Situation: My player that is shooting has only played for a short period of time and has a rules question while at the table. Am I allowed to state/clarify the rule while it is still their turn?

Yes, some examples of comments that are NOT considered coaching are: Answering a player’s question concerning rules.

The player should be clear to both teams they are asking for a rule clarification vs needing a timeout and the person answering from their team should also make sure the other team is aware. The question and answer should be said out loud to ensure it stays within answering a rules question vs a timeout. The player asking for the clarification of a rule may very likely not know what they are asking and may simply say something more generic.

For example, before this player shoots the ball they are shooting at appears to be frozen to the rail. Their opponent says “hold on, can we check if it is frozen”, at this point the player can ask why does it matter.

Either team can answer “because you must drive another ball to the rail or that frozen ball to a different rail to be a legal shot". This is not considered a timeout.

Rule: Official Team Manual (OTM) page 28 “Coaching”: https://media.poolplayers.com/TMRB/Team-Manual-English.pdf

This section also covers:

• Other examples of things considered coaching and some that are not considered coaching
• Who can coach
• Can a timeout be refused
• And more good information around coaching (timeout)

You can submit a "Rule of the Week" to the league office:

• Email to sandiego@apaleagues.com.
• Email Subject Line must read “SDAPA Rule of the Week”
• Clearly state the rule/situation and if you know where the answer is found please provide those details.