Opinion #10
| An Amateur BCA Players View |
As the month has past for the Arizona BCA championship, which was held in Payson, Arizona at the Matazel Casino with
beautiful Diamond Tables to play on, and the great Mini-Tournament throughout the week, it was some of the great fun events
that happened during the middle of August, and even though the turnout was not as great as past years, with 27 teams and 127
players, the results are still fun to read about.
Who’s skills surpassed and who surprised us for that week, and so what were the results?, they are now out, so who
successfully won in the Open Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Master Player’s and you get to see the photographs of all the
winners.
You read about the great competitions held in each tournament for Singles, Master’s, Male and Female alike, and it's exciting to
read and know that you were part of this annual event.
Then there comes the Story about Team Championships, and when you read it in the article # 203 of the breaking new on the
Arizona Pool Scene website, it really ramps up the Idea of Team Competition, It just gets you excited to know what the outcome
would be, then seeing the comment “everyone was aware of the one team to beat”, and “that there were many teams that had a
chance to take home the title.” but I can say I’m not surprised by the outcome, not saying that the other teams were any less,
but when you look at the skill of these players then it was a high percentage belief, that it would be the 10 rated team, I then
observed some of the other teams suddenly realizing that these players were there as a team, and they came to wonder how this
happened? What were the reasons this was happening, and what were the State BCA requirements; regarding Teams, was it the
same as in Las Vegas? Was it one master player per team?
So there wasn’t anything written, but we heard about the questions from player’s on teams who wanted to know what were the
rules and why it wasn’t it communicated earlier on these unexpected changes by the Arizona State BCA Committee, what were
the reasons for these unexpected changes.
There was a statement on the BCA Report that a BCA note book was in hand, but about the rules for State BCA Requirements,
were they at hand?, is there anything in writing? As I have never seen these, only when the nationals have made changes have I
seen them given to players.
When situations occur and can create conflicts for the team and players especially, when it comes to a master’s level playing as
a team in the Men’s Team tournament, it’s bound to bring many questions and speculation for these unforeseen events, so yes,
it was verbally stated there is no rule for who can play, but was this information given to all league operators’s to relay to the
team captains, and if so would there have been the same outcome?
Did anyone see how this affected the players, the confusion of it, the sudden knowledge that if you were fortunate enough be in
the bracket to meet up with the great team with the caliber of skill that is the team to beat, and yes they are all Arizona rated 10’
s, Cops & Robber’s out of the past Alexander Lounge, these players who have excelled in their field of play, players who are US
Bar Table Champion, BCA Master Division Champion, and no less they are all in the top 10 of the lead points in the Arizona
Desert Classics Tour, and we respect this great achievement and we as amateur player’s alike love to watch these player’s and
have the up most respect for them at their skill.
But, it makes me question, what was the intention of these players to do this to the league players? Was it a fair and ethical
decision made by the Arizona BCA committee and in knowing this information, what the repercussion would be for these players
and the teams? How this would affect its outcome? The percentage of this I would not want to say, or even try to guess. Then,
what uncertainty the teams felt.
I know in speaking with a few of the player or team captains, that some felt disappointment, and to some extent, they felt
swindled, where as other players enjoyed the opportunity for competition at the higher level of skill. So was there any
communication brought for solutions or options given?
What I observed, were that some of the teams & players just played silently, and attempted to make it the best they can. I doubt
that if teams knew ahead of time about these conditions, would there have been more participation or less, or even team player
changes, but that also was not considered an option, as it was told to some of the captains that player had to be out of the same
league, and there were some player who wanted to play with a team, outside of the league, even though it was still a BCA
league. But again, that was not an option, so they were told, and it seems there were inconsistencies on some of these issues.
So if teams were given this information, it would have given them the opportunity to have caused to grieve this issue, or at least
be better prepared.
In addition to this I also observed the Tournament Directors, who’s participation did give you an idea about a lot of favoritism to
this awesome team during this event, I observed it verbally on the speaker with comments commending their skill, as a team or a
player, which I didn’t see or hear much of that to other teams. It should be the agreement for Tournament Directors to display
the appropriate professionalism of being objective and respectful to ALL players. And lastly those highly skilled players’s need to
recognizing who they represent, and that they are all role models for the pool community and are obligated to display that
manner with respect to all, for sad to say, that I have lost some respect for them, and I believe I am not the only one.
As in the BCA Report it states, 5 of the 6 events were won by the player and teams of Alexander and a total of the monies won
was at least $ 4,650.which is a “True testament of the level of talent there” as stated, on the BCA Report.
I hope in the future these great players will continue to show this community though their support, and participation to enhance
other teams in play and create a positive belief of this sport. I hope to see the Arizona State Tournament Committee take this
information into consideration for the next year’s events and ensure that all players receive consistency in the rules,
communication of the rules, encouragement, support and commitment for this annual event.
As I am a passionate player and love to compete to the best of my abilities, I enjoy watching, supporting and believe in this sport
as it progresses and excels each year for Arizona players, I commend those who take on this task, and appreciate the work it
takes, and lastly I hope to see this situation cleared and apologies given to those league players through the future changes.
