Sarah Rousey comments on the Women's Worlds

Sarah is the best. Sucks that she had to that far to find out that pool is secondary to entertainment value when produced for the masses. We all talk about wanting pool to be mainstream but sometimes I think we better be careful what we wish for.
 
Wow! Sarah Rousey is one gutsy lady! She has just posted her critical comments of what is going on in Manila at the Women's World Championships. And she pulls no punches! Read it here:

http://sarahrousey.blogspot.com/

I'm glad I had the chance to donate to Sarah's trip to the Philippines and hope that the tournament conditions improve for her and the rest of the players.

It is difficult to put on first class pool tournaments and for those that put their hearts, souls and hard earned money into playing in them, it can be a real heart breaker when things don't go smoothly, their play is off or when the situation looks unfair.

Often times, one's perspective is influenced by their current emotional state. I'm sure Sarah is disappointed in her performance as well as the conditions she perceives and that has a lot to do with how she feels at the moment.

I'm looking forward to hearing some of her war stories from the pool rooms of the Philippines and hope that her blog reflects improved state of mind and conditions.

Thank you for the heads-up on her blog but I'm not sure how much good was done.

JoeyA
 
About time a woman player came out and said what Sarah said. If this is how it really is for the women players I think if she has any problems because of what she said in public, on any tour, the women players should back her up and not play in said tournament or tour. You Go Sarah. Johnnyt
 
Race to 5 World Championship on table where both rain and shine affects you,lol. That sucks for real.
 
Wow! Sarah Rousey is one gutsy lady! She has just posted her critical comments of what is going on in Manila at the Women's World Championships. And she pulls no punches! Read it here:

http://sarahrousey.blogspot.com/

I commented on this while watching last night on another thread on the level of play being displayed on the TV table.
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=144655&page=2

That was the nice version of what I saw the last two nights. Basically what I'm saying is Shanelle & Zarah that DP sponsors couldn't be a sub on my beer league. The worst players in the field are on TV every match other than Jeanette. Shanelle was commentating after her own match & she said this is now her full time job for dragon promotions. It must be nice to get paid to just do exhibitions & not be able to run 3 balls.

Showing this in front of a filipino crowd takes some balls. I was cringing almost as much as they were. It got to a point that they would cheer when a hanger was knocked in. My guess is everyone in the audience was thinking I could give these ladies the 5 out. In two nights of play on the TV table which was about 8 matches or thereabouts there was 1 break & run before Jeanette played the last match of the night. Yes I said 1 B & R total between those matches, the announcer even brought it up.
 
To follow that up it's not the womens fault they are being put on display so much as DP.
 
It is difficult to put on first class pool tournaments
JoeyA

This sounds like CW didn't even try.

I'm glad I had the chance to donate to Sarah's trip to the Philippines and hope that the tournament conditions improve for her and the rest of the players.

JoeyA

The money is nice, but what the ladies need is for US to stand up WITH them against this type of thing. The "conditions" won't improve, they will continue to get worse, as long as we keep giving CW a free pass "because he does do much for pool". He will continue to be disrespectful to women. (I would be enraged if I traveled 100 miles and experienced this kind of treatment)

Often times, one's perspective is influenced by their current emotional state. I'm sure Sarah is disappointed in her performance as well as the conditions she perceives and that has a lot to do with how she feels at the moment.
JoeyA

One's perpective? Joey, did you read the same blog as I did? Let's put aside the exploiting and just look at the conditions. 5 tables! Tables poorly setup (curvy rails), sun & rain on tables, race to 5, unfair selection process.


Joey,

I think you are a great commentator and I know you are trying to be diplomatic here, but I'm afraid what is happening in this event is only scratching the surface of what is REALLY going on in the CW camp.

Ray
 
When this thread runs it's course you will be able to read back and see the ones that have an agenda going on and the ones that always kiss CW's ass. This is horrible for womens pool...period. And this was sanctioned? Give me a break. If I was a woman US player I wouldn't even think about playing in one of his tournaments. Johnnyt
 
I'll tell you what's sad... when a played has to worry about getting banned from a promoter's future events just because they speak their minds.

Based on what she said, Dragon didn't think this event out very well. No lights above tables!?!? Getting ref volunteers from the crowds (who then reffed the tv table)?!?! Being told to pose?!?!???????????????????????

