What if the 9 ball was frozen to the long rail, separated by the middle pocket. Is the long rail considered to be one rail or two?
If the 9 was hit, moved past the middle pocket and settled in on the same rail, is that a fair hit or is the entire rail considered to be dead.
The reason I ask is I have had this question come into play as well. VNEA rules.
Thanks.
VNEA I cannot speak to.
Under both WSR and BCAPL rules - legal shot.
With the 2008 edition, WSR dropped the distinction between rails and cushions and the old pre-2008 "cushion attached to a separate rail" princilple. Under current WSR, the applicable rules are:
- WSR 8.1, which includes the cushion as a part of the rail. The long rail is just one big rail, and for the purposes on WSR 8.4 there is no distinction between the two cushions attached to it.
- WSR 8.4, which states that a ball is considered to be driven to a rail if it "leaves the rail and returns".
Therefore, in the process of crossing across the side pocket opening, the OB has left the long rail and then returned, and is considered driven to a rail.
BCAPL rules still retain the distinction between cushions and rails. And before June 1, 2009, BCAPL still retained the old "cushion attached to a separate rail" principle. However, as of June 1, 2009, BCAPL also eliminated that principle, and the shot in question is now legal. Under current BCAPL rules, the applicable rule is, as previously quoted, 1.19.
Specifically, because the BCAPL still retains the distinction between cushions and rails (6 cushions, 4 rails), in the process of travelling across the side pocket the OB has met the requirement of BCAPL 1.19.2(a).
The exact shot in question is decribed and discussed in BCAPL Applied Ruling 1.19, Situation 4.
On a side note, the difference between WSR and BCAPL in this situation is the requirement of BCAPL 1.19.2(b), which requires the OB to contact another ball
if the same cushion it was frozen to is going to be used to satisfy the requirement. WSR has no such provision. Therefore if the OB were to leave a cushion and then return to the
same cushion without contacting another ball because of an unlevel table or ungodly rail gully, that shot would still be legal under WSR (it has left the rail and returned), but a foul under BCAPL 1.19.2(b).
:smile:
Buddy Eick
BCAPL National Head Referee
BCAPL Director of Referee Training
Technical Editor, BCAPL Rule Book
bcapl_referee@cox.net
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