NAPA 9-Ball Shooter Rules
Below is a summary of the official NAPA (North American Pool Shooters Association) rules for 9-ball pool. Always refer to the official rulebook for the most up-to-date details.
SHOOTER'S AGE
All shooters, regardless of age, are allowed to participate in local NAPA leagues as long as the shooter's age is in accordance with local laws for the playing establishment(s) in which local NAPA leagues are to be played. Check with your local NAPA representative for age requirements of the local playing establishments in your area.
PLAYER HEIGHT
If a shooter's height, standing without shoes on, measures less than five (5) feet tall, the shooter is permitted to use a stool (or some other object) that will raise the shooter's height to five (5) feet tall (or taller), when shooting at the table.
PROOF OF SHOOTER GENDER & IDENTITY
Your opponent has the right to request the proof of identity from you and your teammates. Positive identification is a picture I.D., for example a legal state I.D., a driver’s license or passport.
A player's gender is determined by what is listed on their legal state I.D., driver’s license or passport.
ONE TEAM
Shooters cannot play for multiple teams in the same division. Shooters can only play for one team, per division, on league day/night.
NUMBER OF MATCHES & FORFEIT SAVIORS
PAPER SCORING
If scoring is being kept on paper a shooter can only play in one match per day, per game format. Multiple matches are not allowed on paper, unless it is a playoff match.
NAPA PLAY SCORING
If scoring is being kept in NAPA Play, there is no limit to the number of matches a shooter can play a day, as long as all NAPA Team rules are being followed.
TEAM LEAGUE: REGULAR LEAGUE: NUMBER OF MATCHES
If your local NAPA League Operator chooses to have your league setup as a REGULAR TEAM league a shooter can only play one match for their team on league night.
TEAM LEAGUE: FORFEIT SAVIORS AND MULTIPLE TEAM PLAYS [OPTIONAL]
If your local NAPA League Operator chooses to have your league setup as a FORFEIT SAVIOR team league then players are allowed to play MORE than once for their team on league night.
Your local league operator has the option of limiting how many times teams can use the Forfeit Savior on league day/night. If no limit is set by your local league operator then the default is unlimited.
The following rules apply:
- FORFEIT SAVIOR rule may be used as often as necessary as long as one team member is present.
- FORFEIT SAVIOR can be purposely used to prevent a team from going over the Maximum Team Skill Level Limit.
- A player may play as the FORFEIT SAVIOR as often as necessary for their team.
- All players who are present and fall under the Team Maximum Skill Level Limit must be chosen before one player can be chosen a second time for a Forfeit Savior.
- Once the Forfeit Savior has been called any new team players arriving at the venue afterwards are disqualified from Forfeit Savior.
- Scoring must be kept in NAPA Play and not paper, unless it is a playoff match.
- A player can only play more than once if the team is unable to field another team player, is facing a possible forfeit, and no other team player is present.
- The FORFEIT SAVIOR can not be invoked until all available players have played or are playing their matches.
- Once the player is chosen, the matchup can be setup in NAPA Play and the match can proceed.
- In order to use a FORFEIT SAVIOR the team captain facing the forfeit must announce to the opposing team captain that he or she will be required to use a FORFEIT SAVIOR in order to prevent the forfeits. The opposing team captain, NOT the captain facing the forfeit, must pick a player from the team facing the forfeits to play twice.
- If both teams are short a player, both teams can exercise the Forfeit Savior, still following the order of rotation for which team should field a player first.
The following must be true:
- The team player must be present.
- The player must fall under the maximum team skill level limit (if it is a limit league).
- The player must be on the team's roster that is facing the possible forfeit, not some unknown individual.
- If there is not a player present that can keep your team under the team skill level limit then a forfeit is required.
- At the league operator's discretion a player can not be picked as the FORFEIT SAVIOR if that player had to leave the venue due to medical, health, age, occupation, family care, or emergency.
In NAPA Play each player who has already played their first match will have a [1] next to their name in the Enter A Matchup screen, letting you know that they have already played one match and are eligible to play a second match, if needed.
FORFEIT SAVIOR POINTS
The points accumulated on a forfeit savior match are applied to the team's total points that the forfeit savior player is representing and not the players individual points in Flex Point. All forfeit savior matches are ignored by Flex Point. The reason for this is not ALL players in a session have the ability or the opportunity to play a Forfeit Savior match and therefore creating an unbalanced number of matches each player gets the opportunity to play during the session. Players who get the opportunity to play a Forfeit Savior match have an advantage of players who do not. Allowing Forfeit Savior matches to be applied to Flex Point would simply be unfair to all players in a session.
