Pool and Sportsmanlike Behaviour

Shane Bonetti, December 2008©

I have thought about what we might mean by "sporting" and
"sportsmanlike" behaviour over the pool table. This has nothing to do
whatsoever with real or imagined events. It is my own personal credo. This is what I mean by
sportsmanship and sportsmanlike behaviour:-

1. I will shake my opponent's hand before and after the frame, and
after the match I will do the same with all of the opposing team, to
thank them for giving up a night just to play a couple of frames of
pool.
2. I will not follow 1. if, in my judgement, the opponents are unsporting.
3. If there is a choice, I will not intentionally inflict loud music
on my opponent, nor on myself, for the simple reason that we need to
hear opponent's calls of "total snooker" and "touching ball" and "two
shots", and such like, and for the more complex reason that (and no
offence to deaf players) we play better if we can hear the slight
touches of balls.
4. When I foul, in a game without a referee, whether the foul is
obvious or not, I will call the foul instantly and loudly.
5. I will not complain during a match, and particularly during a
frame, about the table, playing conditions, temperature or publican,
as an excuse for my performance.
6. I will not sledge, though I will banter.
7. I will compliment my opponent's good shots. I will lament my
opponent's bad luck, sincerely.
8. I will celebrate victory calmly, but when I make a mistake of
technique or tactics or rules, I will cop it sweet without a
moan or a whimper.
9. I will not coach my team-mates during a frame, but I will support
my team-mates' efforts.
10. When the playing conditions are confined, as they almost always
are, as a member of the audience or as a player, I will move promptly
and without invitation if, in my judgement, where I am standing or
sitting is likely to impede a player's stroke.

I cannot myself claim to have lived perfectly by these precepts, but

it is my ambition to live up to them.