By-Laws

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SQEBF By-Laws

Revised 28th January 2024

General

  1. All members unconditionally agree to be bound by these By-Laws including the Social Media Policy and all referenced documents and policies.
  2. Members are advised to be familiar with these by-laws and all inclusions because ignorance does not excuse a member from disciplinary action.
  3. All SQEBF events will be played using the International Rules ruleset.

Dress Code

  1. SQEBF Dress Codes applies for all SQEBF events, unless otherwise specified in these rules:
    • Males: Black Slacks, Collared Shirt and Black Shoes.
    • Females: Black Slacks or Skirt, Collared Shirt or Blouse and Black Shoes.
    • No headwear allowed (baseball caps etc)
    • Definitions:
      • Slacks: Does not include jeans, leggings, tracksuits etc.
      • Skirts: No shorter than knee height
      • Shoes: Any shoes, so long as they are fully closed and 100% black.
      • The dress code may be relaxed if extreme temperatures prevail.
  1. City vs Country specific Dress Code.
    • Players must always wear full Association uniform when competing in CVC.
    • Slacks in SQEBF Dress Code may be replaced with black, neat and tidy casual items of clothing, including shorts no shorter than knee height.
    • Shoes can be any colour, but still need to be fully closed.

SQEBF General Eligibility

As a player, it is your responsibility to ensure that you read and understand all eligibility criteria before entering any SQEBF events or trials for City vs Country in your association.

  1. In the City vs Country section of this document, there are event specific criteria (including criteria relating to specific divisions), which is in addition to the SQEBF General Eligibility criteria below.
  2. For all SQEBF events (except Juniors events), eligible players are those who meet the following criteria:
    • EITHER
      • Players must be registered in the current season for a team in their association and have played a minimum of 3 matches AND
        • Existing players must have played 33% of all matches in their association fixture calendar in the 12-month period ending on the closing date of entries for the event OR
        • New players (who have never played in an SEQ association before) must have played 33% of all matches in their association fixture calendar since their first match and have played a minimum of 5 matches OR
        • Returning players (who have had at least 12 months off from playing in any SEQ associations) must have played 33% of all matches in their association fixture calendar since their first match upon returning and have played a minimum of 5 matches.
      • OR
        • Players must be registered in the current season for any singles race round robin league competition in their association AND
        • Played 100% of their fixtures in similar competition(s) in the previous calendar year, amounting to a total of at least 14 fixtures. For example, this can be:
          • One competition with 14 or more weeks (like Darling Downs)
          • Multiple competitions of 7 weeks (like Ipswich)
  1. A player who fails to fulfil all required matches at any SQEBF event will not be eligible to play in any SQEBF events for the following 12 months from the date of the failure to fulfil.

Rankers

Format

  1. Rankers have 6 Divisions:
    • Open ranker
      • Open to all eligible players including females.
    • Women’s ranker
      • Open to all eligible females except those playing in Open or Women’s Over 50s ranker.
    • Women’s Over 50s ranker
      • Open to all eligible females except those playing in Open or Women’s ranker.
    • Masters ranker
      • Open to all eligible players aged over 50 except those playing in Over 60s ranker.
    • Over 60s ranker
      • Open to all eligible players over 60 except those playing in Masters ranker.
    • Australia Cup ranker
      • Open to all eligible players who meet AEBF criteria on skill level, which may be amended from time to time.
  1. Each division will have a dedicated weekend for their ranker:
    • The Saturday will be round robin, with number of pools and frames depending on numbers.
    • The Saturday may be played at multiple venues, depending on numbers.
    • The top players from the Saturday will progress to the Sunday at the venue advertised on the calendar.
    • The ranker may be held on one day if lower numbers are registered.
  2. $150 entry fee into ranker.

Progression to QEBF Events

  1. Top ranked eligible players go straight to QEBF State Team playoff in that Division to fill the number of spots allocated by QEBF. (No longer playing a zone playoff)
  2. Top ranked eligible player gets a SQEBF spot in the QEBF Singles in that Division (if that division is offered in QEBF Singles).
  3. Qualifying players must accept or decline their spot in the QEBF event that they have qualified for within 48 hours of publication of qualifiers.
  4. Qualifying players accepting QEBF spots, who subsequently decline after the 48 hours, will not be eligible to participate in the following year’s rankers. (A player providing compelling supporting evidence that they were unable to take a spot will be excused, so long as the evidence shows that this could not have been foreseen prior to participation in the rankers)
  5. Qualifying players declining QEBF spots at short notice, will not be eligible to participate in any SQEBF event the following year. (Short notice is less than 1 week for QEBF events in SEQ, and 3 weeks for those in CQ and NQ)
  6. A player who plays in the QEBF State Team Trial without qualifying through SQEBF rankers must pay the entry fee for the SQEBF ranker in that division.
  7. Top ranked players from the Australia Cup ranker go directly into Australia Cup team(s) representing Queensland.

