TAP compared to APA and BCA
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Readers Digest version: Tap rules mirror BCA rules except 8 on break and scratch on 8 when shooting the 8. BCA plays one head to head game with each player on the team. TAP uses a race to handicap level similar to APA. BCA handicap and scoring should be universal. Easy to use and no restrictions on team skill level. TAP score keeping requires that you actually pay attention while you are keeping score. May want to bring an accountant to help out. APA is designed for the social player and is a good way to spend an evening drinking with your team mates. Most, NOT ALL, of your serious league players will not play APA. Hope I answered most of your questions.
Readers Digest version: Tap rules mirror BCA rules except 8 on break and scratch on 8 when shooting the 8. BCA plays one head to head game with each player on the team. TAP uses a race to handicap level similar to APA. BCA handicap and scoring should be universal. Easy to use and no restrictions on team skill level. TAP score keeping requires that you actually pay attention while you are keeping score. May want to bring an accountant to help out. APA is designed for the social player and is a good way to spend an evening drinking with your team mates. Most, NOT ALL, of your serious league players will not play APA. Hope I answered most of your questions.
Ive always felt like vnea and bca were the serious player leagues. APA was fun for the free trip. TAP is just kind of like the kid who gets picked last in gym class.
mongoose-
Banned
windward TAP also uses a 25 point overall team handicap vs the APA at 23.
We are currently playing/running an ACS 9ball league here using the 25 rule & I will say it works well compared to the American Donators Association we kicked out the door. I also like the ACS/BCAPL 10 point system for 8 ball. Unfortunatly if you are running a mixed team meaning men/women their nationals do not have mixed & do not use handicap. Either way all leagues can be fun if you are with the right crowd. I would play any league except the APA.
I play in a BCA league and a VNEA league. Both have practically identical rules. In my VNEA league you travel every week from bar to bar. You have a home bar and then you go to your opponents bar. In BCA its a house league that is run out of a hall that has about a dozen pool tables. VNEA has decent pay out with a chance to go to Vegas for VNEA International Championships. BCA has the best pay out though. Both are fun but I favour the VNEA league. Oh and both leagues are played on Valley bar box (8 ball). Just my 2 cents.
Tap
I currently play TAP in Northern Virginia and am our league director. TAP is small and appears to be run on a very tight budget. Not nearly as slick an operation as APA. Their website (linked below) is pretty pathetic, though getting better.
In our area TAP seems to attract the better, slightly more serious league players. This keeps our handicaps comparatively lower. Most of our 4s and 5s would be at least 6s in APA. This is a function of a highly competitive league.
The 25 rule is great for keeping teams together. I hear from our franchisee that TAP is changing this. Our handicaps are going up. I believe this is an effort to create more teams by making it more difficult to meet the 25 limit. That is unfortunate and may kill off our league.
TAP is call pocket which eliminates MOST slop. Sandbagging is minimal due to the 25 rule and the high level of play, but it does exist as in any other handicapped league with humans in it. I like the scoring system and don't find score keeping overly difficult.
TAP has three regional tourneys per year called Titleholders and a National Championship tournament which changes venue yearly. Last year it was in Orlando, the year before Myrtle Beach and the year before that Louisville. Some people prefer that way, others would like to shoot for Vegas every year. Payouts are comparable to APA, which is to say, don't play TAP if you're looking to make money.
The best thing about TAP, imo, is what happens next week - The Rally in the Valley. Every year at Valley Forge TAP hosts the Dream Team event at the Super Billiards Expo. You can put together 8 man teams using any eligible TAP member and compete against teams from around the country. In addition to the team event there are singles tourneys in 2/3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 handicap levels and scotch doubles minis run every night, pretty much all night long. I'm playing in singles and team again this year and as many minis as I can pull off. That's about 16-18 hours of pool per day as long as you stay alive. Truly a pool addicts dream come true.
HTH,
MM
http://www.tapleague.com/
I currently play TAP in Northern Virginia and am our league director. TAP is small and appears to be run on a very tight budget. Not nearly as slick an operation as APA. Their website (linked below) is pretty pathetic, though getting better.
In our area TAP seems to attract the better, slightly more serious league players. This keeps our handicaps comparatively lower. Most of our 4s and 5s would be at least 6s in APA. This is a function of a highly competitive league.
The 25 rule is great for keeping teams together. I hear from our franchisee that TAP is changing this. Our handicaps are going up. I believe this is an effort to create more teams by making it more difficult to meet the 25 limit. That is unfortunate and may kill off our league.
TAP is call pocket which eliminates MOST slop. Sandbagging is minimal due to the 25 rule and the high level of play, but it does exist as in any other handicapped league with humans in it. I like the scoring system and don't find score keeping overly difficult.
TAP has three regional tourneys per year called Titleholders and a National Championship tournament which changes venue yearly. Last year it was in Orlando, the year before Myrtle Beach and the year before that Louisville. Some people prefer that way, others would like to shoot for Vegas every year. Payouts are comparable to APA, which is to say, don't play TAP if you're looking to make money.
The best thing about TAP, imo, is what happens next week - The Rally in the Valley. Every year at Valley Forge TAP hosts the Dream Team event at the Super Billiards Expo. You can put together 8 man teams using any eligible TAP member and compete against teams from around the country. In addition to the team event there are singles tourneys in 2/3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 handicap levels and scotch doubles minis run every night, pretty much all night long. I'm playing in singles and team again this year and as many minis as I can pull off. That's about 16-18 hours of pool per day as long as you stay alive. Truly a pool addicts dream come true.
HTH,
MM
http://www.tapleague.com/