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Vol.5,
No.9 — August 13, 2008 |
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THE BILLIARD CONGRESS OF AMERICA (BCA)
BOARD OF DIRECTORS … announces that it has appointed Tom
Gregory, of Toltec Lighting, and Greg Lecorgne, of Dave &
Buster’s, to fill two vacant Board seats for the 2008-2009 Board
year. Gregory will fill the open Manufacturer/Distributor seat and
Lecorgne will fill the open Room Operator seat. The
BCA Board made its appointment decision during its recent Board
meeting, which was held August 5-6, 2008, in Lake Forest, Illinois.
According to the
BCA Bylaws, the Board of Directors has authority to make interim
appointments to the Board in the case of a position vacancy. The
directors appointed to fill these vacancies shall serve until the
next general election, at which time a successor director shall be
elected to fill the remaining terms of office. As such, Gregory and
Lecorgne will serve until the next general election in June of 2009.
“I am pleased to welcome both Tom and
Greg to the BCA Board,” says Sean Cummings, BCA chairman. “I feel
confident that their industry experience and diverse backgrounds
will offer unique perspectives to the Board as we continue to
position the BCA as a strategic, forward-thinking organization in
support of all companies involved in billiards.”
Gregory serves as the general manager
of Toltec Lighting, which is
based in Burnsville, Mississippi. In this capacity, Gregory is
responsible for the day-to-day operations of Toltec, as well as all
facets of Toltec’s participation at the BCA Expo. Gregory, who has
worked for Toltec since its inception in 1978, is also a current
member of the BCA Trade Show Committee.
Lecorgne is the assistant vice
president of amusement operations for Dallas-based
Dave & Buster’s and is
responsible for oversight of daily operations of the Midway and
billiard areas of the company, as well as all financial aspects of
the business. Prior to joining Dave & Buster’s in 1997, Lecorgne was
the owner of Lecorgne Leisure, an amusement arcade and pool room
located in the United Kingdom.
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2008 BILLIARDS
PARTICIPATION STUDY REVEALS NEW STATS |
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 According
to the 2008 USA Sports Participation Survey — Billiards,
conducted by the Sporting Goods
Manufacturers Association (SGMA),:
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There are 51,089,000 billiards participants in
the U.S.
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There are 20,294,000 core (13+/year) billiards
participants in
the U.S.
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63% of all billiards participants are male and
66% of core (13+/year) billiards participants
are male.
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68% of all billiards participants are 25 years
old and up; 65% of core (13+/year) billiards
participants are 25 years old and up.
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58% of all billiards participants have a
household income of less than $75,000 per year.
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42% of all billiards participants reside in a
market size of 2,000,000+.
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32% of all billiards participants have a
college degree or higher.
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56% of all billiards participants also
participated in bowling, 34% in darts, and 23% in golf.
The SGMA survey results also highlight: total
billiards participation (participation at least once per year);
billiards participation rate (participation at least once or more
per year); profile details of all billiards participants (male and
female); billiards participation by region; and billiards cross
participation in other activities.
Learn more (PDF file).
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BILLIARD EDUCATION FOUNDATION AWARDS 2008 SCHOLARSHIPS |
 The Billiard
Education Foundation (BEF) Academic Scholarship Program ...
is an annual program that is divided into two categories: BEF
Excellence in Education scholarship ($5,000 awarded over a two-year
term; and BEF Aiming for Higher Education scholarships ($1,000
award). The objective of the BEF Academic Scholarship Program is to
grant scholarships to high school seniors who have benefited from
the sport of billiards and are pursuing a college education.
The scholarship criteria includes: maintaining a 3.0 cumulative GPA
(on a 4.0 scale); must have received an ACT score of 23 or higher or
an SAT score of 1050 or higher; must be accepted to an accredited
undergraduate academic program by June 1, 2008; carry at least 12
hours per semester; submitted a 500-1,000-word essay on how
billiards has been an integral part of his/her life (essays may be
viewed on the BEF Web
site); a letter outlining academic achievements, leadership
and/or community service work; and a description of the applicant's
background and career objectives.
Congratulations to the following 2008 winners:
BEF “Excellence in Education” Scholarship ($5,000 awarded over a
two-year term)
BEF “Aiming for Higher
Education” Scholarships ($1,000 award)
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Christopher Berger, Atlanta, Georgia
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Dustin Farmer, Windsor, Colorado
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Christopher Futrell, Virginia Beach,
Virginia
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Kyle Gassaway, Summerfield, North
Carolina
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William Howard, Richardson, Texas
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Casey Landry, Bush, Louisiana
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Matthew Pina, Ludlow, Massachusetts
For more information about the BEF, please visit
www.billiardeducation.org. To become a sponsor, make a donation
or inquiry, please contact Laura Smith via e-mail at
laurasmith@billiardeducation.org or phone at 303.926.1039.
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ATTENDING A TRADESHOW: GETTING THE MOST FOR YOUR TIME AND MONEY |
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 Attending
a tradeshow requires a substantial investment ... both in time
and money. Even if the show is in your own backyard, you have the
cost of being away from your store(s) or office, business lunch or
dinner, gas and parking. And multiply that by 10 when the event
requires air travel, hotel nights, car rental, three meals a day and
business entertaining.
We’ll be offering up some tips in the next few
issues of BCA Member Update that will help you make the most
of your time and your money at a tradeshow. And the
BCA Expo Web site will soon
have additional tools for implementing these tips.