Dragon Promotions.... if you're reading this..... shame on you guys. Charlie - you're a player.... you should know better. Very, very sad. Embarrassing for a "world championship."
 
Well I am glad someone commented on this. I watch the matches and see all the C-players on display and hear Charlie talk about Shannelle being one of the women he coaches and then saying she got second in a qualifier and "we gave her a spot anyway".

Does this crap never end???

From the outside this venue looks great. Jay and Bob have to be absolutely cringing to have to call matches between c-players and figure out creative ways to expalin away the fact that they JUST CAN'T PLAY and DO NOT BELONG IN A "WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP"

This after all the press releases and over the top announcements.

I know that if I were invited to play in the men's World Championships then I would decline the invitation. Why? Because A. I am not good enough and I know it. B. I'd be taking the spot from someone who is good enough and deserves it and C. I'd be completely embarassed to be on international television showing the world how bad I am.

This is a complete slap in the face of the Filipino audience to put the WORST players on display when they have some BONAFIDE superstars of pool in the tournament.

An unbelievable lack of class on Dragon Promotions' part here.

This from the guy who founded the UPA with the idea to make it better for all pool players? Now you have turned into the person you claimed to fight against.

Will someone - Sarah? repost her blog entry here for those of us that can't read blogspot blogs?
 
I'll tell you what's sad... when a played has to worry about getting banned from a promoter's future events just because they speak their minds.

Based on what she said, Dragon didn't think this event out very well. No lights above tables!?!? Getting ref volunteers from the crowds (who then reffed the tv table)?!?! Being told to pose?!?!???????????????????????

Dragon Promotions.... if you're reading this..... shame on you guys. Charlie - you're a player.... you should know better. Very, very sad. Embarrassing for a "world championship."


Make you wonder how many more, like Marissa, are out there and afraid to come forward.
 
Boy she didn't hold back did she? And all of the gripes are legit.

I do wince a little when I read people criticizing CW and the 'eye candy' amateurs in the same breath. By all means bash charlie, he is running a 'world championship' on Sear's tables in a mall. And clearly he's working the 'sex sells' angle way too hard, to the point where it compromises the integrity of the event.

None of these issues (including being paraded down a catwalk) are shanelle's and zarah's fault. But some people don't see it that way, and that's a shame. I'd be thrilled if I got invited to fly to top pool country on the planet to play some of the top pros. People are implying they should have turned down this opportunity just because CW's a pig. Honestly, would anyone turn it down if they were in the these girl's shoes (even if they're 5 inch heels)?

---

In any case, props to Sarah for laying it all out. I have a bad feeling the people of this event will somehow write off her rants as the complaints of a pissy female, when the exact same rants coming from a male would be taken seriously. Of course, if it were a men's championship they wouldn't have had these problems in the first place.

DP has already figured out how to run a major tournament, did seeing all the pretty boobies somehow make him 'forget' important details like what kind of tables and venue are necessary?
 
Sarah's blog, minus the pictures

Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Is this an F-ing joke??

That is the question I am posing of the Women's World 10-ball Championship. This is not meant to slander the sponsors because I have to be sure that the sponsors knew nothing of this tournament being absolute crap. I am upset, angry, pissed, whatever word you would like to insert in would be Dragon Promotions and the WPA. I do realize that this could ban me from Dragon Promotions events but honestly, that might be a good thing if this is how things are. Where to begin...

First, I will say the Philippines have actually been great. I really like it here even though it is really hot and humid. The people are friendly. They speak english and the food is actually quite good. I will post in a little while about the great pool room action and all of that. Right now, this is a rant!

The event started off with TV commercials and newspaper articles. On this commercial it is promoting the beauty and class of the women that will be playing at the tournament. Those featured in the commercial: Jeanette Lee, Ga Young Kim, Xiao-ting Pan, Anna Kostanian, and Ewa Laurance. Now some of you may see the problem with this...if you don't, I will tell you. Only two of those names are playing in the tournament! Way to promote the top players that are playing in the tournament! Now on to the newspaper articles. I first must say that the Philippine press is absolutely awesome when it comes to coverage. Every day there is something pool related on the sports page (no, that isn't a typo, there is only one page of sports!). On to this, this is not meant in any disrespect to the players I mention, it is about the press releases that they are given or who/what they are told to follow. The first day was written about Angel Paglia and how she is coming as a qualifier from the states. They mention in one sentence about the other qualifiers, including all of the Filipino girls that qualified. Now, Angel, if you are reading this, I know you got sick and couldn't make it and whatnot, but Dragon Promotions should have known this and not used that as a selling point. Everyday in the paper there are articles covering pool as I said. Today when I got up the paper outside our hotel room door had a big picture of Jeanette and Shanelle. In the article there is a one sentence mention of other players that are doing well or are potential winners.

