Official BCAPL response
The referee will immediately address and correct the condition if possible, subject to time restraints and equipment availability as determined by the Administrative Authority of the event.
The most basic concept used by the decision-makers (and one used consistently when presented with such a question, regardless of the specific rule) is that a player should not be penalized or put at a disadvantage unnecessarily when the condition that exists is not the fault of the player, caused by the player, or something that the player has no control over.
That is coupled with the fact that altering equipment without permission (BCAPL Rule 1.2.2) applies to the player - not the referee or event officials.
Also affecting the decision is the principle that it is not necessarily reasonable to expect that a player should be responsible for a complete, thorough, and in-depth knowledge of every detail of the provided equipment. It is quite reasonable to expect that certain flaws or defects in the equipment may escape notice until they are likely to affect a specific situation. If it is reasonable to expect that they would be corrected if found before a game commences, then they should be corrected during the course of a game.
Having said that, players are still bound by the procedural requirement to gain the permission of a referee or event official before making an alteration. If a player performs any act altering the provided equipment without such permission, it is a foul. The prohibition exists primarily to ensure that any modification to the equipment is performed in an impartial manner by a impartial party and does not create a situation that is not in keeping with the intended condition of the provided equipment.
Hair, bits of chalk or other foreign bodies may be removed, as well as loose lint, fibers or pills of the cloth that are no longer attached to the cloth. They are not part of the provided equipment.
BCAPL Applied Ruling 1.2 Situation 1 will be amended to reflect the information included here. On a side note, the title of BCAPL Rule 1.2 is also being amended to read "Acceptance of Provided Equipment".
Buddy Eick
BCAPL National Senior Referee
BCAPL Director of Referee Training
Technical Editor, BCAPL Rule Book
bcapl_referee@cox.net
* The contents of this post refer to BCA Pool League (BCAPL) Rules only. The BCAPL National Office has authorized me to act in an official capacity regarding questions about BCAPL Rules matters in public forums.
* Neither I nor any BCAPL referee make any policy decisions regarding BCAPL Rules. Any and all decisions, interpretations, or Applied Rulings are made by the BCAPL National Office and are solely their responsibility. BCAPL referees are enforcers of rules, not legislators. BCAPL Rules 9.4.3 and 9.4.4 apply.
* No reference to, inference concerning, or comment on any other set of rules (WPA, APA, VNEA, TAP, or any other set of rules, public or private) is intended or should be derived from this post unless specifically stated.
* There is no such thing as "BCA Rules" other than in the sense that the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) publishes various rules, including the World Pool-Billiard Association's "World Standardized Rules". The BCA does not edit nor is responsible for the content of the World Standardized Rules. The Official Rules of the BCAPL is a separate and independent set of rules and, to avoid confusion, should not be referred to as "BCA Rules".
* The BCAPL has no association with the Billiard Congress of America other than in their capacity as a member of the BCA.
* The BCAPL has not addressed every imaginable rules issue, nor will it ever likely be able to, as evidenced by the seemingly endless situations that people dream up or that (more frequently) actually happen. If I do not have the answer to a question I will tell you so, then I will get a ruling from the BCAPL National Office and get back to you as soon as I can. If deemed necessary, the BCAPL will then add the ruling to the "Applied Rulings" section of The Official Rules of the BCA Pool League.
The referee will immediately address and correct the condition if possible, subject to time restraints and equipment availability as determined by the Administrative Authority of the event.
The most basic concept used by the decision-makers (and one used consistently when presented with such a question, regardless of the specific rule) is that a player should not be penalized or put at a disadvantage unnecessarily when the condition that exists is not the fault of the player, caused by the player, or something that the player has no control over.
That is coupled with the fact that altering equipment without permission (BCAPL Rule 1.2.2) applies to the player - not the referee or event officials.
Also affecting the decision is the principle that it is not necessarily reasonable to expect that a player should be responsible for a complete, thorough, and in-depth knowledge of every detail of the provided equipment. It is quite reasonable to expect that certain flaws or defects in the equipment may escape notice until they are likely to affect a specific situation. If it is reasonable to expect that they would be corrected if found before a game commences, then they should be corrected during the course of a game.
Having said that, players are still bound by the procedural requirement to gain the permission of a referee or event official before making an alteration. If a player performs any act altering the provided equipment without such permission, it is a foul. The prohibition exists primarily to ensure that any modification to the equipment is performed in an impartial manner by a impartial party and does not create a situation that is not in keeping with the intended condition of the provided equipment.
Hair, bits of chalk or other foreign bodies may be removed, as well as loose lint, fibers or pills of the cloth that are no longer attached to the cloth. They are not part of the provided equipment.
BCAPL Applied Ruling 1.2 Situation 1 will be amended to reflect the information included here. On a side note, the title of BCAPL Rule 1.2 is also being amended to read "Acceptance of Provided Equipment".
Buddy Eick
BCAPL National Senior Referee
BCAPL Director of Referee Training
Technical Editor, BCAPL Rule Book
bcapl_referee@cox.net
* The contents of this post refer to BCA Pool League (BCAPL) Rules only. The BCAPL National Office has authorized me to act in an official capacity regarding questions about BCAPL Rules matters in public forums.
* Neither I nor any BCAPL referee make any policy decisions regarding BCAPL Rules. Any and all decisions, interpretations, or Applied Rulings are made by the BCAPL National Office and are solely their responsibility. BCAPL referees are enforcers of rules, not legislators. BCAPL Rules 9.4.3 and 9.4.4 apply.
* No reference to, inference concerning, or comment on any other set of rules (WPA, APA, VNEA, TAP, or any other set of rules, public or private) is intended or should be derived from this post unless specifically stated.
* There is no such thing as "BCA Rules" other than in the sense that the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) publishes various rules, including the World Pool-Billiard Association's "World Standardized Rules". The BCA does not edit nor is responsible for the content of the World Standardized Rules. The Official Rules of the BCAPL is a separate and independent set of rules and, to avoid confusion, should not be referred to as "BCA Rules".
* The BCAPL has no association with the Billiard Congress of America other than in their capacity as a member of the BCA.
* The BCAPL has not addressed every imaginable rules issue, nor will it ever likely be able to, as evidenced by the seemingly endless situations that people dream up or that (more frequently) actually happen. If I do not have the answer to a question I will tell you so, then I will get a ruling from the BCAPL National Office and get back to you as soon as I can. If deemed necessary, the BCAPL will then add the ruling to the "Applied Rulings" section of The Official Rules of the BCA Pool League.
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