Article by Jean Bartholomew

Having just returned from Chinook Winds Casino at Lincoln City on the beautiful Oregon Coast, I must say it was the most successful of all the tournaments thus far. This Western BCA Association has grown immensely in a short 10 years of existence. This Association limits their membership to the three states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Having started with just a few hundred members, it has now over 1800 in it's membership and with more than 900 members participated in this, the 7th Annual Regional 8-Ball Championships.

The caliber of play was superb. The tournament was very lucky in having the most able Gary Benson, of The National BCA, come to lend his personal experience and computer expertise to our tournament. The timing was excellent and the matches stayed pretty close to the posted times throughout. This was helped, by having the matches start at 8AM each day and allowing a full day for the Scotch Doubles to be played in it's entirety. Except for the Teams, the matches were shortened by one game from last years Regional 8-Ball. This made a huge difference and things went smoothly. Due to space limitations, and the large amount of entries in this popular 8-Ball tournament, it has become a real challenge to play and complete all matches in the 5 days needed. I heard many compliments for a great tournament. We wish to thank all of the volunteers who gave of their time refereeing, posting scores and doing all of the little things it takes to make things run smoothly.

Congratulations to everyone for great play and sportsmanship, ensuring the continued success of this and future tournaments.