On Monday morning there was an optional press conference. I forgot to mention that I am rooming with Kelly Fisher for this event. So Kelly being the number one ranked player for the WPBA it was obvious that she should go to the press conference. Being a friend, I went too. As I talked about Taiwan last month and the importance of beauty and determination, I was hoping that was behind us...boy was I wrong! At the press conference we were told how we should pose and whatnot when we had to one by one walk out on stage. Some of us laughed and without naming names, some of us practiced our poses. At this press conference you have the likes of Allison Fisher, Kelly Fisher, Jeanette Lee, Iris Ranola, Rubilen Amit, Shanelle Lorraine, myself, a girl from Russia, a girl from South Africa, and a handful of others. Most questions and attention were directed to Jeanette...for obvious reasons. The rest were directed to Shanelle and one to Allison. Notice I didn't mention Kelly being asked any questions...she is the NUMBER ONE player in the world! Next we all had to say a couple words and then lunch. I'm not sure if lunch is the culprit but ever since about four of us have really been suffering when it comes to stomach pains....I'm not going to go into the details on that one!

Since we came to the venue for our press conference we got to see what it is like. Now here is where the really big joke comes in. There are only 5 tables, four in the big dome and one inside the huge mall that is the TV table. There is one practice table for all of us. So this might sound a bit off considering there are eight groups and only 5 tables. Here is a pic of the venue. I will explain (though I won't need to) after you see the picture.

Now you notice that it is a big globe...what you also may notice is that half of this pretty much five story globe is windows! When we play the day matches, the lights over the tables are not even turned on...beautiful! I didn't know that I had to invest in sunglasses before coming.

On to the players meeting. In the meeting we were told a variety of different things and who the tournament directors would be and all of that. Now this was open to the public so there were plenty of people and cameras watching...that is pretty wrong. The tables were ready and we could practice if we wanted. When looking at the tables they look like Brunswicks but they are AMF. The rails are wavy. If you don't know what I mean, the rubber has waves in it so a shot down the rail can really suck. The pockets have hard shims in them so a shot hit hard down the rail or straight and catches the shim...you are screwed. When we asked about a possibility of something being changed...we were laughed at.

Here is the biggest gripe of all is the draw. Now there are supposedly certain rules to follow when doing the draw. Sixteen players are seeded. The way the seeding works is based on past world champions, WPA ranking, and overall ranking within your federation or association. The next rule is that a WPA official must be present for the draw. Supposedly the draw was done in Korea with a Korean official present. Strange that Dragon Promotions is run by two Korean/Americans and that most of the Dragon Promotions events are held in Korea. Anyway, now people are supposed to be separated by country. Now in two of the groups there are three Japanese players and in another two Japanese players...obviously, they are getting screwed. In my group there are six top players. Four of the players in my group would obviously be seeded and have been seeded in other WPA events. In a couple other groups, there is one top player and then five of the people that were special promoter invites. Now in saying that there should be some research done before seeding and all of that this is what was said to me by Charlie Williams.."Are you in the top 32 of the WPBA and are you ranked higher than the other USA players?" Wow, thanks buddy, those are great questions to ask now that the draw has been done and all of that. I'm not saying that I could have been seeded or not but I do know that one of the players in my group should have been, Akimi Kajitani. I am not sure of the last time she hasn't been seeded in a tournament.

As for the qualifiers that were held here in the Philippines. There were more spots to give than players that were there to fill them. Everyone got in. I have only attended one other world championship and it was as one of the junior players but the Women played along side. Those qualifiers were full of girls just wanting more than anything in the world to qualify for the main event.

Now the tournament starts and all of a sudden matches are changed, tables are changed, there are forfeits....great, glad this is a world championship! One of the forfeits was by a Filipino girl that showed up for her first match and lost and then said that she was embarrassed by how she played so she doesn't want to participate anymore.

Oh, did I mention, the tournament is a race to 5! How in the world can a world championship be a race to 5??? I can't even tell you how many times I have been down 5-0 or whatever in a match and come back to win...what a joke!

