The American Poolplayers Association (APA) was founded by professional poolplayers Terry Bell and Larry Hubbart in 1979 as the National Pool League, which became the American Poolplayers Association in 1981. The two realized the popularity of the sport, but knew that, different from other sports, there was no existing recreational league system.

Based on their knowledge of the game, Bell and Hubbart developed a unique handicap system, The Equalizer®, to level the playing field in the League. The Equalizer® utilizes a formula that measures a scoring ability by counting the number of turns it takes a player to win a game. The result is a handicap that determines the number of games a player must win to capture a match. After the handicap system was developed, the APA was formed as the sanctioning body of the League.

Today, the APA, also known as the Canadian Poolplayers Association in Canada, has grown to more than 250,000 members and boasts more members than all other "national" leagues combined. The League is administered locally by a network of Franchise Operators. League play is conducted weekly with both 8-Ball and 9-Ball team formats offered.

The APA hosts an 8-Ball and 9-Ball League system. The APA 8-Ball League and APA 9-Ball League are offered throughout the country and each year teams have the opportunity to advance to the APA National Team Championships.

At the national level, the APA guarantees more than $1 million in national tournament prize money. This consists of the $500,000 APA 8-Ball National Team Championships, the $200,000 APA 8-Ball Classic, the $100,000 APA 9-Ball National Team Championship, the $100,000 APA 9-Ball Shootout, and the MiniMania tournaments, which paid nearly $220,000 during the 2004 National Team Championships.

There are opportunities to make some very good money running an APA franchise, one operator I know of makes over $250,00ailable0 a year! Want more franchise information? Go to this URL http://www.poolplayers.com/franchise.html
Here is a list of just a few of the cities available for an APA franchise opportunity;

THE BCA:
My second choice as a league for an amateur to join, only because I believe the rules favor the more seasoned veteran player and there are more differences of opinion resulting in arguments sometimes with the more stringent BCA rules and regulations.

National Office Staff
Rob Johnson – Chief Executive Officer
Karl Kirsch – Managing Director
Robin Dahlen – Associate Managing Director
Kari Freeland – Membership Coordinator
Carolyn Lewis – Director of Trade Services & Development
Katie Nicholson – Association Coordinator
Trish Seebohm – Marketing Director

Both of these leagues provide the amateur with a chance to go to Las Vegas, there are solo events and team events and loads of fun can be had by all. Who knows, perhaps you and your team members will get lucky and play well and turn the loads of fun into a profitable venture also, just make sure you don't have your players overrated and no sandbagging to get a lower handicap, be honest and realistic in your handicapping of the team and its players. Honesty is the best policy, and the taste of victory is extremely sweet when earned.