The American Poolplayers Association is the world's largest pool league. It has close to 270,000 members across the United States, Canada, Japan. Franchise Business Review also ranked them as one the top small-business opportunities.
The sanctioning body for amateur pool competitions in Canada and the United States is APA. They organize many major pool tournaments each season, including the APA World Pool Championships. Guinness World Records proclaimed APA World Pool Championships 2010 as the "World's Largest Pool Tournament."
APA also conducts eight-ball and nine-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. You will then be interviewed by the President of APA.
APA holds three other annual championships in addition to the APA Poolplayer Championships. These include the APA Junior Championships, which are open to children and teenagers aged 7 to 18 years.
The APA Poolplayer Championships is held in Las Vegas Nevada. They typically occur in the latter half of April or early May. This tournament offers qualified players an opportunity to compete with poolplayers from all over the globe.
APA also organizes several other international tournaments, such as the APA World Pool Championships held in Singapore. These tournaments are organised by APA League Operator franchisees. Participants who are not qualified to compete at the national level may still qualify to take part in qualifying tournaments. Some players refer to APA's handicapping system as the "Equalizer". APA's handicapping system does not use A-D rankings like other tournaments. Instead, it uses a proprietary system which rates the 3 best scores. An individual may receive more than 3 ratings.
Some APA franchisees may have conflicts of interest. For example, one franchisee has been accused of kicking out players. APA has the right of making this decision. But the franchisee had posted to numerous ** groups, and recruited players to his territory. The franchisee tried to claim that APA had thrown out a few players from his territory.
Several APA League Operators have won the coveted APA League Operator of the Year award. Five of these five operators were recognized at the APA Annual Convention in Las Vegas. One of the winners was the only APA area in the world that received the award twice.
Another reason to join APA is the network of franchise locations. APA has more than 270 League Operators throughout the United States, Canada, Japan, and other countries. Some of these locations offer in-house divisions. Although APA is the largest pool league in the world, a local League Operator does not have the authority to switch to a different league.
APA has a network of over 270,000 members. However, there are more that 270 League Operators who organize tournaments. These locations are associated with APA, and may have additional fees. Depending on the market, the fee for a franchisee may include licensing fees and equipment. Marketing expenses are also possible.