Those who know me well on this forum, will be a bit suprised by this thread. I am not one to rant or show my anger or dissappointments in public. However, I will put my foot down when others are negatively effected by someone's actions or lack of common courtesy.
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I would like to offer this letter and my deepest apologies to NYC area players who had plans to play in the Cue Bar 14.1 qualifier only to find it cancelled at the last minute without any prior notification by the tournament director, Dr. Louis Pannullo.
When I arrived to the CSI office this morning in Las Vegas I was greeted by voicemails and emails asking about the qualifier, which I expected to have already started in Bayside. When I called and spoke with Dr. Pannullo he informed me he decided yesterday to cancel today’s qualifier due to the low number of players (4) who had called to notify him they would be playing. He did not contact the CSI office until we attempted to contact him this morning. When I mentioned players showed up to the room this morning, he held firm players should have called him earlier. While I agree that may be an ideal from a tournament coordinators perspective, it is not realistic and it is not always feasible in people’s hectic lives to do that.
The NCS, not only in 14.1, but all 5 disciplines is about trying to expand the sport, broaden player involvement in multiple disciplines and offering at a reasonable cost to the host rooms and players, an opportunity to participate in an open U.S. series of national championships. Another goal is to encourage more 9' table play around the country, which sadly has been declining over the years. This is why we choose the more arduous task of setting up reasonably priced qualifiers around the country versus the more standard format of setting up a tournament and having players pay directly to play.
However, the success of the NCS program also relies on the enthusiasm, experience, organizational skills and sincerity of pool room owners, managers, and independent individuals who either solicit or volunteer to run a qualifier in a local or area room. Overwhelmingly, a large majority of those I’ve had the pleasure to work with have been tremendous. They’ve demonstrated a true love of the sport and share in the vision of the NCS. I’ve developed a great regard for so many people I’ve met this past year.
Dr. Pannullo insisted the qualifier be held Thursday, June 11, after contacting me for the first time May 24. I felt it gave little time to promote the event and rushed to get his materials to him. I tried to encourage him to schedule a little farther into the month or in July, or at least on a weekend so more people could participate. While I do not attempt to guess why the rush or the particular date of the qualifier, I feel the situation should and could have been handled differently.
NCS 14.1 qualifiers are set up so a room owner, anywhere in the country, can participate and only need 7 players for a spot to nationals and to break even. We, along with many fine people, are working hard to bring 14.1 to more parts of the country and raise its visibility, Dr. Pannullo’s decision to arbitrarily cancel the qualifier wasted a lot of people and player’s time.
On a brighter note, an hour after being apprised of Dr. Pannullo’s actions, I was informed by the NY 14.1 grapevine, a prominent NYC room owner is considering holding an NCS qualifier. Details will be announced once all is completed.
All the best,
Holly
___
I would like to offer this letter and my deepest apologies to NYC area players who had plans to play in the Cue Bar 14.1 qualifier only to find it cancelled at the last minute without any prior notification by the tournament director, Dr. Louis Pannullo.
When I arrived to the CSI office this morning in Las Vegas I was greeted by voicemails and emails asking about the qualifier, which I expected to have already started in Bayside. When I called and spoke with Dr. Pannullo he informed me he decided yesterday to cancel today’s qualifier due to the low number of players (4) who had called to notify him they would be playing. He did not contact the CSI office until we attempted to contact him this morning. When I mentioned players showed up to the room this morning, he held firm players should have called him earlier. While I agree that may be an ideal from a tournament coordinators perspective, it is not realistic and it is not always feasible in people’s hectic lives to do that.
The NCS, not only in 14.1, but all 5 disciplines is about trying to expand the sport, broaden player involvement in multiple disciplines and offering at a reasonable cost to the host rooms and players, an opportunity to participate in an open U.S. series of national championships. Another goal is to encourage more 9' table play around the country, which sadly has been declining over the years. This is why we choose the more arduous task of setting up reasonably priced qualifiers around the country versus the more standard format of setting up a tournament and having players pay directly to play.
However, the success of the NCS program also relies on the enthusiasm, experience, organizational skills and sincerity of pool room owners, managers, and independent individuals who either solicit or volunteer to run a qualifier in a local or area room. Overwhelmingly, a large majority of those I’ve had the pleasure to work with have been tremendous. They’ve demonstrated a true love of the sport and share in the vision of the NCS. I’ve developed a great regard for so many people I’ve met this past year.
Dr. Pannullo insisted the qualifier be held Thursday, June 11, after contacting me for the first time May 24. I felt it gave little time to promote the event and rushed to get his materials to him. I tried to encourage him to schedule a little farther into the month or in July, or at least on a weekend so more people could participate. While I do not attempt to guess why the rush or the particular date of the qualifier, I feel the situation should and could have been handled differently.
NCS 14.1 qualifiers are set up so a room owner, anywhere in the country, can participate and only need 7 players for a spot to nationals and to break even. We, along with many fine people, are working hard to bring 14.1 to more parts of the country and raise its visibility, Dr. Pannullo’s decision to arbitrarily cancel the qualifier wasted a lot of people and player’s time.
On a brighter note, an hour after being apprised of Dr. Pannullo’s actions, I was informed by the NY 14.1 grapevine, a prominent NYC room owner is considering holding an NCS qualifier. Details will be announced once all is completed.
All the best,
Holly
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