BCA Pool League Release

BCA Pool League Release Why new leadership?The BCA Board of Directors had discussed the future needs of the BCA Pool League for the past two years. They felt it necessary to find a qualified leader to take the BCA Pool League into the future, and allow the BCA to refocus on its mission as a trade association. They found just such a leader in Mark Griffin, and he has assumed control of the BCA Leagues as of June 1, 2004.Mark Griffin brings a history of hands-on executive experience and long-term relationships with leaders of the billiards industry. He is a player, promoter, tournament director, table mechanic, manufacturer, proprietor, sponsor and patron of the sport. He knows pool and he knows how to take the pool league system into the future.The new business -- Under new management, the basic league structure will remain intact and all league operators will be treated equally. Exciting changes for the benefit of the players are in the works. The new BCA league management understands the need for enhanced communications and, up front and always, the players will have an open line of communication to the BCA Pool League office. For general league information, go to www.bcapoolleague.com Mr. Griffin may be personally contacted at a toll free phone number (866) 793-7665, at his personal cell phone number (812) 987-1461, and at his Email addresses msgriffco@aol.com and markg@bcapoolleague.com.BCA Advisory Board -- we are currently forming our initial league advisory board, and we seek qualified candidates to fill the remaining board positions. If you wish to serve, or if you wish to nominate a qualified candidate, please call Mark at (812) 987-1461. We still need representatives from all critical disciplines -- especially players.New Canadian presence -- we are currently talking to candidates for establishing a new Canadian BCA office and producing the BCA Canadian Championships. The BCA will have a strong presence in Canada.New events -- The new BCA Pool League is bringing back the BCA National 9-Ball Championships for 2004. Join us November 16th-21st, 2004 at the Union Plaza Hotel and Casino -- http://www.plazahotelcasino.com -- in Downtown Las Vegas. The $13,000 added 9-Ball event will include singles, doubles and team divisions, and will be played on 7-foot Diamond Smart Tables. Also planned is the return of the U.S. Open one Pocket pro event, along with a bank pool and a 10-Ball event for amateurs and pros.The new "BCA Grand Masters" division -- the previous league management confused the boundaries between the Open and Masters divisions, and these divisions are now being redefined. We will follow the lead of the VNEA and create a higher category of Masters -- which we will call the "BCA Grand Masters" division. We will use an advisory board to establish written policies, and to judge players by past performance and the "known ability" standard. Please go to our web site for more detailed information.Dual sanctioning -- in order to give the players more opportunities to play, we will open up the "dual sanctioning" policy we inherited from BCA. By contrast, we were told the ACS affiliate in Canada and the ACS President stated that, if you sanction with BCA, you cannot sanction with ACS. We believe that this is wrong -- the players and league operators should not be forced to make a choice between leagues or events. We want the players to be able to play in MORE events.Pool in the Olympics -- The BCA once envisioned an Olympic concept that began with a new organization with seats for ALL worthy pool, snooker and billiards organizations in the US. In other words, an all inclusive organization that could represent all amateur and pro players. The BCA Pool League would wholeheartedly support such an honest attempt to get pool into the Olympics. However, we cannot support the stated goal of the ACS to try to bring our sport to the Olympics. once the USOC discovers that the ACS was founded in an attempt to overthrow the league assets held by the BCA for 25 years, our Olympic effort will again be stalled and yet another dark shadow will be cast over our attempts to legitimize the image of our sport.Keep the BCA Leagues united! -- There is no justification for the unrestrained attempts by ACS to divide the good people of the BCA -- the employees, the Board members, the League Operators, the state associations, and, most of all, the players.Who loses if the ACS continues to try to divide the BCA leagues? Initially, if a league operator holds on to the same number of teams, his position can remain the same regardless of the name of the league. The real losers are the players, the national office, the event venues, and the sponsors. Such a division will result in decreasing revenue and smaller national championships for both organizations, which means decreasing opportunities and benefits for the players. A smaller national organization will attract fewer business partners and sponsors, and will provide fewer large events for the players.Exciting times lie ahead for pool. With greater opportunities for players, and new marketing concepts and benefits to come under the new BCA league management, we urge you to keep the BCA leagues united. We are committed to building the finest pool league system available. Give the new BCA Pool League the opportunity to show all pool enthusiasts how good it can really be!David VandenbergheBCA Pool League Visit InsidePOOL for the latest from the sport of billiards and pool.

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