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: 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)

REGISTRATION

Times for registering for the individual competition on Saturday 24 February 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. 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.

Saturday 24 February: Men’s Individual Championships up to the Last 64; Women’s Individual Championships up to the Last 32; and Men’s Individual Trophy up to the Last 64 (stages to be confirmed in the UPC published schedule).

Sunday 25 February:  The first two rounds of all team competition group-stages; followed by all individual competitions down to the last four competitors in each competition.

Monday 26 February: Final matches in the team competition group-stages; Completion of all individual competitions, followed by individual presentations.

Tuesday 27 February: Completion of the knock-out stages of all team competitions, 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 event will be split two separate championships based on sex, where 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. The eligibility of transgender players are as defined by the BUCS eligibility criteria. For this event, in the absence of a National Governing Body policy from the English Pool Association (EPA) as of time entries are opened, BUCS will use the transgender policy of the World Eightball Pool Federation (WEPF) as detailed here.

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 Men’s Individual Trophy, the Women’s 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.

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: Men’s and Women’s Team Championship & Trophy

• There are both Men’s and Women’s team competitions for this event.
• 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 all 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, while 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: Men’s and Women’s 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.

WITHDRAWALS

All competitors that an Institution Administrator had approved on BUCS Play as at 11:59pm on Thursday 1 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 player on the BUCS Play entry system in ‘Stage 2’ entries. For this reserve to play at the event, both the player needs to enter themselves, and their AU/SU approve their entry to prove eligibility.

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 in the Men’s event, or adding a fourth player to an original team of three players in the Women’s event.

The institution main contact will also need to message the Tournament Director, Daniel Turner, 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 are options for parking at all three venues, although competitors at Players Pool & Snooker Lounge may need to park in a pay-to-park car park.

CHANGING FACILITIES / DISABILITY ACCESS

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

FOOD DRINK

Food and drink are sold by every 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.

PRESENTATIONS

There will be both individual presentations on Monday evening and team presentations on Tuesday evening for those who have won BUCS medals shortly after the close of play for that day.

All players finishing in medal positions must attend the presentations in full UPC dress code for the official event photographs. Failure to comply may result in medals and prize money being forfeited.

During this event, various filming, photography, and broadcasting may take place. By your presence at this event, you grant your permission for your likeness and voice to be included in pictures and/or on film and their advertising without compensation or credit. All questions should be communicated to your Institution Administrator in the first instance, who can subsequently get in touch with BUCS if necessary.

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)

There are local bus and train links for each venue. Each of the three venues are within six miles of each other.