BCAPL is awesome because.....

[sbpoolleague]

The only money they want from players in their sanctioned leagues is a $15 annual membership fee.

The BCAPL (CSI) 8-ball rules are almost identical to those used by professionals. The way it should be. Call ball and pocket. Open after the break. No need for pocket markers.

The BCAPL recommends using these rules in league play but league operators are free to adopt any rule set they choose.

In fact, league operators can sanction their leagues with the BCAPL but still maintain complete local control. There is no required format, fee structure, rules, etc. The league operators are free to structure their leagues to suit the players and simply sanction with the BCAPL to take advantage of the many benefits.

CSI's rule book is the most comprehensive set of pool rules in the world, with hundreds of applied rulings for special circumstances.

BCAPL has adopted the FargoRate player rating system, which, like golf handicaps, will allow any two players to compete with a fair handicap.

The BCAPL Nationals in Las vegas are a group of awesome 8 & 9 ball events, every bit as good as the APA Nationals, and they are open to every BCAPL member, not just those who qualified through league playoffs.

BCAPL members are also eligible for all BCAPL state and regional events.

The use of handicaps in league play is totally at the discretion of the league operator.

The BCAPL has real-time online brackets for their National tournaments and all other sponsored tournaments.

The BCAPL offers free use of their web-based league management software, and all league stats are automatically updated and can be easily embedded in a league website.

The BCAPL offers financial and logistical support for state, regional, and local events.

 

[lorider]

The only money they want from players in their sanctioned leagues is a $15 annual membership fee.

The BCAPL (CSI) 8-ball rules are almost identical to those used by professionals. The way it should be. Call ball and pocket. Open after the break. No need for pocket markers.

The BCAPL recommends using these rules in league play but league operators are free to adopt any rule set they choose.

In fact, league operators can sanction their leagues with the BCAPL but still maintain complete local control. There is no required format, fee structure, rules, etc. The league operators are free to structure their leagues to suit the players and simply sanction with the BCAPL to take advantage of the many benefits.

CSI's rule book is the most comprehensive set of pool rules in the world, with hundreds of applied rulings for special circumstances.

BCAPL has adopted the FargoRate player rating system, which, like golf handicaps, will allow any two players to compete with a fair handicap.

The BCAPL Nationals in Las vegas are a group of awesome 8 & 9 ball events, every bit as good as the APA Nationals, and they are open to every BCAPL member, not just those who qualified through league playoffs.

BCAPL members are also eligible for all BCAPL state and regional events.

The use of handicaps in league play is totally at the discretion of the league operator.

The BCAPL has real-time online brackets for their National tournaments and all other sponsored tournaments.

The BCAPL offers free use of their web-based league management software, and all league stats are automatically updated and can be easily embedded in a league website.

The BCAPL offers financial and logistical support for state, regional, and local events.

That's cool bro

 

[nine_ball6970]

The only money they want from players in their sanctioned leagues is a $15 annual membership fee.

The BCAPL (CSI) 8-ball rules are almost identical to those used by professionals. The way it should be. Call ball and pocket. Open after the break. No need for pocket markers.

The BCAPL recommends using these rules in league play but league operators are free to adopt any rule set they choose.

In fact, league operators can sanction their leagues with the BCAPL but still maintain complete local control. There is no required format, fee structure, rules, etc. The league operators are free to structure their leagues to suit the players and simply sanction with the BCAPL to take advantage of the many benefits.

CSI's rule book is the most comprehensive set of pool rules in the world, with hundreds of applied rulings for special circumstances.

BCAPL has adopted the FargoRate player rating system, which, like golf handicaps, will allow any two players to compete with a fair handicap.

The BCAPL Nationals in Las vegas are a group of awesome 8 & 9 ball events, every bit as good as the APA Nationals, and they are open to every BCAPL member, not just those who qualified through league playoffs.

BCAPL members are also eligible for all BCAPL state and regional events.

The use of handicaps in league play is totally at the discretion of the league operator.

The BCAPL has real-time online brackets for their National tournaments and all other sponsored tournaments.

The BCAPL offers free use of their web-based league management software, and all league stats are automatically updated and can be easily embedded in a league website.

The BCAPL offers financial and logistical support for state, regional, and local events.

I will give you my problem regarding your first statement. In Austin, there are three different people running BCAPL leagues. Two of the league operators use the same location. The National Office requires me to pay a $15 membership fee for any team played on if it is under a different league operator. So I have to pay $30 plus $20 in admin fees to play BCA at the same room if I want to play different nights. Why not have one membership number per player and be able to use that for any league played in?

