Leagues Starting... What Is YOUR League Operator Doing For YOU?

[Eydie Romano]

We are starting BCA/ACS leagues tonight. Anyone else starting this or last week? Is your league operator doing any kind of incentive for you to participate? Do you have any kind of end of session banquet?

In addition, what fees do you pay to participate in league?

 

[Icon of Sin]

ONly 5 bucks a night for our in house BCA league. Plenty of practice time. Tables are in great condition too. Last week was only my third week on the league so time will tell what else we get out of it.

Love it so far

 

[nfty9er]

I have a question

We are starting BCA/ACS leagues tonight. Anyone else starting this or last week? Is your league operator doing any kind of incentive for you to participate? Do you have any kind of end of session banquet?

In addition, what fees do you pay to participate in league?

Would you please answer those questions yourself.
Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[ScottW]

Funny this should come up.

I've basically kinda gone DOWNHILL as far as what my league operator does for me. I'm talking APA here so keep that in mind as you read.

For the past 3.5 years I've been on a team in one LO's area. He's been pretty generous. After each session, he holds a triannual tournament, to qualify eight teams for the regionals tournament in the summer, but he also pays out $3k in prize money for each triannual. (My team won one of the top spots this past weekend, pulling down $1k. Woot!) At regionals, the top four teams go to Vegas for nationals - and this LO offers a stipend to the teams who actually go - i.e. they get the cash (about $1500, I think) when they get to Vegas, to help cover travel/lodging costs. If you don't go, you don't get the stipend.

This guy is also having some big shindig in a couple of weeks with some prizes etc. for the players in his operating area.

Our team just moved to another LO's area (basically from just inside the border of one LO's area to inside the border of the new one's). Apparently she's not nearly as generous as our former LO. She holds one big regionals in the summer, and doesn't help with any Vegas-related costs for the teams who qualify. I dunno if she does any special things now and again.

Now you're probably asking yourself - why move if that's the case? A few reasons: 1) The place we played out of before was a craphole, and the owner a surly old SOB; 2) New place is nicer, friendlier staff, etc.; 3) They do the "double jeopardy" thing there - i.e. run 8 and 9 ball at the same time, each pair of teams gets two tables; 4) A whole new pile of players/teams to match up against.

Sad thing for the folks in the old area, potentially - our old LO is in the process of selling his area to another couple. I know one of'em and they're good folks - but I dunno how much of the old guy's things they'll continue with. I'm hoping they won't change anything, but we'll see.

Edit: Forgot about fees - $5/match, plus quarters.

 

[Barbara]

I want to know!!!

From A BCA League Operator, what it takes to start up a league. I want to know the sanctioning fees, the costs, what it takes to START A LEAGUE!! How much I have to do to get rooms to form teams. etc, etc, etc. And how do you do get teams together, anyway? How long would this get to bring to fruition?

Barbara~~~seriously interested

 

[calcuttaman]

Do you have any kind of end of session banquet?
In addition, what fees do you pay to participate in league?

Sanction fee is $6. $5 to shoot each week. The bars pay the quarters for the tables. Middle of the year party with 3 free drinks to every player. Free end of the year banquet with 3 free drinks. Cash back for win in the league + individual catergories to win $ at.

 

[rukiddingme]

We are starting BCA/ACS leagues tonight. Anyone else starting this or last week? Is your league operator doing any kind of incentive for you to participate? Do you have any kind of end of session banquet?

In addition, what fees do you pay to participate in league?

Hi Eydie!
Where are your leagues starting? Anything in Chicago?
ruk

 

[alstl]

The last league I was in, the league operator is a great guy. Despite that, I decided not to play again this session. My experience in leagues in basically this: You pay 5-10 bucks to be in a room with 70 people crowded around a few pool tables, 20 of them chain smoking cigarettes for 4 hours and you play 4 or 5 games of 8 ball against people who may or may not be sandbagging. At the end of the session, if you are lucky, you might get a buck or two per hour back.


There are some people who can't get enough of that and others who don't care for it. The best the league operator can do is try to make it as fair as he/she can and hope people show up. The guy who ran my last league was such a nice guy I hated to tell him I wasn't going to play again, but it just wasn't my thing.

 

[Eydie Romano]

This is what we are doing. What do you think?

Here is the info you all requested:

This was our first night and first league we are going to be operating. We got in 10 teams tonight! That was HUGE!

BTW~ We are not taking one single dime for being league operators. It is strictly for the love of the game... All the monies +++ some added perks go back to the players as listed below in the team payouts.


Q Billiards & Sports Bar

I - 55 & South Cass Avenue ~ Darien, Illinois 60561~ 630-241-0970
TEAMS STILL FORMING!

Q Billiards & Sports Bar - Home of Action, Action, Action in the south Suburbs of Chicago,
Invites YOU to take a shot at playing with the best players in the Chicagoland area!
This newly sanctioned league will bring some of the most competitive players in this area,
And some of the best pool you can imagine!
Be here on Wednesday’s at 7:30 PM Sharp!
2 Short League Sessions (approximately 14-16 weeks long),
Handicap league using the 17-point system
(Which is an extremely fair handicap), 5 Man/Woman Teams,
Open tables, $20.00 per night per person with added money to the league.

