Since the WPBA Peoria event was cancelled 3 years ago, I have not had the opportunity to view a women's event until the recent Michigan City stop (I had attended the Peoria tournament every year of it's existence). We often hear of the progress of the women's tour, and I wondered if the product has essentially changed. Here are my observations.
Tables:
The Brunswick GCV tables were very nice, and seemed significantly more difficult than the tables used previously. Definitely a good trend for the best players in the game.
Wardrobe:
Though I am definitely the anti-OMGWTF, and have NO fashion sense at all, I do appreciate the well dressed competitors. Overall I thought there was definitely a more widespread attempt at being neat, presentable, professional, and dare I say even fashionable among the players. There were many players "dressed to kill" even in the early rounds and daytime rounds - Pan, Lee, Paglia, Laurance as usual were exceptionally stylish (I often wonder if Ewa is even overdressed for the occasion, or perhaps just stopped to play by accident on her way to some photo shoot for Glamour magazine).
There were several notably underdressed competitors - what the heck happened to Jennifer Chen (the former China Doll often looked distressingly casual - almost didn't recognize her - what a change)???
It was comforting to see that Susan Mello continued her tradition; and was spied wearing a propeller beanie on Friday.
Pace of Play:
The play was in general slow, slower, and glacial. The usual exceptions were Vivian and Kelly - always enjoyable to watch (though Kelly's game seemed more deliberate and thoughtful than before - definitely a force to be reckoned with).
The last matches of the day (which are usually not subject to the shot clock) are often so slow as to be unwatchable to many of the fans; myself included. Is it really a good trend to see spectators filtering out of the final round matches late Saturday night? At one point, all 4 matches were on break, and a fair percentage of the spectators left with the final 4 still undecided. I didn't time them, but those matches were LONGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG.
It still seems that the fairness of the competition suffers from having some matches timed and others not. Also, the "volunteer" timekeepers are often inappropriately dressed (myself included) and lend an amateurish air to the proceedings.
It would be a lot better to recruit 8 AZB volunteers, dress them in black, train them to rack/time/observe; then time ALL of the matches. Perhaps a 40 second shot clock with 2 extensions per rack. The play would not suffer, and things would move along fairly and smoothly
Racking:
What a farce. The endless racking, twiddling, griping, and waiting was just very unprofessional and NOT entertaining for the fans in any way. In one 2 hour match, they spent about 25-30 minutes racking (table #6). The product would improve immensely with designated rackers, or tapped/trained tables, or Sardo racks (used properly, not left to the contestants as in previous years). It seemed even worse than I remembered 3 years ago; definitely an area that could be improved.
Skill level:
Wow is all I can say. The level of play definitely continues to improve; there are a LOT of women with game; and a lot more threats to win than in past years. In this tournament Rousey, Cha, Kostanian, Ouschan, Minerich, and Paglia all looked significantly improved over several years ago. The usual suspect top players are still awesome. The number of great matches was impressive - I doubt many spectators were disappointed (unless they just really hate watching interminable racking).
Venue:
I thought it was decent, even with all of the construction. The food was adequate, though expensive. I LIKED the seating (padded individual seats with no empty VIP row like in Peoria).
I was distressed that almost no one I talked to had visited the Dunes National Park in the 3 years of the tournament. It is less than 2 minutes from the hotel, and is close to being one of the great natural wonders of the world (climb to the top of the Mt. Baldy dune and tell me if you've ever seen anything like it).
The bar areas and dance floor were serviceable and definitely got a work out. I will emphatically deny any allegations that I was involved in a drunken Hand Jive exhibition late Saturday night (though Monica Webb was definitely spotted). Deny, deny, deny.
Apologies:
To all the AZB'ers that I saw and did not have time to chat with - Da Poet and friend, Ragbug, Frankenstroke, Wally in Cincy and Kathy. Everytime I saw them I was in a hurry on my way somewhere. Very sorry.
I did get to sweat a few matches with Mark Griffin and spouse. I assume he's trying to pick up a few pointers (which end of the cue to hold, make-up tips, etc.) before contesting for the Betmore Cup.
