Ball nomination

[redblackredblack]

Just a little confused with something, so thought I'd ask on here; What are all of the situations in which you have to, could do, or may have to nominate any ball?

[Souwester]

After potting a red (ie when you have a choice of colours) or when a free ball is declared, you have to nominate what ball you're going for. However, you can nominate by indication (pointing with hand/finger OR by direction your cue is pointing) or by declaration (verbal statement). If the referee is unsure what ball has been nominated (by indication) he can ask you to declare which ball you're on, and you must answer, else it is a foul. The referee cannot call a foul for not nominating if he hasn't asked you to declare what ball you're on.

Having said the above, many players automatically declare what ball they are going for as a matter of course, but unless they have been asked to do so by the referee it isn't strictly necessary.

[The Statman]

Souwester has it spot on, as ever.

Actually, whenever you are going for a ball where you have a choice, you do nominate. Usually you do so by getting down to play your shot because there is only one ball you could be going for in that direction.

Verbal nomination is necessary only if there is doubt as to which colour you are playing. This could be because:
(a) more than one colour is in the general direction in which you are cuing;
(b) you are snookered on all colours or for whatever other reason, you are playing off a cushion so there is no colour in the direction you are cuing
(c) you are touching a colour after a red, so the referee needs to know whether you are nominating that colour to play away from it, or nominating another colour to legally strike first.

In all of the above situations, or indeed at any time when the referee is unsure which colour you are playing, he must ask you to declare (i.e. say aloud; I prefer the word 'state' but 'declare' is the standard practice) which ball you intend to take.

If he hasn't asked you to state your choice, he cannot foul you for failure to do so.

As Souwester says, many players do this out of habit even when there is no possible doubt. John Higgins is one that springs to mind, who very often calls particularly baulk colours even when it is obvious. A lot of players also do it when attempting to roll up behind a baulk colour, when it is obvious 99% per cent of the time. (I've no idea why in this particular scenario it is such a widespread habit.)

There is one instance where a player might actually have to verbally nominate 'Red' - and that is if he has a free ball and he could potentially be going for a colour (as a free ball) or a red (i.e. declining the option of free ball) when they are both in approximately the same line.

One instance where a player should think for himself and declare his colour of his own accord, is if he is going for a colour off a cushion when the route will pass very close to another colour which he can hit directly. If he fails to call it, he may well be fouled because the referee thought he was going for the hittable one. The referee would most likely not have asked for a declaration because there would be no doubt in his mind that the player is taking the hittable colour.

A final word on this - as a referee, you should always repeat the colour called by the player, whether you've asked him to or not. That way, the player knows that if he hasn't heard you repeat it, you may not have heard his call; and it also guards against the possibility that you have misheard what the player said. When I am refereeing a match, I always remind both players before the match that, if they do call a colour, I will always repeat it. You hear refs on telly do this and it is not just for the information of spectators.

[Souwester]

A final word on this - as a referee, you should always repeat the colour called by the player, whether you've asked him to or not. That way, the player knows that if he hasn't heard you repeat it, you may not have heard his call; and it also guards against the possibility that you have misheard what the player said. When I am refereeing a match, I always remind both players before the match that, if they do call a colour, I will always repeat it. You hear refs on telly do this and it is not just for the information of spectators.

Statman has probvided a thorough synopsis. His last paragraph is important, because as a referee we do sometimes misinterpret the 'nomination by indication' and even a verbal declaration, so repeating the colour stated by the player is always a worthwhile exercise, to save any embarassment and arguments!

[DawRef]

One thig I would also like to add to the excellent advice above, is, that some players are very quick to get down and play their shot. As a referee, I have occasionally been caught out, in that by the time I've wanted the player to 'declare' his colour, he has already played!!! In these (RARE) instamces, I just have to accept that that was the ball the player was aiming at. I must add that most of the teams/players I've refereed, they do verbally nominate their ball anyway

[tomw]

I once got a "foul and miss" in a ranking tournament, because I didn't nominate, and lost the match off it...

What happened?
I potted a red and was in the middle of the pack. I nominated the yellow, and missed it by a couple of cms. Foul and miss. The cueball went back, and I played the same shot again with an adjustment, and now I hit the yellow. "Foul and miss"... WHAT?! "You didn't nominate."
I told the ref I didn't have to, because I already nominated the yellow the first time and because he didn't ask to nominate again. He insisted that I should have nominated again, and asked my opponent if he was right (of course he said yes... he is a top player so I know he knew better)...
After I calmed down a bit, I played the shot again, hit the yellow again but this time I left a chance and there went the match....

If I knew the above 12 years ago (yes, that's how long ago it was and I'm still mad ;-) ) ..............

[Souwester]

Because the balls are replaced after a miss has been called, doesn't mean you have to play exactly the same shot again: you could have chosen a different colour, so perhaps it would have been wise for you to have declared your intent. Just because the balls were replaced didn't automatically mean you were on the yellow again.

However, as has been said before, the referee cannot foul you for not knowing what ball you're on, unless he has asked you to declare and you haven't responded. He was wrong, therefore, to have called the second foul, and certainly wrong to have called a foul and a miss.

A miss can only be called for failing to first hit the ball you nominate you're going to first hit. Therefore, if the referee doesn't know which ball you've nominated, how can he penalise you for not hitting it?