Now I have two member numbers for BCAPL. Does that mean I can play on 2 different teams at Nationals? They say no because I am the same person. So it comes back to why do I have to pay a National fee twice?

I dropped one team because I would not pay twice for a membership again.

 

[Allen Brown]

That's cool bro

Didn't you play BCA in the past?

 

[Allen Brown]

I will give you my problem regarding your first statement. In Austin, there are three different people running BCAPL leagues. Two of the league operators use the same location. The National Office requires me to pay a $15 membership fee for any team played on if it is under a different league operator. So I have to pay $30 plus $20 in admin fees to play BCA at the same room if I want to play different nights. Why not have one membership number per player and be able to use that for any league played in?

Now I have two member numbers for BCAPL. Does that mean I can play on 2 different teams at Nationals? They say no because I am the same person. So it comes back to why do I have to pay a National fee twice?

I dropped one team because I would not pay twice for a membership again.

I thought this problem was being fixed?

 

[Skippy27]

The only money they want from players in their sanctioned leagues is a $15 annual membership fee.

The BCAPL (CSI) 8-ball rules are almost identical to those used by professionals. The way it should be. Call ball and pocket. Open after the break. No need for pocket markers.

The BCAPL recommends using these rules in league play but league operators are free to adopt any rule set they choose.

In fact, league operators can sanction their leagues with the BCAPL but still maintain complete local control. There is no required format, fee structure, rules, etc. The league operators are free to structure their leagues to suit the players and simply sanction with the BCAPL to take advantage of the many benefits.

CSI's rule book is the most comprehensive set of pool rules in the world, with hundreds of applied rulings for special circumstances.

BCAPL has adopted the FargoRate player rating system, which, like golf handicaps, will allow any two players to compete with a fair handicap.

The BCAPL Nationals in Las vegas are a group of awesome 8 & 9 ball events, every bit as good as the APA Nationals, and they are open to every BCAPL member, not just those who qualified through league playoffs.

BCAPL members are also eligible for all BCAPL state and regional events.

The use of handicaps in league play is totally at the discretion of the league operator.

The BCAPL has real-time online brackets for their National tournaments and all other sponsored tournaments.

The BCAPL offers free use of their web-based league management software, and all league stats are automatically updated and can be easily embedded in a league website.

The BCAPL offers financial and logistical support for state, regional, and local events.

Sounds like they are missing a lot of structure or leave it up to the LO to do as they please which brings inconsistency in many things.

At least they have consistent rules nationwide, or do they allow the LO to use bylaws for those as well?

 

[lorider]

I will give you my problem regarding your first statement. In Austin, there are three different people running BCAPL leagues. Two of the league operators use the same location. The National Office requires me to pay a $15 membership fee for any team played on if it is under a different league operator. So I have to pay $30 plus $20 in admin fees to play BCA at the same room if I want to play different nights. Why not have one membership number per player and be able to use that for any league played in?

Now I have two member numbers for BCAPL. Does that mean I can play on 2 different teams at Nationals? They say no because I am the same person. So it comes back to why do I have to pay a National fee twice?

I dropped one team because I would not pay twice for a membership again.

In apa you pay 25.00 per year fee. One time fee no matter how many different lo's you play for.


Dont mean to hijack his thread.....carey on SB about how awesome your league is. :grin-square:

 

[Allen Brown]

In apa you pay 25.00 per year fee. One time fee no matter how many different lo's you play for.


Dont mean to hijack his thread.....carey on SB about how awesome your league is. :grin-square:

Teams get more money when going to Veags with BCA compared to APA.

 

[lorider]

Didn't you play BCA in the past?

Yes I did I dont want to hijack sb's thread to tell you about my experience but I will say it was good and bad. ....but....

I might could be persuaded to

 

[nine_ball6970]

I thought this problem was being fixed?

If it is, then I am not aware of it. The National Office basically said "tough" last year. As far as I am concerned that was all I had to hear.

 

[sbpoolleague]

I will give you my problem regarding your first statement. In Austin, there are three different people running BCAPL leagues. Two of the league operators use the same location. The National Office requires me to pay a $15 membership fee for any team played on if it is under a different league operator. So I have to pay $30 plus $20 in admin fees to play BCA at the same room if I want to play different nights. Why not have one membership number per player and be able to use that for any league played in?