I hope the tournament returns next year, I will definitely attend.
Tables:
The Brunswick GCV tables were very nice, and seemed significantly more difficult than the tables used previously. Definitely a good trend for the best players in the game.
Wardrobe:
Though I am definitely the anti-OMGWTF, and have NO fashion sense at all, I do appreciate the well dressed competitors. Overall I thought there was definitely a more widespread attempt at being neat, presentable, professional, and dare I say even fashionable among the players. There were many players "dressed to kill" even in the early rounds and daytime rounds - Pan, Lee, Paglia, Laurance as usual were exceptionally stylish (I often wonder if Ewa is even overdressed for the occasion, or perhaps just stopped to play by accident on her way to some photo shoot for Glamour magazine).
There were several notably underdressed competitors - what the heck happened to Jennifer Chen (the former China Doll often looked distressingly casual - almost didn't recognize her - what a change)???
It was comforting to see that Susan Mello continued her tradition; and was spied wearing a propeller beanie on Friday.
Pace of Play:
The play was in general slow, slower, and glacial. The usual exceptions were Vivian and Kelly - always enjoyable to watch (though Kelly's game seemed more deliberate and thoughtful than before - definitely a force to be reckoned with).
The last matches of the day (which are usually not subject to the shot clock) are often so slow as to be unwatchable to many of the fans; myself included. Is it really a good trend to see spectators filtering out of the final round matches late Saturday night? At one point, all 4 matches were on break, and a fair percentage of the spectators left with the final 4 still undecided. I didn't time them, but those matches were LONGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG.
It still seems that the fairness of the competition suffers from having some matches timed and others not. Also, the "volunteer" timekeepers are often inappropriately dressed (myself included) and lend an amateurish air to the proceedings.
It would be a lot better to recruit 8 AZB volunteers, dress them in black, train them to rack/time/observe; then time ALL of the matches. Perhaps a 40 second shot clock with 2 extensions per rack. The play would not suffer, and things would move along fairly and smoothly
Racking:
What a farce. The endless racking, twiddling, griping, and waiting was just very unprofessional and NOT entertaining for the fans in any way. In one 2 hour match, they spent about 25-30 minutes racking (table #6). The product would improve immensely with designated rackers, or tapped/trained tables, or Sardo racks (used properly, not left to the contestants as in previous years). It seemed even worse than I remembered 3 years ago; definitely an area that could be improved.
Skill level:
Wow is all I can say. The level of play definitely continues to improve; there are a LOT of women with game; and a lot more threats to win than in past years. In this tournament Rousey, Cha, Kostanian, Ouschan, Minerich, and Paglia all looked significantly improved over several years ago. The usual suspect top players are still awesome. The number of great matches was impressive - I doubt many spectators were disappointed (unless they just really hate watching interminable racking).
Venue:
I thought it was decent, even with all of the construction. The food was adequate, though expensive. I LIKED the seating (padded individual seats with no empty VIP row like in Peoria).
I was distressed that almost no one I talked to had visited the Dunes National Park in the 3 years of the tournament. It is less than 2 minutes from the hotel, and is close to being one of the great natural wonders of the world (climb to the top of the Mt. Baldy dune and tell me if you've ever seen anything like it).
The bar areas and dance floor were serviceable and definitely got a work out. I will emphatically deny any allegations that I was involved in a drunken Hand Jive exhibition late Saturday night (though Monica Webb was definitely spotted). Deny, deny, deny.
Apologies:
To all the AZB'ers that I saw and did not have time to chat with - Da Poet and friend, Ragbug, Frankenstroke, Wally in Cincy and Kathy. Everytime I saw them I was in a hurry on my way somewhere. Very sorry.
I did get to sweat a few matches with Mark Griffin and spouse. I assume he's trying to pick up a few pointers (which end of the cue to hold, make-up tips, etc.) before contesting for the Betmore Cup.
I hope the tournament returns next year, I will definitely attend.
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