As I posted elsewhere, the event staff did a GREAT job under combat conditions. That's the good news....and the rest is not so good.
I have no comment on the prize money payouts because that is not why I entered.
But the tables for the amateur event were utterly unacceptable. The cloth was in poor condition at best and the cushions were VERY erratic. Those players with the more advanced banking/kicking skills had that advantage almost completely extinguished because the departure angles were all over the place.
And there was very little time to try to "calibrate" each table to be played on. In fact, practice time...and therefore the "greens fee" component of the entry fee was a joke since it was virtually impossible to get any practice time with the excessive number of different events going on at the same time.
Many of us drove a couple of miles to another room...Que Balls...which has new Brunswicks, to warm up.
I realize that it is increasingly difficult to find rooms large enough to accommodate large events and that renting ballrooms and having tables installed is often too expensive for regional events but there should be some MINIMUM STANDARD of table quality for any room to qualify for a reputable regional tour event.
This place fell WAY below any reasonable minimum standard.
I also have to chime in...at the risk of getting smokers mad at me...but any event that includes Juniors...some of whom were 12-14 years old...should NOT permit smoking.
One GREAT young player whose name I won't mention told me that his chest felt "heavy and painful" to the point that it actually scared him.
The fact that smoking was "restricted" to the bar area was a joke. The bar area is an open space in the middle of the hall where 50 people minimum at a time were smoking...including cigars...within 10 feet of the tables where CHILDREN were playing.
I doubt very serious whether such smoking was in compliance with Florida law which bans smoking in establishments that get more than 10% of their revenue from food sales...but that isn't the issue. The issue is that, regardless of the law, smoking should not be permitted where children are present.
Finally, as I have noted before, there should not be a single event that includes at least 8 different torunaments. I'm sure that the business plan was created to intentionally maximize player turnout and to obtain multiple entry fees from the same players.
That's OK, in and of itself...such as at the DCC...BUT...the DCC is conducted in total space about 10 times larger than the pool hall in question AND SMOKING WAS BANNED ANYWHERE IN THE BUILDING.
I was a smoker for most of my life and it didn't bother me to have to step outside to smoke. I did so out of courtesy to others long before there were any anti-smoking laws. And I didn't see any attendance problems at the last DCC or anyone going into convulsions because they had to smoke outside!
So, while I'm fundamentally supportive of all the regional tours and admire all the HARD WORK that the promoters do, this event fell well below what I consider to be accpetable minimum standards from almost all points of view...EXCEPT...the work provided by event staff on site, which was admirable.
Charlie...with all due respect...you owe the competitive pool players a better environment than you gave them. If you can't find a decent venue, don't do the event.
Regards,
Jim