General

  1. If a player is unable to attend the required ranking tournaments they can apply for a Wild Card if they meet the criteria:
    • The applicant must have qualified and played for a Queensland State Team in the last 2 years
    • The applicant must have had exceptional circumstances which prevented them from attending the required Rankers.
    • All applications must be in writing with supportive evidence from the players association.
    • Approval is at the discretion of the SQEBF committee.
    • The number of wildcards may be limited in each division.
  2. Any player participating in Open rankers will be automatically considered to be A Grade for all SQEBF events, with immediate effect, and until 31st December the following year.

SQEBF Singles

  1. SQEBF Singles have 3 Divisions:
    • Open singles
      • Open to all eligible players including females
    • Women’s singles
      • Open to all eligible females
    • Masters singles
      • Open to all players aged over 50
  1. Each SQEBF Singles event will have a dedicated weekend:
    • Initial round(s) will be played on the Saturday
    • The top players from Saturday will progress to the Sunday.
  2. Winner of SQEBF Singles gets a spot in the QEBF Team playoff.
  • Winner must accept or decline the spot within 5 days, or spot will automatically be declined
  • Declined spot will be offered to the runner up, who will then get 5 days to accept or decline the spot.
  • If the Runner Up declines, then the spot is filled by the next eligible ranked player from the rankers.
  1. The players from SQEBF Singles progress to QEBF Singles.
  • Top 3 players for Women and Masters (Based on current QEBF Zone allocation of 4 players, with the other spot going to the player topping the rankers)
  • Top 5 players for Open (Based on current QEBF zone allocation of 6 players, with other spot going to the player topping the rankers)
  • Players must accept or decline the spot within 2 days, or spot will automatically be declined
  • Declined spot(s) will be offered to the next player(s), who will then get 2 days to accept or decline the spot.
  • Playoff will be done on the day to work out next in line:
    • Masters & Women
      • Joint 5th & 6th will playoff
      • Joint 7th and 8th will playoff
    • Open
      • Joint 7th and 8th will playoff
    • Players may be required to convene for a playoff to determine who is next in line if top 8 spots have been exhausted.
  1. Any players accepting spots from SQEBF Singles must play in the relevant QEBF event (A player providing compelling supporting evidence that they unable to take a spot will be excused, so long as the evidence shows that this could not have been foreseen prior to participation in the singles)
  2. A player declining a QEBF spot that they have previously accepted will not be eligible to participate in the following year’s SQEBF singles.
  3. A player declining a QEBF spot that they have previously accepted at short notice, will not be eligible to participate in any SQEBF event the following year. (Short notice is less than 1 week for QEBF events in SEQ, and 3 weeks for those in CQ and NQ)
  4. A player who plays in the QEBF Singles without qualifying through SQEBF singles must pay the entry fee for the SQEBF singles in that division. The defending Queensland Singles Champion is excepted from this requirement.

City vs Country

City vs Country Teams Event

  1. Association team nominations close:
    • 7 weeks prior to CVC for B &C Grade teams
    • 4 weeks prior to CVC for A Grade and Women’s teams
  1. Registration is $300 per team in each division payable prior to the commencement of the tournament.
  2. All player’s names and grades to be distributed to all the associations at least 6 weeks prior to the tournament for scrutiny.
  3. SQEBF will automatically exclude those who are ineligible or deemed a higher grade.
    • A player playing in a division with mixed grade will automatically be deemed the highest grade in that division unless the association does not offer a lower grade for that player, for example:
      • A player playing in Open grade in an association offering lower divisions will automatically be deemed as an A Grade player.
      • A player playing in BC grade in an association with no lower divisions can be deemed as B or C Grade according to their ability.
      • A player playing in Open grade in an association with no other divisions can be deemed as A, B or C Grade according to their ability.
  1. A meeting will be held 6 weeks prior to the tournament, to review all the nominations.
    • All associations will be invited to the meeting
    • If a player is rejected at the meeting, the association will be asked to supply an alternative player.
    • If the alternative player is put forward after the meeting, then:
      • All the associations will be emailed the name of the alternative player and proposed grade.
      • The associations will be given 48 hours to approve or object to the alternative player.
      • Lack of response indicates acceptance
      • If 6 or more associations object the player, then that player will be ineligible to play in that grade, and the association be asked to put forward another replacement player.
  1. Provisionally graded players are not eligible to enter B or C Grade City vs Country.
    • If SQEBF cannot reliably access a substantial years’ worth of stats for a player across one or more Eight Ball or International Rules leagues, then the player is deemed a provisional player.
    • This is due to the City vs Country meeting being unable to adequately assess the player’s true ability.
  1. Any player who makes a CVC Representative Team for 1 association is ineligible to play at CVC for a different association in the same year. Any breach will result in the player/s involved being ineligible to play CVC the following year.
  2. A player is not permitted to trial for more than one City vs Country team.
    • For clarity, a player may choose to trial for one team only and cannot trial for more than one team within their association, nor can they trial for multiple associations.
    • Any player trialling for more than one team will not be eligible to play in any City vs Country team in the same year.
    • SQEBF may at their sole discretion grant permission for named players on a case-by-case basis to trial for more than one team, when an association can demonstrate in a written submission that the rule would cause undue hardship to the association.
  3. If an association trial does not yield enough players to fill a team, SQEBF may allocate players from another association (including those who may have trialled and did not make the team).
  4. Any player found to be playing in a grade lower than they are playing in any association will be removed from the tournament. There will be no exceptions, it is the association’s responsibility to ensure that all players representing their association meet the set player criteria.
  5. CVC Player’s in the B & C grades who win above 66.66% of matches must play in a grade higher at CVC for the next 3 years. (The list of player names will be provided each year).
  6. Players in the A & B grades who win below 33.33% of matches may play in a grade lower at the following year’s CVC, provided they are not registered in a grade higher.
  7. The Player of the Carnival award will go to the player on most wins. In the event of a tie, each player will get a trophy.
  8. To be eligible for Player of the Carnival a player may only miss a maximum of 3 frames, not all from the same match.
  9. The 20/20 shot clock will be used at CVC.
  10. The Finals Series in all divisions will consist of the following:
    • Semi Final 1
      • 1st in ladder (Home)
      • 4th in ladder (Away)
    • Semi Final 2
      • 2nd in ladder (Home)
      • 3rd in ladder (Away)
    • Grand Final
      • Semi Final winner highest in ladder (Home)
      • Other Semi Final winner (Away)
  1. If ladder positions are tied, then a 3-player shootout shall occur to determine final positions.
    • A lag shall occur for first break.
      • The team who wins the lag shall break 1st and 3rd
      • The other team shall lag 2nd
    • At least the first two frames shall be played consecutively.
  2. To play in the finals, each player in the team (including any reserve players) must have:
    • Played a minimum of 5 teams matches during the event and,
    • Played in matches on least 2 of the 3 days of the event.

