Article #1        League Objectives

The objectives of the Winnipeg Veterans English Billiard League are to bring within the fold of our League every person eligible who is willing to learn, promote and play the game of English Billiards.

To ensure for the league and our teams quality players who will promote comradeship, instruct, and advance the game of English Billiards, while always adhering to fair play and sportsmanship.

All of which we propose to do by conducting ourselves in an honorable and friendly like manner in accordance with the provisions and in conjunction with, as stated in these constitution and By-Laws which is the law supreme of our league.

Article #2        Allowed Teams, Fees & Date Due

1.       Teams are sponsored by the Veterans organizations in his or her area. Other organizations may be permitted by majority vote of the Executive and Team Captains. Team members must be members in good standing of a Veterans organization, or/and organization approved by the League Executive & Team Captains.

2.       Total League entry fees are $125.00 per player, per year. League Fees must be paid in full by December 31st of the year in which the season starts annual play.

Players or Teams who have not paid their fees by December 31st will be unable to partake in League or League Trophy play.

Article #3        Responsibilities of League Officials

Section A

League Executive Board consists of

1.       President

2.       Vice President

3.       Secretary / Treasurer

4.       Team Captains

5.       Past President

6.       Referee in Chief

7.       Special Events Coordinator & Player Development

 Section B

League Executive Committee consists of

1.       President

2.       Vice President

3.       Secretary / Treasurer

The League Executive committee will be elected at the Annual General Meeting and will be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the League in consultation with the Team Captains. They will be responsible for their duties and responsibilities as identified in these By-Laws, and they as the Executive will have the authority to interpret and administer these By-Laws and enact their duties for and on behalf of the League.

Section C

Membership and Duties of the Executive Board

1.       President

2.       Vice President

3.       Secretary / Treasurer

4.       Past President

5.       Team captains

6.       Referee in Chief

7.       Special Events Coordinator & Player Development

Section D        Past President

Attend all meetings and make his or her experience available to the President and the Executive.

Section E         President

1.       Call meetings as required by the Constitution and By-Laws

2.       Act as Chairman of the meetings.

3.       Cosign all League cheques.

4.       Appoint qualified members of the League to audit the financial statement.

5.       Emcee annual League Banquet

Section F         Secretary / Treasurer

1.       Ensure that all the Teams are properly notified of all League and Captains meetings via phone or by email.

2.       Keep accurate minutes of all league and Executive meetings.

3.       Furnish a financial report for audit at the end of each season.

4.       Cosign & issue league cheques to pay bills owned by the WVEBL.

5.       Contact Team Captains at the beginning of each season and determine the number of   

teams which will enter the league that year.

6.       Preparation of a league schedule or done by a designate

7.       Obtain a roster of Players and their handicaps from each team.

8.       Furnish each Team Captain with a copy of the schedule.

9.       Keep a record of team and individual player’s standings each week, along with changes in player handicaps, copy to webmaster.

10.    Arrange for league playoffs at the end of each season.

11.    Arrange schedule for individual play and trophies.

12.    Arrange for the return, engraving and presentation of the trophies at the end of the season.

13.    Arrange for the end of season wind up of the league.

14.    Collect team fees as determined by the league at the General meeting.

15.    Assist the Web site designer(s) to keep the web site up to date and to ensure its accuracy and to ensure any fees or funds earned, associated with the web site are the property of the league.

Section G        Vice President

1.       Attend all league meetings.

2.       Make himself or herself familiar with the ongoing affairs of the league.

3.       Serve as President-Protem, in the absence of the President.

4.       Assist the President to run the meeting by ensuring there is always proper decorum during the meeting.

Section H        Team Captains

1.       Arrange with his or her club for the entry of his or her team into the league.

2.       Notify the Secretary / Treasurer of team roster, along with their updated and/or recommended handicaps by the first week of September.

3.       Forward match results and any monies to the Secretary / Treasurer PROMPTLY

4.       Arrange for the distribution of wind-up tickets of his or her team, and report results and forward ticket money to the Secretary / Treasurer by due date.

5.       Post an up-to-date copy of the team and Player’s record and Players handicaps.

6.       Provide the league Secretary / Treasurer with all team members name, address, phone number(s) and email address (if available).

7.       Ensure the league registration card, which also includes a waiver agreement for the web site, are properly filled in and signed and returned to the Secretary / Treasurer

8.       Ensure that all team members are paid up and in good standing with their respective club or organization.

9.       Ensure that their Players are mindful of the rules and that they are taught how to properly referee a match.

10.    Ensure that all Players play by the rules and those Players are to be always respectful of their opponents before, during and after the matches.

