President steps down

Well I am no real expert at this point on the inner workings of the WPBA, however what I do know is the John is one of the good guys in the biz. I also know that he is a good businesman and his heart is in the right place. So in short, if you have a good businessman who loves the sport and wants to see it succeed with no hidden agenda fo making himself money I think thats a guy that should be given a fair shake and given enough chance to make things better. Sounds like he was given no option but to step down because the players were not 100% behind him or the board wasn't. I think the WPBA have lost on this deal.
 
bfdlad said:
Based on his love for the game and not trying to just take $$. There are few people out there that are doing things because they want to see it do well.
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J.R. already has money.
Plus i think that the WPBA makes you sign stuff so that you can't exploit them.

But that didn't stop him from aligning himself with the elitist ladies who were are his friends did it.
You don't think that is out of line?
Or does that fall into the "love for the game" category.
 
But doesn't that contradict your previous statement? He stepped down because he didn't have the players' 100% support and he is doing it just because he loves the game.

If someone truly loves the game and just wants to see it better, then why would they need 100% support from the players in order to do things to try to help it? Wouldn't they want to do everything they could for the game just because they love it and want to see it better?

You work very closely with Mark Griffin. Does Mark have 100% support from the players? I doubt it. But that doesn't stop him from doing everything that he can for the game.

I do know that John comes from a Fortune 500 background. I think one mistake he made was to try to run the board like a Fortune 500 company.

The WPBA board is a group of seven volunteers. The WPBA is owned by the players and the board answers to the players. No one member of the board has any more power or authority than any other member.

You can not run a volunteer board of equal members who have to answer to the players as if you were the primary decision maker and every one else has to support you.

Now we can debate all day whether the WPBA should change their board to one where the president has the authority, but that is not the way it works now. And you can't just start running it differently because you want to.

Mike
 
Maybe that's why he stepped down, cause he's used to running the show and can't hack not having absolute power and anyone questioning anything he says or does.
 
What non ppol related business is looking to spend enough cash to sponsor a tour or a tournament. That should be the question if someone out there is looking to promote something then the women need to get them on as sponsors. As long as women are sponsored by Masters, Simonis, Olhausen or Brunswick it is not going to be any serious cash not to say when Brunswick did the tables that was not aserious plus for the WPBA it was but it did not work out to get the players ahead as a group.

What I see the ladies need is a new model. Live TV finals should be part of it plus streaming the preliminaries live would be a plus. Better record keeping so players could be reviewed by fans, IPT had great post tourney stats. Bigger prize funds for sure all of that would be great.

What they need to get away from is letting ESPN have the footage and abuse it by running old tournement finals over and over. The footage on TV should be current so the advertisers are getting relevent sponsor return for the advertising dollar.

Also another major point I would make for thought, after watching multiple golf events on TV. The golfers are always doing something for a local charity anywhere they play, this looks good on them and on the event sponsor. I believe most golf tournaments have a sponsor for the event not a global sponsor for all events. Also local events appear to get a lot of volunteer involvemnet from local golfers. The ladies do not come to Indianapolis to play but if they did and I could offer some help to them in some way I would step up. If they were doing something to better a charity it would look positive for them and for their sponsors.

In closing I do not know anything about running a tour or tourney just my 2 cents from the cheap seats. Good luck to the WPBA.
 
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WPBA and the Future

Many very good comments. and opinions. The situation is complex and no one individual will be the panacea for the WPBA.

I remember working at the old BCA with Mark Cord and John Lewis. Both of these gentlemen were involved in the development of the WPBA at early stages of the organization. You learn a lot about why things are, aren't and will never be. The politics of the pool world is as seedy as the darkest underbelly of the sport. Pool wanted ESPN and Television to be the saviour of the game. Pool should have wanted Pool to be that saviour.

I have met some incredible people in the billiard industry. They have supported the game from more than the business aspect. That is the reason the WPBA has survived this long. I called it Life Support. The WPBA and the contracts it has had over the last 10-15 years should have brought millions into the koffers of the WPBA. If it did not,why not? If it did,then where's the money?

Leadership is about taking command and responsibility. Running an organization by committee is not always the best vehicle for success. If you give someone the authority, that means you have given your trust. That trust must be allowed to produce results. Results take Time.

The players of the WPBA have chosen this organization to represent their interests for the purpose of them doing their job. They are independent contractors who are relying on their organization to provide opportunities. The Organization will either fill that need, or not.

I know exactly what it is like to take a business that has been in operation for over twenty years, refused to change, and eventually closed their doors. The tragedy was, it was my Mother's business which she built from nothing. She refused to adapt to changing markets, be innovative, and take new risks. She finally reached the point of no return and accepted the inevitable. It wasn't easy, but as a professional you sometimes have to do what is unpleasant. There are Winners and Losers.

I'd like to see the WPBA as Winners.

Carl Semmes
Fmr. Asst. League and Program Director
BCA 1993-1996
 
I'm not surprised Rousseau finally stepped down, nor do I feel any sadness about it. Despite his extensive Fortune 500 business experience (or perhaps because of it), he decided that if he couldn't be in charge then he wasn't going to be a part of it at all - that it was his way or the highway. And some of you call that "a great love of the sport and he just wanted to help?" BAH!

If someone dangles the promise of lots of $ at you, of course you'll follow them right? Or at least, many pool players will (Take Don Mackey and that fiasco as a perfect example). Of course none of the $$ materialized - neither did the fancy new office or many other things that were promised.

I'm as gregarious a person as you'll ever meet, I worked hard for the WPBA, did whatever it took to keep things rolling along but when the new administration came on board at the beginning of the year, it was obvious that the relationship could not continue - I have my dignity and was not about to be treated as a subservient drone and personally be insulted on top of it - (hence the differences in business philosophy I have spoken about previously)

What to do now? Roll up the sleeves, get back to the sisterhood Melissa was speaking about. The economy not withstanding, getting back to the principles that the WPBA was built upon, hard work, dedication, everyone lending a hand where/when needed, doing whatever it takes - that's the starting line for all of us. Brainstorm for new & fresh ideas generate a new plan and execute said plan, pound the pavement for venues and new sponsors - find new ways to generate income for the WPBA - whatever it takes let's just get it moving!

As for the Top 16 "elite" .. I personally don't see a problem with offering some interesting and great incentives for these players but let's be realistic about it - segregating the haves from the have-nots does not promote joy-joy feelings within a sport and an organization that doesn't generate a lot of income in the first place. There have to be other ways to reward top 16 players that won't cut down the rest of the top 48 Exempts. Am I an idealist? Sure, but someone's got to do it :)

Alright there's my soap box rant for the year! (or perhaps 6 months)... I'm sure some will disagree - that's ok - but please disagree respectfully!

Practice hard, play harder! Can't wait to see everyone in Oklahoma at the Women's US Open next week! Rex and I will be there, come say hi!
 
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