To All Room Owners/Reps
interested in holding a USBA Tour Event:

(No more events are available this year)

For 2010, a brand new Tour Package Plan will be implemented.
More details will follow.

Rules and Guidelines regarding USBA Tour Events:

1) A qualified tournament director approved by the USBA Secretary must be present to run the event if the Secretary is unable to attend.

2) All players must be current on their USBA membership dues – no exceptions. A list of all members that are current on their dues will be provided by the Secretary if he is unable to attend. All players that pay their dues at the event must also complete a USBA Membership Application which is available at www.USBA.net. Click “USBA Forms” on the left-side menu.

3) Entry fees must include the $5.00 USBA sanction fee per player. So the entry fees should be $255.00 or $155.00, whatever amount is relevant.

4) Room owner is responsible for collecting all entry fees and keeping the list of players.

5) Room owner should provide hotel information to the Secretary so that it can be posted on the USBA website for the benefit of the players.

6) Tournament format is decided by the Secretary.

7) If there is any money collected from auctions or lotteries, the full amount goes to the prize fund.

8) The room owner has the option of keeping and selling any raffle merchandise or holding a raffle. The room owner keeps 100% of the raffle proceeds.

9) During the tournament, no table time is to be charged to the players.

10) The day before the tournament, the room owner will insure that the tables are made available to the tournament players for practice. Table time may be charged to the players if the room owner desires. The room owner and tournament director should make sure that all players have the chance to practice and that nobody monopolizes a table. Two hours on one table should be sufficient; then their name goes to the bottom of the list if they wish to practice further.

11) 100% of the added money for the tournament, plus 100% of all the entry fees, plus any money collected from auctions/lotteries must go to the prize fund, except the $5.00 per player sanction fee. No exceptions.

12) The room owner will attempt to allow the players to compete comfortably, meaning that if possible, any adjacent pool tables should be closed off. If that is not reasonable, then the pool tables should not be given to customers who are loud, unruly or not considerate to the players in the tournament. The room temperature should be comfortable for the players. Light music in the background is ideal; loud music is not.

13) The room owner should expect that the tournament will last from as early as 9:00am until as late as 10:00pm. It might end earlier, but the room owner shouldn’t expect it to. This, of course, depends entirely upon the format, number of players and other variables.

14) The room owner will insure that there is a reliable vacuum cleaner and a reliable ball cleaner.

15) The room owner will provide a person or persons who will clean the table after each game is completed. Vacuuming is ideal, but if it becomes intrusive and time-consuming, the tables should be wiped down after each game with a clean, slightly damp microfiber cloth which can be purchased at Walmart. I believe that a package of 6 is around $5.00.

16) During the finals, the tables should be vacuumed after each round of play.

17) The balls and tables should be cleaned at the direction of the Secretary or tournament director.

18) Water or alcohol should normally NOT be used to clean the balls, unless the table conditions are unusually long and slippery.

19) Only Aramith Ball Cleaner should normally be used on the balls, unless the table conditions are unusually slippery (long) or unusually high-friction (short). Again this is 100% at the direction of the Secretary or the tournament director.

20) If new Simonis cloth is to be put on the tables, then the Secretary will decide exactly WHEN they are to be placed on the tables. Normally it should be completed no later than one full week before the beginning of the tournament and no sooner than two weeks before the beginning of the tournament. There are some exceptions. The Secretary or Tournament Director will make that decision. At tournament time, a good way to gauge the table is as follows: by banking the cue ball from one corner through the 3rd diamond on the opposite long rail with high right or left English and medium speed, the cue ball should bank 3 rails and come either flush into the corner or slightly long of the corner (hitting the short rail near the corner, not the long rail).

21) All tournament results will be placed on the USBA website (www.USBA.net), the Professor-Q-Ball website (www.professorqball.com) and the USBA newsletter in Professor-Q-Ball publication (10,000+ circulation) along with pictures and a story or recap of the highlights. If the Secretary is not present, then the tournament director is responsible for taking a picture (digital) of the top 3 finishers of the event (one picture). Any other pictures are helpful. The tournament director will email the tournament charts, story and pictures to the Secretary within 2 days of the end of the tournament. If necessary, the tournament charts can be scanned into a computer and then emailed to the Secretary in either a PDF or a JPG format. A picture of the outside and inside of the room as well as a picture of the room owner is also ideal.

22) The tournament director is responsible for sending all sanction fees and dues payments to the Secretary within 2 days of the end of the tournament. All players should only pay cash especially if they pay you at the tournament. If the tournament director accepts a personal check, it is 100% at the risk of the tournament director. My advice is to not accept personal checks unless they are paid at least 2 weeks before the tournament to give them time to clear your account. Checks for entry fees should only be made out to your room. Just one check or money order should be sent by the tournament director to the Secretary for the full amount due and the check should be from the room or the tournament director, not any of the players.

23) Taxes (if any) that are required to be withheld by the federal or state governments and the filing of 1099’s or other forms are the sole responsibility and decision of the room owner, not the USBA.

24) All deposits paid by the room to the Billiard Tour will be given back to the room at the completion of the event to be given out in prize money. One half of the deposit is non-refundable. If the room owner cancels the event for any reason or if the event is unable to take place for any reason, then ½ of the deposit will be returned to the room and ½ will be retained by the Billiard Tour. The only exception to this rule will be if the USBA or Billiard Tour is responsible for cancelling the event.