How can we get more recreational players to be competitional players?

kolaas

kolaas

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
In Holland the pool scene has shrunk to a tiny size. It does have a core with very fanatic players, but the total amount is puny. Recently I read the numbers on members from a dutch forum:
Population:~17mln people
Section Carom, 20.000 members
Section Three cushion billiards, 2000 members
Section Pool 1500 members
Section Snooker: unknown, but not much

I just cant believe it is that low! Alot of people enjoy playing pool in cafes, but the step to competitive play seems to big. A discussion has been started on how to get those numbers up, but sofar no real steps are taken or initiatives have failed.

Anyone got some good idea on getting those people to play regularly?
Maybe youve had a similar issue in the area and came up with a smart solution.. what was it? :D
 
Make it fun

The pool halls have to try to get company's to have office party's at local pool hall's..., the more people who play, the greater the chance that a few will get hooked...., $5 dollar scotch doubles tourny's..., if the ladies play, then the men will follow
 
You need an official competitive avenue for the sport, an actual tour and you need that tour to be compelling, exciting, and something that people want to be a part of and experience. People tend to compete in sports that have a professional level that interests them. Pool for the most part has no official professional level and it is a huge problem for the sport.
 
most people aren't serious competitors

kolaas said:
In Holland the pool scene has shrunk to a tiny size. It does have a core with very fanatic players, but the total amount is puny. Recently I read the numbers on members from a dutch forum:
Population:~17mln people
Section Carom, 20.000 members
Section Three cushion billiards, 2000 members
Section Pool 1500 members
Section Snooker: unknown, but not much

I just cant believe it is that low! Alot of people enjoy playing pool in cafes, but the step to competitive play seems to big. A discussion has been started on how to get those numbers up, but sofar no real steps are taken or initiatives have failed.

Anyone got some good idea on getting those people to play regularly?
Maybe youve had a similar issue in the area and came up with a smart solution.. what was it? :D
Click to expand...



I have studied this problem, seems like there are at least ten times as many recreational players as there are competitors that seek out formal competition. Ten percent of those coming over to the competition side of things would double the number of competitors!

Unfortunately what I have learned is that the vast majority of people that want to compete are competing already. You will be hard pressed to get a few percent of the noncompetitors to try a competition and of those that try only a tiny fraction of them will keep competing for any significant period. Most people don't enjoy competing.

You can gather funds for bring a friend day where both play for half price if one hasn't competed in the events before. You can have various eight(money ball) on the break or runout promotions to put a little more luck into the possibility of taking home some coin, various ways to get a few new faces. Free feeds at the events, whatever. The newcomers you are trying to snare are more likely to come for a reason other than competition than they are likely to come because they plan to become a regular competitor. If you can grow your group of regular competitors five or ten percent a year you will be doing outstanding.

Ultimately the only way to grow the number of competitors is to make the competitions pleasurable for the average person. They will probably enjoy the social side of things more than the competition itself. You already have almost all of the competitors available that will come because of a desire to be the best.

Hu
 
If I ever end up with my own room the first thing I am going to do is to have a mural of a mountain range put on the wall and have different peaks labeled. Each peak will represent a specific game and level. ie 9ball pro/9ball amateur/9ball recreational.. Heck I might need 2 walls when it's over but at the top of each peak there will be a player's name... There will be tournaments each year to get your name up there and all year if you want to stay there you will have to take on all challengers...

I think the players will fight to get on and stay on the wall.. Would be hoot to walk in with your buds and get to point out that your name is still up there on top...... Having the recreational peaks should help motivate those players to start practicing some and they will eventually start moving up.....
 
The APA claims over 250,000 players. When the APA league first came out, were there other leagues? More specifically did they cannabalize players from other leagues, or did they help grow the field?
 
Have beginner level instruction readily available to everyone for free (and make sure they know that they can get it for free). I think most people are too intimidated by its initial difficulty to pick up pool seriously. Beginning bowlers might get a strike or multiple strikes in their first game, beginners at darts might get lucky and throw a few bulls, beginning pool players MIGHT finish a rack in less than half an hour after beating up the rails like they are playing 3 cushion. If everyone is taught to a level where they can at least make a 2 or 3 ball run with some regularity, I think more people would catch the bug.
 
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If you want more people interested, I have a solution.................................................
Have Janette Lee vs Jasmin Ouschan in a strip pool grudge match :)
 
Round robin formats might help. The existing "two-and-out, thanks for your donation" format is disincentive to intermediate players.

Also, pool tournaments move at glacial speed. I don't have a solution for this, but who wants to sit around for 2 hours waiting for a match?
 
Leagues are probably the best solution for this. Some people will graduate from the leagues and become tournament players, many will not, but creating tournaments with large-scale appeal is, in my experience, very difficult to do. Usually to get the recreational players in, you have to lower entry fees to next to nothing, and implement a handicapping system that makes it nearly impossible for the strong players to win. Conversely, to get the serious players you have to raise entry fees, have an open format, and add money. I say let the recreational players do a team thing first, which they will probably enjoy more anyway, and be glad for any that filter up into tournament play.

Aaron
 
Thanks for the responses!

Personally I agree with Masayoshi (give free beginner instructions). To make the recreational player go competition, the player has to have a feeling that he can win a game.

I remember when someone told me about the stunshot -> 90 degree and about standing right. OOoooohhh so that is how you can get position! That made me want to try, and hell yeah I actually got a position!

Perhaps some posters with very basic instructions on how to get your level up and some information on 8-ball rules. Right now people play with very frustrating "black in opposite", "foul = 2x" etc. While ball in hand and black everywhere makes the game go much faster and less frustrating.

Personally I dont think the set up of the league/competition has to do much with this. Because the people that dont play dont even know there is a league. But creating fun beginner tournaments could get people to enjoy tournamentplay.

"Have Janette Lee vs Jasmin Ouschan in a strip pool grudge match"
We've done that and it was an amazing night, but unfrotunatly no new players.
 
Masayoshi said:
Have beginner level instruction readily available to everyone for free (and make sure they know that they can get it for free).
Click to expand...

While I agree with this basic tenet, it does not go far enough.

<Almost> Everyone in a pool hall (or whatever its called over there) should avail themselves to take a newbie under their wings and show them how to play the game. I do this at my local bar. Anyone at the table looking for help is given help.

If we want the number of player to increase, WE have to help those showing up for the first time to play the game (how to stroke the CB, how to aim, how to pot the OB, and how to get position). The more of us who help the newbies, and the longer we help the newbies, and the more we welcome them, the more players we will have 5 years down the road.
 
Umm. You can't get there from here. Sorry.

The future of any sport starts with kids. You have to make the opportunity available at very very young ages. Available in schools and summer camps, video games and tv. It has to offer potential for longevity, respect in at least some way from peers and contain some decent level of perceivable attainable long term goal. An idealized personal connection with "masters" or pros in the activity is an imperative.

The problem is these do not nor have they ever exist in our dearly loved game. Its unlikely that with its long standing poor image and the current direction of the game that will be the case indefinately. You will simply never be able to instill the kind of passion required in the casual player that hasn't already felt that passion by this point. Admittingly there will be the occasional late bloomer but they will be/or are an insignificant minority at best.

I appreciate so many people wishing they can save the game. Its admirable and I don't want to extinguish that fire but there are certain realities that can't be ignored.
 
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