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Save the Date! |
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Be sure to mark your calendars now for the International Billiard
& Home Recreation Expo,
June 25-27, 2009, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show will be
held at the Sands Convention Center. Additional
details, including
exhibitor and attendee information and the schedule of
events, will
be available soon on the BCA Expo
Web site. |
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Know why you are attending and plan your path.
Are you going to see new products? Make new connections? Get new
ideas for running your store or business? All of these? Regardless,
there’s a lot to do in a little time. And since time is money, you
should spend it wisely.
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Start your schedule by incorporating the
activities that are pre-scheduled, one-time-only items, such as educational sessions, vendor meetings, etc.
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Then, set appointments before you go with your
most important contacts. (Don’t count on getting the serious
business done in the evenings. It could happen, but if it
doesn’t, you’ll have one-on-one time planned.)
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Pre-determining a path to walk the exhibit
hall is a great efficiency plan. Pick the exhibitors that you
want to see (the ones without an appointment) and list them
numerically by booth number. You may find that you don’t need to
go down every aisle (saving time), and you’ll be sure to see new
companies in between these visits, too.
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Finally, be sure to leave yourself several
small blocks of “free time” to visit with friends or add an
unexpected meeting.
By planning your path, you may find that you don’t
need a hotel for three days and that you can get it all done in two!
And if you know what you need to accomplish before you go, you can
measure the success of your trip and justify the costs of being
there.
Watch for more information about GoExpo! — a tool
for scheduling and planning — FREE with your
BCA Expo registration. |
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BILLIARDS IN THE NEWS |
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 The
United States of America ...
will send a full field of 13 players to the World
10-Ball Championships in Manila, September 29–October 5,
2008. This is the first year that the World
Pool-Billiard Association has held a World Ten Ball
Championship, so these players are taking part in
billiards history in the making.
[
more ] |
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MEMBER MARKETING
101 ... From "52 Ways to Make Pool Everybody's Game" |
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TIP №
38 |
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Create
partnerships with popular
vendors for giveaways that will
draw more customers. |
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STRATEGY: |
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When you collaborate
with national
manufacturers, vendors
or distributors, you
create more powerful
promotions. For example,
local Pepsi or Coke
distributors may provide
free product giveaways
at your room. Local Ford
or Harley-Davidson
dealerships may
distribute coupons for
free table time with a
test drive. |
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EXECUTION: |
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Select and contact
businesses that also appeal
to your target market.
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Emphasize how the promotion
will drive traffic and
product sales.
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Create a mutually beneficial
program that is easy for
customers to understand and
easy for you to execute.
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Post signage at your
location and at your
partner’s place of business.
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Give away each other’s
product samples or coupons
that will drive customers to
your partner’s location.
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Become a GenerationPool
Member Today! |
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Join the GenerationPool.com
community to get connected and receive our e-newsletter! You can
also add to the pool etiquette section, post your pool tips, post any pool and
billiards tournaments or events, and
join the
social network to meet other pool
fans across the nation.
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| :: BCA NOTES & NEWS BRIEFS |
BCA ANNOUNCES QUALIFIERS FOR
WPA WORLD 10-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS |
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The Billiard Congress of America (BCA) ... recently announced
two qualifier events for the inaugural
World-Pool Billiard Association
(WPA) 10-Ball World Championships in Manila, Philippines, September
29-October 5, 2008. The first qualifier event will be held August
23-24, 2008, at Magoo’s
in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The second qualifier event will be held
September 6-7, 2008, at the
California Billiard
Club in Mountain View, California. [
more ] |
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BCA TO
PARTNER WITH USPPA TO HOST
WORLD JUNIORS AND WHEELCHAIR CHAMPIONSHIPS |
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The Billiard Congress of America (BCA) and the
United States Pool Players
Association (USPPA) ... recently announced plans for the
USPPA to host the 2008 World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) Junior
World 9-Ball Championships and 2008 WPA World 9-Ball Championship
for Wheelchair Players in Reno, Nevada, November 30-December 3,
2008. These events will take place at the Sands Regency Hotel in
conjunction with the USPPA Pro Am and Reno Open, scheduled December
4-13, 2008. In addition, the USPPA will present a qualifier for the
Junior World Championships at the California Billiard Club in
Mountain View, California, on Friday, November 28, 2008. [
more ] |
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COMING
UP ... |
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>>
AUGUST 2008
…
APA National Team Championships, August
15-23, 2008, Las Vegas, Nevada
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APA 8-Ball Wheelchair Challenge, August
20-21, 2008, Las Vegas, Nevada
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SEPTEMBER 2008
...
WPBA Carolina Classic, September 10-14,
2008, Durham, North Carolina
... WPA
10-Ball World Championships, September
29-October 5, 2008, Manila, Philippines
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OCTOBER 2008
...
2009 BCA Expo
Early-Bird Rate for Exhibitors Deadline,
October 31, 2008
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An exclusive service to Billiard Congress of America Business
Members, the
BCA
Member Update
is distributed via e-mail twice monthly and
archived
online. Please forward, print and circulate this newsletter widely and feel
free to submit your comments
or contributions to Robin Dahlen,
associate managing director. |
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Copyright © Billiard Congress of America |
NEXT
ISSUE: Vol.5, No.10 |
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