Tourneys
Topic: GB9BALL TOUR Q:

Hi all, just a few questions to anyone involved in the new tour next year. I know its early days at the moment with things but just wanted to get some idea about a few things from leaflet i picked up at weekend.

1. Will there be discounted rate for Juniors and Ladies etc. Events and members ship fee.

2. You state "winning 2 matches in any of these tournaments will win sufficient cash to cover the entry fee for that event". Is that 2 straight matches or win, lost, win as double eliminator. Also when you say "that event" do you mean the Amateur event or Main Event or both combined? Say £82.50 for Amateur etc.

3. You say 2 events North, 2 South and 2 in Midlands. Being a southern boy can you give me some idea of how far North as this is my first year and am not familiar with any Norther venues etc.

4. Will the date be published before we part with our hard earned cash. I have paid to play on tours before upfront only to find they moved 2 dates of events and then they clash with already booked holiday or another event i have already paid for etc.

5. Will all money in be paid out, a quick look at the leaflet and it looks like around £1300 pounds an event does not get paid out. Not sure if its a miss print etc.

6. Will there be any membership fee on new tour or is the built intro tour fees.

PS. thanks for another well run event at the weekend, you have my full support.

Cheers


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Money won is twice as sweet as money earned

1. Discount for ladies since they do not have their own tour. We have no plans for junior discount on the main tour since the BPPPA will continue to run the Youth Tour.

2. If you divide the tour entry fee by 12 that's a reflection of the cost of entry into each tournament. Winning 2 matches in any of the 12 tournaments will cover that amount. Note, there will be 2 single elim tournaments for each player rather than double elim.

3. I can't give you club names just yet but when I say North I mean Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool, Tyne & Wear etc. Could be any of those places. I know there are at least 2 suitable venues in the north.

4. As with all tours we are at the mercy of the European and world pool organisations in terms of when their calendars will be released and therefore when we can schedule our dates. We will of course publish our dates as soon as we can so people can make arrangements. It's a good question though so I'll see if we can get some more detail on this one and mention it on our website.

5. Our main goal is to keep the entry fees as low as possible and the prize money as high as possible. There are inevitable administration costs with a tour of this size despite the fact that all the tour committe are willing volunteers doing this for no payment whatsoever. Ultimately we hope to cover these admin costs from separate income (e.g. sponsorship) but to ensure we do not make any promises we cannot keep in year 1 we've set aside a small amount to cover our admin costs. We'll publish the prize structure on our website soon and it will be clear to see there is very good value for everyone joining the tour.

6. Tour fees cover everything. There are no hidden extras.

fair enough mate

least you are open about things which is better for all concerned!!

come on lets kick on with this and get this bloody game to where it should be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

go on riggers...the new sir kev..lets all support it now come on dont be silly now guys n girls

I agree with Daz and Karl, this game needs a decent tour run by the players, so well done Riggers. letes just hope all the players support this tour rather than moan about it!
I for one am looking forward to it and hope that it is supported by all the regular players and even some "old" faces who were disillusioned with other tours.

Thanks for answering my questions so quick Riggers.

Keep up all the good work and I look forward to playing on the Tour next year.


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Money won is twice as sweet as money earned

Thanks contrakid.

I'm getting quite a few questions by PM and one in particular crops up quite often, so while waiting for our website to be built I'll answer it here...

Q) How will you pick the Top 32 and how will players be promoted / demoted?

A) In season 1 everyone starts on a ranking of zero and results from the Main Event (the one in which all 96 of you compete in together) will decide your main ranking. At the end of season 1 the top 32 from the main ranking will automatically qualify for the Pro Division in season 2. The rest will play in the Challenge Division throughout season 2.

Selecting the Pro Division players for season 1 is more tricky because there is no single reliable source of ranking data for all players. We have to rely on a combination of BPPPA rankings, Euro Tour rankings, EPT rankings or, failing that, the Tour Committee's knowledge of the player. Therefore, when you apply to join the tour we will ask you to tell us if you want to play in the Pro Division in season 1 or the Challenge Division.

Which division you choose will make little difference to the ranking you will achieve in season 1 because it will depend on your results in the Main Event (though Pro Division players would enjoy seeding into round 2 of the Main Event). The main difference between the 2 divisions is the tour fee, the prize money for their separate event and the seeding in the Main Event.

