Captain’s Log, January 13th, 2008 

The 9 Ball Blast is this coming Saturday, January 19th at the Hungry Stick. Schedules and rosters have been posted to our web site for each team. Patches, MVP trophies and Perfect Session trophies will be available during the Blast for players who have earned those awards during the Fall Session. We also have MVP trophies from previous sessions that have not been picked up yet that will be available for pick up. If you aren’t going to be available to swing by to pick up your awards this coming Saturday, we will be conducting the 8 Ball Blast on January 26-27 at the Hungry Stick and those items will be available for pick up then. 

A big responsibility for each team captain is keeping accurate score of every match. Accurate scorekeeping helps preserve the integrity of the handicap system. If everyone is keeping score properly, skill levels are much more accurate and this will enhance your APA experience. I think everyone understands how innings are to be marked after both players have completed their turn at the table. However, defensive shots (aka safeties or non-performance shots) sometimes get misunderstood or are not realized to be of utmost importance in accurate scorekeeping. A defensive shot is defined as: no intent to make one of your object balls. Intent can be subjective, but on each shot a player performs, ask yourself if there was any “intent” to pocket a ball. If the answer is no, then a safety needs to be marked in the defensive shot box. Sometimes there might be a disagreement on what is or isn’t a defensive shot, but that’s okay. Score sheets do not have to match. Each team is responsible for recording innings and defensive shots according to how they interpreted the matches that were played. It is considered good sportsmanship to announce when you have performed a defensive shot. 

Teams who do not wish to keep score accurately or attempt to purposely manipulate skill levels by not marking defensive shots when they are performed are subject to close scrutiny of skill levels of all of the players on their team by the League Operators. Those teams could be subject to stronger disciplinary action if the problem is not corrected. The best defense against teams who would attempt to manipulate skill levels is to keep score properly.  

It is also important to understand that it is the responsibility of each team captain to start players in the league at a skill level that reflects their true ability. APA has a set starting skill level for new players outlined in the team manual. However, if you know someone is much better than that starting skill, it is up to you to be fair to your opponent and start that player at a level that more closely resembles their true ability. This will also help each player or team have a more enjoyable APA experience. 

If a player has an established skill level in a particular format and they are going to start competing in another format, they would start competing at their established skill level in the format they were already competing in. If a player has less than 10 matches played in a particular format, then they would not have an established skill level and should start off as if they were a brand new member in this new format. For example, Little Johnny is a skill level 3 in 8 Ball and he’s played 9 matches of 8 Ball since joining the league. Little Johnny does NOT have an established skill level in 8 Ball, therefore he will start off competing in 9 Ball as a new member, which is as a skill level 4. It is very important to know this and understand this. You can forfeit that player’s match if you convert a player’s skill level to another format and that player is competing at a lower skill level than what he should be playing as because he is NOT established. If you are not sure if a player is established in a particular format, please contact the league office and verify the starting skill level of that player before playing them.  

Wow! Nearly a whole Captain’s Log dedicated to accurate score keeping, defensive shots and starting skill levels. It’s a primary goal of ours to make sure that every team has an equal and fair opportunity to win in this league. And not only is it a goal, it’s our responsibility to protect the integrity of our handicap system, the pool league and the honest players who expect not to have to resort to the levels of those who might cheat to stay competitive. Our SDAPA family does a great job of this on the whole and we want to make sure it stays that way!  

Southwest Challenge slots are filling up quickly. If you haven’t signed up yet, you should do so soon.  

Shoot Pool Good! Brian and Jill  www.sdapa.com  619-303-0183   sandiegoapa@cox.net    sdapajill@cox.net   sdapalindsay@cox.net