11.    Ensure that weekly scorecards are properly submitted on time by email.

12.    Ensure that league stats and player stats are posted in your home clubs’ games room.

Section I          Referee in Chief

1.  Oversee referees of our league

2.  Ensure referees are Certificated and have necessary tools to properly perform their duties.

3.    Undertake NEW Certifications and upgrades for those who wish to become referees or have shown knowledge to be upgraded.

Section J          Special Events Coordinator & Player Development

1.  Will undertake arranging/scheduling coaching sessions at the different venues we play and collect any monies from attendees.

2.  Will promote our league to players in snooker & 8-Ball leagues.

Article #4        Honorary Life Members

Honorary Life Members can be bestowed upon a person who in the opinion of the league Executive board, has rendered valuable services to the amateur billiards game.

Article #5        Player’s Obligations

1.      Players must present proper conduct, are prohibited of coaching, interference, unfair conduct and/or tactics during match play.

2.      Ensure players are paid up and in good standing with their respective club or organization.

3.  Players may not participate in League, Play-Offs or enter any trophy play if they are barred entry to any member club.

4.      During match play any coaching or interference, unfair conduct and/or tactics is to result in one warning by the referee. In the event of a second occurrence during the match, the match MAY be forfeited and awarded to the other player.

Article #6        Election of Officers

1.       To take place at the Annual General meeting

2.       Nominations may be made and seconded from the floor.

3.       Election is confirmed by a majority of the eligible votes cast of those in attendance.

4.       Any eligible member who is unable to attend the General meeting may run for one of the elected positions provided he is a member in good standing and has submitted a signed letter of his or her intention to accept a nomination if so nominated. His or her letter must be submitted to the Executive committee prior to the start of the elections at the General meeting, so that it may be read to the membership.

Article #7        Meetings

The number for a quorum will be the same as the number of teams in the league at the time of the meeting.

A- Annual General meeting

1.       Present schedule, make changes in fee structure, preliminary discussion of trophies, banquet, etc.

2.       December break, finalize trophies, banquet, etc.

B – Annual General meeting

1.       Secretary / Treasurer’s report

2.       Audit of Secretary / Treasurer’s report

3.       Election of Officers

4.       Presentation of the Secretary / Treasurer’s honorarium

5.       Presentation of the Webmaster’s honorarium

6.       Changes in the constitution and the By-Laws

C – Fall and Annual meeting

1.       Any member or team wishing to place an item for discussion on the agenda must forward same 3 days prior to the date of the meeting to the Secretary / Treasurer or the President

2.       Agenda items not submitted prior to the meeting as stated above require a majority vote of the members in attendance to place the item on the agenda after the items that have been properly submitted.

3.       The added items to the agenda will be discussed provided there is sufficient time to do so. In the event there is not time to handle the additional items added to the agenda, they will be included on the agenda of the next meeting, as the first order of business

4.       To advance a late item that is placed on the agenda, it will require three quarters vote of the members in attendance at the meeting to do so.

D – Secretary / Treasurer Honorarium

1.       The Secretary / Treasurer will be awarded an annual honorarium of $700.

2.       His or her honorarium will be paid in two installments, one of 30% to be paid by December 21st, and a second installment of 70% to be paid at the Leagues General meeting.

E – The Webmaster’s Honorarium

1.       The Webmaster will be awarded an annual honorarium of $400.00 for maintenance and upkeep of League websites.

2.       His or her honorarium will be paid at the Leagues General meeting.

Article #9        Rules

1.       League play will conform to the “Rules of English Billiards” as put forth by “The Billiards and Snooker Control Council”, or similar type organization.

2.       Any changes made in the above rules will be adopted at the beginning of league play each fall.

3.       League times changed in 2021 season due to Covid Pandemic and venue hours. Games will be as follows, 2-hour format.

