BUCS-UPC Snooker Championships

DATES

Thursday 14 March 2024 to Sunday 17 March 2024

VENUE

Woking Snooker Centre, Kingfield Road, Woking, Surrey, GU22 9AA: Google Maps link

REGISTRATION

Times for registering for the individual competition on Thursday 14 March for each competitor will be published on the UPC website. Any competitor not registering by the time stated on the draw will be scratched from the individual competition. There will also be a period of ‘open registration’ on the evening of Wednesday 13 March for anyone to register. All competitors in the team competition must register before they play, although players only need to register once during the whole event.

TIMETABLE

A more detailed timetable will be published on the UPC website. If any players are uncertain to the schedule for the event, they should ask the UPC officials who will be able to advise. The timetable is subject to change during the event.

Thursday 14 March: Individual Championships up to the Last 64; Individual Trophy up to the zero-loss bracket round 2 (stages to be confirmed in the UPC published schedule).

Friday 15 March:  First match of the Team Championship/Trophy group-stage for each team; followed by all individual competitions down to the last four competitors in each competition.

Thursday 16 March: Completion of the Team Championship/Trophy group-stage, plus the Team Championship Last 16 round; Completion of all individual competitions, followed by individual presentations.

Friday 17 March: Knock-out stages of the Team Championship and Team Trophy, followed by team presentations.

RULES AND REGULATIONS

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

The competition dress code is detailed on the UPC website in the rules and regulations for the event. All players must conform to this dress code while playing.

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. Each player will play a single frame against an opponent as indicated on the team matchsheet.
• 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 next highest ranked team, 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.
• Each knock-out stage 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. 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 a single re-spotted black. Once a team wins two of these re-spotted blacks, they are deemed to be the winners.

Individual Competition: Individual Championship & Trophy

• The Individual Championship will be single-elimination throughout, while the Individual Trophy will be double-elimination, where players will be guaranteed at least two frames in both competitions.
• All matches in the Individual Championship will be a race to two frames, apart from the final which will be a race to three frames. All matches in the Individual Trophy will be a single frame, with all competitors playing at least two matches.
• 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.

WITHDRAWALS

All competitors that an Institution Administrator has approved on BUCS Play as at 11:59pm on Thursday 22 February 2024 will be charged the entry fee, but if a competitor later withdraws then a reserve may take their place at the event. Player changes will only be accepted if the proposed replacement has been added as a reserve on the BUCS Play entry system in ‘Stage 2’ entries. This ‘Stage 2’ BUCS Play entry system will go live as soon as ‘Stage 1’ entries have closed.

These reserves will only play at the event if they are replacing withdrawn players – the reserves process cannot be used to add additional new players, e.g. adding a sixth player to an original team of five players.

The institution main contact will also need to message the Tournament Director, Jon Shapland, either via e-mail or by messaging our Facebook page, detailing the replacement. The UPC will then confirm the replacement as well as the detail the amendments made to the individual competition draw following this change.

Any replacements after the entry deadline but before the publication of the draw, which is usually the Sunday before the event, attracts a £10 surcharge. Any replacements after the publication of the draws attracts a £20 surcharge. These surcharges must be paid before play starts at the event, either by cash at the event, or by bank transfer before the event. There is no cost for listing any reserves who are then not used to replace a withdrawal.

PARKING

There is a large car park directly outside the venue which is free to park in during the event.

CHANGING FACILITIES / DISABILITY ACCESS

There are no changing facilities on site apart from standard toilet facilities.

FOOD/ DRINK

Food and drink are sold by venue.

No food and drink bought outside the venue should be brought onto the premises. If any outside food or drink is found within the venue, these will be confiscated and a warning given to that institution. Repeated warnings may be cause for removal from the venue and the event.

BUCS POINTS

Please see Appendix 1 for the BUCS Points available at this event.

SUSTAINABILITY

The sustainability of our event matters to us and these are the positive steps we are taking to manage our environmental impact:

• All staff and volunteers are encouraged to travel to the event via public transport
• We have used local suppliers where possible
• Event programmes are all online, minimising paper use
• We will print on demand merchandise (if applicable)

The venue is a 20-minute walk away from Woking train station, and there are local bus links available.