The upcoming invitational events should get prime coverage. These look outstanding.
1. I would love to hear that all players are confirmed.
2. Will the single elimination events be seeded based on the round robin results?
3. Further discussion on format would be nice also.
All good questions iba !....I would also like to ask, will there be any flexibility on the number of invited players...I understand your position on shelving the 'Open's' for now, but could we possibly see the number of invitee's increase ? (ie; 24 or 32 in one pocket) ....Also, will the high limit at 8/10 ball, always remain at 16 ?...Doesn't that leave a lot of good player's, with no chance to compete ? Surely there are a lot more than 16 player's, who are competitive enough, and play well enough to win, at ANY discipline ?
It looks to me, as though inviting ONLY "elite world beaters", may work short term...But, in a very few years this will almost guarantee a huge shortage of elite player's !..I know if I were a young improving player, I would be very discouraged by never getting to compete !...Smaller tournaments. and local tour stops, offer a very poor way of 'climbing the ladder', pointwise....Also, using those, as a method of 'player rating' seems VERY hit and miss !
SJD[/B]
Like I said, I get the invitational thing. However, rather than invite a few maybe it would be better to bar a few, if a promoter feels that particular players conduct themselves in a manner they don't like.
Lou Figueroa
In no successful sport can you compete in the same event as a professional.
The difference is, these other sports can fill the field with top players. If the US Open of golf were really "open" to anyone, they'd have thousands waiting in line to take their shot. The US Open 9ball is open to anyone and they still cannot fill the field. That's the difference.
I have been a member of the BCA for many years now. I play out of NYC and have played on BCA team 9 ball team, NAPL team 8 ball, 10 ball and their 9 ball singles leagues. These are all BCA sanctioned.
It has come to attention that we are now required to register with the BCA ($15) for every league we join. So for example, I want to play in Tony Robles NAPL (BCA sanctioned) leagues, 3 of them to be exact. I am expected to register and pay 3 separate times? I also play in the Amsterdam Billiards team 9 ball league which is run by John Leyman. That's another $15?
If the cause of this is league operators not collecting or turning in fees in a timely manner, then maybe they should be punished for it. If it is for administrative purposes, then maybe you should use the current electronic signup processes you already have in place for the BCAPL.
I am not sure what the reason is behind this, but the idea of this is not good.
If there is no way around not charging us for every league we play in, then maybe I can suggest a tier structure of payments. If you play in one league, $15. If you play in teo leagues, $25, etc.,
Thank you,
Ron Mason
In no successful sport can you compete in the same event as a professional. You or I cannot compete in the US Open of golf or schedule a bout with Floyd Mayweather, but I do agree with the concept you and Dick are discussing. I believe these could grow to allow qualifiers and some league method of entering these tournaments. Remember that all of this is new and the old way certainly isn't working..
To compare to something more similar in its roots to pool; Nascar and did not start as overnight successes. They started as locally sponsored essentially open events. After a number of failures, they changed to a limited field invitational and finally made money. This method is obviously still working today.
Thank you for such a prompt response Ozzy. I look forward to tomorrow nights podcast.Mr. Mason,
First, I would like to thank you for bringing this up in a completely respectful way. We will address this in detail during the Podcast tomorrow but I do want to share one thought with you on this thread. If a single League Operator runs multiple leagues with different league numbers, he or she can combine them to form a single league with multiple divisions. This would allow everyone to sanction at the same time with one sanction fee regardless of how many divisions they play. This method saves everyone a lot of time and work. I have spoken to Tony and I am under the impression that he plans to do this.
However, if you also decide to play in John Leyman's league, that is a completely different league and would require another sanction fee because we have to perform all of the same functions to sanction and support that league regardless of whether the players are new or existing. There are also several other reasons which we will discuss further tomorrow night.
Please feel free to call us anytime if you have further questions and again, thanks for addressing this in a very respectful way.