Now I have two member numbers for BCAPL. Does that mean I can play on 2 different teams at Nationals? They say no because I am the same person. So it comes back to why do I have to pay a National fee twice?

I dropped one team because I would not pay twice for a membership again.

I agree that this is a problem, but the double-billing is the fault of the operators themselves.

Players used to pay one yearly fee, even if they played for multiple leagues. But this is what happened. Mark joins league A, pays $15. Mark then joins league B and tells the LO that he paid his $15 for league A. League A operator waits several weeks to send in sanctioning material. League B operator sends in his material right away. Now the folks at the BCAPL office are scratching their heads because they have a player who says he is from a league that is not even sanctioned. BCAPL admin spends hours tracking down LO's by phone trying to resolve the situation. Imagine this happening for hundreds of players. The BCAPL staff were overwhelmed. So they decided to kill the mosquito problem with a hammer...players pay for each league.

Good news may be on the horizon. Starting this year all players will be given a different BCAPL ID number and card...a plastic card that is designed to last for years. You pay your membership and they update you status, but you keep the same ID card. My guess is that this might solve the problem of multiple fees. I would have to talk with Ozzy or Mark about that.

 

[sbpoolleague]

Sounds like they are missing a lot of structure or leave it up to the LO to do as they please which brings inconsistency in many things.

At least they have consistent rules nationwide, or do they allow the LO to use bylaws for those as well?

The BCAPL has recommended structures for matches, rules, etc. But LO's are free to be independent and adopt their own bylaws.

This is good and bad. It's great for LO's, especially if an established league decides to join the BCAPL. That league does not have to change the way it operates to conform with the National office. It's bad for a player who is used to playing in a BCAPL league in New York, then moves to California, joins a BCAPL league, and it's totally different.

But I submit that now that FargoRate has made handicaps universal, switching leagues should not be that much of an issue.

 

[lorider]

I agree that this is a problem, but the double-billing is the fault of the operators themselves.

Players used to pay one yearly fee, even if they played for multiple leagues. But this is what happened. Mark joins league A, pays $15. Mark then joins league B and tells the LO that he paid his $15 for league A. League A operator waits several weeks to send in sanctioning material. League B operator sends in his material right away. Now the folks at the BCAPL office are scratching their heads because they have a player who says he is from a league that is not even sanctioned. BCAPL admin spends hours tracking down LO's by phone trying to resolve the situation. Imagine this happening for hundreds of players. The BCAPL staff were overwhelmed. So they decided to kill the mosquito problem with a hammer...players pay for each league.

Good news may be on the horizon. Starting this year all players will be given a different BCAPL ID number and card...a plastic card that is designed to last for years. You pay your membership and they update you status, but you keep the same ID card. My guess is that this might solve the problem of multiple fees. I would have to talk with Ozzy or Mark about that.

It sounds like you are getting on board with what apa did 2 years ago with the placic I'd cards. That's great :thumbup:

 

[sbpoolleague]

In apa you pay 25.00 per year fee. One time fee no matter how many different lo's you play for.


Dont mean to hijack his thread.....carey on SB about how awesome your league is. :grin-square:

BTW another thing that I forgot to mention about multiple league fees is that the BCAPL staff were more than happy to work with multiple LO's in one area to try and consolidate their leagues under one umbrella so that the local players would not be multiply charged.

And as I said in my previous reply, I think now that the ID process has changed, the double-billing issue might be going away.

 

[jojopiff]

Well, because I'm a fair guy I'll state what I have enjoyed about BCA.

-BCA Nationals is better than the APA Nationals regarding mini tournaments, and it's not close.
-The online app for BCA Nationals is better than APA Nationals, and it's not close.
-I prefer the rules as it's geared toward runouts. BIH after all fouls (including break) and open after break. Can't win or lose on the break thus eliminating a random luck (or unlucky snap 8 & scratch).
-I've only had 1 problem with a jackass (or maybe I'm the jackass) during the 10+ years of BCA league and that was this year. Most people are good sports and will not try to cheat.
-I've gone to Nationals the last 6-7 years. I like the change to the Rio. More room, doesn't get clogged around match times and trying to your scoresheet by the main desk.

There's good and bad in every league and if a new person is reading this thread then I'd like to offer you this advice: try them all. What suits one person might not suit the next and people can get enjoyment from different things. Don't let one person's (or several person's) opinions become your truth. It's all pool, it should all be enjoyed, and the idea that it's an either/or between APA, BCA, VNEA, NAPA, and whatever other league is beyond stupid. Support the game we all love in whatever fashion you choose.