Team League Payouts are as follows:
1st Place $8,000.00
2nd Place $6,000.00
3rd Place $5,000.00
4th Place $4,000.00
5/6 Place $3,000.00
7/8 Place $2,000.00
9/12 Place $1,500.00
13/15 Place $1,000.00
$1,000.00 for banquet and prize fund for finals!
This payout is based upon 27 weeks


Great banquet and prizes awarded in the final week of this league session. Surprises and much much more than ever before! This will be the very best league that you have ever played on. This will be BCA/ACS Sanctioned. You will be able to play in both Nationals in Las Vegas next year!

For More information call: Bob Romano 630-244-2900
Email windycityopen@aol.com or visit our web site at www.Qbilliard.com

Hey Ruk!

Come and play at my bar! The girls are looking for some good players!

Miss seeing you, what's been going on?

Hugs,

Eydie

 

[Eydie Romano]

ANOTHER Question.........

Here's another question.

Does your bar/hall donate any added money or perks for playing at their establishment?

Our bar donates free all night long PLUS a big banquet and other stuff.... I will be adding some prizes from some of the items that I will have recieved from this coming Windy City Open. I have made deals with a lot of the vendors at WCO to barter merchandise for booth space. The items that I receive will go back into WCO or my leagues..

 

[Tom In Cincy]

Barbara,
There is a league starter kit offered by the BCA-League office.
You can visit the web site www.playbca.com or call 702-719-7665
Downloads are available for League Operator Manuals and Sanctioning forms

Just tell them Tom sent you...

From A BCA League Operator, what it takes to start up a league. I want to know the sanctioning fees, the costs, what it takes to START A LEAGUE!! How much I have to do to get rooms to form teams. etc, etc, etc. And how do you do get teams together, anyway? How long would this get to bring to fruition?

Barbara~~~seriously interested

 

[MrLucky]

As much as I love APA I have to say ....

The league I am in is huge! ...... Atlanta Division, I play out of Mr CuesII a great place to play with some really great folks but the League has IMO deteriotated over the years in the aspect that weekly play dues have risen like gas we pay $9.00 where I have been told the Nassau and Suffolk Cty (long island where I am originally from ) Leagues are $5-6, now in all honesty our $9 does include tables which are 8' and 9' plus each team gets a practice table which we have for as long as we want to play on. So all in all this may not be such a bad deal! I have played out of here for so long now (over 7 years) that I have no clue if this is how the others work!

 

[Barbara]

Barbara,
There is a league starter kit offered by the BCA-League office.
You can visit the web site www.playbca.com or call 702-719-7665
Downloads are available for League Operator Manuals and Sanctioning forms

Just tell them Tom sent you...

Tom,

I know that the BCA has a starter kit. But what I really want to know is how difficult was it for some established LOs out their to get their thing going. What is considered a modestly-sized league and would that be profitable enough to quit your day job? Do they have to staff an office or what?

Barbara

 

[ScottW]

The league I am in is huge! ...... Atlanta Division, I play out of Mr CuesII a great place to play with some really great folks but the League has IMO deteriotated over the years in the aspect that weekly play dues have risen like gas we pay $9.00 where I have been told the Nassau and Suffolk Cty (long island where I am originally from ) Leagues are $5-6, now in all honesty our $9 does include tables which are 8' and 9' plus each team gets a practice table which we have for as long as we want to play on. So all in all this may not be such a bad deal! I have played out of here for so long now (over 7 years) that I have no clue if this is how the others work!

When I was back in Atlanta for a few months earlier this year (I grew up there), I ended up playing some APA there on a team. We played in Cobb Co., other side of the north end. I dunno if it's the same LO, but basically it was the same as you described - $8/match, but on 9-footers and with a practice table. All in all, I think it was a fair deal, compared to my current sitch which is $5/match, but on bar-boxes and we have to dump quarters, no free practice tables. We *do* get a free half-time drink from the venue (same as whatever you've been drinking earlier in the evening), so that helps too.

 

[Gregg]

The last league I was in, the league operator is a great guy. Despite that, I decided not to play again this session. My experience in leagues in basically this: You pay 5-10 bucks to be in a room with 70 people crowded around a few pool tables, 20 of them chain smoking cigarettes for 4 hours and you play 4 or 5 games of 8 ball against people who may or may not be sandbagging. At the end of the session, if you are lucky, you might get a buck or two per hour back.
QUOTE]

That about sums up my leage.

That said, what keeps me comming back is that the leage is fun.

 

[MrLucky]

You are right....

When I was back in Atlanta for a few months earlier this year (I grew up there), I ended up playing some APA there on a team. We played in Cobb Co., other side of the north end. I dunno if it's the same LO, but basically it was the same as you described - $8/match, but on 9-footers and with a practice table. All in all, I think it was a fair deal, compared to my current sitch which is $5/match, but on bar-boxes and we have to dump quarters, no free practice tables. We *do* get a free half-time drink from the venue (same as whatever you've been drinking earlier in the evening), so that helps too.

After I posted this I thought about it and we really do have a pretty good deal! I retract my previous post title!!!!

 

[mrsboss]

I play in all leagues and my apa operator is the best!! We get $8000 to go to vegas on, end of session parties, nice new lights for our bar as incintives. Where as in bca we get a flight and a room.