... ON ESPN ... ON ESPN ... ON ESPN ...
Day	Date	Time	Round
Sunday	July 9	2:30 pm	Men's Semifinals
Sunday	July 9	3:30 pm	Men's Final
Sunday	July 16	3:00 pm	Women's Semifinals
Sunday	July 16	4:00 pm	Women's Final

It's On ... With the release of player lists, links to online brackets and a preview schedule of ESPN airtimes (at right), the 2006 EnjoyPool.com 9-Ball Championships are just hours away from the opening break. Box office hours have also been posted, so if you're in Las Vegas this coming week, you can still try to get a ringside seat!

In addition to the professional event, the BCA will host the annual Challenge the Stars benefit fundraiser on Tuesday evening, to support the Billiard Education Foundation scholarship program. [ more ]

The EnjoyPool.com 9-Ball Championships are sponsored by: American Poolplayers Association (arena) ... Brunswick (furniture) ... Imperial International - Aramith (balls) ... Iwan Simonis (cloth) ... McDermott Handcrafted Cues (cue) ... Olhausen Billiard Mfg., Inc. (table) ... Original Italian Slate (arena) ... PoolDawg.com (closed caption & arena) ... Sardo Tight Rack (rack) ... Tweeten Fibre Co., Inc. (chalk).

The American Poolplayers Association ... awarded over $300,000 in cash and prizes to APA members at the APA National Singles Championships held April 27-29 in Las Vegas at the Riviera Hotel & Casino. The event named winners in both the 8-Ball Classic and 9-Ball Shootout Singles Championships. [ more ]

Over 12,000 amateur shooters attempted to qualify for the 9-Ball Shootout in their local league area. More than 1,900 poolplayers made it to their regional playoff before the field was whittled down to 136 men and women. The final round of the 9-Ball Shootout featured three championship matches, one for each skill level tier, with two finalists in each match competing for $10,000 in cash and prizes. [ results & photos ]

For the 8-Ball Classic, over 40,000 attempted to qualify and more than 5,000 made it to the regional level before the field was narrowed to 364 men and women competing in three skill level tiers. In those finals, three champions each took home a prize package worth $15,000 for their performances. [ results & photos ]

The APA produces three major tournaments each year — the APA National Team Championships, the APA National Singles Championships and the U.S. Amateur Championship — that, together, pay out more than $1.2 Million in cash and prizes annually. [ more ]

BCA Certified Instructor Kevin Fort ... took to the high seas aboard the Radiance of the Seas cruise liner in April, as its shipboard billiard expert. Taking advantage of the Royal Caribbean Lines enrichment program, Kevin and his wife were treated to a fantastic "working vacation" with great accomodations, fine food and a captive audience.

In his first few hours onboard, Kevin was interviewed by the cruise director and videotaped doing a trick shot. That "commercial" began running on the ship's info channel right away and by the next morning he was being greeted in the hall and elevators with “Hi, you’re the pool expert!” In response, he graciously steered them toward the pool room and its two full-sized self-leveling tables. Priced at $90,000 for the pair, the tables feature computer guided optics and a gyro to keep them level as the ship moves.

During the three days at sea, Fort shared his knowledge by giving afternoon instruction and running a nightly tournament. His “Beginner Billiards Lessons” on day one drew 25 people, from 14 to 60 years old, followed by a trick shot demo for 40 on the second day and some advanced instruction to cap the series. Royal Caribbean supplied prizes for the evening tournaments and everyone had a good time. All in all, a great way to earn a trip!

An accomplished player and instructor with twenty years experience in pocket billiards, Kevin works as a security sales representative for a national company and has worked as a design engineer, cost estimator, and sales engineer. [ send an email ]

BCA DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AMY LONG ... recently announced that she has accepted the position of Director of Public Relations & Marketing for Experience Colorado Springs at Pikes Peak (a.k.a. the Colorado Springs Convention & Visitor's Bureau), effective June 1.

Departing the BCA after a six-year stint, Long plans a gradual transition that will allow her to complete a series of projects, including the Back to Billiards trade show, Ballbusters - the ultimate pool party and "Battle of the BCA Champions" pro event in Baltimore this August.

Originally from the east coast, the University of Virginia undergrad earned her MBA from the University of North Carolina before beginning her career path with Hallmark Cards as a marketing strategist. After relocating to Colorado in 1994, Amy became one of the BCA's founding staffers in the Springs when the national office moved there from Iowa in 2000.

Her work as the BCA's Marketing Director has included the development or improvement of many of the organization's most successful programs, including the Billiard Image Campaign, the Billiard Creative Agency, online shopping cart, EnjoyPool.com consumer website, pro tournaments and national PR initiatives.

"It was a very difficult decision," said Amy. "I have enjoyed the many challenges of this job and am very grateful to the BCA for providing me with a variety of skills and experiences that will prove invaluable in my next position. But mostly I will miss the people that have supported me and the BCA during my tenure. I know that the BCA has many exciting programs in place or in planning stages that will continue to support the industry and make pool everybody's game."

"Ms. Long will be sorely missed," stated BCA Executive Director Steve Ducoff, "her contributions to the organization have been considerable and I hope that the membership fully appreciates the depth and value of her service. We wish her all the best."

:: BCA PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT

THE LATEST BCA REPORTS ... can be viewed under the "About Us" tab at BCA-Pool.com. The second quarterly report of the fiscal year was recently uploaded there, and provides a narrative summary of national office program activity through January/February/March of 2006.