Happy New Year to all our league members, we hope you had a great holiday!

We begin the year with some sad news. We’ve just learnt of the recent passing of Darren Haines. Darren had been part of our league since the early 90s, most of this time playing for the Shant. His most recent team was the Supreme Blues. We’d like to send condolences to his family and many friends.

Despite our best intentions to warn teams about failing to follow protocol for the signing of new players, and giving a months amnesty, one team has still managed to transgress.
Whilst we did not find any deliberate attempt to deceive, the rules did get broken. The result of any frames that were affected have been reversed, and has meant in this instance that the final match score was also reversed.
Again we urge teams who are either unsure of the rules, or even unsure of the players that they have registered, to contact the league secretary to receive guidance.

Teams may sign on or transfer players up until halfway through the season. 24 hours are required for signings. This seasons deadlines are; Division 1 Tuesday February 11, Divisions 2 - 4 Tuesday March 11.

All teams should be aware that they need to attend league meetings if they owe league fees, non-attendance is only acceptable if all league fees have been paid in full. Several teams are falling behind on monthly subscriptions and will risk suspension from the league if payments are not met at the next meeting.

The new A1 Tuning Divisional Singles competition has been held over for another month. Entries in some divisions were poor. We’ve decided to take further entries at the next meeting, including from teams that have already met their maximum allocation, up to the desired limit in each division. These entries will be taken on a first come first served basis.
Spaces still available in Div 1 is 39, Div 2 is 31, Div 3 is 23, and Div 4 is 43.

The draws for the Over 40s and Seniors comps are now online. Please take note of the deadlines for results as they do vary in some competitions, especially the Seniors.

Trials for Bristol’s International Rules County squad are taking place at Supreme Sports Lounge in January. Details are on our Facebook page.

All teams must remember that it is your responsibility to make sure that behaviour of players and supporters during matches are exemplary and that no comments can be misconstrued as unsporting. Please don’t hide behind “it’s only banter” as when you attend matches, home or away, you all carry the league’s reputation with you. We protect our reputation without question, and if we receive any complaints we will challenge it to the letter.

We need to stress that when attending away matches with younger members of our league you may need to consult the licensing laws of that pub or club as they may have a “No under 18” license. Venues that we are aware of with age restriction are indicated on our fixtures page.

Our Blackball rule sheet should be displayed near the playing area of your team’s home venue. If there is a need to refer to them during a game, the current copy should be available for quick reference.


In an attempt to reduce our overheads, we have introduced an Email Information Service to provide members with monthly updates.
To help reduce costs, we would like members to subscribe to this Service. The email attachment will be identical to the book that team Captains/Secretaries have previously received by post, and will be available to all league members, not just Captains/Secretaries.
We fully understand that not everyone has access to the internet and email, so for those few teams the book will still be available by post.
Apart from the cost reduction, other advantages will be that the book will be available just a few days after the monthly league meeting, rather than the 11 days it now takes. Any mistakes that arise can be instantly corrected by sending a revised book. Any other information can be easily sent, eg, reminders of important dates such as league meetings and AGM's.
To add your name to the Service, simply send an email to bristolpoolleague(at)btinternet.com
Please include the word Pool in the subject line, and in the message box leave your name, team name(s), and whether you are Captain or Secretary of your team, or that you are just a playing member of your team(s). You will receive an email shortly after to confirm your inclusion in the Service.

The BPL COMMITTEE wishes everyone a happy and safe festive holiday, and we will see you at the next League meeting on January 2.