pooldawg85
New member
Hay all. I'm new but been following for a long time. My friend got this letter from the BCA last night. He said I could post it.
Dear Professional Pool Players,
It is obvious that correct information is not reaching the players, so in the spirit of helping us all to better understand how we find ourselves in the middle of this situation, I offer the following.
In the fall of 2006 the BCA was at a crossroads. At that point, with a new CEO, staff and many new board members, we took a hard look at every facet of the BCA. We went line item by line item through the budget and considered every program in which we were involved. Obviously, during the process the subject of the BCA serving as the North American Representative to the WPA came up. With regard to this issue we asked ourselves the same question we asked ourselves on every budget item, what's the benefit?? In this case the answer was to help American pool players succeed. See, we believe that the entire industry will prosper as professional players prosper. We're all connected together in the game of pool.
Once we determined to remain as the North American representative to the WPA, we committed to taking our responsibility seriously. We committed to creating a better relationship with the WPA and you, the U.S. player that can benefit from our association with the WPA. This organization gives you an opportunity to participate in events with prize funds large enough to provide you with real income. The WPA is a vehicle for you as professional players to get recognized globally. Global recognition can bring endorsements from companies throughout the world. It is obvious that the re-popularization of this sport has begun outside of our country and it is central to the future health of the American game to take advantage of the opportunities that the WPA presents and to grow on the global stage.
We also committed to developing a process for managing our relationship and duties with the WPA in a professional and transparent manner. It's very simple, if we're going to do this, we're going to do it right. We also wanted to do it in partnership as we have many other areas of focus under the BCA umbrella. Unfortunately, we have not been able to fulfill our commitment to managing this process in the manner we determined and it's time for a change. Let me give you a few examples. When the WPA offers invitations to these world-class events we pass them on to the UPA to manage. Sometimes they are filled, sometimes not (with no updates along the way as to interest in participating), sometimes they are turned down at the last minute (so the spots can't be filled by another organization), deadlines are constantly missed for keeping us and the WPA in the loop on this process and communication to the players regarding this event is inconsistent and unprofessional at best.
This makes us all look extremely unprofessional. To sanction a rankings event without regard to the fact that a major world competition had already filled those dates on a public calendar months before was irresponsible enough to warrant corrective action. Additionally, seats to another WPA world championship were offered when they were not authorized or permitted. Add this to past infractions such as the failure of the UPA to inform all of the eligible players that the BCA was providing a $1,300 travel stipend to all American competitors in the WPA World 9-Ball Championships last fall and it is obvious that the BCA could no longer tolerate the results of allowing the UPA to manage this process.
Now, with respect to the ranking process itself, in the past year-and-a-half, the BCA agreed to continue to delegate the job of ranking the American players to the UPA with the faith that these rankings would be reasonably constructed. But the current situation is that the rankings list contains events that stretch much too far into the past. Rankings need to reflect current performance, not the performance of the last few years. And the points need to protect the players whose lives are affected so drastically by them. For example, Shane Van Boening went to the World 8-Ball Championship and sacrificed 25% of his points for 2008 because he missed the Desert Shootout. This is patently unacceptable as we will not have the American champions treated unprofessionally and unfairly. Further detriment to American players continues today with the unbelievable demand, supported by the UPA, to remove certain players from the BCA rankings list, the very list that provides players with the ability to participate in the income opportunities from events overseas and on our own soil. We will not honor this request to harm our players. All who participate in ranking events will be ranked and those who are deserving of invitations to the major events will receive them. If they wish to turn those invitations down, that is their privilege, but the process will be fair, clearly spelled out and transparent for all to view.
The claim that the BCA does nothing for the professionals is very disingenuous. It is the BCA that provides the funding for the GenerationPool.com event. It is the BCA that funds travel for professionals to world championships. It is the BCA who recognizes that the American players are not being properly informed about the current situation in international billiards and has taken steps to correct that situation. To our knowledge, the UPA has put no players on national television in order to promote them as we have and has funded no events in recent times. The BCA has promoted and televised the spring event for a number of years and has always gone into its own pocket to do so without ever realizing or expecting a profit.
How committed is the BCA to promoting the game and its players? The 2007/2008 BCA budget includes $160,000+ to cover the costs on the BCA 9-ball event next month in Charlotte (featuring six hours of programming on ESPN), $40,000 in WPA membership, travel grants and expenses and $50,000 in grant money to the Billiard Education Foundation to promote junior programs. That's more than $250,000 not counting the staff time that manages all of these projects. That's a commitment.
As you know, the BCA is comprised of many programs aimed at supporting vast areas of the pool industry. One of these areas is professional play and the players dedicated to making a living playing the game. We take our desire to help American pool players succeed very seriously. We have individuals that want to help, including our new CEO that comes from a sports marketing and public relations background. Let's use his and all of our expertise to grow for the future. We have no desire to do the process alone. Our efforts are dedicated to bringing this sport back to life in the U.S.
