apa is making changes

lorider

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Every time a thread pops up with the 3 letters...apa.....in the title bashers jump in complaining about what's wrong with apa.

One of the major complaints has always been teams meeting the 23 rule and aside from that is a lot of people just dont like playing on teams for various reasons.

Well.apa.has addressed that with the formation of a singles division. It will be double jeapordy...both 8 and 9 ball. I am.not sure how the scheduling will be but it seems to me all.you have to do is just play your matches and go home. No more sticking around to see if you are going to play that night. No more ....well I can't play cause Joe just got raised. No more worrying if you are going to have enough players that night. All you gotta worry about is you.

Another major complaint has always been about playing for patches instead of money. Apa has started having money added cash tournaments here and I read tonight that they are even going to be adding more than what has already been scheduled.

A few months ago we had an 8 ball team tournament that had over 4,000.00 for first place ...purse and Calcutta combined. Iirc correctly the total for the tournament was over 7,000.00 and we only had 14 teams in it.

We also had a 1,000.00 added 9 ball tournament that was broken into 5 handicap levels. You just played players with the same handicap basically. I played in the s/l 5 bracket and iirc it paid over 400.00 alone. So it seems they are addressing the ...apa only gives out patches.

I also read that they are increasing the payouts for nationals by 50.00 a player across the board. Granted that dont sound like a whole lot but it's better nothing. It adds up though when you think about how many players our area sends.

I think I was the first to sign up.for the singles division. I can't wait till it gets started.
 
A lot of that sounds like it is probably just your local league. Also you LO is responsible for setting aside money for prizes etc.

I haven't heard anything about a singles division where I am.
 
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A lot of that sounds like it is probably just your local league. Also you LO is responsible for setting aside money for prizes etc.

I haven't heard anything about a singles division where I am.

I believe you are correct about it being a local thing concerning the money added cash tournaments that are being held.

As far as I know the only monies an lo.is responsible for setting aside for prizes etc is for trips to nationals. . His adding 50.00 per player for nationals may just be a local thing also

It seems to me the singles format would be a nation wide thing though. It's a division where you compete for a trip to nationals just like 8 ball teams...9 ball teams...ladies teams masters etc. It's going to use the same format as all other divisions where you play 3 sessions a year with the top winners go to nationals in both 8 and 9 ball singles.
 
Where did you read all this?

Newsletter attached to my score sheet last night when I got to league. I just browsed through it and was gonna take it him and read I more thoroughly but some one else snatched it up.

As I said ...we had 2 cash tournaments so far this year and I k ow he had a 9 ball team tournament scheduled for later this year. The newsletter stated he was adding more added money tournaments to the ones already scheduled and they will be held annually.

The first team tournament was limited to 16 teams and we had 14 enter. Total payout for first was around 4 thousand dollars. You are not limited to your regular team . You cam make a team of any eligible players but are limited to the 23 rule..

The singles 9 ball tournament held recently was limited to 128 players and we had 114 iirc. It was broken into brackets..1's and 2's ...3's ..4's etc. Payouts for each bracket varied depending on number of entrants and Calcutta bids. Iirc my bracket...s/l 5 paid out over 400.00 for first..

As I said ...i just skimmed over the newsletter last night but I understand the singles division will.be set up his like all team divisions. 3 sessions a year. Playoffs and the winner of of each format...8 and 9 ball will win a trip to Vegas.

I will post whatever new info I obtain if you like. Do you have an aloha division in your area ? That division just started this session in my area the beginning of this spring session.
 
I am in 4 leagues, 2 APA team leagues, an NAPL individual 9 ball league and an individual 14.1 league. I like the single leagues better. I actually think I do better on the singles leagues as I am under less pressure. I feel I have to do better for the team, If I lose I feel I let down the team. I tend to rush my shots more and jump up. In an individual league I'm only responsible for myself. (Of course it just may be that I play better on 9 footers in pool rooms than bar boxes in bars)
Also in singles there is a schedule and you never get benched, you always play. With teams you end late usually close to or even after midnight. In my NAPL and straight pool league I'm home by 10:00. The only negative to singles is you HAVE to play every match and if you can't make a week you must arrange a makeup or forfeit.
A used to be in the Mega Bucks League ( http://www.goplaymega.com/megabucks/main.html ) which was individual 8,9, and 10 ball in rotating weeks. Two years ago they switched to teams and nobody liked it. This year they're going back to individuals.
 
I am in 4 leagues, 2 APA team leagues, an NAPL individual 9 ball league and an individual 14.1 league. I like the single leagues better. I actually think I do better on the singles leagues as I am under less pressure. I feel I have to do better for the team, If I lose I feel I let down the team. I tend to rush my shots more and jump up. In an individual league I'm only responsible for myself. (Of course it just may be that I play better on 9 footers in pool rooms than bar boxes in bars)
Also in singles there is a schedule and you never get benched, you always play. With teams you end late usually close to or even after midnight. In my NAPL and straight pool league I'm home by 10:00. The only negative to singles is you HAVE to play every match and if you can't make a week you must arrange a makeup or forfeit.
A used to be in the Mega Bucks League ( http://www.goplaymega.com/megabucks/main.html ) which was individual 8,9, and 10 ball in rotating weeks. Two years ago they switched to teams and nobody liked it. This year they're going back to individuals.