FORFEIT SAVIORS SCENARIO
TEAM A is short a player
TEAM B has option to pick the Forfeit Savior
Scenario #1:
To use a FORFEIT SAVIOR the team captain facing the forfeit (Team A) must announce to the opposing team captain (Team B) that he or she will be required to use a FORFEIT SAVIOR in order to prevent the forfeits. The Team B captain has first option to pick a player from Team A to play twice. Failing to exercise that option, Team A captain will choose the player to play twice.
UNPLAYABLE MATCH
If, AFTER a player has been chosen for the Forfeit Savior match and the match can NOT be played due to circumstances beyond anyone's control like a power outage or medical situation and the match needs to be rescheduled, the Forfeit Savior selection process can NOT be done over again, unless the local League Operator deems the picked player to have a medical, occupational, or personal circumstance that has impacted the reasonable progress of the match to be played.
CHANGING TEAMS
Shooters cannot change teams, if they have already played a match during the current session, without the approval of the NAPA main office. To request a change of teams, you must:
- Contact your local NAPA league operator and inform him/her of the change request.
- The local NAPA league operator must then submit the request to the NAPA main office.
- NAPA will then make a decision on the team change request and inform the local NAPA league operator on the decision.
ADDING SHOOTERS
Teams are allowed to recruit new shooters for their team up to a designated week assigned by your League Operator. This designated week is called the "Roster Cut Off Week". Each team can recruit new players for their team up until the last ball falls on league night (or day) of the designated scheduled week. Once league matches are over for that designated week, no more changes can be made.
If you are adding a new shooter for your team on league night and the shooter is not yet listed on your roster you must notify the opposing team’s captain who the new shooter is and their skill level before the team match begins. If you do not notify the opposing team captain before the team match begins the new shooter will be ineligible to play on that league night.
SHOOTERS WITH NO PREVIOUS LEAGUE EXPERIENCE
Any new shooter having previously never played in NAPA or any organized pool league and has not been assessed by the local league operator, team captain, or a league rep should receive the following skill level until further review by the league:
- Female shooters start with a skill level of 40
- Male shooters start with a skill level of 50
SHOOTERS WITH PREVIOUS LEAGUE EXPERIENCE
If a shooter has previous NAPA league experience the shooter must be entered into the division at their most recent skill level of the same game format. If the shooter does not have a skill level for the game format being played the shooter must be entered into the division at the shooter's highest current NAPA skill level from any NAPA game format or any NAPA skill level that the NAPA HQ Audit Team deems appropriate.
If a shooter does not have NAPA league experience, yet has previous organized league experience, and their league experience is from the BCAPL, APA, or TAP then the shooter should start with the following:
BCAPL
- BCAPL 2 = NAPA 20
- ​BCAPL 3 = NAPA 30
- BCAPL 4 = NAPA 40
- ​BCAPL 5 = NAPA 50
- BCAPL 6 = NAPA 60
- ​BCAPL 7 = NAPA 70
- BCAPL 8 = NAPA 80
- ​BCAPL 9 = NAPA 90
- ​BCAPL 10 = NAPA 100
- TAP 2 = NAPA 40
- TAP 3 = NAPA 50
- TAP 4 = NAPA 60
- TAP 5 = NAPA 70
- TAP 6 = NAPA 80
- TAP 7 = NAPA 90
- APA 1 = NAPA 20 TO 30
- ​APA 2 = NAPA 30 TO 40
- ​APA 3 = NAPA 40 TO 50
- APA 4 = NAPA 50 TO 60
- ​APA 5 = NAPA 60 TO 70
- APA 6 = NAPA 70 TO 80
- ​APA 7 = NAPA 80 TO 90
- APA 8 = NAPA 90 TO 100
- ​APA 9 = NAPA 100 TO 110+
The local league operator also is permitted to use their NAPA Player Assessment Guide and use their own discretion for a player's skill level without having to use the conversions above.
NOTE: If a new shooter does have previous league experience, yet the league is not any of the leagues mentioned above, then the shooter should be entered at a skill level determined by the local NAPA league operator or entered as if the shooter does not have previous league experience.
HYPER LEAGUE MINIMUM MATCHES
In order for Hyper League matches to count towards a player's NRP, the participant must have five (5) regular matches played in their local leagues (not Hyper League matches) within the previous 90-days leading up to the start of the Hyper League and participants must be on an active roster. Active military personnel and NAPA players under 21 years old are exempt from this rule.
More Information
For full official rules, visit the NAPA Rulebook.