If you apply for the Pro Division in season 1 but it is over-subscribed we will use the above mentioned rankings or our knowledge of players to pick the best 32 and if you are not one of these you will be offered a place in the Challenge Division. It is also possible you will apply for a Challenge Division position and this will be refused because we think you are clearly pro standard.

Through feedback we've received to date (especially from non current BPPPA players) we expect demand for tour places to be high. Once the tour is fully subscribed we expect to offer new places via pre-season qualification events. The number of places available / events to be held is yet to be decided.

Sounds quality Riggers - the two tier system is brilliant and having limited place mean people are really playing for something.

It's more desirable because you are only getting on the tour on merit. At the minute any Tom, thingy and harry can turn up whenever they like as long as they have some cash. Now you have to earn the right and its achieveable for a lot of players.

Really looking forward to it.

Yep, that's exactly right. Good to see people are starting to get the idea

So much about this format is great:
- Top players don't take all the money and at last challenge division players have a real chance to get in the money.
- Top players still take better money!
- Reward for good ranking and something to aim for
- Place on the Professional tour (be it pro division or challenge division) really means something
- Great value - Challenge division place costs less than existing BPPPA tour
- Clever scheduling of matches over the weekend lends itself to building a good social occasion too

We are starting to see serious talent emerging now from this country and I really believe that in a few years time this tour format will be seen as the catalyst the Britain needed to make us the major fighting force at american pool.

i have played in only one BPPPA event before, does this mean I havent played enough to qualify for the challenge division?

everyone can qualify for the challenge division

as riggers says we need 96 players so anyone not in the top 32 will automatically be in the challenge tour

sorry, brain not kicking into gear yet, just really excited about this. dont want to miss out I guess

On 2007-07-31 12:43 , pooljedi Wrote:
Though non-BPPPA players or BPPPA players who are not in the top 32 are free to apply to join the pro Division in season 1 if they wish. I fall into that bracket as I'm outside the top32 on BPPPA but will be applying to join the Pro Division.

Whether I get in will depend on who else applies and what my fellow Tour Committee members think about my ability. No sarcatsic remarks now chaps

Judging by the way I played on Sunday my best chance of playing in that division is by applying and being accepted in Season 1 'cos my end of season ranking might not see me there in Season 2

Im under no illsion that the only league I can get in will be div 2. but thats cool. Just dont want to miss the boat. although chances are I will be propping up that division, would be awesome to be involved

This tour format is perfect for UK based players and is a proven winner. Why? Because in this country we basically have 3 types of player:

1. A handful of pros who are much better than the rest of us. They don't mind paying a bit more but what they really want is guaranteed prize money and some reward for reaching the top of the rankings. Most of these players also want to see the game grow and want to be able to 'give something back' in return for a little bit of 'celebrety status' that they deserve.

2. Players whose big questions are 'how much will cost?' and 'how much can I win?'. They may play for the love of the game but are more likely to be motivated by the thought of climbing the rankings and joining those elite few. One thing's for sure; they are not going to travel half way around the country to play on a tour if they don't believe they stand a chance of winning anything.

3. Players who want to improve and take some prize money if they can but above all they just love to play, want to be part of the exitement of the tour and to enjoy the social side of the meetings too. They want to play Imran, Raj, Tony, Darren, Daryl etc. but they also want to see how they get on against people of their own standard. If they win some money and improve their ranking, fine, otherwise they'll enjoy it just the same and come back year after year.

THAT'S why this tour format is perfect for us. It's the magic formula that has something for everyone no matter which type of player you are!

Im a split between 2 and 3, I dont suppose that combination produces a 1 does it?? I love the game and want to play against anyone, Im not rich, very far from it, but it sounds awesome and I want to support it any way I can, and the chance to upset a big gun is always good. I have nothing but admiration for what you are all doing.

Lee what price will the memberships be mate????

On 2007-07-31 10:41 , Riggers Wrote:



FINALLY a realistic, value money tour which evreyboday of all standards can improve, enjoy and even win money!!!

GREAT STUFF!!!!

On 2007-07-31 13:33 , Deano Wrote:
Full details will be published on our website shortly but you can expect Challenge Division entry fee to be under £500. That covers everything including admin and entry to all 12 tournaments (6 weekends). It will be payable in 4 installments with the first one due in November or December. Pro division is likely to be under £800.

Sounds good to me mate, you gonna turn up to Kevs tourny in Notts mate????