The American Poolplayers Association, (APA), is the largest pool league worldwide. It has close to 270,000 members across the United States, Canada, Japan. Franchise Business Review has ranked them among the top small business opportunity.
Amateur pool competition in Canada and the United States are sanctioned by the APA. They organize numerous major pool tournaments annually, including APA World Pool Championships. In 2010 the APA World Pool Championships were certified by the Guinness World Records as the "World's Largest Pool Tournament."
APA also organizes nine-ball and eight-ball tournaments. Each player in an APA-affiliated team must have a APA membership. Other pool associations members are also eligible. If you want to join APA, you can apply by submitting a membership application to your local APA League Operator. The President of APA will then interview you.
APA hosts three other annual championships. These include APA Junior Championships that are open to kids and teens between 7-18 years.
The APA Poolplayer Championships is held in Las Vegas Nevada. They usually occur in late April or early May. These tournaments allow qualified poolplayers to play against poolplayers around the globe.
APA also organizes several other international tournaments, such as the APA World Pool Championships held in Singapore. These tournaments were organized by APA League Operator franchisees. Qualifying tournaments may be offered to those who aren't eligible to compete at the National level. APA is known for its handicapping system, which is called the "Equalizer" by some players. APA's handicapping is different from other tournaments. It does not use A/D rankings. It uses a proprietary rating system that rates the three best scores. An individual may receive more than 3 ratings.
There are also APA franchisees with conflicts of interest. One franchisee, for instance, has been accused in some cases of sending players home. APA has the right of making this decision. But the franchisee had posted to numerous ** groups, and recruited players to his territory. He tried to claim APA had removed a number of players from his territory.
Numerous APA League Operators have won the coveted APA League Owner of the Year award. Five of the five winners were honored during the APA Annual Convention. One of these operators was the only APA locale to win the award two times.
Another reason to join APA would be its extensive network of franchise outlets. APA has an active network of more than 270 League Operators in the United States, Canada, and Japan. Some of these places offer in-house divisions. APA is the largest league of pool players in the world. However, a local League Operator can not switch to another league.
APA boasts a strong network with more than 270,000 members. But there are over 270 League Operators that organize pool tournaments. These locations are associated with APA, and may have additional fees. Depending upon the market, the fees for franchisees may include licensing fees, equipment, marketing expenses, and other costs.