·        First matches to start at 5:30 pm and finish at 7:30 pm

·        Second matches to start at 7:40 pm and finish at 9:40 pm

Exception to be Assiniboia 283 only one match will start at 5:50 pm with second & fourth match to start at 8:00 pm and finish at 10:00 pm

4.       Each home team Captain or Co-Captain is to post the names of four players with their handicaps by 5:20 pm

FAILURE TO DO SO SHALL RESULT IN FORFEITURE OF THE FIRST GAME, PLUS AN    ADDITIONAL GAME(S) FOR EACH FURTHER FIVE MINUTES DELAY

The visiting team Captain or Co-Captain is to post his or her players by 5:25 pm

FAILURE TO DO SO SHALL RESULT IN FORFEITURE OF THE FIRST GAME, PLUS AN ADDITIONAL GAME(S) FOR EACH FURTHER FIVE MINUTES DELAY

5.       Play must start at the scheduled time 5:30 pm or earlier, unless there is a mutual agreement between the teams to start later.

6.       In all instances where there is no mutual agreement and play is delayed by one team past the scheduled start time that game(s) will be defaulted to the opposing team

6a IF THE TIME SHOWING ON THE CLUB CLOCK IS IN DISPUTE THE OFFICIAL TIME OF DAY WILL BE THE DECIDING FACTOR

7.       Affected teams may file a protest with the league Executive for defaulted games, all such protests must be submitted within 48 hours of the forfeited game(s). Failure to properly 

8.      submit a protest within the prescribed time limits will disqualify one’s right to protest the defaulted game or games.

9.       Each player will be allowed a 5-minute warm up after games 1 and 2 prior to commencing play for games 3 and 4.

10.       Games 3 and 4 must start within 10 minutes of the completion of games 1 and 2, or 8:00 pm unless there is a mutual agreement.

11.    Visiting team has choice of tables, which is to say that first and third players have the table of their choice.

12.    Generally, the home team is responsible for providing referees for all league playoff games.

13.    Referees who referee league matches must be fair and impartial and uphold the standard rules and ensure fair play.

14.    League games may be refereed by someone from either team or by some other person who is qualified to do so, in all cases both players must agree.

15.    In the event the visiting player or the home player is opposed to having a person refereeing his or her game, he must acknowledge his or her concern before play starts. Once a referee starts a match, he will continue to referee the match. Should the referee be changed during the match, the same principal as the first part of number 15 will apply.

16.    The removal of a referee during the match cannot occur unless there is mutual agreement between both players.

Article #10      Handicaps

1.       New players entering the league shall be assessed a handicap of +20 or lower at the discretion of the team Captain.

2.       If former players of the league return, they shall also be handicapped by the team Captain.

3.       The handicap of NEW players will increase by ten for each win and decrease by 10 for each loss.

4.       A Player’s handicap may not pass +50.

Article #11      Playoffs & Trophy Play

Section A

League Playoffs

1.       Player’s handicaps as of end of regular season play.

2.       Each playoff is a best of 9.

3.       Four games to be played on the first night. Playoff completed on the second night.

4.       Home and away series. High ranking teams have choice of home or away for first four games.

5.       Choice of playoff dates to be mutually agreed upon by Team Captains

6.       Secretary / Treasurer to be notified of playoff dates and venues.

Section B

Tie Breakers

Should Two teams be tied at the end of the regular season, the tie will be broken by.

1.       Team winning majority of games against one another during the regular season.

2.       The winner of the most games in the last two rounds

3.       The winner of the most games in the last round

4.       The team with the most points in the final round

5.       A one game playoff

Section C

Should three teams tie, use one of the following procedures. Find one winner as follows and then revert to above.

1.       Team winning majority of games against both teams during the regular season.

2.       Team winning most games in the last two rounds.

3.       Team winning most games in the final round.

4.       High total score in the final round against both teams

5.       Coin toss.

Note: This will give you one winner. The other two teams revert to above tiebreaker. Should four or five teams tie, follow a similar procedure as in above.

Section D

Individual and Trophy play

1.       Four trophies at present are available for competition by individual players.

2.       Players handicaps are taken as of December break.

3.       A player whose handicap meets requirements for the McLean & Trinder may only play in the tournament their handicap warrants. Only players whose handicaps qualify for the Bardal & Lockwood tournaments will be allowed to play in both tournaments.

4.       Team Captains is to recommend players for the trophy competition before a set date.

5.       Teams are requested to not enter the names of players who are unable or unwilling to follow the rules of the competition.

6.       Ensure players are paid up and in good standing with their respective club or organization.

7.       Players may not participate in League, Play-Offs or enter any Trophy play if they are barred entry to any member club or organization.

