Game Play

Introduction

In any sport that uses a handicap system, there are always people who try to cheat the system and ruin the meaning of amateur sports. It is important to keep in mind that the BPPL was designed for the AMATEUR player and offers amateur players a fun and fair organized League system.

The Importance of Proper Scorekeeping

Our Official Docs defines Defensive Shots: A defensive shot is a shot where the shooter deliberately misses so as to pass his turn at the table on to his opponent. A safety is a defensive shot because the shooter had no intention of making a ball of his category. Intention is the key word. Sometimes intent can be a matter of opinion and judgment, but the scorekeeper’s judgment must be accepted by the opposing player. Remember that defensive means deliberately missed. Players with integrity call all safeties and intentionally missed shots. The failure to mark defensive shots allows players and teams to advance with inaccurate skill levels.

It is important to mark defensive shots correctly during regular weekly League play and playoffs. If scores are properly marked from day one, disqualification would not be an issue. Marking defensive shots does not hurt the honest player.

Most importantly, you must score the game as YOU see it. Sandbagging is the unethical practice of keeping one’s skill level lower than it should be by missing balls or even by losing on purpose. If all deliberate misses (defensive shots) were marked, there would not be successful sandbagging. It is usually quite obvious when a player is sandbagging. Occasionally, a coach can be heard telling his player to miss a few times to run the innings up. It is important to report this type of behavior. In order for sandbagging to take place, BOTH players/teams must fail to follow the rules. The shooter must deliberately cheat, and his/her opponent must fail to mark the deliberate misses on the scoresheet.