Sincerely,
Ivan Lee - President
Billiard Congress of America Board of Directors
=
Dear Professional Pool Players,
It is obvious that correct information is not reaching the players, so in the spirit of helping us all to better understand how we find ourselves in the middle of this situation, I offer the following.
In the fall of 2006 the BCA was at a crossroads. At that point, with a new CEO, staff and many new board members, we took a hard look at every facet of the BCA. We went line item by line item through the budget and considered every program in which we were involved. Obviously, during the process the subject of the BCA serving as the North American Representative to the WPA came up. With regard to this issue we asked ourselves the same question we asked ourselves on every budget item, what's the benefit?? In this case the answer was to help American pool players succeed. See, we believe that the entire industry will prosper as professional players prosper. We're all connected together in the game of pool.
Once we determined to remain as the North American representative to the WPA, we committed to taking our responsibility seriously. We committed to creating a better relationship with the WPA and you, the U.S. player that can benefit from our association with the WPA. This organization gives you an opportunity to participate in events with prize funds large enough to provide you with real income. The WPA is a vehicle for you as professional players to get recognized globally. Global recognition can bring endorsements from companies throughout the world. It is obvious that the re-popularization of this sport has begun outside of our country and it is central to the future health of the American game to take advantage of the opportunities that the WPA presents and to grow on the global stage.
We also committed to developing a process for managing our relationship and duties with the WPA in a professional and transparent manner. It's very simple, if we're going to do this, we're going to do it right. We also wanted to do it in partnership as we have many other areas of focus under the BCA umbrella. Unfortunately, we have not been able to fulfill our commitment to managing this process in the manner we determined and it's time for a change. Let me give you a few examples. When the WPA offers invitations to these world-class events we pass them on to the UPA to manage. Sometimes they are filled, sometimes not (with no updates along the way as to interest in participating), sometimes they are turned down at the last minute (so the spots can't be filled by another organization), deadlines are constantly missed for keeping us and the WPA in the loop on this process and communication to the players regarding this event is inconsistent and unprofessional at best.
This makes us all look extremely unprofessional. To sanction a rankings event without regard to the fact that a major world competition had already filled those dates on a public calendar months before was irresponsible enough to warrant corrective action. Additionally, seats to another WPA world championship were offered when they were not authorized or permitted. Add this to past infractions such as the failure of the UPA to inform all of the eligible players that the BCA was providing a $1,300 travel stipend to all American competitors in the WPA World 9-Ball Championships last fall and it is obvious that the BCA could no longer tolerate the results of allowing the UPA to manage this process.
Now, with respect to the ranking process itself, in the past year-and-a-half, the BCA agreed to continue to delegate the job of ranking the American players to the UPA with the faith that these rankings would be reasonably constructed. But the current situation is that the rankings list contains events that stretch much too far into the past. Rankings need to reflect current performance, not the performance of the last few years. And the points need to protect the players whose lives are affected so drastically by them. For example, Shane Van Boening went to the World 8-Ball Championship and sacrificed 25% of his points for 2008 because he missed the Desert Shootout. This is patently unacceptable as we will not have the American champions treated unprofessionally and unfairly. Further detriment to American players continues today with the unbelievable demand, supported by the UPA, to remove certain players from the BCA rankings list, the very list that provides players with the ability to participate in the income opportunities from events overseas and on our own soil. We will not honor this request to harm our players. All who participate in ranking events will be ranked and those who are deserving of invitations to the major events will receive them. If they wish to turn those invitations down, that is their privilege, but the process will be fair, clearly spelled out and transparent for all to view.
The claim that the BCA does nothing for the professionals is very disingenuous. It is the BCA that provides the funding for the GenerationPool.com event. It is the BCA that funds travel for professionals to world championships. It is the BCA who recognizes that the American players are not being properly informed about the current situation in international billiards and has taken steps to correct that situation. To our knowledge, the UPA has put no players on national television in order to promote them as we have and has funded no events in recent times. The BCA has promoted and televised the spring event for a number of years and has always gone into its own pocket to do so without ever realizing or expecting a profit.
How committed is the BCA to promoting the game and its players? The 2007/2008 BCA budget includes $160,000+ to cover the costs on the BCA 9-ball event next month in Charlotte (featuring six hours of programming on ESPN), $40,000 in WPA membership, travel grants and expenses and $50,000 in grant money to the Billiard Education Foundation to promote junior programs. That's more than $250,000 not counting the staff time that manages all of these projects. That's a commitment.
As you know, the BCA is comprised of many programs aimed at supporting vast areas of the pool industry. One of these areas is professional play and the players dedicated to making a living playing the game. We take our desire to help American pool players succeed very seriously. We have individuals that want to help, including our new CEO that comes from a sports marketing and public relations background. Let's use his and all of our expertise to grow for the future. We have no desire to do the process alone. Our efforts are dedicated to bringing this sport back to life in the U.S.
Sincerely,
Ivan Lee - President
Billiard Congress of America Board of Directors
=
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I'd throw you a few measly rep points if I didn't have to spread it around first.
, but just in case I've highlghted comments about which I would love to see a UPA response.
