Question for experienced APA league players

Question

I had an 8 and 9 ball match last week and someone on the other team told my teammate that even though everyone racks for their own teammate that technically the opponent is supposed to rack for them and said it was in the rule book. I looked in the rule book and don't see that anywhere. It doesn't make sense to me that your opponent would rack for you....does anyone know if this is true?

Answer 1

Tracy , I have no apa experience but i've been in other leagues and played in countless tournaments and stuff over the years and the opponents almost always racks the balls for each other. I don't know about apa rules either , so i'm no help there. It's usually loser racks unless it's alternating breaks. In some tournaments you will have referees racking in the later stages like the semi finals and finals. I've also seen rack your own which i like the best because then i know i'm getting a good rack. I would prefer a team mate racking for me , rather than my opponent , but i've never seen it done that way. Sorry i wasn't much help , just had to get my 2 cents in. By the way , a loose rack won't break better than a tight one , as another answerer suggested, it's actually just the opposite.

Answer 2

The opponent is always supposed to rack for you. If you had your own teammates racking for you who is to say that they won't give you a loose rack where more balls will scatter when you break? Your opponent racking for you is the only way to get a fair rack where no one could dispute it. I've never heard of anyone else but the opponent racking the balls and I have been in the APA league for 15 years now. I did not find that rule in the book but I guess they figure it's a given that everyone knows that since it is a match between two people(one breaks and one racks).  

Answer 3

The loser of the lag or the loser of the game always racks for the opponent! Some franchises may have it in their by-laws that someone other than the two players can rack but by-laws do not carry any weight in higher level tournaments. There is nothing specifically in the rule book as to who racks but it is implied between the two players that lag (page 44 of the Official Team Manual) for a match. It would seem almost absurd to me that anyone other than the two players would have someone else rack for them. It's a good question though.