On my recent return from Poland I was informed about the posts made on Pro9 under the threads “Solihell” and “BPPPA Farce”.
As you are aware, I rarely write on the forums (save to issue press releases and to answer the odd rules question which may be asked from time to time) for the main reason that we (as an Association) find it unprofessional to do so. To enter into discussions with the members on any forum would certainly have no benefit and serve no constructive purpose where potential sponsors may be researching American pool in this country or indeed our Association. However, on this occasion I will be making an exception as I believe our members should be informed of the changes we intend to make for next season and also to address the issues which have been raised. In addition there are several inaccurate posts which also need to be addressed and corrected where people are either innocently mistaken, or in some cases, fuelling the threads for the sake of alternate interests. It was my original intention to issue a statement to all members towards the end of the season but as these threads have been written I feel it more appropriate to do this without delay.
Like the WSA and WPBSA we include in our Rules of Discipline articles (1.6 and 3.2) which state that members should not air any complaint or grievances to or in the media and same should be addressed to either the Company Secretary or a Representative of the Players Council. These articles are there for a very valuable reason in that the Association can obtain as many lucrative sponsors as possible for the benefit of all concerned. With this in mind and knowing how much work has been put into acquiring sponsors, I am disappointed with these posts which should have been channeled more appropriately.
While I am writing I will take this opportunity to answer your specific questions and correct any inaccuracies; most of which we have been concerned about for some time and we have been working on these to improve the tour. The following notes are not an exhaustive list and have not been placed in any particular order but have been written in general form and I have also added some answers to questions that I have received via e-mail. Please note that all members who have written to me directly are now in receipt of replies to their mails.
1. Pre-registration - Currently, seeded players do have the privilege of arriving later but this has clearly not worked as only very few choose to telephone me and confirm they will be playing. Before the new season commences I will be sitting down with Nigel for his input so we can organise this a lot better.
2. Timed games - I will be working this out with Nigel. With a double elimination format and large fields it is inevitable that we must use a roll on roll off system where the tournament is only two days. An extra day would be the perfect solution and this is why it works so well on the Euro Tour. Having said that, I do have some ideas to give players an indication of their game times.
3. Printed tournament sheets - I am aware that you have raised this issue in the past. The problem here lies with a printer delay with the memory of the printer. This is something that I am looking into. I agree, sheets should be reprinted after every completed round. Between rounds at the last tournament I have received help from two volunteers; Geoff Edge and Pete Blanchard who have kindly manually updated the sheets.
4. Playing down to the last 16 on Saturday or paying 32 on the Sunday - This has been our main concern for some time now. Wherever possible we will play down to the last 16 on the Saturday unless we are able to acquire additional funding to play and pay all 32 on the Sunday (as we will be doing in Manchester next month)
5. Next season all tables will have flip over scoreboards and we will also utilize the two electronic boards we currently own.
6. Benefits of the ranking system - All sporting events must have a ranking system for obvious reasons but one must remember that our Association is relatively new and more benefits will become apparent as the Association grows. Of course, this depends on the financial success of the Association and we are striving to reach our goals in this regard. You will remember seeing that Joyce injected £12k+ in the first year and £4k+ last year; we are on track to break even at the end of this season with all Director's loans paid back. Other Federations are extremely cash rich but a few factors must be taken into consideration here: they have been in existence for many years (Poland for example - 11 years) and other countries operate in a completely different manner to us as Britain has a different cash mentality (which I am not saying is a bad thing). For example, Rumanian players play for the trophy and pride with no prize money - their Federation banking the entry fees. Norway (probably one of the richest Federations) retains 40% of all tournament entry fees. Most Federations receive government funding - this we have applied for but is not as easy as it sounds. I have personally spoken to the Minister of Sport (Richard Caborne) and he says that the American disciplines should be recognised in Great Britain as we are under the IOC family tree. However, having written three letters to the British Olympic Committee we still await their reply. In my letters to the BOC I have included supportive letters from the three main governing bodies namely, World Confederation of Billiard Sports (WCBS), World Pool Billiard Association (WPA and the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF)
At the moment seeded players benefit from their position in the draw and as previously stated their start time is later than others providing they follow the simple procedures which only a few do. As you know, members also benefit from reduced entry fees and next season we will be introducing further benefits for members in respect of prize money.
Other benefits will be their entry into additional tournaments such as the British Open and the Grand Prix which I will elaborate on in point No.9
7. Membership fees - are not enough and should be trebled (for your benefit – not mine!!!) Many members have personally seen the accounts from Season 1 which clearly shows the significant overheads for the Association. The little money we receive from Riley's is insufficient to stage additional tournaments at the moment so we desperately need sponsorship. To date, all sponsorship we have received has been acquired by myself and many others have tried to no avail. However, I am not a salesman and this area is not one of my fortes. For this reason I have appointed John Moran to head of Business Development and through John at very short notice we acquired sponsorship for the British Open (see No.9)
So, at this this moment we are totally dependant on membership fees and sponsorship money for the general running costs of the Association. I am sure you will appreciate that we are on track for such a short period of time that we have traded and on budget to break even this year. As a non-profit company, excess cash will be used in subsequent years for the benefit of the membership and for no othe usage. It will clarify here for those who are unaware of the law appertaining to ‘Not For Profit Companies’that it is not permissible for any Director of the Association to receive any remuneration either directly or indirectly. At no time have I or anyone else been financially compensated for the work we have done.