8.       All players to qualify for tournament play (removed restrictions Aug 2022)

9.       Trophy play Chairman/Convener shall not be a participant in the division of Trophy Play he or she is Chairman of

10.    Trophy play Chairman/Convener are to settle communication problems/disputes between players in Trophy play.

Trophy play Chairman/Convener have the authority to disqualify player(s) if games in Trophy play are not played within a reasonable time, as per the schedule set by the Chairman/Convener

Players should not start their next round of play in Trophy play prior to notifying the Chairman/Convener of the results of a previous match.

Section E

Lockwood Trophy

The Trophy Chairman will select from the list submitted by Team Captains, top sixteen players with the highest handicaps. These players will be seeded into a straight knockout draw. Each match is a total of 500 points from scratch. All rounds to be played in one day.

Finals to be played after Christmas break.

The top named player is too contact his or her opponent and arrange a time to play that is convenient to both. First named player has choice of home or away. The responsibility of arranging the game is placed on the player at home.

Should he or she have any difficulty in arranging the game within the date set, without good reason, the Trophy Chairman can disqualify one or both players, and go on to the next round. The winner is to notify the Trophy Chairman as soon as possible.

Section F

McLean, Bardal & Trinder trophies

These are handicap tournaments. Match is a home and away series of 200 points each for a total of 400 points. The number of points a player loses by in the first round is added to his or her handicap for the second game. All the other rules as applied in the Lockwood Trophy are in effect.

The place, date, and time of the finals in each event will be arranged by the Trophy Chairman, in consultation with the players concerned. Finals to be played on one night. 400 points plus or minus your handicap

Bardal -55 and higher / McLean -5 to -50 / Trinder +50 – 0 (Scratch)

Article #12      League Meetings

1.       The League President shall call the meetings. The Secretary / Treasurer shall prepare an agenda, approved by the President, and inform the members of the time and place of the meeting.

2.       The League President is the Chairman of the meeting.

Section A

The Chairman

1.       To open the meeting at appointed time.

2.       Ensuring there is proper quorum in attendance to open the meeting.

3.       To announce in proper sequence the business that comes before the meeting or becomes in order in accordance with the prescribed order of business, agenda, or program.

4.       To recognize members who are permitted to the floor to speak.

5.       To state and to put to vote all questions that legitimately come before the meeting as motions, or that otherwise arise during proceedings, and to announce the results of the votes.

6.       To rule out of order motions not properly made.

7.       To protect the meeting from obviously frivolous or dilatory motions by refusing to recognize them. 

8.       To enforce the rules relating to debate and those relating to order and decorum within the meeting, by ensuring that both sides of the issue have had equal opportunity to address their concerns on the subject/motion under discussion.

9.       To expedite business in every way compatible with the rights of the members

10.    To decide all questions of order, subject to appeal, unless when in doubt, the presiding officer prefers initially to submit such a question to the meeting for a decision.

11.    To respond to members relating to Parliamentary Procedure, or information having a bearing on the business before the members in the meeting.

12.    To declare the meeting adjourned when the meeting body so votes.

Section B

Members

1.       Arrive on time.

2.       Be courteous and not speak while others have the floor.

3.       Always address the Chair.

4.       Word motions/amendments carefully (prepare motions in writing beforehand if possible)

5.       To be respectful and mindful of others’ opinions and comments and to always act in a professional business-like manner during League Meetings and social gatherings put on by the League or member teams.

Section C

Agenda

1.       Call to order and roll call of officers and Team Captain’s/Co-Captain’s

2.       Read out all bills, communications, and notices.

3.       Read and accept minutes from last meeting.

4.       Secretary / Treasurer’s report

5.       President’s report

6.       Honorary Life Members proposals

7.       Discussion arising from reports.

8.       Old business

9.       List any New business.

10.    New business from the floor

11.    Set date of next meeting

12.    Adjourn

Section D

Motions

1.       Presented by a member in good standing.

2.       Must be seconded.

3.       Must be presented through the Chair.

4.       Presenter is first to speak on their motion.

5.       Members must speak to the motion when recognized by the Chair and may speak only once until all others have had their turn.

6.       No personalities

7.       Chairman may speak on the motion by the delegating Chair to another.

Section E

Amendments

1.       Same rules as motions

2.       Cannot withdraw a motion without the seconder’s approval.

3.       Amendments should only be an attempt to improve the motion.

4.       The last amendment is voted on first, and if carried, thereby defeats the previous amendment, and changes the main motion to include the amendment.

