Ref question when snookered on a colour

[Mellow Yellow]

So after potting a red and ending up totally snookered on all colours, can/should a ref remind you to nominate?

[jrc750]

Yes otherwise he will have to award 7 point penalty

[Mellow Yellow]

i get that, but surely its up to the player to remember to nominate and the ref shouldn't remind them?

[jrc750]

I suppose if it's obvious which colour he is trying to aim for then maybe it's a case of common sense prevails, just like going for a colour after a red, he only asks you to nominate if any doubt

[Mellow Yellow]

it does relate to a particular instance in a match at q school, a friend of mines opponent potted a red and ended up stuck in the pack of reds and was cueing off the diagonal angle of the black pocket to go back up to a baulk colour and whilst addressing the cue ball the ref reminded him to nominate a colour.

[jrc750]

Well in that case it was not obvious which colour he was going for so ref was right to ask for clarification. I suppose he could of kept quiet then said foul 7 for not nominating, but how can the player forget to nominate without being asked ??

[jonny66]

Are you saying the ref should just let him take the shot and award 7 points if the player doesn't nominate Mellow?

[DeanH]

This is one of a few situations where the referee will request the player to "declare" their selected ball, when every colour is snookered after a red is potted. Other can be in a touching ball situation.
Don't think I have seen this in a pro game

[Bigmeek]

I'v seen the ref ask a player to nominate a colour when there are 2 colours close together and both are pottable.

[acesinc]

This type of case is something that one may consider a rather odd quirk in the Rules of Snooker. The thing about it is that the striker is never, ever REQUIRED to nominate a ball verbally....he can just strike if he wants. If he does, of course he runs the risk of the Referee calling a foul on him whether he hits the ball he intended or not and there would be no recourse for him in such case. There may be times when the Referee requests a nomination.....again, the player does not actually have to verbally answer, but if he does not, then the Referee is absolutely going to call it as a foul no matter how obvious the strike was, if only to teach the striker a lesson that he should best respond to a query from the Ref.

As for the Referee's end of it, he is also never REQUIRED to request a colour nomination by the Rules. On occasion, the Ref will ask for nomination simply as a courtesy to the player essentially saying, "It is not clear to me which ball you are playing at so if you wish to be sure not to foul, it would be a good idea to let me know." The actual wording used by the Referee will be something along the lines of "Please declare." but they manage to get that entire thought conveyed in so few words; very concise.

So if you want to place the onus of declaring a colour verbally on someone, it rightfully belongs on the striker. It is his responsibility that the Referee be clear on the point of which colour he is playing as on, not the other way around.

[DeanH]

This type of case is something that one may consider a rather odd quirk in the Rules of Snooker. The thing about it is that the striker is never, ever REQUIRED to nominate a ball verbally....he can just strike if he wants. If he does, of course he runs the risk of the Referee calling a foul on him whether he hits the ball he intended or not and there would be no recourse for him in such case. There may be times when the Referee requests a nomination.....again, the player does not actually have to verbally answer, but if he does not, then the Referee is absolutely going to call it as a foul no matter how obvious the strike was, if only to teach the striker a lesson that he should best respond to a query from the Ref.

As for the Referee's end of it, he is also never REQUIRED to request a colour nomination by the Rules. On occasion, the Ref will ask for nomination simply as a courtesy to the player essentially saying, "It is not clear to me which ball you are playing at so if you wish to be sure not to foul, it would be a good idea to let me know." The actual wording used by the Referee will be something along the lines of "Please declare." but they manage to get that entire thought conveyed in so few words; very concise.

So if you want to place the onus of declaring a colour verbally on someone, it rightfully belongs on the striker. It is his responsibility that the Referee be clear on the point of which colour he is playing as on, not the other way around.

All true and I was going to add that on one hand the rules state that the referee can not assistant the player for so many scenarios and questions - like "is it ok if/a foul if...", and on the other the referee directly asks the player to declare and in essence could indicate to the player he could commit a foul.
Awaiting London Lad to pop on with the explanation behind this Declare request

[DeanH]

I'v seen the ref ask a player to nominate a colour when there are 2 colours close together and both are pottable.

cool
do you recall the match/players?
I do think that more often than not players tend to declare their selection more than necessary

[snookerdad]

The rules say that the striker must verbally declare the colour he is going for when snookered.

[Bigmeek]

cool
do you recall the match/players?
I do think that more often than not players tend to declare their selection more than necessary

Can't really remember I'm afraid but seen it quite a few times. Think John Williams was prone to saying "please nominate".
Maybe doesn't happen much nowadays.

[itsnoteasy]

Just on a side point about having to nominate what ball you are trying to hit, on a free ball I think you have to nominate even if it's bleedin obvious what ball you are going for.