Might Be Time for an All American Womens Tour

Johnnyt

Johnnyt

Burn all jump cues
Silver Member
Maybe now is the time for the American Women to set up their own tour. It’s obvious that a big percentage of the Americans on tour work 40 hour a week jobs and don’t have a lot of time to practice, can’t afford coaches 24/7, do not have full sponsors or a government that supports them for travel, therefore making it very hard to compete with the champions from other countries.

I know a lot of you will say you can’t get better if you don’t play better players and I agree to a point. But to me it makes no sense to go on like the last dozen or so years of the tour with just a few Americans winning a tour stop. Keep it all American for a few years or until the players on tour feel it’s time to step up and let the world play on the tour again. JMO. Johnnyt
 
some good points

Johnnyt said:
Maybe now is the time for the American Women to set up their own tour. It’s obvious that a big percentage of the Americans on tour work 40 hour a week jobs and don’t have a lot of time to practice, can’t afford coaches 24/7, do not have full sponsors or a government that supports them for travel, therefore making it very hard to compete with the champions from other countries.

I know a lot of you will say you can’t get better if you don’t play better players and I agree to a point. But to me it makes no sense to go on like the last dozen or so years of the tour with just a few Americans winning a tour stop. Keep it all American for a few years or until the players on tour feel it’s time to step up and let the world play on the tour again. JMO. Johnnyt
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Johnny,

As always you have some good points. However there will never be a level playing field. If we limit the field to US ladies, then we will certainly have a US lady be the winner. However the ones working forty to sixty hours a week at jobs outside pool will still have a major disadvantage compared to the ladies that own or work in pool halls, the ladies that are stay at home moms with a table, and the ladies of leisure that can afford to play as much as they want to.

We all bring advantages and disadvantages to the table. Just the way things work. I don't object to a US ladies tour, I just don't think it will do much to level the playing field.

Hu
 
ShootingArts said:
Johnny,

As always you have some good points. However there will never be a level playing field. If we limit the field to US ladies, then we will certainly have a US lady be the winner. However the ones working forty to sixty hours a week at jobs outside pool will still have a major disadvantage compared to the ladies that own or work in pool halls, the ladies that are stay at home moms with a table, and the ladies of leisure that can afford to play as much as they want to.

We all bring advantages and disadvantages to the table. Just the way things work. I don't object to a US ladies tour, I just don't think it will do much to level the playing field.

Hu
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Good points as well from you. I feel if they did go to an all US tour that in a very short time you would see a lot of new name's and very young ladies rise to the top. After a few years they might want to play champions from other countries. Johnnyt
 
An all-american tour is simply not worth watching. End of story. You can calculate, if you like, the ramifications of such a scenario with no one watching nor caring about the women's tour. = DEAD.
 
Unless she comes from a wealthy family that supports her or has a sugar daddy, I don't know of any lady on tour who doesn't have to earn a living outside of pool. Yes, national sponsorship helps with entry & travel, but no sponsor I know of is giving a player a free ride in life so they can play world class pool.
 
Would your All American ladies tour include people such as Allison Fisher, Kelly Fisher, Karen Corr, Gerta Hofstatter, Jasmin Ouschan, Helena Thornfeldt. etc??

If so they will dominate. If not, BOOOORRRRRIIIINNNNGGGG!

There are complaints now that the women are not as strong players as the men. Take away the best and you really have nothing to draw the fans.
 
Any new tour would surely have to include everyone currently playing. If the likes of Kelly, Alison, Karen, Helena etc weren't on it I cannot see it being a big enough draw. In the current economic climate one of the issues will be the same as they already have Sponsorship deals. If you take away the major draws in the game Sponsorship will be impossible to get surely?
 
On further thought you guys are right. Never get enough sponsor money w/o big names to make the purses big enough to make it worth while to travel from one coast to the other for most. I keep forgeting how large an area the US is. I guess just try to pump up the purses on the regional tours and hope the economy gets better soon. Johnnyt
 
That sounds like the best idea, ramp up Regional Tours and Competitions.

I did e-mail Matchroom to see if they had any plans or thoughts about the womens game. Maybe new tournaments or even a Mosconi Cup style competition between say USA/Europe & Asia. Unfortunately they do not, they appear to be having the same issue with sponsorship and have no plans for any new tournaments Mens or Womens. If Matchroom cannot do it I fear nobody can!
 
Sponsors in pool are slim to begin with, so a tour that prohibits some world class players - and exposure to foreign markets - might seem like a poor gamble for a sponsor.
 
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