Sincerely written, Claudia Justus, Amateur BCA player.
beautiful Diamond Tables to play on, and the great Mini-Tournament throughout the week, it was some of the great fun events
that happened during the middle of August, and even though the turnout was not as great as past years, with 27 teams and 127
players, the results are still fun to read about.
Who’s skills surpassed and who surprised us for that week, and so what were the results?, they are now out, so who
successfully won in the Open Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Master Player’s and you get to see the photographs of all the
winners.
You read about the great competitions held in each tournament for Singles, Master’s, Male and Female alike, and it's exciting to
read and know that you were part of this annual event.
Then there comes the Story about Team Championships, and when you read it in the article # 203 of the breaking new on the
Arizona Pool Scene website, it really ramps up the Idea of Team Competition, It just gets you excited to know what the outcome
would be, then seeing the comment “everyone was aware of the one team to beat”, and “that there were many teams that had a
chance to take home the title.” but I can say I’m not surprised by the outcome, not saying that the other teams were any less,
but when you look at the skill of these players then it was a high percentage belief, that it would be the 10 rated team, I then
observed some of the other teams suddenly realizing that these players were there as a team, and they came to wonder how this
happened? What were the reasons this was happening, and what were the State BCA requirements; regarding Teams, was it the
same as in Las Vegas? Was it one master player per team?
So there wasn’t anything written, but we heard about the questions from player’s on teams who wanted to know what were the
rules and why it wasn’t it communicated earlier on these unexpected changes by the Arizona State BCA Committee, what were
the reasons for these unexpected changes.
There was a statement on the BCA Report that a BCA note book was in hand, but about the rules for State BCA Requirements,
were they at hand?, is there anything in writing? As I have never seen these, only when the nationals have made changes have I
seen them given to players.
When situations occur and can create conflicts for the team and players especially, when it comes to a master’s level playing as
a team in the Men’s Team tournament, it’s bound to bring many questions and speculation for these unforeseen events, so yes,
it was verbally stated there is no rule for who can play, but was this information given to all league operators’s to relay to the
team captains, and if so would there have been the same outcome?
Did anyone see how this affected the players, the confusion of it, the sudden knowledge that if you were fortunate enough be in
the bracket to meet up with the great team with the caliber of skill that is the team to beat, and yes they are all Arizona rated 10’
s, Cops & Robber’s out of the past Alexander Lounge, these players who have excelled in their field of play, players who are US
Bar Table Champion, BCA Master Division Champion, and no less they are all in the top 10 of the lead points in the Arizona
Desert Classics Tour, and we respect this great achievement and we as amateur player’s alike love to watch these player’s and
have the up most respect for them at their skill.
But, it makes me question, what was the intention of these players to do this to the league players? Was it a fair and ethical
decision made by the Arizona BCA committee and in knowing this information, what the repercussion would be for these players
and the teams? How this would affect its outcome? The percentage of this I would not want to say, or even try to guess. Then,
what uncertainty the teams felt.
I know in speaking with a few of the player or team captains, that some felt disappointment, and to some extent, they felt
swindled, where as other players enjoyed the opportunity for competition at the higher level of skill. So was there any
communication brought for solutions or options given?
What I observed, were that some of the teams & players just played silently, and attempted to make it the best they can. I doubt
that if teams knew ahead of time about these conditions, would there have been more participation or less, or even team player
changes, but that also was not considered an option, as it was told to some of the captains that player had to be out of the same
league, and there were some player who wanted to play with a team, outside of the league, even though it was still a BCA
league. But again, that was not an option, so they were told, and it seems there were inconsistencies on some of these issues.
So if teams were given this information, it would have given them the opportunity to have caused to grieve this issue, or at least
be better prepared.
In addition to this I also observed the Tournament Directors, who’s participation did give you an idea about a lot of favoritism to
this awesome team during this event, I observed it verbally on the speaker with comments commending their skill, as a team or a
player, which I didn’t see or hear much of that to other teams. It should be the agreement for Tournament Directors to display
the appropriate professionalism of being objective and respectful to ALL players. And lastly those highly skilled players’s need to
recognizing who they represent, and that they are all role models for the pool community and are obligated to display that
manner with respect to all, for sad to say, that I have lost some respect for them, and I believe I am not the only one.
As in the BCA Report it states, 5 of the 6 events were won by the player and teams of Alexander and a total of the monies won
was at least $ 4,650.which is a “True testament of the level of talent there” as stated, on the BCA Report.
I hope in the future these great players will continue to show this community though their support, and participation to enhance
other teams in play and create a positive belief of this sport. I hope to see the Arizona State Tournament Committee take this
information into consideration for the next year’s events and ensure that all players receive consistency in the rules,
communication of the rules, encouragement, support and commitment for this annual event.
As I am a passionate player and love to compete to the best of my abilities, I enjoy watching, supporting and believe in this sport
as it progresses and excels each year for Arizona players, I commend those who take on this task, and appreciate the work it
takes, and lastly I hope to see this situation cleared and apologies given to those league players through the future changes.
Sincerely written, Claudia Justus, Amateur BCA player.
written by: Claudia Justus