The American Poolplayers Association (APA) is the largest pool league in the world. It has nearly 270,000 members in the United States, Canada, and Japan. Franchise Business Review has ranked them among the top small business opportunity.
APA is the sanctioning body for amateur pool competition in the United States and Canada. They organize many major pool tournaments each season, including the 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 hosts nine-ball or eight-ball tournaments. Each player in an APA-affiliated team must have a APA membership. Members of other pools associations are also eligible to participate. If you want to join APA, you can apply by submitting a membership application to your local APA League Operator. The President then interviews you.
APA hosts three other annual championships. These include the APA Junior Championships for children and teens aged 7-18.
The APA Poolplayer Championships is held in Las Vegas Nevada. They typically take place in the late April or early mai. This tournament gives qualified players the opportunity to compete against poolplayers from around the world.
Several other international tournaments are conducted by APA, including the APA World Pool Championships in Singapore. These tournaments are organized by APA local League Operator franchisees. Those who do not qualify to compete at a national level can still take part in qualifying tournaments. Some players call the "Equalizer", APA's handicapping system. APA's handicapping method is not based on A/D rankings, as in other tournaments. It instead uses a proprietary system that ranks the highest 3 scores. It is possible to get more than three ratings.
Some APA franchisees also have conflict of interest. One franchisee, for instance, has been accused in some cases of sending players home. APA is entitled to make this determination, but the franchisee has posted in multiple ** groups and recruited players to his area. He claimed that APA had kicked out a lot of his players.
Many APA League Operators have received the coveted APA League Operating of the Year Award. Five of these operators received recognition at the APA Annual Convention held in Las Vegas. One of the winners was the only APA area in the world that received the award twice.
Another reason you should consider joining APA, is the extensive network of franchises. APA boasts a network of over 270 League Operators located in the United States and Canada. Some of these areas offer in-house Divisions. APA is considered the largest pool league in the country, however, a local League Operator has no authority to change to another league.
While APA has an active network of more than 270,000 members, there are more than 270 League Operators who organize pool tournaments. These locations may be associated with APA and may incur additional costs. Depending upon the market, the fees for franchisees may include licensing fees, equipment, marketing expenses, and other costs.