5.       Only one amendment on the floor at a time

6.       Tabling, postpone a vote to another specific date.

7.       Should clarification of these rules be necessary, “Robert’s Rules of Order” shall be the final arbiter.

Article #13      Charges and trials of a Member by a Member

1.       All charges against any league member or Executive member, which may be preferred by any member in good standing must be made in writing and forwarded to the President within 5 days of the incident. If the incident involves the President, the complaint to be forwarded to the Vice President

2.       Failure to submit a charge within 5 days of the incident unless of an emergency such charge if received will be deemed inadmissible and will not be handled by the Executive.

3.       Such charge shall also make specific reference to any relevant article(s) of these By-Laws that are or may be violated. 

4.       Upon receipt of a letter within the prescribed time limits the Executive committee along with the Life Members who are still active in the league will turn itself into a “DISPUTE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE” and deal with the charge(s) which have been submitted to them by the President or Vice President

5.       If the charge is against an Executive member or Active Life Member, or if an Executive member or Active Life Member is laying the charge(s) against another member he will recues himself/herself from the Dispute Resolutions Committee and the remainder of the committee members will handle the charge(s)

6.       The Dispute Resolutions Committee members will arrange a meeting within Ten days from the date the charge(s) were received by the President or Vice President, wherein the charging party and the charged party must attend to present three cases. The committee will hear the complaint and ask questions they deem necessary to obtain all the facts. Each party will have a fair and reasonable time to present their position on the event that led to a charge(s)

7.       After the charge(s) have been heard the Dispute Resolutions Committee will advise within seven days the charged party, the charging parties, and the League Captains of what their finding and ruling(s) are.

8.       The Dispute Resolutions Committee may at its discretion access discipline, which in its mind is valid, fair, and appropriate based on the incident under review.

9.       Discipline may range from a letter of reprimand to a temporary suspension from League and Trophy play to and outright suspension from the league.

10.    The committee after review, may award a win or a loss of the match if such charge originated from the match being played.

11.    In all instances the person being charged who is assessed disciplinary action may appeal the decision of the Dispute Resolutions Committee to the Leagues Executive board. The Dispute Resolutions Committee decision remains in effect until the appeal decision is determined. Such appeal must be submitted in writing with 5 days of the Dispute Resolutions Committee decision. The League Executive board will meet within 10 days to review the appeal and decision of the Dispute Resolutions Committee. The leagues Executive board will render its decision on the appeal within 5 days. All decisions of the league Executive board will be final. The league Executive board will advise the team Captain of the person appealing as soon as a decision has been rendered.

Article #13A Zero Tolerance (Amendment to Article 13.1 thru Article 13.11)

            We are now adopting a Zero tolerance rule when it comes to confrontations between league members on league nights or during League sanctioned tournaments or events.

1. 1st offense will result in a warning from the Dispute Resolutions Committee

2. 2nd offense will result in a suspension, where the period of suspension will be determined at time of resolution

3. 3rd offense will result in expulsion from the League for life

To ensure the safety of our League membership and staff at the venues we play out of, we ask all those altercations be reported to Team Captain and at least one Executive member. Exception of course is it the altercation is against a Captain or Executive member.

Any physical altercations will result in immediate lifetime expulsion for the League.

Article #14      Failure to comply with our Constitution or By-Laws

1.       The rules entered herein may be revoked or amended by a majority vote of the members present at a general meeting.

2.       Failure to comply with any terms of this constitution could result in suspension for the remainder of the season.

Article #15      Banquet Sites

1.    Each team in the league will accept or decline a chance at hosting the League’s end of year Banquet.

2.    The Secretary / Treasurer in consultation with the leagues Executive will select a location from the Team’s submitting an acknowledgement that they would like to host the event. In all cases decision will be based on working within our budget

3.    All Venues to submit no later than Oct 31 to assure we can secure a venue

Article #16      Other Billiard Venues

1.       To help promote the league, the league Executive will have the authority to have teams play their league games at another venue other than at their home club, provided such venue is equal to or better than the home team that has been asked to play elsewhere to help promote the league.

2.       No team will be asked to move venues more than once in a year unless they voluntarily request it.

3.       In the unlikely event where a team needs to play at an alternate venue due to unforeseen circumstances in their home club, the captain of the team requiring an alternate venue will contact the Captain of the venue wishing to play at and get permission.

This Constitution and By-Laws as amended July 27, 2023, will remain in effect until amended at a properly held meeting of the league.

Signed:

       ____________________            ____________________        ____________________

President                           Vice President                 Secretary / Treasurer