Effective June 1, 2009, the Official Rules of the BCA Pool League in “Equipment Specifications” under “Cues,” item d. states:
“The cue tip must be composed of leather, fibrous, or pliable material. Phenolic cue tips are not permitted.”
The BCA Pool League is amending this rule to state: “THE CUE TIP ON BREAK CUES MUST BE MADE OF LEATHER WITH NO NON-LEATHER MATERIALS ADDED TO THE CONTACTING SURFACE.” There have been questions asked, such as: “What if I break with my jump cue?” and similar questions. It is very simple. Whatever cue you break with must have a leather tip.
The reason for this rule is that the BCA Pool League has witnessed too many examples of damaged cue balls. After consultations with Aramith and Simonis, it has been determined the major contributing factor in cue ball damage is the hardness of the tip on break cues.
For several years the WPA has taken the position that the cue tip may not be of a material that can scratch or damage the cue ball. The BCAPL subscribes to the WPA philosophy.
This policy only applies to break cues. Jump cues are allowed to have a leather or non-leather tip - since it is difficult to stroke with enough force to cause damage.
This rule will be in effect at the BCAPL National 8-Ball Championships and regional tournaments that the BCAPL promotes. Promoters, directors and operators of events such as league play or local tournaments may alter the rules as they see fit.
Signed,
Bill Stock, BCAPL
Director of Referees and
Rules Administrator
The rumor about phenolic tips being banned was hashed out on many threads on AZBilliards.com Forums. I read only a few of the posts among the MANY and now here are my simple thoughts.
I kinda now wish I would have had a phenolic tip on my break cue. SO many people bitched and moaned about this new rule, that it makes me wish I knew what they were talking about or that I had tried it, lol. I honestly haven't seen so many complaints about a rule change in quite some time.
Much speculation and concern was about jump cues, but seeing the above ruling, it only applies to break cues. I do wonder though - how am I to know if my opponent is trying to pull a fast one on me and using the phenolic tip anyway? How will I know? How will the refs know? Will they go around and look at everyone as they break?
Ah-ha! I am more knowledgeable because of the Internet, though! I came across this photo in the AZB forums of phenolic tips (be on the look out!):
If the photo above shows the only phenolic tips out there, it seems it will be quite easy to spot these banned tips. It seems to be one piece, not a ferrul and a tip. I am glad I found this pic! Thanks to Chuck in New Jersey for sharing it!I am not trying to make fun of the rule - heck, I don't even truly know what a phenolic tip is - and if it is damaging cueballs, I say let's embrace the rule. I just hope it truly can be enforced so the rule can safely stay in the rule books so the cueballs don't get damaged.
3 comments:
most interesting post.
i'm a bit dubious about phenolic tips damaging the cueball. after all, a phenolic cueball strikes phenolic object balls countless times during a match, but that type of collision is okay in the rulebook. i'm not saying that phenolic tips won't damage the cueball, but there seems to be a leap of logic. of course, i can be wrong. if i am let me know.
as far as spotting phenolic tips from leather, well, going by looks can be deceiving. you can machine a phenolic tip to look like a regular tip, and color the tip portion black to further disguise the look. i have an old jump cue w/ a phenolic tip that's machined exactly as i described.
the most telltale sign (i think) is the high-pitched noise a phenolic break cue generates. think of a cueball hitting an object ball, but a couple of octaves higher. that sound is hard to miss; no leather tip i've seen can make that noise. i think this makes phenolic tips easy to spot; you don't even have to look at the cue. as soon as the person breaks you can tell the difference.
I have a break stick with a phenolic tip and it looks nothing like the ones you have pictured... it really looks just like a tip.. there is actually no ferrule on my stick... the late Annie O put it on my stick for me. I wouldn't say that the actual break is what makes the high pitched noise.. but you can tell when you chalk it.. it makes a squeaky noise.. almost like a tip that isn't scuffed... I do not believe that the phenolic tips are damaging the cue balls. My husband runs a pool table service company, we ourselves have a pool table, and we both have phenolic tips. We have logged hundreds of hours on our table, playing, doing drills, even on a break rack and we have NEVER damaged a cue ball. The only scratches we have on our balls is from Carom getting a hold of a few and thinking they were toys. I also think that lots of vendors in Vegas are going to lose business because of it. If you are selling a break stick with a phenolic tip, why should we buy it when we can't use it? The simple cost of a cue ball, is minimal when compared to what some people spend on break sticks. The wear and tear on the felt is going to continue because of jump shots, masse shots, draw shots, and anything else that is done in a continual pattern. I for one am annoyed with the rule and think for all the money they make, replacing a cue ball is pennies. Not only that but what I have seen damage a ball several times is nails sticking out of the pockets. I don't think this new rule is going to cut down on their costs in the least bit.
Umm, yeah, a phenolic tip can damage a cue ball: http://kbcnc.blogspot.com/2011/03/2011-apa-8-ball-southwest-challenge-day.html someone just commented on this old post of mine, and when I googled to find the rule change, I ran across this post so we'll go full circle.
Post a Comment