The existence of a women division in some tournaments

[West Point 1987]

It's interesting people bring up Corr, Fisher and Lee...they're among the top women to ever play...and yes, they smoke a lot of men. But in open divisions, although they're competitive, they still usually fall short of the top three places. I enjoy watching Karen Corr play in the Action Pool Tour. Although I'm a strong B and would never have a chance to beat her, when she finally runs into a AA or AAA player like Mike Davis, Brandon Shuff, Shawn Wilkie, Brian Deska, etc., she's simply not favored. I can't explain why, but there it is. She's a Hall of Famer, but guys that don't necessarily crack the top 20 in the men's list beat her. Empiric evidence of a difference...and Karen Corr has put more hours into the game for more years than any of those guys.

 

[KMRUNOUT]

This type of thing puzzles me. I am a man, and I like women because...well because they are women. It is the specific differences that attract me to women. Their bodies are obviously different, their personalities are different. Their whole approach to life are often different. Thank God these differences exist. I just don't understand why men and women need to be equal in everything. They are not. They are different. When I was a very little boy, when I got hurt or upset or whatever, I wanted my mommy. She was warm and sweet and always hugged me and made me feel better. My dad was stern and fierce at times. If a kidnapper was trying to take me, you can sure as hell bet I want daddy to come to my rescue and smash the kidnapper. You don't f*#k with daddy. Is this really so hard to understand? This is basic human nature. Men have a biological makeup both physically and mentally that is better suited to intense competition, and it seems clear that this is by design. Women have a biological makeup that is better suited physically and mentally to caregiving, nurturing...heck the ultimate caregiving: giving you LIFE!!!

People of both sexes have an equal capability to be stupid it seems. What is the problem with men and women being different?

So to directly answer the original poster, there is a separate women's tour because whether they should, shouldn't, can, can't...women *DO NOT* play as well as men on average. Take the top 50 men in the world, and the top 50 women. The level of play among the men is vastly higher. Are there exceptions to this? Of course. There are indeed many women players (mostly in Asian countries) that play on par with some male pros. But take, say, Darren Appleton, Shane Van Boening, etc. Put one of them in a female tour, and sorry to say but they are pretty much going to win every single event, and it's really not likely to be close. So that, right there, is the principle reason there is a separate women's tour.

Hope this helps bring us all back to reality, and puts us in a better position to appreciate the differences between the sexes, rather than in a position to insult *both* sexes by claiming they are something that they are not.

KMRUNOUT

 

[Patrick Johnson]

Try to understand the path many of these great men pool players take on their way to greatness. Where are they at various stages of their development? What are they doing? Can you see now why that path isn't so appealing to most women? Can you understand why most women aren't willing to go that extra mile to play at that level?

Who the heck wants that kind of a life?

Patrick Johnson:
That's a factor in the "smaller pool" phenomenon - another is the historical image of pool as "not gentile enough for women" - yet another is the fact that women are less interested in sports in general, especially at young ages when top athletes are beginning to develop.

FranCrimi:
You seem to speak of 'image' as if it's an illusion. It's not an illusion. It's real, and to most women and many men, it's just not worth devoting your life to, which is what you have to do in order to excel at such a high level.

Just read all the posts here where people are griping about the cheaters, the woofers, the con artists, the guy who never shuts up and so-on. The list is endless. This is in the very same environment that women need to be in, in order to excel. And you all wonder why there aren't as many who manage to survive it? Seriously? It's a no-brainer.

Who needs it?

I'm not sure what you mean about image vs. reality. Pools historic image as "unsuitable" for women is of course real, but it's unrelated to the (also very real) difficulty of making a living at it. I don't know why you think women are more likely to avoid it for that reason.

pj
chgo