the same night that player plays or points will be lost (please refer to by-laws).

 Tricup wildcards will be drawn after all playoff sheets have been received (including out of town sheets) and will be posted only on our website. All teams should check our site to see if they got it. We will put a respond by date on the site for the wildcards to ensure they are accepting. If no response, a runner-up may be selected to take your spot. This is in an effort to eliminate the wildcard no shows!  Remind again of new Tricup format/Wildcard tournament 0 – 6 teams sends playoff only to Tricup (playoffs are 1st vs. eligible wc and 2nd vs. 3rd) 7 – 11 teams sends TP and PL 12 – 16 teams sends TP, PL and guarantees a WC from your div – remaining w/c’s (if any) are drawn randomly from all eligible teams – regardless of number of teams in your division.  Not a foul if external forces cause cue ball movement (i.e. light falls on it, player runs into you and you hit cue, etc.)  Sandbagging is a hard word to be used and a hard one to prove – what to look for & how to handle your opinion of someone who is cheating – to include marking of defensive shots for what you believe are INTENTIONALLY missed shots!  If you have a problem with someone’s handicap, you are to BRING IT TO OUR ATTENTION, NOT THE PLAYER!  We are looking for volunteer ref’s for tournaments (Tricups &Vegas Cups/Singles Regionals, etc.) Please call us or send us an email if interested – no glory – lots of hard work, long hours wearing the orange vest.  Not all holidays are given off during league schedules – check schedules early to see if scheduled to play on a holiday you want to reschedule & get with us to see how to do so! Rescheduled matches CAN be played before the scheduled date – doesn’t have to be after!  Reschedules for the final week of the session MUST be made up prior to the final week!  All reschedules must be full team reschedules, not partial matches, unless cleared with our office in advance.  US Am to be held at Diamond Billiards this year. Apps must be sent to National office by 6-15-12 – not to us. Need an app, contact us.  Questions?