APA question about foul

[KMRUNOUT]

Are the APA players happy that the league thinks of them not being able to handle the real rules so they get to play by special olympic rules?

Woops...I knew I should have read all the way through first before posting. Lol.

 

[Skippy27]

What if a player whiffed on a kick and "instictively" grabbed the cueball when it was heading towards a cluster of ball that the opponent wanted broken up?

"Well my buddy he threw up on the table, and then his horse kicked over the 8 ball to the side but it did not fall in and he then hit me in the eye so I would not see while he made my ball in with the side of his cue and then made the 8, is that a foul?"

The APA rules specialist would say "well, that depends, was it a Tuesday?".

If they touched the cue ball you have ball in hand and can work the cluster yourself. Beyond that you are simply SOL. Besides how would this be any different in any league? Even if this happened at the professional level on TV the player isn't going to get an extra ball in hand or the ref isnt going to go break up the balls for them.

The only way you can do that is to do what the BCA / WPA do and say if you touch a ball in any way for any reason at anytime, it is a BIH foul to your opponent. However, in many cases being APA is what it is you are putting new/low skilled players into a high level situation by holding them to that standard. You could still do that and just say it applies to higher skill players just like 1 less coach does.

APA rules say that accidentally putting any ball, including the 8 ball, into a pocket by hitting it with your stick, hand or body it gets spotted. If it is before the shot it is done before the shot is taken, if it is after it is done after all balls stop moving. Same applies if they get knocked off the table, except the 8 ball which results in an automatic loss.

You clearly do not know APA yet have a very strong bias against it. Clearly it is not for you.

 

[Celophanewrap]

I actually do say that about some songs LOL

Only thing I played was tennis in a school team, and far as I know, we did not allow the ball to be called in when it was out because we were in high school.

If the APA were a bunch of kids playing pop warner football and a 100 yard field was too long or some rules were just too tough for them to execute because they are kids, sure, change the rules to help them.

But it's not kids. In fact when I found out that in the first Jr Nationals my son played in as an 12 yr old that the refs would be treating them all up to the level of the pro standards, I was very impressed with that which led me to really appreciate how the BEF and some other pool organizations deal with bringing players into the sport. Through helping them play by the same rules that the WPA uses.

It's not that hard to learn. Don't touch the balls during a game. Learn what an "obvious shot" is, figure out that a "legal shot" is not the same thing as a "called shot" as in the VENA thread about calling safe and having it be counted as a called shot to select a group.

If we can teach the 7 year olds in our league what a push shot is, why can't a league that plays in bars and is filled with those 21 and up?

I think, and it's been my experience that very few people in The APA aspire to be ever be a pro player. I think for the most part we'd all like to be better and grow, but those of us that have been at it for a while really don't have any illusions about the pool that we play. The APA rules are for the benefit of the players of all levels so that everyone has a chance to win. The WPA rules help maintain the integrity of the sport, The APA rules maintain the integrity of the activity. But still, to be fair there are people that take their game (or lack of it) way to seriously and really shouldn't be playing in The APA. The majority of those folks that are way to serious would fail miserably without the cloak of The APA rules to aid in their quest to control their billiard corner of the universe.
Those APA players that do grow to be A, AA, AAA or beyond usually graduate from the APA and it's rules and move on the WPA and their rules and really don't look back, but most of us are happy in our little niche, and while we could likely never compete with the "big boys" we enjoy being a big fish in our little pond known as The APA. It's a night out and it can be fun.
One other thing, to be certain the BEF has done wonderful things for pool, but no one organization has brought more people into this sport than The APA, and even though they may have said so, do you really think they treated a bunch of 12 year olds the same way they'd treat the pros? They may have said so, and the rules may have been about the same but I find it highly doubtful that they would hold 12 year olds to the same standard of professionalism and it would be unreasonable to think so, like you said, they're a bunch of kids.