Joining a Pool League? Ask These Questions First!
Pool leagues are one of the best ways to up our competition and improve our game. But it can sometimes be difficult to muster up the courage to join your first league due to the unfamiliarity – not only with league rules, but with the members as well.
More often than not, league managers are very open to answering any questions you have. It benefits their league as a whole, so why wouldn’t they?
In this article, we’ll go over some important questions you should ask before joining a pool league (in no particular order). Hopefully, you can gain the confidence you need to get in touch with your local pool community!
1. What Set of Rules Does the League Follow?
There are many different rulebooks for pool, but a few of the most common are BCA, APA and VNEA. It’s always worth it to double check what the rules are to avoid confusion during league play.
Most rule sets are similar, but each has their own unique ways to handle different situations when playing. Figure out your local league’s rules so everyone is on the same page, and you know what to expect.
2. What Day(s) of the Week Does the League Meet?
Find out when the league plays during the week, and schedule these nights ahead of time. Some leagues play once a week, and some twice a week – it just depends.
Most of us get busy, and you definitely don’t want to join a league without first figuring out whether or not it will impact, or conflict with, other areas of life.
It’s great to have time set aside for yourself, and joining a pool league is a great excuse to make that happen!
3. What is the League Format?
Figure out the format for league nights. Would you play one, or multiple matches per night? There are two common types of formats for league play – round robin (play different opponents), or races (against the same opponent).
Each has its own benefits. With round robin, players won’t have to sit down forever between games. In the race format, you can get your matches out of the way fairly quickly, and move on to other things if you don’t want to stick around.
4. What are the Pool League’s Fees?
This is potentially the most important question, depending on the person. Ideally, we’re all able to find a pool league that’s fun, but easy on the wallet.
The league fees will vary from league to league, and it’s based on the league/franchise operators. You can likely expect to pay anywhere from $8 to $15 per league night depending on how the league is set up.
Most likely, the cheaper leagues will be in places with lower populations, and the more expensive leagues will likely be in larger towns and cities.
5. Are There League Standings Online?
One of the most fun parts about playing in a pool league is being able to track your stats and league standings. Having a healthy competitive aspect of a pool league make pool so much more enjoyable.
You should find out if the pool league has a page or website dedicated to specific league performance records and stats.
6. Can You Qualify for Bigger Tournaments?
Many pool leagues offer opportunities to enter bigger pool tournaments if you are high in the standings at the end of a league season. This is always a good motivator for pool players to play every night because they have something to work towards.
You can certainly have fun without this extra perk, but it adds more excitement to your pool league.
Wrap Up
These 6 questions cover some important things you should be aware of before joining a pool league. Pool leagues are a blast, provide some much needed you-time, and offer opportunities to network and make friends along the way – all while playing pool!
Let us know if this article helped you, and if you have any other questions that aren’t included here. We’d love to improve this list as much as possible!
Take care and Happy Shooting!