In respect of my statement in the first sentence of this para I am pleased to say that membership fees will not be increased next season and discounts will apply to current members as it was last year.
The main difference between the BPPPA and the EPT is that the EPT has acquired the luxury of sponsorship through Mr Mark Segal. Mark, a very good friend of mine is not only a true gentleman but he shares a love for our sport and receives very little recognition and acknowledgement in return. My very best wishes go to him and to the success of the EPT.
8. Like many others, I was disappointed with the condition of the tables at Solihull. However, unlike Daryl who has spoken to the Regional Manager, I have already spoken to Senior Directors at Riley's HQ. I will be meeting with them in the next couple of weeks to completely iron this out as the table management agreement we have with them failed at Solihull. I will also be discussing using fewer clubs which will accommodate us far better.
9. Viking Cues did provide us with some cues two years ago but we have not received any form of sponsorship from them since then. Realistically we should not be displaying their logos or banners but we continue to do so from the point of showing goodwill. Next season if we do not receive anything from them, we will remove their banners at the request of our membership.
10. The British Open is still on but on hold as is the Grand Prix. It is not my intention to name and shame anyone as this would be totally unnecessary or applicable so I will address this issue as constructively as possible as many (like myself) are disappointed that the event has not happened yet and I feel you should be informed of the situation.
We originally had a financial backer for the British Open who personally guaranteed the prize money for the event. Many, many hours (needless to say unrewarded as usual) have been put in by myself in the planning of the event with countless numbers of meetings with venues, TV Commissioners, TV production companies etc etc.
To cut a long story short, this gentleman found it necessary to withdraw his commitment and, working with John Moran, we quickly secured a new sponsor through our snooker contacts for a complete World 9 Ball Tour which would include the British Open. When the IPT clashed dates for February, the contract became invalid as it meant that 150 of the world's best players would not be present. We are waiting now to see what happens with the IPT before we invest any more time and money into such a large operation. I will add that the WPA have been closely advised and informed at all times through the planning stages and offer their full support to the World Tour.
11. The new season will see alternate breaking and tapped tables.
12. It has not been possible for logistical reasons to send and fit cloth to every venue this season and we do have a surplus amount of cloth. This will either be used next year or additional cloth will be added to the Simonis Manchester Classic (I await instructions from Simonis on this point)
A point I am not totally happy with is the fact that the cloth is fitted and we receive the benefit of a finals table for one weekend. The winner here is Riley's who benefit from that cloth for 12 - 18 months! I am currently discussing this with Simonis who we have a very good relationship with.
13. I will address RockHard directly. At no time have I ever informed you or anyone else that British players should be a member of the BPPPA to play on the EuroTour. Malaguista and others are quite correct is stating that the Euro Tour events are ‘Open’ tournaments. However, it is necessary to be a member should a player wish to participate in the European Championships. Furthermore, there is an agreement in place between Matchroom Sport and the EPBF which states that British participants in the World Pool Championships and any of Matchroom events should be members of the BPPPA.
I was discussing this very issue only last week in Poland with a Representative of the WPA and EPBF. He advised me that the standpoint of these organizations is that they would always advise any player to join their Country’s Federation so that the sport can grow further, gaining more recognition as we proceed.
14. To address Daryl, who states that when he was a member of the Player’s Council 100% of all recommendations were rejected. This is incorrect. The main issue that the Main Council implemented at the request of the Player’s Council was the formation of a new and better payout structure. Any significantly major changes are normally implemented at the start of a new season so as to maintain continuity and consistency. However, this request was indeed a very substantial point for the benefit of the members and was introduced at the following tournament following an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Main Council to hear and accept the proposal.
Again, The Player’s Council is the correct avenue should any members have any suggestions (for better or worse), criticism or complaints and grievances. As President and Sports and Tournament Director of the Association, I do take final responsibility for all activities. What I do not have is the final word! (as many think I do) The Player’s Council, the Main Council and the Disciplinary Committee are extremely fair and democratic and works very well. An example: I remember very clearly making a proposal to the Disciplinary Committee to ban a player for 5 years following a serious infraction, which I am legally bound not to comment further on; the D.C. heard the case and the player received a 12 month ban. Apart from the fact that the Council does work, the additional point I am making here is that the Association (as I have said many times) is not “Ted’s Tour”!!! It is your Association and only you as a group can benefit if we all work together.
Please do not think for a minute that the threads created and their subsequent posts have made any difference to the changes for the better we are making next season. To reiterate, cynical threads and posts of complaint should not be made on any public forum as potential sponsors do read them (and I know this for fact) which can only result in damaging the prosperity and future of those who play our beloved sport.
Finally, please allow me to sincerely thank all everyone for their continued support and for the many e-mails which I have received following these discussions expressing their gratitude and acknowledging the work we do.
I hope the above has been informative and has cleared up a few issues. Should you have any further points to raise please do not hesitate in contacting me directly via e-mail (which is always the best way and guarantees a prompt reply) and it will be my pleasure to assist.
Best regards,
TED
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Ted Bristow
President
B.P.P.P.A.
British Professional Pool Players Association
ted.bristow@bpppa.org[ This message was edited by: President on 2006-09-18 13:23 ]
