ACTEBA – COVID-19 Umpiring Clarification

Players and Umpires

I would like to bring the following to the attention of all ACTEBA players and umpires.

Due to restrictions against “mingling” during the current pandemic, some venues are asking that umpires remain seated during each frame. While this is very far from ideal, and makes some calls extremely difficult to make with assurance, we MUST co-operate with the venues and any rules that they feel are necessary at the present time. I hope the following guidelines will help us make this work.

When a player requests a decision on a snooker, frozen or touching ball, the umpire should immediately call “Time Out”, the player should then return to their seat, and the umpire will then approach the table and make their call. The umpire should then return to their seat before calling “Time Running”. The player can then return to the table. In the event of a disputed call, ONE player (usually a team captain) will be asked to adjudicate. Both players and the umpire will remain seated until the adjudicator has made their call (which shall be final) and resumed their seat.

Where this type of procedure is being used, the umpire MAY give a player permission to perform an act which the umpire would normally do – picking up the cue ball for ball in hand, re-spotting a ball off the table etc – and this shall NOT constitute a foul.

I know that there are some calls which cannot be made by inspecting the table after the fact, and indeed this is why umpires are usually encouraged to be mobile. There is nothing we can do about this at the affected venues while ever COVID restrictions are in force. Accordingly I would ask that all players do the right thing and call their own fouls when they are aware that one has occurred. I know the large majority of players do so anyway, and I thank you all for that.

The temporary rule that the breaking player should rack the balls is entirely consistent with 8-ball rules, and should be followed, if only to demonstrate our willingness to co-operate with the venues and their requirements.

I ask all players and umpires to observe the proper spirit of the game. Mistakes will be made, by players and umpires, but the world does not end. Play fairly, umpire to the best of your ability, and enjoy being able to play at all. Other places are not so lucky!

I hope this advice will allow us all to play without dispute or conflict, but in the event that further clarification is required please call me, or if appropriate ask the venue manager to call me, and I will make every effort to resolve the situation to your and their satisfaction.

Many thanks,

Iain McCulloch

ACTEBA Head Umpire

04683 14683.

2020 Open Doubles – Round 1 Results & Top 24 Draw

Congratulations to those who have made it through to the Top 24 of the Open Doubles. Please see results from the Round 1 Groups attached.

Open-Doubles-Round-1-ResultsDownload

The Top 24 is a double-elimination knockout that spans across Friday Night, Saturday, and Sunday. The top 8 seeds get a Bye on the Friday night and all other teams will have their first match at either 6.30pm or 8.00pm on Friday.

2020-Open-Doubles-Top-24-ScheduleDownload

Although a schedule has been put out, there is a small amount of flexibility to move your match from one time slot on Friday to the other if that works for you and your opponent. If you do plan on switching please get in touch with me before organising to do so to make sure the spot is still available to move. There is no flexibility for rearranging any of the matches on Saturday or Sunday.

I have attached the initial playing schedule and the draw can be found here: https://poolstat.net.au/acteba/knockout/2184/2020-open-doubles-top-20-grade

Poolstat will be used for recording match results and logins will be provided on the day.

Adjudicators

We currently have one adjudicator and it would be great to have a couple more to spread the effort out across the three days. The schedules of play are:

6.30 – 9.30pm Friday Night

10am – 7pm Saturday

10am – approx 4/6pm Sunday depending on how many finals need to be played

If you are available to help out in any of those time slots for any period of time please let me know.

Thanks,

Graham O’Connell

Joint ACTEBA Tournament Director

Events Update

Morning Members,

The Core committee meet last night to discuss a range of topics, with main discussion being around the schedule of events and the impact COVID-19 is having.

Before going on I want to make it very clear that below is just a guide and is likely to change as we are still in uncertain times of when Life will return to normal. We are doing our best to be proactive, and once the Government releases information stating it is safe to resume, we will provide more definite dates on events.

We have produced 2 proposed calendars based on a scenario of being able to commence on the 1st of June and the 1st of July. We did have a May scenario, but we just think it is so unrealistic it will be an option so won’t publish that scenario.

These 2 scenarios are attached, and I have made some key notes below of what has changed:

1st June Scenario

  • Champion of Champion cancelled
  • Open and Ladies Trials cancelled….. subject to how much notice provided of when restriction are lifted, we may try to squeeze in trials back to back in mid-late June
  • Summer season continues
  • Winter season starts straight after Summer and extends into December
  • Open & Ladies Singles event run together over one weekend in November

1st July Scenario

  • Summer season cancelled and will not resume
  • Winter season starts a little later I year
  • Champion of Champion cancelled
  • Open & Ladies Trials cancelled
  • Open & Ladies Singles event run together over one weekend in November

A few comments on both scenarios. The Open & Ladies Singles has been moved to the 6th (Evening), 7th & 8th of November and both events will run in conjunction with each other over that weekend. This is the only event that has been booked in and won’t change (unless Nationals changes to these dates and government restriction extend longer than anticipated). This year, the Winner and Runner up won’t get automatic selection into the respective State Team. This is due to the event being run after Nationals, which was the only option with the venue. Ian & Graham will provide more info on this in coming days

If we are not able to run trials, the Open and Ladies teams will be hand selected. We discussed this at length last night and if we go down this path a Selection Panel will be formed including the Core committee and some independent members. A process will be put in place which we have already discussed, and the team members will be selected on majority decision from the selection panel. We are hoping to be able to discuss this process at the first Captains meeting once we resume back.

The cancellation of events will influence rankings points. This is something that we are still working through and once we have a firm calendar in place and restriction have been lifted, we will finalise this and publish to members.

