8-Ball Pool Championships

DATES

Saturday 24 February 2024 to Tuesday 27 February 2024

VENUE

The competition event will be held jointly over three venues: Plaza Snooker & Pool Club, Longton Snooker & Pool Club, and Players Pool & Snooker Lounge. All venues are within 6 miles of each other.

ADDRESS

Plaza Snooker & Pool Club: 147 King Street, Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 3NA (Google Maps link)

Longton Snooker & Pool Club: 37 Normacot Road, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, ST3 1PL (Google Maps link)

Players Pool & Snooker Lounge: 10 Queens Crescent, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Newcastle, ST5 1RW (Google Maps link)

ENTRY OPENING DATE

Tuesday 9 January 2024

STAGE 1 ENTRY CLOSING DATE

“Stage 1” is for the submission of entries ONLY – no reserves should be entered in Stage 1

11:59pm on Tuesday 30 January 2024 – Student/Competitor Deadline (Students/Competitors must apply by this deadline)

11:59pm on Thursday 1 February 2024 – Institution Administrator Approval Deadline (Institutional Administrators are given 48 hours after the student/competitor deadline to approve entries – no reserves should be approved in Stage 1)

ENTRY COSTS

£37.50 per competitor: This provides entry into the Individual Competition, as well as the Team Competition if they enter as part of an institution team.

There will be no accommodation or travel included in this entry fee. It is strongly advised that competitors ensure any accommodation or travel they book has a free-cancellation option to cover the eventuality that their entries are either not accepted due to the ‘team cap limit’, or an emergency means the event cannot complete on these dates.

SINGLE ENTRY

This competition will NOT operate a staged entry process. As such, please ensure all entries are submitted through BUCS Play prior to the closing date listed above.

“Stage 2” will be opened on Friday 2 February 2024 for the addition of reserves ONLY and will remain open until 11:59pm on Tuesday 27 February 2024.  Note that this deadline is different to the usual Thursday closing of BUCS Play events to enable institutions to add reserve players (and then use them to replace withdrawn entries) for the duration of the team element of the Championships.

ENTRY ALLOWANCE

The event will be split two separate championships based on gender, with both championships consisting of an individual event and a team event if entering as part of a team.

Men’s teams are to be made up of either five or six competitors, with five to play in any given match. Women’s teams are to be made up of either three or four competitors, with three to play in any given match.

An institution unable to raise the minimum number of competitors needed for a men’s team may enter a maximum of two competitors into the Men’s Individual Championship. An institution unable to raise the minimum number of competitors needed for a women’s team may enter a single competitor into the event to play in the Women’s Individual Championship.

There will be no total team cap for the Women’s event, but there is a total team cap for the Men’s event of 72 teams. This is to ensure we can schedule the tournament successfully over four days, while not comprising the player experience so they still play a sufficient number of frames.

To accommodate this team cap for the Men’s event, teams will be accepted and preference will be given to first teams, then second teams, etc then to teams highest in the competition rankings. For example, if 90 entries are received comprised of 60 first teams, 20 second teams, and 10 third teams, then all of the first teams, and the 12 highest-ranked second teams would be accepted (with the highest ranked second team not entered being first reserve, and so on down the ranking list). These rankings are based on the rankings of the previous three seasons from the higher teams from that institution.

All institutions need to send the Tournament Director, Daniel Turner, a Player Details Form, which can be found on the UPC website when uploaded. This form details the composition of each team, and provides the strength of all competitors which are required to rank players for their entry into the Individual Competition. There is a separate form for both the Men’s and Women’s competition.

If your institution enters multiple teams then, other than in exceptional circumstances, competitors ascribed to a particular team on the Player Details Form will unable to play for any lower-ranked team in the tournament. As such, please make your team selections carefully. In case of a change/substitution, competitors may be shuffled up from lower- to higher-ranked teams (e.g. seconds to firsts) or from the reserve list into the lowest-ranked team, but no player (including a reserve) can leapfrog a competitor named above them on the Player Details Form supplied to UPC by the institution’s main contact.

There is no maximum number of individuals who can play in the individual competition, but all competitors must either be part of an institution team, or be individual-only entrants as detailed above, to play at the event. For example, an institution with exactly nine male competitors may only enter a team of a maximum of six players; for this player to play at the event, the institution must enter more players so they can play on a second team. Similarly, an institution with exactly five female competitors may only enter a team of a maximum of four players; for the fifth player to play at the event, the institution must find at least another player so they can play on a second team.

ENTRY PROCESS – INDIVIDUAL EVENTS

To apply for the Individual Competition all eligible competitors must follow these steps:

1. Competitor to apply to the event on BUCS Play (Instructions on how to do this can be found here)
2. Institution administrator approves entry (Instructions on how to do this can be found here)
3. BUCS approves/denies entry into competition and publishes confirmed entry list

Any data will be handled in accordance with BUCS Privacy Policy

Each institution must also appoint one of its attendees to be the institution’s “main contact” for the event. The main contact will be required to email a Player Details form to the UPC Tournament Director, Daniel Turner. This form will include which of their institution’s competitors are ascribed to which of its teams, who the team captains are, whether any competitors require reasonable adjustment, and who will serve as the main point of contact between UPC and their institution’s delegation at the event in case of any matters that are not applicable to the team captain(s).

