...and yet retains the right to make the rules on how the game is played...
Depends on what you mean by "rules" and "rights".
If you are talking about administrative decisions surrounding things other than the game on the table, you may well be correct under various circumstances.
If you are talking about game rules, not so much. The BCA currently does not display any apparent interest whatsoever in the content of the rules.
* They have no rules committee.
* They do not write any rules. With respect to WSR, all they do is parrot what the WPA gives them. Outside of the WPA regulated games, I am not aware of any text changes in the ancillary games since at least 2008, if not longer.
* They dropped any reference to rules from their Mission Statement years ago.
* They maintain no referee program of any kind whatsoever.
* To the best of my knowledge, rules questions concerning WSR addressed to the BCA are, for the most part, referred to the BCAPL for a response, and some of those inquiries make their way to me on occasion if Bill is snowed under. Despite the fact that most CSI events do not use WSR, and the fact that there are several significant differences between WSR and BCAPL rules, the BCAPL rules are still rooted firmly in WSR and the BCAPL senior staff (especially Bill and I) is probably as well or better versed in WSR than most.
In short, they have nothing to do with the rules of the game other than to publish their book. On top of that, anyone buying the book in order to get WSR information is wasting their $$$. It can be copied from the WPA site for nothing. :smile:
- edit -
In the event of a WPA rules conference, they might name a delegate, but it won't be anyone from their internal staff. They will just outsource to a known knowledgeable person, as they did for the 2008 re-write.
Buddy Eick
CSI National Head Referee
CSI Director of Referee Training
Technical Editor, The Official Rules of the BCA Pool League
bca_referee@yahoo.com
Find the Official Rules of the BCA Pool League here:
http://www.playbca.com/Downloads/Rulebook/CompleteRulebook/tabid/372/Default.aspx
* Unless specifically stated, the contents of this post refer to BCA Pool League (BCAPL) Rules only. The BCAPL National Office has authorized me to act in an official capacity regarding questions about BCAPL Rules matters in public forums.
* Unless specifically stated, no reference to, inference concerning, or comment on any other set of rules (WPA, APA, VNEA, TAP, or any other set of rules, public or private) is intended or should be derived from this post.
* Neither I, nor any BCAPL referee, make any policy decisions regarding BCAPL Rules. Any and all decisions, interpretations, or Applied Rulings are made by the BCAPL National Office and are solely their responsibility. BCAPL referees are enforcers of rules, not legislators. BCAPL Rules 9.5.3 and 9.5.4 and the BCAPL Rules "Statement of Principles" apply.
* For General Rules, 8-Ball, 9-Ball, 10-Ball, and 14.1 Continuous: there is no such thing as "BCA Rules" other than in the sense that the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) publishes various rules, including the World Pool-Billiard Association's "World Standardized Rules" for those games. The BCA has no rules committee. The BCA does not edit, nor is responsible for the content of, the World Standardized Rules.
The Official Rules of the BCAPL is a separate and independent set of rules and, to avoid confusion, should not be referred to as "BCA Rules".
* Since 2004, there is no such thing as a "BCA Referee". The BCA no longer has any program to train, certify or sanction billiards referees or officials. The BCAPL maintains what we consider to be the most structured, complete and intensive referee training program available.
* The BCAPL has no association with the Billiard Congress of America other than in their capacity as a member of the BCA. The letters "BCA" in BCAPL do not stand for "Billiard Congress of America, nor for anything at all.
* The BCAPL has not addressed every imaginable rules issue, nor will it ever likely be able to, as evidenced by the seemingly endless situations that people dream up or that (more frequently) actually happen. If I do not have the answer to a question I will tell you so, then I will get a ruling from the BCAPL National Office and get back to you as soon as I can. If deemed necessary, the BCAPL will then add the ruling to the "Applied Rulings" section of The Official Rules of the BCA Pool League.
* All BCAPL members are, as always, encouraged to e-mail Bill Stock at the BCAPL National Office,
bill@playcsi.com, with any comments, concerns or suggestions about the BCAPL rules.