Conditions of Play

The following terms and conditions of play apply to tournaments sanctioned by the Australian Senior Snooker Association Inc.

Eligibility

1. Players must be of amateur status (non-professional).
2. Players must reside within the state in question.
3. Players must be in good standing with the ASSA and the hosting venue.
4. ASSA state championships are open to both men and women.
5. Age criteria based on the player’s age before the date of the event.
6. Proof of residency and age may be required (driver's licence, etc).

Format of Play and Rules

1. An ASSA championship is a state ranked event sanctioned by the Australian Senior Snooker Association Inc.
2. The game is scratch snooker (no handicap, 15 reds) according to the WPBSA rules of snooker with the exception that the Foul and Miss rule (FAM) shall only apply in the case of an obvious intention to miss or when an object ball is not snookered.
3. The format of play, depending on numbers and locale, may be regional knockouts as a progressive event (multiple venues) up to the finals in each state, or run as knockout tournament at a single venue.
4. All rounds to be best of 5 frames until the final which is to be best of 7 frames.
5. Progressive matches are to be played by the required date (or forfeit*) and must be refereed by the TD or an experienced referee. * player failing to attend will forfeit, if not arranged then both players forfeit.
6. In the case of round robins, the total point score (1 point per frame) will decide ranking for a seeded draw. Otherwise draws will be seeded according to available state rankings at the discretion of the Tournament Director.
7. Preliminary rounds to be self-refereed with an experienced/certified roaming referee. Referees will be provided for the semi-finals/final.
8. Late arrivals may be penalised one frame per 15 minutes (contact the TD if caught in traffic).
9. After 3 frames a rest period may be called if both players agree or called by the Tournament Director.
10. The Mercy Rule applies to all frames, from the yellow.
11. All players and referees must be in agreement to abide by the decisions of the Tournament Director.
12. Entries cancelled after entry closing date are non-refundable and recorded as a forfeit (loss).

Minimum Dress Requirements

The minimum dress requirement for players and referees is a plain coloured collared long sleeve shirt, dress trousers and shoes.

Mercy Rule

The points difference for a frame to be "awarded" is 2 snookers + 1 point plus the value of the colours left on the table. For example when colours remaining start with the yellow the points criteria will be 9+27=36, and for blue it will be 11+18=29.

Note: The frame is awarded at the end of a break, eg: if potting the yellow puts a player 36 points in front, but then fouls the green, the frame is not awarded because the points difference would then only be 32.

Disputes

While the decision of the referee is final, disputes and clarification of the rules can be brought to the attention of the Tournament Director whose decision, after taking into account the circumstances of the instance, will be final.