THE LAST 25 YEARS (1999-2023)

In 2000, the BCA moved its headquarters from Iowa to Colorado Springs, Colorado where it established its mission to enhance the success of members and promote the game of billiards. Further, the BCA agreed that its vision is to “achieve a united, growing, prosperous and highly regarded billiard industry through Billiard Congress of America leadership.”

One of the most notable things of the last 25 years was starting and operating the Professional Billiard Instructors Association (PBIA), formally the BCA Certified Instructor Program. With more than 250 members internationally, the PBIA provides on-going certification and training for its instructors and is now the largest international organization of professional billiard instructors.

Every sporting organization knows that its future lies in a regular intake of new players so creating the BCA Certified Instructor Program with BCA Hall of Famer Jerry Briesath at the helm, was the ideal way to ensure players continued to discover the enjoyment of the game and grow in the sport.

“Without uniform standards, people seeking teachers would have no way of locating or comparing individuals,” Shamos says. “The BCA’s Certified Instructor program provides an entry point and a growth plan that serves as a foundation to bring many new players into the game.”

In 2012, the BCA launched the PlayBetterBilliards website, aimed at promoting the benefits of seeking out quality, PBIA-credentialed instructors. The association also promotes the website via a Google Adword campaign that has seen more than 55,000 searches for PBIA instructors.

In the early 2000s, the BCA elected to sell its league operations to CueSports International, which at the time, lost a connection to the amateur play side of the industry and to pool room operators, and it really started to define the BCA in the perception of other people as a trade organization for the manufacturers and retailers, because those were the members supporting the association.

BCA hired Rob Johnson in 2006 as CEO and when he met with the other leaders of the organization, they decided that since the association had sold the leagues, there was little point in continuing its energy and resources to lobby for recognition by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee in Colorado Springs.

In 2015, the BCA partnered with The European Pocket Billiard Federation on the formation of the Atlantic Cup Challenge, a Mosconi Cup-style event to showcase top junior players between Europe and America.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:

2016 BCA Expo – Joe Pechauer from J. Pechauer Custom Cues and Karim Belhaj from The Predator Group

2018 BCA Expo – Joel from Cue Stix International

2017 BCA Expo – BCA Hall of Famer Jerry Briesath sharing some knowledge with junior players

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Since the development of the Atlantic Challenge Cup, the BCA has reignited junior play across the country and now manages the largest junior National Pool Championships outside of China.

In 2018, BCA reassumed oversight and day-to-day operations of the Billiard Education Foundation, a non-profit charity that is committed to promoting a lifelong love of pool and building the next generation of players through youth programs and academic scholarships.

Key programs of the BEF include the annual BEF Junior National Pool Championships, annual Junior State Championships, annual selection and support of juniors competing in the WPA World Junior 10-Ball Championships, academic scholarships and awards, and Pool in School programming and curriculum development, as well as providing free instruction to any junior player through the Break and Run Premier Junior Instruction Program.

“We always understood that the great champions learned pool very young, so it was very important to get them in early and give them decent instruction and competition,” Shamos says. “There’s no better route to self-preservation than to get ’em while they’re young and turn them into shooters for life.”

And there’s so much more ahead.

“I think we’re at a turning point where the association and Board of Directors see that the trade side vs. play side or the sport vs. the game, are not mutually exclusive,” says Shane Tyree, the newly-appointed CEO of the BCA. “If we can elevate the status of the sport in America, we will elevate the status of both the game and the trade. The current board members are progressive in that they are looking forward to set up and position the industry and association for success for not just the next 5, 10, or 25 years, but for the next 75 years.”

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:

2018 BCA Expo – PBIA Instructors gathering around continuing their education

2019 BCA Expo – BCA Hall of Famer Nick Varner having a chat with BEF Referee Ricky Bryant

2019 BCA Expo – BEF Junior Nationals alongside BCA Expo

FOLLOWING PAGE:

2023 BCA Expo Ribbon Cutting – Rob Johnson, Robbie Selby, Trey Stites, Debbie Covey, Stephanie Schmidt, Shane Bouchard, Ivan Lee, Shane Tyree, Philippe Singer, and Ed Liddawi

2023 BCA Expo – J. Pechauer Custom Cues booth