APA "recognized" as governing body?

Donny Lutz

Donny Lutz

Ferrule Cat
Silver Member
In the lead story on the AZ home page, the APA announces their national tournament. Fine. But near the end of their article they use their standard rhetoric to promote themselves:

"The APA is recognized as the governing body of amateur pool, having established the official rules, championships, format and handicap systems for the sport of amateur billiards".

Well, the BCA has been the "recognized" governing body of amateur and professional pool since 1948, and many still consider it as such.
The APA recognizes itself as the "governing body", but many would disagree.

Their claim to the "official rules" is egoistic to say the least. The World Standardized Rules are the official rules, used with minor exceptions by CSI, VNEA, BCAPL, ACS and other league systems.

Likewise, their format and handicapped systems are not only not "official" they are generally unpopular with the players in other league systems and with the hundreds of thousands of former APA players who no longer play in the APA system.

Before I'm crucified by the APA and its fans, I'm not looking to destroy the APA. Just making a point about outrageous claims. The APA claims are comparable to the World Boxing Federation claiming to be the "official" governing body that has established the "official" rules, etc.

Reminds me of the infamous Donald Rumsfedt quote, "There's reality, and there's the reality that we create."

Donny L
PBIA/ACS Instructor
 
I totally agree! Also, I don't know why anyone would want to play APA if they had a VNEA or BCA league also available!
 
Well, like the article say, "The APA recognizes it self..." or something like that.
I'm sure to the APA they are the Governing Body of pool. To most people, not so much...
 
The closest thing to that is the BCA IMHO.

I mean...if you want to insult somebody's game you say "That so APA..." LOL!

To me, since I got into the game, it's always been the BCA. That's why I joined them way back in the eighties.

Their statement is just self-promotion. No big deal, I would think that's what they are supposed to do. It does look a bit silly though.



.
 
I'm an APA guy, myself, and I find it silly.

Not earth shattering, mind you. Silly, certainly.
 
Banks said:
Personally, I'm waiting for the thread about whether or not Snapple really is "made from the best stuff on Earth." I'm a naysayer! :D
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Hmmmmm, I haven't been a naysayer yet, but it sure seems like that's what all the cool kids here do, maybe I'll join you :p
 
I'm an APA guy and that's because I am relatively new to the game. There is BCA around here but it's filled mostly with APA 5's and above. It's extremely tough to be competitive against them as a lower APA SL player. Besides the APA is extremely popular around here. That being said, I'm about to head out in an hour to go watch a BCA match. :)
 
At one time the APA had some kind of deal with Don Mackey's organization and Don recognized them as some kind of governing body. I think they got into trouble with the BCA for that.

Perhaps the APA recognizes itself. Maybe they use the "mirror system" of recognition.
 
Flintlock said:
I'm an APA guy and that's because I am relatively new to the game. There is BCA around here but it's filled mostly with APA 5's and above. It's extremely tough to be competitive against them as a lower APA SL player. Besides the APA is extremely popular around here. That being said, I'm about to head out in an hour to go watch a BCA match. :)
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That would be BCAPL. It's entirely separate from the BCA which is a trade organization. The APA actually belongs to the BCA and appears to be mortal enemies of the BCAPL. The BCAPL is also a member of the BCA, I think.

The BCA is the governing body for pool in North America and the US and is recognized by the WPA which is the world governing body for pool.
 
This is aggravating to hear, in that the APA doesn't have any interest in higher skill level players (according to the stats).
It would be like a recreational metro little league, as the governing body over the NFL.
Pro football players would have to be double patched over a certain weight...:smile:
 
justadub said:
Hmmmmm, I haven't been a naysayer yet, but it sure seems like that's what all the cool kids here do, maybe I'll join you :p
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I do hereby pronounce you the governing body of governing bodies! I don't think there is one yet, so you're filling a kinda important void now. :embarrassed2:

People take what companies say about themselves too seriously..
 
I heard a team got to the finals of the 9 ball this year and was disqualified.....who governed that I wonder...:confused:

Any organization can "claim" whatever makes them more money or makes them look like something they are not. Do they still have the slogan "Everyone can play and anyone can win"..? It should read "Everyone can play but no one really ever wins". Anything that involves handicaps has and will continue to be manipulated until Dec 21 2012, or until the real end of time. It is what it is and should be taken for just that, a way to hang out and have fun with friends. When you try and turn the aspect of paper pool into something else....it will lead to nothing but disaster.
 