City vs Country Singles Event

  1. Prize money for the singles competition will be paid at the CVC presentation.
  2. Players must play 50% of CVC matches (managers must attend 75% of team matches) to be eligible to receive prize money from the singles competition.
  3. Any player who plays in the singles competition who does not play 50% of the matches (or managers who do not attend 75% of team matches) at that year’s CVC will be ineligible to play CVC or in the singles competition the following year.

SQEBF Junior Championships

  1. A player’s age will be determined by the age of the player as of 31st December on the year of the SQEBF Junior Championships.
  2. Players may only play in one age category on the SQEBF Junior Championships

SQEBF Funding

  1. Funding will be available to players who need to travel to play in the QEBF State Team Trials and the QEBF State Singles titles for Open, Women and Masters.
  2. The amounts of funding for QEBF State Events is as follows:
    • $200 for players who travel to NQ for State Team Trials
    • $100 for players who travel to NQ for Singles only.
    • $100 for players who travel to CQ for State Team trials
    • $50 for players who travel to CQ for Singles only.
  3. Players who qualify for the Queensland State and play at the Australian Championships will be eligible for State Team funding if they have played in the ranker in that Division.
  4. The requirement to play in the ranker to receive State Team funding also applies to those who qualify through SQEBF Singles or any direct entry by QEBF.

SQEBF Social Media Policy

  1. Members should be aware the SQEBF forum is visible by a wide audience. As such anybody posting here has a responsibility to ensure that their posts add value and promotes the sport in a positive way.
  2. This forum is intended to promote and grow our game, and not an avenue for people to vent and complain.
  3. All posts must be:
    • Courteous
    • Respectful
    • Informative
    • Relevant
    • Fair
    • Compliant with AEBF Social Media Policy
    • Compliant with AEBF Member Protection Policy
  1. Posts must not be:
    • Portraying the sport in a negative way
    • Aggressive (including overuse of block capitals and punctuation)
    • Argumentative (We are not looking for a debate every time we publish outcomes of decisions)
    • Accusatory (Any and all accusations must be dealt with through the AEBF Member Protection policy and/or relevant external bodies, never on social media)
    • Dismissive (You don’t get to decide if other people’s opinions are as valid as yours)
    • Disrespectful (Remember that the association is run by volunteers who give up their time to serve you)
    • Irrelevant (Keep your comments on topic, or start a new topic)
  1. Any breaches of the above rules, or any other rules by SQEBF, QEBF or AEBF, may result in some or all of (but not limited to) the following:
    • Removal of offending posts
    • Removal of offender’s posting privileges on SQEBF Social Media on a temporary or permanent basis.
    • Disciplinary action for breaches of AEBF Member protection policy.
    • Breaches may impact on level of funding for offending players
  1. There are processes to be followed if you disagree with any rules from SQEBF:
    • Do NOT air your grievances on social media
    • In the first instance contact your association.
    • The Association Secretary will write to the SQEBF Secretary
    • The SQEBF Committee will consider the correspondence and provide a written response to the Association Secretary.
    • If you are not satisfied with the response, the SQEBF constitution contains details of other avenues available to you.
  1. Above all, remember that posting on SQEBF media is a privilege, not a right. Also remember that posting on your own social media about the organisation is covered under the AEBF Social Media Policy.