The American Poolplayers Association, (APA), is the largest pool league worldwide. It has nearly 270,000 members in the United States, Canada, and Japan. Franchise Business Review ranked them as one of the best small business opportunities.
The sanctioning body for amateur pool competitions in Canada and the United States is APA. They organize numerous major pool tournaments annually, including APA World Pool Championships. Guinness World Records certified the APA World Pool Championships as the "World's Largest Pool Tournament" in 2010.
APA also holds eight-ball and 9-ball tournaments. Each player in an APA team is required to have a membership in APA. You can also participate if you are a member of another pool association. You can apply to join APA by submitting a membership request to your local APA League Operator. You will then be interviewed by the President of APA.
Aside from the APA Poolplayer Championships, APA has three other annual championships. These include APA Junior Championships that are open to kids and teens between 7-18 years.
The APA Poolplayer Championships take place in Las Vegas, Nevada. They usually occur in late April or early May. This tournament offers qualified players an opportunity to compete with poolplayers from all over the globe.
Several other international tournaments are conducted by APA, including the APA World Pool Championships in Singapore. These tournaments can be organized by APA League Operator franchisees. Qualifying tournaments are open to anyone who does not qualify for national competition. Some players refer to the "Equalizer" handicapping system at APA as the "Equalizer". APA's handicapping system, unlike other tournaments is not based upon A-D rankings. Instead, it uses a proprietary system which rates the 3 best scores. However, an individual can get more than 3 ratings.
Some APA franchisees may have conflicts of interest. One franchisee has been accused, for example, of kick-out players. APA is entitled to make this determination, but the franchisee has posted in multiple ** groups and recruited players to his area. He tried to claim APA had removed a number of players from his territory.
Numerous APA League Operators won the coveted APA League Operator of the Year award. Five of these operators were honored at the APA Annual Convention, Las Vegas. One of them was also the only APA site to receive 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 locations have 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.
APA has a network of over 270,000 members. However, there are more that 270 League Operators who organize tournaments. These locations can be affiliated with APA. They may also have additional costs. Depending on which market the franchisee is in, the franchise fee could include licensing fees as well as equipment and marketing expenses.