Billiard Congress of America facts for kids
The Billiard Congress of America (BCA) is a group that helps manage and promote cue sports like pool and carom billiards in the United States and Canada. It's like the main organization for these sports in North America. The BCA started in 1948. Its main goals are to make the sport more popular and to help organize players through different tournaments. The BCA is based in Broomfield, Colorado.
The BCA creates an official rulebook each year. This book includes the worldwide rules for games like nine-ball, eight-ball, and ten-ball. It also has rules for other popular games such as one pocket and straight pool. The BCA also holds a big yearly event called the International Billiards & Home Recreation Expo. Each year, they also add famous players and important people who have helped the sport into the BCA Hall of Fame.
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How the BCA Started
The story of the BCA began a long time ago. In 1921, a group called the National Billiard Association of America (NBAA) was formed. It quickly became the main group for billiards in the U.S. By 1928, it had 35,000 members!
Later, in 1941, the NBAA changed its name to the Billiard Association of America (BAA). This group was based in Chicago, Illinois. The BAA created a small, easy-to-use rulebook for pool and carom games. This rulebook became the model for all future BCA rulebooks.
The BAA then became the BCA in 1947. The BCA has been publishing its rulebooks almost every year since then. In 2000, the BCA decided to use the same rules as the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) for international games like eight-ball and nine-ball. This was a big step to make the sport more consistent worldwide. The BCA even hoped that pool and carom billiards could become Olympic sports one day!
BCA Hall of Fame
The Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame was created in 1966. It celebrates people who have made the sport of billiards better. There are two main groups of people who get into the Hall of Fame:
- The Greatest Player: This is for players who have played for 20 years or more and have won at least one major championship.
- The Meritorious Service: This is for people who have made "lasting, memorable and important contributions" to billiards, even if they weren't players.
International Billiard & Home Recreation Expo
The BCA's yearly Billiard Expo is the biggest event for the cue sports industry in the world. Even though it has a broad name, it mostly focuses on pool (pocket billiards). This event has been held in different cities, often in Las Vegas, Nevada, since it started in 1984.
The main goal of the Expo is to bring together companies that make billiard products, stores that sell them, and pool hall owners. It's a place for them to find new business ideas, learn about new products, and meet other people in the industry. Many different types of products are shown at the Expo, including:
- Pool equipment like tables, cues, and chalk.
- Billiards-themed clothes and accessories.
- Books and videos to help you learn the game.
- Furniture for bars and billiard halls.
- Other games like darts, foosball, and video games.
Most people who attend the Expo are business owners or people who work in the billiard industry. They go there to make decisions about what products to buy for their businesses.
BCA Pool League
The BCA Pool League (BCAPL) is one of the biggest amateur (non-professional) pool leagues in the United States. It also has many members in other countries, especially Canada. The BCA used to run the BCAPL, but since 2004, another company called CueSports International (CSI) has owned and operated it.
The BCA Pool League has about 450 local leagues with over 60,000 members! Players can play on different sizes of tables, including smaller 7-foot tables and larger 9-foot tables. The BCAPL uses the official BCA rules, with some extra rules for team play and big tournaments.
Collegiate National Championship
The US Collegiate Pocket Billiards National Championship is a tournament for college students. It has been organized by the Association of College Unions International (ACUI) since 1937. There have been separate competitions for men and women since 1939. The BCA supports this amateur tournament, and the winners are listed in the BCA's official rulebook.
United States Billiard Media Association
The United States Billiard Media Association (USBmA) was formed in 2007. Its main job is to choose media members (like writers and reporters) for the Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame Board. This group also works to make billiards more visible in the news and media. Only professional writers, radio hosts, TV reporters, and internet media people who cover cue sports can join the USBmA.
See also
- List of professional sports leagues
- BCA Hall of Fame
