Every other thread today is about how pool's losing popularity and how the game might die out. Here's an idea which might slow down or prevent the downfall of this sport...
What we need is an international league system. A single world competition where every single person on Earth could compete if they pay a small fee annually. Something like that needs to be under WPA and noone else. The world needs to be divided in regions, so that every small or medium-sized town is a single region, while large cities should consist of multiple regions. Depending on where you live, once you enroll in the league, you compete among the players of your region. There should be both single and team competitions. Every player/team plays randomly with others. You earn points by winning a match. After the lond initial phase, top 3 players/teams should enter the interregional competition (held separately in every state/coutry). At this phase the elimination system begins. Winner of every interregional goes into the continental, and finally the world competition. By placing on a high position in any phase of the competition players would earn money rewards and stuff like free cues, pool books etc. While pretty much only pros would reach the continental phase, everything below would be within reach of ordinary players and amateurs. Last few phases would undoubtly attract some media attention.
The competitions could be held in every place with a 7' or larger table: pool halls, bars, even private house rooms. If the table's size is adequate, they would get a WPA certificate which would allow them to hold the competitions. To make things more challenging for the players and interesting to the crowd, every room would post their own local house rules which would be used in those league matches. In every region players would move from one room to another to play different opponents. Of course, the rooms would have to make their own cues available to players who don't have their own. The owners of each would earn a certain amount of profit (plus they would sell food and drink to the crowd). WPA should give a certificate to every one of those rooms in which they would agree to lower the prices a little on league matches. Lower prices means more customers, more customers mean bigger audience, bigger audience makes fun nights and more people interested in playing pool, which ultimately leads to the increase of the number of pool players globally. Even those players who would never get past phase one could fight for some rewards, plus they would have a lot of fun playing with and against the people they know, while potentially bringing some of their friends in the audience.
Events like that, organized in the whole world, could be a significant step in regaining pool's popularity. It would both bring together the players and other people in every town and promote pool among the masses, and affect the global pool situation.
What we need is an international league system. A single world competition where every single person on Earth could compete if they pay a small fee annually. Something like that needs to be under WPA and noone else. The world needs to be divided in regions, so that every small or medium-sized town is a single region, while large cities should consist of multiple regions. Depending on where you live, once you enroll in the league, you compete among the players of your region. There should be both single and team competitions. Every player/team plays randomly with others. You earn points by winning a match. After the lond initial phase, top 3 players/teams should enter the interregional competition (held separately in every state/coutry). At this phase the elimination system begins. Winner of every interregional goes into the continental, and finally the world competition. By placing on a high position in any phase of the competition players would earn money rewards and stuff like free cues, pool books etc. While pretty much only pros would reach the continental phase, everything below would be within reach of ordinary players and amateurs. Last few phases would undoubtly attract some media attention.
The competitions could be held in every place with a 7' or larger table: pool halls, bars, even private house rooms. If the table's size is adequate, they would get a WPA certificate which would allow them to hold the competitions. To make things more challenging for the players and interesting to the crowd, every room would post their own local house rules which would be used in those league matches. In every region players would move from one room to another to play different opponents. Of course, the rooms would have to make their own cues available to players who don't have their own. The owners of each would earn a certain amount of profit (plus they would sell food and drink to the crowd). WPA should give a certificate to every one of those rooms in which they would agree to lower the prices a little on league matches. Lower prices means more customers, more customers mean bigger audience, bigger audience makes fun nights and more people interested in playing pool, which ultimately leads to the increase of the number of pool players globally. Even those players who would never get past phase one could fight for some rewards, plus they would have a lot of fun playing with and against the people they know, while potentially bringing some of their friends in the audience.
Events like that, organized in the whole world, could be a significant step in regaining pool's popularity. It would both bring together the players and other people in every town and promote pool among the masses, and affect the global pool situation.
