APA: Revolutionizing Amateur Pool Competition Worldwide

The American Poolplayers Association (APA) stands as the largest amateur pool league on the planet, with a community of more than 250,000 members spanning the United States, Canada, Japan, and Singapore. Established in 1981 by pro players Terry Bell and Larry Hubbart, the APA has seen remarkable growth, offering organized league play and tournaments in both eight-ball and nine-ball formats.

With its headquarters located in Lake St. Louis, Missouri, the APA began franchising its league system in 1982, giving local business owners the opportunity to run and promote leagues within their own regions.

This franchise approach has fueled the APA’s impressive expansion, now with leagues active in over 13,000 venues throughout North America. Central to its success is the proprietary handicapping system known as “The Equalizer,” which allows players of all abilities to compete fairly — perfectly capturing the spirit of the APA’s motto: “Everyone Can Play – Anyone Can Win!”

Training

The American Poolplayers Association (APA) provides a detailed and multi-step training program for its franchisees to ensure they operate successfully. Here’s a summary of the training, numbered for clarity:

1. Discovery Day and Pre-Training
   Before approval, franchisees attend Discovery Day and Pre-Training, which cover operations, customer service, goal setting, and relationship management, typically conducted online.
2. The APA Academy
   This is an online e-learning platform that supplements other training with modules on operations, marketing, and league management.
3. Training Seminar I
   A six-day, in-person program held in St. Louis, Missouri, covering the APA system, operations manual, system standards, and software training. It includes classroom instruction and hands-on work with the software.
4. Field Training
   Within the first three months after Training Seminar I, an APA representative provides 3–4 days of in-market training to help with marketing strategy, sales, and office setup.
5. Webinar Series
   A series of mandatory webinars covering league-specific topics; participation is required as part of the training sequence.

Territory Protection

The American Poolplayers Association (APA) grants franchisees a defined geographic territory where they can operate their leagues. While APA agrees not to license another franchise or operate its own leagues under the APA brand within that territory, the franchise does not offer full exclusivity or guaranteed protection from competition.

Franchisees may still face indirect competition from national programs or neighboring franchises under certain agreements. Additionally, APA retains the right to reduce the size of a franchisee’s territory at renewal if it determines the area is too large to manage effectively.

There are also provisions that allow neighboring franchisees to operate in a territory under pre-existing “Out of Area Agreements,” meaning some overlap can occur. If a franchisee wishes to expand into a new area, they must apply and be approved as if they were a new applicant, with no guaranteed option to acquire adjacent territories.