Request for info on the BCA

[elvicash]

What is the BCA? I am talking about the organization that puts on the trade show and is all about the business/supplier side of the billiards business. The organization that does not seem to be promoting the playing side of the game.

Who runs this BCA organization?

Is it a corporation that is owned?

Has it ever put on a tournament or gave its name for an official BCA tournament?

Does anyone from the BCA post on AZ, if not where do they get feedback from the players?

Are any of the leadership at the BCA a player whether hi speed or just a banger, do they actually play the game.

I ask after reading various complaints about the lack of guidance in this game. The BCA is probably the oldest organization in the US for pocket billiards. I think it could be a positive force so what could we do to get there attention and use some of there name recognition to promote the actual game.

I am watching the tour de france and the british open and they both have long history with strong consistent leadership, pool needs that has needed that and we need to get that started now.

What do you all think, is it even possible, lets hear your voice on this AZers.

BCA rep we want to hear from you too

 

[Qjunkie]

Go ahead red rep me... I did this for the LULZ where is DAWG???

 

[Tom In Cincy]

What is the BCA? I am talking about the organization that puts on the trade show and is all about the business/supplier side of the billiards business. The organization that does not seem to be promoting the playing side of the game.

Billiard Congress of America: 2009-2010 Board of Directors
Officers/Executive Committee:

Ivan Lee
Chairman
Iwan Simonis, Inc.
847.360.9029

Renee Lyle
First Vice Chairman
American Poolplayers Association
636.625.8611

Kathy Vegh
Second Vice Chairman
Danny Vegh's Billiards & Home
216.476.4800

Karim Belhaj
Treasurer
Predator Group
904.448.8748

Eric Weber
Secretary
CueStix International, Inc.
303.926.2670

Directors:
Nick Alexander, Clicks Billiards, 214.521.7001
Fred Cohen, D&R Industries/Championship LLC, 847.677.3200
George Darafeev, Mikhail Darafeev, Inc., 800.227.7866
Tom Gregory, Toltec Lighting, 662.427.9515
Barry Hart, Viking Cue Mfg., Inc., 608.271.5155
Danny Kuykendall, Danny K's Billiards, 714.771.9706
Skip Nemecek, Tweeten Fibre Co., 312.733.7878
John Petti, Atlas Billiard Supplies, 847.674.1234
Thomas Rodgers, Robertson Billiard Supplies, 813.229.2778
Michael Serra, MBS Group, Inc., 847.290.8360
Tony Stick, The Billiard Factory, 281.943.2300

Who runs this BCA organization?

see above in bold and GREEN

Is it a corporation that is owned?
not sure why this is needed, but it is a corp.

Has it ever put on a tournament or gave its name for an official BCA tournament?
YES, when it owned the BCA pool league it always ran a Pro Men's and Women's event with a lot of money added

Does anyone from the BCA post on AZ, if not where do they get feedback from the players?

When the BCA wants feedback they hire a consulting firm, why put your trust in pool players that have computers?

Are any of the leadership at the BCA a player whether hi speed or just a banger, do they actually play the game.

If there were top ranked pool players on the BCA board, they wouldn't have time to practice their skills and play in regional tournaments.

I ask after reading various complaints about the lack of guidance in this game. The BCA is probably the oldest organization in the US for pocket billiards. I think it could be a positive force so what could we do to get there attention and use some of there name recognition to promote the actual game.

for a brief history of the BCA see this link http://www.bca.affiniscape.com/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=25

I am watching the tour de france and the british open and they both have long history with strong consistent leadership, pool needs that has needed that and we need to get that started now.

all the money in pool for the last 10 years will not be able to pay the top ten spots of the British Open winners. No money no tour. Pocket Billiards cannot compete with the big money professional sports.

What do you all think, is it even possible, lets hear your voice on this AZers.

BCA rep we want to hear from you too

I think if the USA pocket billiards depended on the BCA to move the game forward.... you've already given up.

 

[elvicash]

I started this thread after reading Grady's thread about the upcoming straight pool and then he bi****d a little about there HOF and it made me think what is the BCA doing to make pool bigger as a game.

Thanks for the posted info on the BCA. I did check out the BCA site and it does appear to me that some of the board is comprised of people who are at least familiar with the game no matter how well they play some of them must play the game. They are from larger billiard company’s and chains who have multiple rooms. The APA is also represented Atlas fiber and Simonis. These people should know something about the game but I do nto know what they are doing to bring it to the public. I know they want to sell the public chalk, balls, cloth and a table. But what are they doing to lety the world know there are a lot of players who like to play and who also buy cars, clothes, beer, cigarettes and whiskey as well as TV’s. cameras and computers. Why not advertise to reach us Lumber Liquidators is sponsoring bowling. Caddy sponsors the Masters. Shouldn’t Chevy or Hundai sponsor the US Open 9 Ball or the DCC. Have large companies been approached by the BCA.

I see it was mentioned on here that the BCA added money in the past to a pro events. Did they pay out the entire field like golf does or did they just add 20k or 30k. Pool will alwys be small as long as we are not in the mainstream, is the BCA getting us into the mainstream.

I think we should form a group and fund it so we can join the BCA with an AZ group/entity. It is not that expensive and then we could get in and perhaps get a more vocal representative on the side of the game and the players who play at the highest levels. There are 4 kinds of memberships

The meeting locations are published in advanced. The last meetings were here. Previous BCA Board Meetings:

August 5-6, 2008: Lake Forest, Illinois (Brunswick Corporate Offices)
November 6-7, 2008: Boulder, Colorado
February 24-26, 2009: Broomfield, Colorado (Long-Range Planning)
June 24, 2009: Las Vegas, Nevada (BCA Officer Elections)

If we formed a group and joined the BCA we would have access to their information statistics etc. They are making plans and trying to do things which appear to be more business related than focusing on enhancing the game and the direction it is going as a sport. If we formed a group to represent AZ at the BCA I would kick in a few dollars myself.

On an aside I notice that pro players can join for a very low fee but they do not get to vote only the industry grade memberships. This tells me they think less of the pro’s even though they tout some old school pros like Mosconi on their site when talking about how the BCA got started.

I would like to see the result of them hiring consultants, what do the consultants suggest, what plans is BCA planning for the future. I know they mention the Olympics, which would be great but I would like to see live pool on TV. That would be a great step for the sport. I would like to see 50 -100 pros making a living from the game. I would like to see a push in this country to enhance the game for the junior players.

What about getting representation at the BCA by joining?

 

[Tom In Cincy]

What about joining and supporting Mark Griffin's current pool league system and NEW USA Pool League?
Mr. Griffin owns the parent company "Cue Sports Inc." which offers the National Championship Series (USA championships for 8, 9 and 10 ball, 14.1 and One pocket) and new USA POOL LEAGUE

IMO the BCA is not worth the effort... the group isn't even a good provider for their members for running a convention on pool products. Attendance is down over the last 3 years and the BCA is cutting programs including funding the BCA Hall of Fame.

All of this information is within this forums and AZ Billiards news achieve.

What about getting representation at the BCA by joining?