Hey, that guy... that guy took the one ball

     IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU! The excitement of Wednesday night league play is upon us. Snooker and Carom are in the final game of the match. The out come of this game will determine which team wins the 4th round and which team wins total points. The game is in this situation when the “incident” happens. There are four balls on the table: the Cue ball, the Eight ball, the One ball, and the Three ball. The shooter at the table is shooting the solids when the “incident” occurs. A bar fight breaks out in close proximity to the pool table where the final game is being played. It carries over onto the table itself, moves down to the next table and lasts for a period of time. The fighters are eventually separated with one at one end of the set of tables and the other at the end of the table where the game is being played. Words are still being exchanged when one of the fighters starts picking up the balls on the table where the final game of the match is being played and throwing them at the other individual in the fight. The Cue ball is thrown, the Three ball is thrown, and the One ball is thrown which makes contact the other fighter. The struck fighter picks up the One ball, but is talked out of a return throw; however, he left the bar with the One ball. You are called and asked “What do we do?” 

    You make the call. Just to make the call easier, you are also advised that the shooter that was shooting the stripes has made enough balls to win the round and win totals. Think about it, what is the call that you are going to make here??? The answer is actually in the General Definitions of Pocket Billiards, Number 15. It deals with NON-PLAYER INTERFERENCE. “If the balls are moved ... by a non-player during a match, the balls shall be replaced as near as possible to their original positions immediately prior to the incident, and play shall resume with no penalty on the player affected. If the match is officiated, referee shall replace the balls. This rule shall also apply to ‘act of God’ interference, such as earthquake, hurricane, light fixture falling, power failure, etc”. The list is not all inclusive - other events could qualify as an “act of God”. Please note that a “bar fight” may not be “an act of God”, but this rule would apply to this situation. 

    THE CALL: (obtain a One ball from the bar), then replace the balls as near as possible to their original positions, and let the shooter who was at the table at the time the “incident” occurred to continue shooting. 

Fred A. Johnson

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