ENGLISH AMATEUR BILLIARDS CHAMPIONSHIP

Kindly and generously sponsored by Mr. Eric Gratton for the Herbert Beetham Trophy.

PRELIMINARY ROUNDS

1. The closing date for the 2003 championship will be 30th September,2002. Contestants shall be notified of their playing arrangements in November, 2002. The preliminary matches will take place on Sunday 1st December 2002.
2. It will be the responsibility of the regional organiser to send all results, score sheets and referee's tournament expenses forms to the Tournament Co-ordinator as soon as possible after the games have been completed.
3. Seedings shall apply in preliminary groups at the discretion of the committee.
4. The preliminary rounds will be played in regional groups, each group producing the appropriate number of qualifiers who will then advance to the Intermediate stage.
5. Each region shall play its Preliminary matches on a ROUND ROBIN format. A Round Robin group will ideally consist of three or four players. Each game in the group shall be played on time format of ninety (90) minutes per game. The winner of the group shall be decided firstly, by the player/s with the most game wins. In the event of players tying on game wins, the player/s going forward shall be those with the highest aggregate points difference in all matches in the group, if players tie on points aggregate, the players involved in the tie shall play a decider on time duration format of 30 minutes.

INTERMEDIATE STAGE

1. The 32 Regional winners will enter the Intermediate Stage as 8 groups of 4 players being drawn on a countrywide basis.
2. Matches will again be played on the Round Robin format to find two winners from each group.
3. The matches will take place on Sunday 16th February 2003 at venues to be arranged.
4. The Competitions Committee will ensure that no player is drawn to play a previous opponent and that no group will contain more than one overall loser from previous rounds.
5. The Intermediate Stage will produce 16 players to compete in the Final Stages.
6. Matches will be on a round robin timed format of 90 minutes games.

FINAL STAGES

1. The last 16 players (2 winners from each of the previous Intermediate Stage groups) will be drawn on a straight draw and progress to decide the eventual Champion.
2. Matches will be on timed format of 4 hours (2 x 2 hour sessions) The last 16 (eight matches) will take place at a venue to be decided on Saturday 1st March 2003. From the quarter-finals onwards all matches will be played at The Whitworth Institute. Darley Dale. Derbyshire, and on the following dates:
3. Sunday 2nd March 2003 Quarter-finals (8 to 4); Saturday 15th March 2003 Semi-finals; Sunday 16th March 2003 Final.
4. The Association both requires and expects that ail entrants shall fulfil their playing obligations at all stages of the championship as a common courtesy to all concerned.
5. Further guidance on E.A.B.A. membership or any other aspect of the championship, and requests for additional entry forms please contact: Steve Crosland (01943) 863883; Derick Townend, ( 01423) 563469.