The American Poolplayers Association (APA), the world's largest pool association, is headquartered in New York. It has nearly 270,000 members in the United States, Canada, and Japan. Franchise Business Review named them one of the top small businesses opportunities.
The sanctioning body for amateur pool competitions in Canada and the United States is APA. They host several major pool tournaments every year, including the APA World Pool Championships. Guinness World Records proclaimed APA World Pool Championships 2010 as the "World's Largest Pool Tournament."
APA also holds eight-ball and 9-ball tournaments. Each member of an APA team must have a membership. Participants from other pool associations are also eligible. If you want to join APA, you can apply by submitting a membership application to your local APA League Operator. The President of APA will then interview you.
Aside from the APA Poolplayer Championships, APA has three other annual championships. These include the APA Junior Championships for children and teens aged 7-18.
The APA Poolplayer Championships are held in Las Vegas, Nevada. They are usually held in May or April. These tournaments allow qualified poolplayers to play against poolplayers around the globe.
APA also organizes several other international tournaments, such as the APA World Pool Championships held in Singapore. These tournaments will be organized by APA League Operator franchisees. Those who do not qualify to compete at a national level can still take part in qualifying tournaments. Some players refer to the "Equalizer" handicapping system at APA as the "Equalizer". APA's handicapping method is not based on A/D rankings, as in other tournaments. Rather, it uses a proprietary system that rates the best 3 scores. It is possible to get more than three ratings.
There are also APA franchisees with conflicts of interest. For example, one franchisee has been accused of kicking out players. 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.
Several APA League Operators have won the coveted APA League Operator of the Year award. Five of these operators were recognized during the APA Annual Convention in Las Vegas. One of them was recognized as the only APA office in the world to have won the award twice.
Another reason to join APA is the network of franchise locations. APA is home to more than 270 League Operators from the United States, Canada, Japan and Japan. Some of these places offer in-house divisions. APA is the biggest pool league in the globe, but a local League Operator doesn't have the authority or the right to switch to a new league.
APA has a more than 270,000 strong network, but there are also more than 270 League operators who organize pool tournaments. These locations can be affiliated with APA. They may also have additional costs. Depending upon the market, the fees for franchisees may include licensing fees, equipment, marketing expenses, and other costs.