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APA players, will you tell your League Operator about this new format...and what do you think about it?

• Most APA players are familiar with the Masters format. It is comprised of mostly SL7's and some sixes.There is no format like it for lower SL's so we started a new format in South Pinellas County, Florida as a sister format to the Masters. We called it the Artisans and it's something that makes it competitive for the rest of the league players. We just finished the end of the first session with seven teams and it was very successful. Since the Masters is a buy in tournament in Las Vegas, we were able to get a slot to play in this coming August. (Keep in mind we want this to become a National Level format like 8 ball, 9 ball, Masters, and the Ladies Division. We need your help to get it going and to get the attention of the home office. I'm going to outline the rules we've established so far. I don't necessarily have them in order but they are the same as the Masters with these exceptions. 1. There is a maximum of four players to a team and three players from each team play a match. It is a race to seven just like the masters. No innings, just win or lose the game. 2. "New teams" can only have one SL6 and the other three players have to be SL5's or below. Skill levels are based on a player's 9 ball skill level unless their 8 ball SL is higher. 3. If a players SL gets raised, causing the the team to have more than one six, the team can stay together until their Local City Championship, but have to break up afterward so there is only one six on the new team that get formed. 4. SL 2's and 3's have to play as SL 4's 5. There is no coaching. However, SL 2's and 3's get one coach per game. We decided that since we are making them play as a higher SL, they should at least get a coach. The format is handicapped to some degree to keep the playing field level. It's a race to 7. Subtract your SL from 7. I'm an SL6 so 7-6=1. I get one free game starting with 9 ball. If I were playing a SL5 they would get two free games. 7-5=2. They get one 9 ball and one 8 game. So, the race would start out with me being down 2-1. A SL4 would get three games on the wire. Two 9 ball and one 8 ball. 7-4=3. And so on and so on. That's how you calculate the race to seven. 6. There are NO JUMP CUES allowed. Higher level play or no, we just weren't confident letting a SL2 or 3 loose with a jump cue on freshly covered table with Simonis clothe. 7. Players are only eligible to play if they play in either regular 8 ball or 9 ball formats. Once again, keep in mind that this is fashioned after the Masters but it's a format that offers something for the lower SL's, and the handicap system we've created makes the playing field as level as it can be for everyone involved. AND WE WANT THIS TO BECOME A NATIONAL LEVEL FORMAT FOR LAS VEGAS. Talk to your League Operator and get four teams together for this third session and give it a try....and ask your LO to put it on their LO bulletin board. They'll know what you're talking about. Contact me directly (or have your LO do it) at [email protected] or contact my LO at apapinellas.com to get a formal copy of our rules and bylaws. And please, give me thoughts and input about this new format.

• Answer:

  Just wanted to respond to some of your points - 2.) If you want this to be a division for the non-Masters players, why let 6s in? In my area, there are plenty of players to field teams if you cap the SL rating at 4, which makes a lot more sense to me. 3.) Jacking up ratings at tournaments is the worst part about the APA handicapping system. I've heard plenty of stories about almost entire teams getting jacked up one skill level during a tournament, then getting knocked back down after it's over. That's a whole other issue though. 5.) Again, I'd rather just see a format where you capped the handicaps at 4 and played standard races. Also, a race to 7 is a little high for low level players. We just had a match last week between a 2 and a 3 that took 1 hour and 45 minutes. A race to 7 would take all night. I think most would rather see a race to like 4. 6.) Unless they changed the rules this session, there are no jump cues allowed by the APA anyway. Maybe there are local rules in your area that allow them, but national APA rules forbid jump cues.