Another gripe, no offense to my friend that reads this and that I am speaking of, but the referee situation. Apparently yesterday they didn't have enough referees so an American/Filipino guy that is here was asked to put on a JBETPoker.net shirt and be a referee for a few rounds. Great, what happened to ref training?? Now it isn't his fault and I am glad it was him that was picked rather than any random person because at least he knows the rules and plays pool. He was not only thrown into the ref situation but he was put on the TV table first!

The TV rounds that have been scheduled have been changed if someone that is deemed 'prettier' has a match in the same round. No offense to Shanelle because I don't know here and I know that it isn't her fault that she is put in these situations, but her matches are all scheduled for the TV table. Another girl, who I have spoken to, Zarah from Chicago has her matches scheduled on TV as well. She is a new player and I feel bad for her because she must feel like she has to perform as a puppet more than a player.

Today in my match with Julie Kelly we were put on the shot clock ten minutes too early. When we were put on the clock our ref was not supplied with a timer. He was using his watch. This means he was looking at a small second hand on his wrist rather than watching the match. Julie and I spoke about it and Julie went to complain. She was told that is how things are and they don't have any timers to provide to the refs today. Funny since yesterday they all had timers. I guess they were left at the hotel and are not important.

I know that all of these gripes should be put aside and just play pool. I have to admit I feel a bit stupid for being so bothered but it is hard not to be. I know that the best players will win, but it doesn't help that so many players that deserve to be here are not here or were not even invited. I didn't know that we signed up for a beauty pageant rather than a World Championship pool tournament. I hate the feeling that most of us "pool players" have to feel about ourselves and the situation. We are really being made a joke of. I guess I will have to go home, go on a diet, get a boob job, grow my hair out, learn to walk in very high heels and pose as I play so I can be guaranteed success! Just kidding.

Those that remain undefeated that I can remember off the top of my head are Kelly Fisher, Allison Fisher, Jeanette Lee, Karen Corr and Tan from Taiwan. There are about 8 people that are threats to win and another 5 or so that could surprise everyone and win. Everyone else is just kind of filling the field. Right now with the way I have played...I feel like one of the fillers!

Really, I have won my first match and lost my next two. I have two matches left and a slim chance of making it out of my group. Though I really want to make it out all I can do is try my best and try to forget everything going on.

As I said, this is not meant in any disrespect to the players that are puppets, the table, cloth, or whatever sponsors, this is totally against the lack of rules in forced to call something a world championship and for the stupidity of the promoter for thinking that this is okay.

Again, I apologize for the lack of communication lately. I will give all of the updates because I have so many stories from the incredible pool room and just life in general. I will cool down a bit before I do those!! I hope everyone has been doing well and thank you all again for continuing to check in on me!

edit: I have come back now after posting this and would like to say that the players aren't totally not at fault...we should have complained sooner about the race and it possibly could have been changed. Also, the roof is now leaking at the venue...on the tables.
 
I applaud Sarah for having the guts to tell it like it is. It really is amazing how top players like Karen Corr and Kelly Fisher are largely ignored in favor of much weaker players based soley on looks.
 
They should have turned down the opportunity because they are not good enough to be there.

If Shannele and Zarah allow themselves to made into objects then they are complicit. They know that they don't have the skill to shine Allison's shoes in pool and yet they allow themselves to be put on TV as if they have any chance in the world of winning this event.

This might set women's pool back a hundred years. I am sure there are twenty women in Taiwan and China who would swim a river of crap to play some of the women in this event for as much money as they beg, borrow or steal.

I know one unknown in Xiamen China where I play that I will let her give Shannelle and Zarah and Kim the 7 out and the breaks for as much as they can stack up. And after she is done with them then the window is open for Yu Ram as well - we will snap off CHarlie's harem in one night.

Embarassing. Truly embarassing.
 
I applaud Sarah for having the guts to tell it like it is. It really is amazing how top players like Karen Corr and Kelly Fisher are largely ignored in favor of much weaker players based soley on looks.

I would like to add that Karen and Kelly ARE both very attractive women. They just don't flaunt it.

Ray
 
If that Shanelle didn't win a qualifier and was offered a slot based on a 2nd place finish..........I'm curious........ how many other 2nd place finishers at qualifiers were offered slots????

Bueller.....Bueller????
Anyone? Anyone???
 
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