By participating in this event you agree to adhere to BUCS General Event Disclaimer.

To check whether you are eligible to compete in BUCS competitions, please visit REG 4 Individual Eligibility.

ENTRY PROCESS – TEAM EVENTS

All competitors who are playing as part of a team will enter using the previous process for individual events. If that player is part of an institution team as detailed on the institution Player Details Form, then that competitor will be automatically entered into the Team Competition as well.

RULES AND REGULATIONS

A complete set of rules and regulations for the event can be found on the UPC website. By entering the event, competitors have agreed to abide by these rules and regulations.

The entry fee provides competitors entry into both the Individual Competition, as well as the Team Competition if they enter as part of an institution team.

There are BUCS medals applicable to all events apart from the Men’s Team Vase. There are BUCS points (see Appendix 1 here) applicable to all events apart from the Individual Trophy and the Men’s Team Vase. There will also be prize money as detailed in the competition rules and regulations on the UPC website.

Team Competition: Team Championship & Trophy

• The competition begins with a round-robin group-stage where all teams play each other to determine the final placings. For the Women’s competition, this group-stage will consist of all teams who enter the championships. For the Men’s competition, this group-stage will consist of 48 teams based on the performance at the last season’s championships.
• Subject to having won at least one match, the top two first teams from each group will progress to the Team Championship knock-out stage. The two highest ranked teams, of any    denomination, not qualifying for the Team Championship will qualify for the Team Trophy knock-out stage. All knock-out stages will be single-elimination to determine the champions of both competitions.
• For the Men’s competition, each match will consist of a maximum of ten frames. Each player will play one frame against a maximum of two different opponents as indicated on the team matchsheet. Once a team reaches six frames, they are declared the winners and the match is over, any frames in progress are stopped immediately. Two points will be awarded for a win whilst one point will be awarded to each team in the event of a drawn match in the group-stage. Should a match in the second phase end in a draw after the completion of ten frames, the winner shall be determined by shoot-out. This will begin by the two respective captains nominating three players who will play a single opponent over one frame. Once a team wins two of these frames, they are deemed to be the winners.
• For the Women’s competition, each match will consist of a maximum of six frames. Each player will play one frame against a maximum of two different opponents as indicated on the team matchsheet. Once a team reaches four frames, they are declared the winners and the match is over, any frames in progress are stopped immediately. Two points will be awarded for a win whilst one point will be awarded to each team in the event of a drawn match in the group-stage. Should a match in the second phase end in a draw after the completion of six frames, the winner shall be determined by shoot-out. This will begin by the two respective captains nominating one player who will play each other over one frame. The team who wins this frame are deemed to be the winners of the match.

Team Competition: Men’s Team Shield & Vase

• For the Men’s team competition, there is a lower Shield/Vase tier for teams who are either not playing at Championship/Trophy level based on their performance last season, or did not participate in last season’s championships.
• The format for each match is the same as the above for the Men’s Team Championship/Trophy. The top two teams from each group will progress to the Team Shield knock-out stage. The third placed team from each group with progress to the Team Vase knock-out stage, noting the Team Vase is not an official BUCS event.

Individual Competition: Individual Championship & Trophy

• There are both Men’s and Women’s individual competitions for this event.
• Both the Individual Championship and Individual Trophy will be single-elimination throughout. The match distances for each competition will vary, with all matches being races to at least three frames, with distances increasing as the competition progresses. Lag for first break then alternate breaks through to the end of the match.
• All players in institution first teams, as well as unattached individuals, will play in the Individual Championship.
• All non-first team players will by default play in the Individual Trophy, unless the Player Details Form states they would like to play in the Individual Championship instead. Any previous winner of the Individual Trophy cannot play in that event again in subsequent seasons.
• The Individual Trophy is subject to the field being at least a fifth of the total number of individual entrants with a minimum number of 16 entrants in the Individual Trophy; if these criteria are not met there will be no Individual Trophy for that event and all entrants will play in the Individual Championship.

PARA SPORT

• This event does not have a para-sport category.
• Some of the playing arenas may use flights of stairs, so it may not be possible for some physically disabled to play in the event. If this pertains to any competitor, we recommend they get in touch with the venue to check disabled access.

• The UPC values players from all backgrounds and aims to create and maintain an inclusive playing environment where everyone is encouraged to reach his or her full potential. The UPC commits to the concept of reasonable adjustments. Where any player with a pre-existing condition feels that this may apply to them at a forthcoming UPC event, the UPC should be notified at the earliest opportunity before the event begins and if applicable appropriate medical evidence supplied in order for any adjustment to be made. Any situation arising during a UPC event should be brought to the attention of the Tournament Director immediately, again with any available medical evidence if applicable. Players are wholly responsible for informing the UPC where a reasonable adjustment is required. Adjustments cannot be made in retrospect and the UPC cannot be expected to make an adjustment of which it has not been informed. Adjustments will be made until the end of the current playing season unless the player informs the UPC otherwise. A new application for reasonable adjustment must be made separately for each subsequent season and will be considered on its merits. The UPC will handle each case in the strictest confidence.