Around here, the small local bar 8-ball tournaments are switching from "bar rules" to BCA rules. I think the reason we kept playing with bar rules so long was just tradition. Sometimes we would have a tournament where everyone in the tournament preferred BCA rules, but we still had the tournament using bar rules! Then onne tournament switched to BCA rules and the others said "Hey good idea, let's do that too!"
Now there is a choice between playing in bar rules tournaments or BCA rules tournaments...
The better players are only going to the tournaments with BCA rules. Attendance at the bar rules tournaments is falling off. Attendance at the BCA rules tournaments is growing. I think a lot of players are tired of unwritten house rules, rules being changed as the situation dictates, intentional scratches, safeties not allowed, intentional miscues, etc. They realize that BCA rules are fair rules.
My experience with this was that a few bangers screamed like stuck pigs when we switched to BCA rules, however the majority of players who attended the tournament preferred and already knew BCA rules. So most players are happy with the change.
Old tournament dying off...
There is a bar rules 8-ball tournament in my area which has been held for years and years. But now a new 8-ball tournament has popped up on the same evening with BCA rules. Most of the players are now going to the BCA tournament. The old bar rules tournament is having trouble many nights just getting enough players to hold the tournament. So it looks like it will die out. This is kind of sad, but I remember that they were asked many times to adopt BCA rules and they choose not to.
Now there is a choice between playing in bar rules tournaments or BCA rules tournaments...
The better players are only going to the tournaments with BCA rules. Attendance at the bar rules tournaments is falling off. Attendance at the BCA rules tournaments is growing. I think a lot of players are tired of unwritten house rules, rules being changed as the situation dictates, intentional scratches, safeties not allowed, intentional miscues, etc. They realize that BCA rules are fair rules.
My experience with this was that a few bangers screamed like stuck pigs when we switched to BCA rules, however the majority of players who attended the tournament preferred and already knew BCA rules. So most players are happy with the change.
Old tournament dying off...
There is a bar rules 8-ball tournament in my area which has been held for years and years. But now a new 8-ball tournament has popped up on the same evening with BCA rules. Most of the players are now going to the BCA tournament. The old bar rules tournament is having trouble many nights just getting enough players to hold the tournament. So it looks like it will die out. This is kind of sad, but I remember that they were asked many times to adopt BCA rules and they choose not to.