The Billiard Congress of America (BCA) is the

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...

for

cue sports Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, and the regional member organization of the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA).` Puerto Rico, though a US territory, and Mexico, though often classified as part of North America geographically, are both instead members of the Latin-American

Confederación Panamericana de Billar The Confederación Panamericana de Billar (CPB) also known as the Pan-American Billiard Confederation, is the governing body of carom billiards in the Americas and is affiliated to the world federation Union Mondiale de Billard (UMB). It has its h ...

(CPB) instead. It was established under this name in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

as a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

trade organization in order to promote the sport and organize its players via

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

s at various levels. The BCA is headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado.''Billiards: The Official Rules and Records Book''. 2008. Colorado Springs: Billiard Congress of America. The voting members of the organization are mostly equipment manufacturers. The BCA publishes an annual rule and record book that incorporates the WPA world standardized rules for games such as

nine-ball Nine-ball (sometimes written 9-ball) is a discipline of the cue sport pool. The game's origins are traceable to the 1920s in the United States. It is played on a rectangular billiard table with at each of the four corners and in the middle o ...

eight-ball Eight-ball (also spelled 8-ball or eightball, and sometimes called solids and stripes, spots and stripes or rarely highs and lows) is a discipline of pool played on a billiard table with six pockets, cue sticks, and sixteen billiard balls ...

ten-ball Ten-ball is a rotation pool game similar to nine-ball, but using ten balls instead of nine, and with the 10 ball instead of the 9 as the "" Although the game has existed for since the early 1960s, its popularity has risen since the early 2000s ...

and

straight pool Straight pool, which is also called 14.1 continuous and 14.1 rack, is a cue sport in which two competing players attempt to as many billiard balls as possible without playing a . The game was the primary version of pool played in professio ...

, as well as rules for other games that are not presently the subject of international competition, such as one pocket,

bank pool Bank pool is a pool game that has as its most fundamental requirement that all scoring shots in the game must be made by a called ball off a and into a called pocket. While the game has multiple variations, the predominant version through much ...

cowboy pool Cowboy pool (or simply cowboy) is a hybrid pool game combining elements of English billiards through an intermediary game, with more standard pocket billiards characteristics. The game employs four balls, the cue ball and three others, numbered ...

rotation Rotation, or spin, is the circular movement of an object around a '' central axis''. A two-dimensional rotating object has only one possible central axis and can rotate in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. A three-dimensional ...

, American snooker, and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

among many others. The BCA holds an annual

trade show A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and ...

, the International Billiards & Home Recreation Expo. Also annually, it inducts great players, and those who have made great contributions to the sport, into the

BCA Hall of Fame This is the list of people inducted into the Billiard Congress of America's hall of fame to honour outstanding people who, through their competitive skills and dedication, have enriched the sport and industry. Two categories have been established in ...

History

The origins of the BCA began with the National Billiard Association of America (NBAA), founded July 25, 1921. The organization rapidly became the ''de facto'' governing body of the sport in the United States, with 35,000 members by 1928, and was closely tied to the

Brunswick-Balke-Collender Brunswick Corporation, formerly known as the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, is an American corporation that has been developing, manufacturing and marketing a wide variety of products since 1845. Today, Brunswick has more than 13,000 employ ...

company, a major equipment manufacturer. After a decline in influence in the late 1930s, in part owing to a dispute with world

carom billiards Carom billiards, sometimes called carambole billiards, is the overarching title of a family of cue sports generally played on cloth-covered, billiard tables. In its simplest form, the object of the game is to score or "counts" by ' one's o ...

champion

Willie Hoppe William Frederick Hoppe (October 11, 1887 – February 1, 1959) (surname rhymes with "poppy"), was an internationally renowned American professional carom billiards champion, who was posthumously inducted into the Billiard Congress of America ...

, the NBAA reformed in 1941 as the Billiard Association of America (BAA).''Official Rule Book for All Pocket and Carom Billiard Games''. 1946. Chicago: Billiard Association of America. Cover, frontispiece and p. 26 ("Pocket Billiards Index"). Headquartered in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and calling itself "the Governing Body of Billiards", the BAA produced a concise, portable, inexpensive rulebook of carom and pool games that was to serve as the model for future BCA releases. The BAA in turn became the BCA in 1947.''Billiards: The Official Rules and Records Book''. 1991. Iowa City: Billiard Congress of America. Foreword. The BCA formed with, and for several years shared offices with, the promotional

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partic ...

National Billiard Council (NBC), now defunct. Early BCA rulebooks were essentially identical to the 1946 BAA edition, including the cover art and the absence of the increasingly popular game

from the ruleset.''Official Rule Book for All Pocket and Carom Billiard Games''. 1950. Toledo, OH: Billiard Congress of America. Cover, frontispiece and p. 26 ("Pocket Billiards Index"). (Nine-ball did not appear until the 1967 edition.''Official Rule and Record Book for All Pocket and Carom Billiard Games''. 1967. Toledo, OH: Billiard Congress of America. P. 2 ("Contents").) The BCA rulebooks have remained in near-annual continuous publication to the present day. In 2000, the BCA made the major move of adopting the World Pool-Billiard Association's standardized rules for eight-ball, nine-ball, and other games subject to international professional competition. The BCA had by this time become the national affiliate of the WPA. In the new edition of the rules, the organization expressed a commitment to seeing pool and carom billiards become

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

sports (and in fact selected Colorado Springs for its new headquarters for proximity to the

US Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

).''Billiards: The Official Rules and Records Book''. 2000. Colorado Springs: Billiard Congress of America. P. iii ("Foreword"). The rules changes have not been without controversy, as some of them upset US player expectations; various leagues have ignored the new rules and continued with traditional US rules (e.g., in the game of

, legally pocketing the 8 ball on the has commonly been treated as an instant win).