There is a financial impact on the association with these cancellations as well. Again, this is something we will look at when we have more assurance, but this will impact state team funding and Presentation Night.

The other items that was discussed last night is the AEBF National Championships. At this stage there is no certainty that they will proceed. The AEBF will announce the decision on whether to proceed with the event on or before the 31st of May. This decision may impact the scenarios of ACTEBA Calendar and once this announcement is made, we will be able to look at how that effects our local events.

ACTEBA Core will update members as much as possible as information comes to hand. I would like to continue to wish all members and their families all the best during these challenging times. I would also particularly like to thank our venues and wish them and their staff all the best as they have been impacted most at this point by these restrictions. We can’t wait to be back in your venue enjoying your hospitality.

COVID-19 Postponement Statement

***EVENTS POSTPONED***

COVID-19

Due to the Current Situation with COVID-19, ALL ACTEBA Events are now postponed (including tonight).

We would appreciate if Captains could make your venue aware that the Wednesday Night league is currently on hold until further notice

A detailed Statement from ACTEBA with further information will be provided tonight or tomorrow morning.

COVID-19

ACT Eightball Association (ACTEBA) continues to closely monitor developments surrounding the outbreak of the Noval Coronavirus COVID-19.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that events that attract a crowd of more than 500 people are banned to help contain the spread of the illness.

Events with crowds that fall below this threshold can proceed as scheduled. As no ACTEBA schedule event will attract more than 500 people, all events will continue as scheduled at this stage.

If you have recently returned from Overseas, you must self-isolate for 14 days, avoiding contact with others including playing 8 Ball.

If you have had exposure to a possible or confirmed case of COVID 19 you must self-monitor and seek medical review if you develop any symptoms.

If you are unwell with fever and cough, please seek medical advice and practice self-isolation at home until cleared.

The advice regarding COVID-19 is changing on a daily basis, please regularly follow the latest information here https://www.health.act.gov.au/about-our-health-system/novel-coronavirus-covid-19

To minimise the risks of COVID-19 spreading, please review safe hygiene practices here http://www.health.act.gov.au/about-our-health-system/novel-coronavirus-covid-19/protect-yourself

The health and safety of our Members and the community remains the priority of ACTEBA. We will follow any advice provided by relevant authorities, which at this stage is that all events under 500 may proceed.

The position of ACTEBA may change at short notice as professional advice comes available. All correspondences will be posted on the ACTEBA page, our website and via the captains mailing list.

ACTEBA encourages players not to shake hands, use hand sanitisers which are available at venues and practice good self hygiene as described via above link. As also indicated in above information, please do not attend any ACTEBA events if you are sick or showing symptoms.

When and if the situations changes we will update members, and if the advice is for all events to not proceed, It is likely that events will be cancelled and not postponed (including current events) as this is not just a short term pandemic based on expert opinions.

If you have any questions regarding this advice or the status of events, see the below contact details

pres@acteba.com.au

sec@acteba.com.au

2020 ACTEBA State of Origin Series Match 1

Venue: Harmonie German Club
Date: Saturday, March 28th
Start Time: 5th, 4th, 3rd division at 2.30pm. 2nd, 1st division at 6pm.
Initial Teams: Download as PDF
Series Score: 0-0, Southern Guns won last year

Players can expect to be contacted by Graham O’Connell to confirm your position and availability to play, or you can comment or private message him from the post on facebook.

We are looking for whole side captains for this match to assist with getting each of the sessions underway. If you are interested or if you will be at the club for the two starting sessions please let Graham know.

For any general enquiries about the event please contact Graham on atd@acteba.com.au

The top ranked player in each team will be designated captain on the day to organise team order and substitutions, unless they organise with another player on the team to be the divisional captain.

I believe there will be an official announcement regarding COVID-19 at some stage. If that affects whether or not this event will go ahead I will contact all those involved. For now the event is progressing as planned and I would encourage players to maintain high levels of hygiene and to washing and sanitise hands regularly.

TEAM FEES ARE DUE BEFORE PLAY TONIGHT

Hi Everyone.

A reminder that all team fees are due before tonight’s matches. In the event that a player’s fees have not been paid before tonight’s match then that player will be disabled and you will not be able to select them in poolstat.

Note that there is some human error possible in my determination, so if I have made an error I apologise for that upfront, but would rather make an error and ensure someone has paid rather than not.

CLARIFICATION
There are a number of by-laws dealing with fees and forfeits. 14, 15, and 18. These three by-laws sort of contradict each other so we want to be clear on our stance. We will not forfeit frames that have been played in the first half of the season if a player does not pay their fees on time. That player will become ineligible to play any future frames until they have paid. This is consistent with how the weekly tournament has been run in the past and the core has noted that there is a task to clean up these three by-laws.

OUTSTANDING FEES
I have attempted to contact the players who I currently have listed as not paid their fees, however note that I haven’t been able to contact everyone.

I don’t want to call out any individual names so I have listed teams below, if captains are curious please reach out and I can provide further information.

1x The Firey Shooters
1x Screamers
1x Buffalos
2x Gringos
1x Crackpots
1x DV8’s
1x Felt Rippers
1x Budgie Smugglers
8x Rucoons
3x Team Lish
1x Hurricanes

2020 Open State Singles Championship ***Entries close 19 March 2020***

2020 Open State Singles entries are now open. Details are in link below.

Click here to see further details and to enter

Masters trials registrations. *** Entries close Thursday 20th Feb. ***

Entries for the Masters Trials can be made via the below link. Full details available on the Eventbrite event page.

First round will be played Saturday or Sunday 22nd & 23rd of February.

I am looking for adjudicators for both days and the following weekend.

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/2020-acteba-masters-trials-event-registration-92818800531

Load more