 

[sbpoolleague]

Teams get more money when going to Veags with BCA compared to APA.

Now this is not necessarily true. Every BCAPL league operates differently. In our league, our average yearly payouts to team players dwarves anything that any APA pays out. However this money is not withheld to pay for hotels, transportation, entry fees, etc. The money is giver directly to the player , and he uses that to offset his National tourney costs. If he decides not to go to Vegas then he uses that money however he wishes.

Our league pays a lot to the top players and teams but overall our payouts are fairly shallow. This season we will pay money to about 70 of our 150+ members. Had I structured our payouts to go mostly to only the top teams for Vegas, then the money per team would easily be more than what a typical APA team gets.

 

[sbpoolleague]

It sounds like you are getting on board with what apa did 2 years ago with the placic I'd cards. That's great :thumbup:

Yes I am happy to see this change.

 

[sbpoolleague]

Well, because I'm a fair guy I'll state what I have enjoyed about BCA.

-BCA Nationals is better than the APA Nationals regarding mini tournaments, and it's not close.
-The online app for BCA Nationals is better than APA Nationals, and it's not close.
-I prefer the rules as it's geared toward runouts. BIH after all fouls (including break) and open after break. Can't win or lose on the break thus eliminating a random luck (or unlucky snap 8 & scratch).
-I've only had 1 problem with a jackass (or maybe I'm the jackass) during the 10+ years of BCA league and that was this year. Most people are good sports and will not try to cheat.
-I've gone to Nationals the last 6-7 years. I like the change to the Rio. More room, doesn't get clogged around match times and trying to your scoresheet by the main desk.

There's good and bad in every league and if a new person is reading this thread then I'd like to offer you this advice: try them all. What suits one person might not suit the next and people can get enjoyment from different things. Don't let one person's (or several person's) opinions become your truth. It's all pool, it should all be enjoyed, and the idea that it's an either/or between APA, BCA, VNEA, NAPA, and whatever other league is beyond stupid. Support the game we all love in whatever fashion you choose.

Excellent post. Thanks.

 

[bad_hit]

I like BCAPL for the following reasons -

- Better quality pool due to the rules, format, etc. It's a league for pool players

- Fast league nights, usually over in a few hours, not 6

- Haven't been to Nationals but I think it's clear the event is awesome, so are the regional BCAPL events I've been to

- CSI seems to know what they're doing

- I like Fargorate and it's good that's getting incorporated

I dislike BCAPL for the following reasons -

- It's really fragmented. It's bizarre for me to have to play in one league at one location and then right down the street there's a whole different league. It needs to be one league area and a much better ID/league membership system.

- the 9 ball format is broken. Playing single racks of 9 ball is silly. Make it the same as 8 ball except a race to 2 or 3 OR at least make it call pocket 9 and it doesn't count on the break in any pocket.

- Lower skilled players are basically excluded, because if they play they get annihilated and that's not fun. It'd be cool if there was a way for lower skilled players to get weight so that my lower skilled girlfriend could play and not have APA be the only real choice. This would have to be done without allowing for the handicap manipulation culture that plagues the APA of course (Fargorate anyone?)

 

[sbpoolleague]

I dislike BCAPL for the following reasons -

- the 9 ball format is broken. Playing single racks of 9 ball is silly. Make it the same as 8 ball except a race to 2 or 3 OR at least make it call pocket 9 and it doesn't count on the break in any pocket.

- Lower skilled players are basically excluded, because if they play they get annihilated and that's not fun. It'd be cool if there was a way for lower skilled players to get weight so that my lower skilled girlfriend could play and not have APA be the only real choice. This would have to be done without allowing for the handicap manipulation culture that plagues the APA of course (Fargorate anyone?)

First let me repeat that leagues are free to use match play instead of round robin, but unless you are a deciding voice in your league, that doesn't help you.

Have you heard of the USAPL? Like the BCAPL, the USAPL is run by CSI. The USAPL uses FargoRate to rank its players, and it uses the same game rules as the BCAPL. However, the USAPL's matches are structured similarly to the APA, so that lower level players get a more fair shake, and 9-ball matches are not a one-game match.

The USAPL has a national championship that plays concurrently with the BCAPL Nationals.

I have given serious thought to starting a USAPL league (my wife might kill me though) and seeing how it goes. It would be great to see some leagues start up on the west coast.