I play on 4 apa teams now and am captain of 3 of them. I am debating on dropping off 2 of them...I know for sure I am dropping off the team I am not captain of in order to add singles. The other team is scotch doubles. I and a team mate have both been raised fo a 6 ...basically rendering us non competitive.

I am pretty sure I will.enjoy just showing up amd playing with out all the headaches associated with running a team.
 
APA is a franchise and offerings may differ depending the league operator. So kudos to your league operator listening to his players. For those who are not satisfied with their APA experience (such as only APA 8-ball), it may likely boil down to their league operator, not the entire league system.

I live in NYC, and feel fortunate that I have access to at least 4 different APA leagues, and a plethora of other league offerings (off top of my head 4 leagues are BCA sanctioned) to comparison. Each league's has it strengths and weakness.

So, when I heard someone tout the superiority of one league and compare it with the APA, I roll my eyes. The APA have been running over 25 years, and have 250K players participating on a weekly basis. If their business model was fundamentally flawed, people would have left long ago and other leagues would have eaten their marketshare. I do see the APA as a bellweather for popularity of leagues. If their numbers go up, then likely so for other leagues.
 
Im going to inquire with my local LO about a singles division. We have masters, but I have yet to hear about singles, but this would be great!

Your LO seems to be doing a good job listening to the players. Our previous guy....who was incompetent and useless finally gave up after he drove the majority of the teams away and took all the money for himself. Now we have two league players taking the league over. So far they are doing great things and bringing people back. I hope they adopt this singles division, many would be interested.
 
How about reach out the OP and get his LO's number? May this is a recipe other APA league operators can use to increase participation.
 
Didn't Mega Bucks introduced virtual teams. You register as a individual, but team up with other players for a separate ranking scoreboard?


I am in 4 leagues, 2 APA team leagues, an NAPL individual 9 ball league and an individual 14.1 league. I like the single leagues better. I actually think I do better on the singles leagues as I am under less pressure. I feel I have to do better for the team, If I lose I feel I let down the team. I tend to rush my shots more and jump up. In an individual league I'm only responsible for myself. (Of course it just may be that I play better on 9 footers in pool rooms than bar boxes in bars)
Also in singles there is a schedule and you never get benched, you always play. With teams you end late usually close to or even after midnight. In my NAPL and straight pool league I'm home by 10:00. The only negative to singles is you HAVE to play every match and if you can't make a week you must arrange a makeup or forfeit.
A used to be in the Mega Bucks League ( http://www.goplaymega.com/megabucks/main.html ) which was individual 8,9, and 10 ball in rotating weeks. Two years ago they switched to teams and nobody liked it. This year they're going back to individuals.
 
I'm in Chicago and have league tonight and I'll inquire with my LO and see if he has any info.
Thanks
 
How are absences treated in a singles division? What are the minimum number of games?

One thing that has always bothered me about the APA individual MVP stats is the advantage to playing the minimum number of games. I can play 14 games and risk a lower average than someone who plays the minimum 6. I may win 12 of 14 games and i have an average worse than someone who 5 out of 6. I expose myself to doing worse point wise on average by playing more.

The singles would seem like it would suffer from the same issue.
 
Unless there will be several singles matches played at each location. I am not sure how much each location will like a singles format. Team format, open tables for 10 customers minimum . Singles open table for 2 customers and limit potential for teams that night.
 
Totally unrelated but useful for other APA members, if both captains are in agreement you can go over 23 points per team, as long as both captains sign the sheets.
 
Totally unrelated but useful for other APA members, if both captains are in agreement you can go over 23 points per team, as long as both captains sign the sheets.

Can you point to the official rule?

Also I already asked, but can someone who knows explain the ranking and attendance policy on the singles format?
 
Unspoken rule, if both teams agree, many rules can be waived. ie jump cues

Totally unrelated but useful for other APA members, if both captains are in agreement you can go over 23 points per team, as long as both captains sign the sheets.
 
Also, when I play a 6 or a 7 in 8 ball we agree not to play slop shots count, also not in the rules.
 
I do not think anyone should ever be allowed to waive any rules even through mutual agreement.
The rules are the rules and when they bother you, campaign to have them changed locally.
In the meantime, everyone should abide by the rules as written and any private interpretation
or mutual agreement to circumvent or ignore any rule should not be allowed for the sake of the
other teams in the league. That's like your golf team is playing against another team in match
play and in some of the matches, the opponents (both teams) agree to allow for a mulligan on
the front & back 9 when in truth there is no such thing as a mulligan in golf. Every stroke counts.

Once you start bending the rules, it is unfair to all of the other teams in the league. The ones that
abide by the rules are at a disadvantage versus teams that do not. Outcomes of individual matches
and overall team score can be affected by not adhering to the rules. Ergo, team standings become
influenced and if there's cash payouts for the top teams, that really makes it only worse if some teams
play by the league's rules and some agree to not., especially 23 points. I hate that rule and I'm not a
fan of APA but you always play by the rules because when you don't, it's an uneven playing field.
 
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