break aug. 2006 - Billiards Congress of America

BCA
Break
August 2006
a bi-monthly guide to Billiard Congress of America member services
in this issue: EnjoyPool.com sponsorships • Fond Farewells • Challenge the Stars a Success • New Dates for 2007 International Billiard & Home Recreation Expo in Vegas
Sponsors Win Big in Vegas
EnjoyPool.com 9-Ball Championships
Fond Farewell!
Ducoff & Long
sign off in August
In its first year as the renamed EnjoyPool.com 9-Ball Championships, the BCA’s
marquee professional event commanded attention for players and sponsors alike. The
ESPN production was taped for delayed airing in July, where it once again offered a
high-visibility platform for BCA supporters.
Leading up to the televised semi- and final rounds, sponsors enjoyed brand exposure
The August Back to Billiards Expo in
Baltimore will mark the final, official
appearances for both BCA Executive
Director Stephen D. Ducoff (who is retiring) and former Marketing
Director Amy Long (who is
helping out, one last time).
for their official product lines in the larger arena setting. Once the main events began,
marketing escalated with rotating ad banners along the perimeter of the show table.
Each of the official event sponsors were featured in a series of timed placements that
guaranteed that their brand backdrop would be seen by millions of ESPN viewers.
Like the EnjoyPool.com banners shown in the photo below, each of the official product sponsors were featured in position throughout the taped semis and finals.
“This device has been very successful for the BCA,
and its sponsors,” stated Marketing Director Amy
Long, “The brands are clearly displayed for the television audience, and we like what it adds to the production value.”
May 14-20, 2006
Billiard Congress of America
As announced earlier in the
year, Ducoff will retire from
the BCA at the end of
August. Long was tapped to
become the Marketing
Director for the Colorado
Springs Convention and
Visitors Bureau in June, but
agreed to assist the BCA in
a part-time capacity through the summer
transition period.
Amy Long - Queen of all that is good and beautiful.
During special events in Baltimore, both
BCA veterans will have one last chance to
say goodbye to the billiard community.
They’ll both be sorely missed!
The Stars came out in Vegas!
Ewa Laurance not only participates at the event,
she also sits on the BEF Board of Directors
Challenge The Stars Benefits
the Billiard Education Foundation
Thanks to all the participating pros
The Billiard Education Foundation (BEF) reported that the
stars were out and shining brightly at its annual Challenge the
Stars event, held May 16 at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in
Vegas. Top billiard pros took challenges from highly-skilled
and admiring fans who made donations to the BEF
Scholarship Fund in exchange for the chance to test their mettle against the world's greatest players.
Participating pros were Karen Corr, Tony Crosby, Max Eberle,
Allison Fisher, Thorsten Hohmann, Julie Kelly, Jeanette Lee,
Tony Robles, Laura Smith, Marco Tschudi, Bob Weimar,
Vicki Paski and BCA Hall of Fame members Loree Jon Jones,
Ewa Mataya Laurance, and Robin Dodson.
The pros donate their time during the BCA-hosted
Players and bidders lined
EnjoyPool.com 9-Ball Championships, and a long list of
BCA-member companies up to take part.
donated product and services for the silent auction, including:
Adam Cue Company, Perfect Shaft, Cue-Tech Pool School,
Tiger Products, Smithlin Custom Cues, Viking Cues,
Competition Sports, Lou Sardo Products, Go Billiards,
Connoisseur of Custom Cues, Jerry Olivier Custom Cues, RT9
Designs, Castillo Leather Goods, Schuler Cue, Stealth, Predator
Challenge
Products, PoolDawg.com, Hard Times Billiard Supply, Randy
the Stars!
Goettlicher and the Billiard Congress of America.
To What End?
Funds raised by the BEF at the
Challenge the Stars Benefit are used to
underwrite the annual academic scholarship program. Over 130 high school
seniors applied for this year’s grants,
and eight scholarships were awarded to:
BEF Excellence in Education winner:
Kyle Smith (Lafayette, CO.)
BCA Scholarship winners:
Gregory Gaskin
(South Lake Tahoe, Calif.)
Christopher Kaltenbach
(Newtonville, Mass.)
Dorothy Mix (Camino, Calif.)
Conor Parker (LaGrange, Ill.)
Jessica Ray (Avon, Conn.)
Megan Skinner (Des Moines, Iowa)
Joshua Strazanac (Holland, Mich.)
