Just wondering

is AZBiliiards for all of pool or only for a select few?

I only ask that because in the headings I see BEF Juniors, but no heading for the VNEA Juniors or APA Juniors, etc.

...becasue in the headings I see Junior 9 ball Championship (BEF) but no listing for the National/International Junior 8 ball Championships held by VNEA or APA.

...because in the headings I see BCAPL 8 Ball Championships but no headings for any of the other organized league championships, APA, VNEA, ACS, TAP, etc.

Just curious as to why that is.

Mr. Bond and Johnnyt, both are good questions for which I have no answers.

Whose responsibility is it though to do stories/reporting on the biggest junior event and the biggest league? I don't see anything reported on the news side of AZ.

Don't misunderstand, it's just that I'm for all of pool, not just certain segments.

hang-the-9 said:

The less stuff about APA the better.
Especially their Jr program, after they pulled their support from the BEF.
Apparantly to do their own Jr tournament.

Funny thing about APA players. I ran into a few of them recently at a bar. They seemd to be very proud of themselves that they played in the APA and knew APA rules, as if that fact alone would impress someone. They were playing each other for a while before I jumped in. They both lost one game to me and both quit after that one game. APA is not really for "pool players" where AZBilliards is.

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Hang,

You make it sound like APA players are lepers or something to be shunned. I hope you are saying that "tongue in cheek", if not, I think it's exactly that attitude that is preventing many players from learning more about the game. Everyone has to start somewhere and APA is a great starting place for a lot of players. It should be your job to help those beginning players to understand. I'm sure there are players that laugh at your game and say the same things about you.

As for the BEF, I can't believe you said that. The BEF doesn't organize opportunities for junior players. The BEF doesn't teach juniors to play at a high level. The BEF's job has been to have a junior national 9-ball championship, to send winners to the world juniors, provide a scholarship opportunity and promote pool in school..

The VNEA and now the APA leagues give the juniors weekly play opportunity, usually with instruction. I would guess that many of the BEF champions came from organized league play. The Valley National Eightball Association Junior National/International Championships is the largest junior tournament there is.

I think those two organizations are benefiting the BEF as they are providing skilled players for competition. Not only that, they are the only organizations that are making an effort towards bring new young players into the game.

I hope this information helps you reevaluate your position. Each organization has there function.

Bob Jewett said:

The BEF forum seems to have less than one posting per week. Creating a forum doesn't guarantee that it will be used. Most posters are happy to put everything here unless there is already an active forum full of fanatics on that topic.

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Bob,

I realize what you are saying but, I'm not saying to create a new forum. I guess what I'm saying is that there seems to be an inequality of coverage not only in the forums but also in the new coverage on AZBILLIARDs.com.

I happened to pick up a Midwest regional magazine the other day called the Break. It had complete coverage of the VNEA, along with the pro events. It will also carry BCAPL results, APA results, etc.

I guess I just don't know what the mission statement of AZBilliards is. Maybe it is for the elite and not the masses? I don 't know. What I do know is that there are many national league organizations that don't get coverage.

Certainly, as well discussed in other threads, the owners are a for profit business and can do what they wish. I thought that if there was as much actual concern about the state of pool as stated, it is important to bring in participants from all the organizations. Hopefully with none of the "I'm better that you are" attitude.