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jgobigred said:
I totally agree! Also, I don't know why anyone would want to play APA if they had a VNEA or BCA league also available!
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We got like 7, or 8 BRANDS of Leagues in the Valley of the SUN. TAP, APA, ACS, BCAPL, AZ Pool League, and a few more. People got many choices, none that float my boat.
 
From the NAPA website... "Join North America's Coolest Pool League"

From the TAP website..."The Best Amateur League in North America"

CSI and VNEA avoided tooting their own horns with similar statements. I'm quite sure that if I were to keep poking around to other pool industry websites, I'd find still more self "recognition"....

It's promotion, marketing...it's done all the time.
 
Donny Lutz said:
In the lead story on the AZ home page, the APA announces their national tournament. Fine. But near the end of their article they use their standard rhetoric to promote themselves:

"The APA is recognized as the governing body of amateur pool, having established the official rules, championships, format and handicap systems for the sport of amateur billiards".

Well, the BCA has been the "recognized" governing body of amateur and professional pool since 1948, and many still consider it as such.
The APA recognizes itself as the "governing body", but many would disagree.

Their claim to the "official rules" is egoistic to say the least. The World Standardized Rules are the official rules, used with minor exceptions by CSI, VNEA, BCAPL, ACS and other league systems.

Likewise, their format and handicapped systems are not only not "official" they are generally unpopular with the players in other league systems and with the hundreds of thousands of former APA players who no longer play in the APA system.

Before I'm crucified by the APA and its fans, I'm not looking to destroy the APA. Just making a point about outrageous claims. The APA claims are comparable to the World Boxing Federation claiming to be the "official" governing body that has established the "official" rules, etc.

Reminds me of the infamous Donald Rumsfedt quote, "There's reality, and there's the reality that we create."

Donny L
PBIA/ACS Instructor
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They do technically say " The APA is generally recognized as the Governing Body of Amateur Pool, having established the official rules, championships, formats and handicap systems for the sport of amateur billiards."

The key word here is "generally"....this does change the meaning:
1. Popularly; widely: generally known.
2.
a. As a rule; usually: The child generally has little to say.
b. For the most part: a generally boring speech.
3. Without reference to particular instances or details; not specifically: generally speaking.
 
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jgobigred said:
I don't know why anyone would want to play APA if they had a VNEA or BCA league also available!
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Well, I have APA and BCA to choose from. I find that the people at my not quite local APA league are a lot nicer to hang around than the people at the somewhat closer BCA league.
 
APA recognized as "governing body"

MitchAlsup said:
Well, I have APA and BCA to choose from. I find that the people at my not quite local APA league are a lot nicer to hang around than the people at the somewhat closer BCA league.
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That is unfortunate, but generally speaking BCAPL leagues and their players might be a little more passionate about the game and that can be taken as not "as nice" as a more social league.

Nothing is wrong with either - as long as they are playing pool and encouraging others to do the same.

I do feel, however, that proclaiming that you are the 'governing body of amateur pool' is a little over the top. And their rules are only recognized by their players, no other organization or agency uses their rules.

But they can call themselves anything they want. It is misleading but eventually people 'get it' - and then they lose some of the credibility they are trying to create in the first place.

There is only one 'governing body of pool' in the US - and as long as they are the WPA representative - that is the Billiard Congress of America (BCA).

Mark Griffin

Mark Griffin
 
Mark Griffin said:
There is only one 'governing body of pool' in the US - and as long as they are the WPA representative - that is the Billiard Congress of America (BCA).
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I think it's all a matter of perspective. No one organization (Billiard Congress of America, APA, CSI, etc. included) has the power to govern any of the others. The BCA is the organization that most closely resembles the representative-style of government in the United States, but they do not actually govern. They have no real legislative or judicial functions.

On the other hand, BCAPL, TAP, VNEA, ACS, APA, and any other league organization that has rules can be viewed as the governing body of their respective memberships. They all have legislative and judicial authority over their members. While the styles may be different (some are more tightly governed than others), they all govern.

Now, if you hired a polling organization to randomly sample United States citizens with the question "Who is the governing body of amateur pool?", I'm sure the most popular answer by far would be "I have no idea". I wonder what the most popular answer among the others would be? Could that entity be generally regarded as the governing body of amateur pool in the U.S.?
 
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