BCA Hall of Fame

International Billiard & Home Recreation Expo

The BCA's annual Billiard Expo (as it is known for short, or simply the Expo, within the industry) is the largest mostly-cue-sports trade convention in the world, and despite its broad name is primarily focused on pool (pocket billiards). It has been held in various locations, most frequently

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, since its founding in 1984. The Expo is exclusively sponsored by the BCA (and its members), and is managed by William T. Glasgow, Inc. of

Orland Park, Illinois Orland Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Will County. The village is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, Orland Park had a population of 58,703. Located 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Ch ...

. The expressed purpose of the event is to "provide industry manufacturers, distributors, retailers, dealers and poolroom operators an annual venue for new business opportunities, including education, new products and networking." Vendor attendance in 2006 was nearly 300 companies filling between 1,300 and 1,400 booth spaces. The June 25–27, 2009 event at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas saw 116 exhibitor in 412 booth spaces, with 1,120 buy attendees. The next event will be held June 14 (Wednesday) through 16 (Friday), 2010, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with registration for attendees opening February 15. These were not the original dates, and some debate surrounded the matter, with the dates being finalized only as late as September 2009, and chosen to ensure maximum attendance by billiard entrepreneurs, most of whom have business peaks on weekends. By the end of the 2009 Expo, 65 companies had already contracted for 326 booth spaces at the 2010 Expo. The vast majority of attendees are industry insiders, rather than players. In 2006, 94% were billiard retailers, 5% billiard hall operators, and 1% "other" (e.g. bowling and amusement center operators). In 2009, only 70% were retailers. In that year, 83% were from the United States and 7% from Canada, with the remaining 10% being from elsewhere around the world. Despite operators not being in the majority, the event is geared toward them, with "Business of Billiards" seminars on successful hall operation, and exhibitors principally in the business of supplying such venues. Exhibiting vendors typically include product lines such as pool equipment (tables, cues, racks, chalk, etc.), billiards-themed apparel and accessories, instructional materials, bar and billiard furniture and furnishings (stools, neon signs, juke boxes, etc.), business services (food processing, point-of-sale computer systems, etc.), other commercial gaming equipment (darts, table shuffleboard, foosball, video games, pinball machines, etc.), plus assorted home recreation categories (poker, home spas and pools, tanning beds, sound systems, outdoors equipment, etc.), and billiard-related services such as cue repair. The BCA claims that, as of 2009, 55% of attendees make purchasing decisions for their businesses, 50% buy there, and 20% more buy within one month of the show. While Las Vegas is the most frequent host city for the event, it has also been held in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most popu ...

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore wa ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origi ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, and Ft. Worth, Texas. As of the 2010 event, the cost per exhibitor booth varied from US$1,350 to $1,800 depending upon BCA membership status. The event ticket price was $100 for non-exhibitors and non-members. These prices were up from $1,200 and $50, respectively, in 2007.

BCA Pool League

The BCA Pool League (BCAPL) is one of the major amateur pool leagues in the United States and is present in over a dozen other countries outside the U.S., with a significant presence in Canada. Originally operated by the BCA, since 2004 the BCAPL has been owned and operated by billiards event promoter CueSports International (CSI) of

Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the second largest city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with an estimated population of 320,189 in 2019. The city is part of the Las Vegas Val ...

. The BCA Pool League has approximately 450 local leagues with 60,000+ members. Leagues are played on both bar-size and regulation tables. Beginning in the 2009/2010 season, CSI introduced a second league, the USA Pool League (USAPL), aimed at a more casual player. Both the BCAPL and USAPL (who share a rulebook) use BCA rules, with the addition of wheelchair rules, team play adaptations, and "Applied Rulings" from years of large-scale tournament administration.

Collegiate National Championship

The US Collegiate Pocket Billiards National Championship, organized by the

Association of College Unions International ACUI (Association of College Unions International) is one of the oldest associations in higher education, and dates to 1914. This association is the largest organization that represents student activity centers and student unions in the United St ...

(ACUI) since 1937, with separate men's and women's divisions since 1939, is recognized and supported by the BCA. The amateur tournament's annual champions are listed in the BCA's ''Billiards: The Official Rules and Records Book''.

United States Billiard Media Association

The United States Billiard Media Association (USBmA) was organized in January 2007 to elect "billiard media members to the Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame Board". This media-focused suborganization also lists other goals in its materials, including "elevating the visibility and status of billiards in the media at large" as well as various member-support functions. Membership is strictly limited to "professional print, radio, TV, public relations and Internet media persons who cover cue sports", as determined by the USBmA executive board. As of February 2010, the group listed 33 members, including most of the better-known names in US-based cue sports publishing. USBmA is nominally based in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

at the same address as '' Billiards Digest'' (Luby Publishing).

References

External links

BCA official website

BCAPL official website

BCA Expo official website

List of BCA Champions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Billiard Congress Of America Cue sports governing bodies in the United States Pool organizations Pool leagues Carom billiards organizations Snooker governing bodies Snooker in the United States Professional sports leagues in the United States