The single Excellence in Education
recipient earns a $5,000 award (over 2
years), and seven individuals receive
The BEF was assisted by the following volunteers and BCA
Pool League referees who also donated their time to make the
event such a success: Randy Goettlicher, Claude Gragg, Tom Riccobene, Shanna and John Lewis,
Robyn Maloy, Tommy Ray, Jerry Johnson, Paul Hargrave, Aric Beckwith, Scott Hutchinson,
Bethany Sutphin, Yale Downs, Genaro Vasquez, Kristie Womack, CC Strain, Buddy Harper, Mike
Cox, John Leyman, Larry Ward, Lance Kepler, Avvilla Fisher, Wendy Kennedy and Hal Sparrow.
Entertainment and trick shots were provided by Okinawa Slim.
$1,000 toward their freshman year
expenses.
www.billiardeducation.com
www.billiardeducation.org
International Billiard & Home Recreation Expo
June 21 - 23, 2007 • The Sands in Vegas
“Ante Up” today
at BCAExpo.com!
hosted by Billiard Congress of America
BCABreak
August 2006
Billiard Congress of America
BCA BREAK • August 2006
Executive Director: Stephen Ducoff
Editor: Linda Mojer
Production Manager: Ginni Francis
The BCA Break is published bi-monthly
as an insert to Billiard Retailer and made available online as a download at
BCA-Pool.com.
BCA Board of Directors
Gregg Hovey (Pres)............................Olhausen
Mike Baggett (1VP) ......................Cue & Case
Ivan Lee (2VP)............................Iwan Simonis
Renee Poehlman (Sect.) ............................APA
Pat Conners (Treas.) ................................AMF
Nick Alexander ........................Clicks Billiards
Jeri Brown..............................American Games
Sean Cummings ..............................Brunswick
Dan Dishaw ....................American Cuemakers
Kathy Etheridge ..................Showcase Billiards
Mark Griffin ........................BCA Pool League
Barry Hart ......................................Viking Cue
Jim McDermott ....................Magoo’s Billiards
Bob Radford ..........................Antique Billiards
Kathy Vegh ..................................Danny Vegh’s
Eric Weber............................................CueStix
Billiard Congress of America
4345 Beverly Drive, Ste.D
Colorado Springs, CO 80918
Tel: 719-264-8300
Fax: 719-264-9400
www.bca-pool.com
www.enjoypool.com
BCA National Staff
Stephen Ducoff ..................Executive Director
Diane Bryant ..................................Accountant
Ginni Francis ..................Graphics/Production
Alison Hall ..............................Office Manager
Tanya Holmes ....Asst. Director/Trade Services
Carolyn Lewis ............Director/Trade Services
Linda Mojer ............Director/Communications
Kathy Simmons ....................Member Services
Our Vision: Achieve a united, growing,
prosperous and highly regarded billiard industry
through BCA leadership.
Our Mission: Enhance the
success of our members and promote
the game of billiards.
Lifestyle Promotions in the Works
Pool is more than a game…more than a sport…it’s a lifestyle! Families want to spend
more quality time together. They want to enhance the look and enjoyment of their
home. They want to Enjoy Pool! Earlier in the spring, BCA members were offered a
chance to reach over 100 million potential customers with exciting new multi-media
promotions.
The first was a “Living in Style” episode that will focus on communicating the many
benefits of having a pool table in the home (as well as all the necessary accessories for a
great home recreation room!). Each of the half-hour shows in this 13-part series will air
a minimum of 20 times, with a combined reach of more than 70 million households on
affiliates of ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and targeted national cable networks.
Following the “Family Solutions” episode, an 8-second billboard will invite viewers to
visit www.enjoypool.com to easily connect to each of the sponsors’ websites and locate
a BCA Member retailer in their area. Exclusive to the participating sponsors, the segment will feature a pool table, cue, cloth, lighting, rack, balls, chalk, décor, jukebox, magazine, amateur league, bar/barstools and a game/poker table. The taped segment is
scheduled to air from
August 23 - September 20.
The second promo was the
“BallBusters”
event
in
Baltimore, a made-for-TV
“pool party” featuring 12 top
finishers from past BCA pro
events, competing in a
three-person team, singleelimination 8-Ball format.
Co-hosted by Mitch and
Ewa Laurance, the show
will highlight pool on a set
designed to replicate a wellappointed home recreation
room. Three original hours
are guaranteed on ESPN,
beginning in October 2006
and running indefinitely.
Rack ‘em up & play with Pros like
Jeanette “The Black Widow” Lee and
Ewa “The Striking Viking” Laurance,
then watch yourself on ESPN!!
more info @ enjoypool.com
A flyer promoting the Ballbuster’s event was distributed
to Baltimore room owners and retailers, as well as being
emailed to thousands of league players in that region.