Amateur events are killing the sport of pool

[muttley76]

Glad to see that you are planning on keeping the open events going, Mike. Always enjoyed all of your events, regardless. Look forward to seeing you this weekend-Matt

 

[tigerseye]

I understand BWhiz's side too....how is it fair to let Chew (Derek Leonard) play in an amateur event but then tell Brian "no"?

Well i feel as if Bwhite has a little more game than chewy, but i agree that chewy should stick to the open events....If janis lets him then....u can't blame any of these pro's for playing in them..=)

 

[Zims Rack]

well i hate to say it but....... as off the last event i played in the criteri was not this above. period ,, it was what people told you because i could not play in an amateur event because of what you "heard" .. I am not mad at ya Mike or trying to start anyting but the above post is false if thats the "criteria" you claim

I believe MJ said that "As of July 7, 2008..." which means that the event you are referring to did NOT fall into the criteria he mentioned.

MJ- I like the way you broke down the eligibility! I've got to give you a call this week sometime to continue our previous conversation (email traffic).

Zim

 

[MikeJanis]

well i hate to say it but....... as off the last event i played in the criteri was not this above. period ,, it was what people told you because i could not play in an amateur event because of what you "heard" .. I am not mad at ya Mike or trying to start anyting but the above post is false if thats the "criteria" you claim

If you are who I think you are, you fall into category #8.

PM me and we can fugure out your status.

Mj

 

[BigDogatLarge]

That's the ticket...

well i hate to say it but....... as off the last event i played in the criteri was not this above. period ,, it was what people told you because i could not play in an amateur event because of what you "heard" .. I am not mad at ya Mike or trying to start anyting but the above post is false if thats the "criteria" you claim

This model lets people play based on the skills of their peers. With the ability to move up and become the best you can be as a pool player in todays world. Hats off to Mike and all the others like him. Long live pool.

 

[MikeJanis]

well i hate to say it but....... as off the last event i played in the criteri was not this above. period ,, it was what people told you because i could not play in an amateur event because of what you "heard" .. I am not mad at ya Mike or trying to start anyting but the above post is false if thats the "criteria" you claim

It's OK to be mad at me. Heck, I'm known for pissing people off ......

The criteria was different prior to July 7th and maybe that's why I would not let you play.

Also, it's not a good idea to make assumptions on why I would not let you play. In fact, I have been using our super duper bouble top secret database system to rate players skills for many years. If at the event I knew your name and did my research, which I would have, the results would speak for themselves and would have been the exact reason I did not let you play.

Did you talk directly to me or Terrie ? Who are you ?

Mj

 

[wannaplaySOME?]

well, IMO, i think there should be a set criteria that is adhered to....

IMO, some of the women that are playing in the amateur events are playing 8-10 pro stops a year and are still playing in these events.....

Either way its tough to make everyone happy, but the reality is, since the standards are so "iffy" and unclear at times, it does make it tough to not see people hand picked one way or another.

The SBE is a perfect example...... I love AH to death, but come on, we gotta have some standards on who can play and who can't? The korean champion who trains with CW is hardly an amateur IMO....

 

[KBP]

is a 2 edged sword and arguments for both sides. Pool is not classed right.
There is no definition for the 'semi pro' category of players. Baseball has A, AA, AAA, and the pro levels. They advance in baseball when they 'excel' in the lower level. Pool should be the same way.

If a player wins 5 local tournaments within 18 months, they go up a level.
If a player wins 3 regional tournaments, they go up a level.
If a player wins a National tournament, they advance.

That is just a short example, for illustrative purposes only, but Pool needs something like this.


The PBT use to have a system...years ago that had levels of this sort. You played in events depending on your level, gained points and had to get points to move up to the next level. Also at that time you had to earn a spot in the US Open and not just be able to pay your money and play.
Kay

 

[Pete]

Think about it ,once someone gets too good they cant play in any of the am. events so it encourages them not to improve. It would be different if everyone but touring pros could play but some tours are banning shortstops!!! These tours are strictly padding their pocket books and have no desire to improve pool. Something needs to be done to put a stop to people hand picking who can play and who can't.

I haven't read throgh the whole thread but I think there is a very simple solution. Start your own tour and make the rules as you see fit. If others agree you will have a tour.

I think we need more lowwer level tournaments and they should graduate players as they start to really dominate the tour. We need stepping stones on the way to greatness. There should be enough to go around for all.

I hope you do start something, I am always pleased to see the sport do well.

Best of luck.

Pete

 

[ScottW]

I think one of the big issues here is the lack of consistency across the board, as far as determining who is an amateur, who is not.

It sounds like there's a mess of small-medium regional tours out there - and they mostly operate independently. If you do well in one as an amateur and they tell you "no more amateur events for you", you could still well be playing in amateur events in other tours.

Perhaps if all of these tours would put their heads together and establish a common set of guidelines/criteria on this - and perhaps even maintain a common pool of information - that might go a ways to resolving the whole issue.

People have brought up the whole PGA thing in comparison - the PGA is *one* organization. Comparing how one organization operates vs. how many independent pool tours operate doesn't make sense.