We started off the weekend of March 2-3 with a Single’s Regional tournament, where we qualified 8 players for the APA Singles National Championships in Las Vegas. Of the 8 players we qualified, 7 of them were San Diego APA members. The tournament staff (Brian, Jill and Lindsay) worked our butts off to make the weekend as painless and smooth for every player competing. The goal was to finish the event on Saturday so that our out of town participants would not have to pay for an overnight hotel stay, and our goal was accomplished. We finished up the last bracket right around 10:30pm. Our sincerest congratulations to Daniel Prouty, Nicholas Farrell, Marakai Fellows and Exxes Hauffen for winning their respective 9 Ball brackets and Clint Palaci, Nayan Tamrakar and Joshua Pyrdol in the 8 Ball brackets. All of these SDAPA members will be representing San Diego along with the following players who qualified in the Fall: Paul Langley, Nikh Nobouphasavanh, Brian Critchfield, Chris Bazner and Stephanie Santos in 9 Ball and Paul Langley, Dan Acheson, Marakai Fellows and Tim McCord in 8 Ball. Special congratulations to Paul Langley and Marakai Fellows for qualifying in both formats. The other qualifier this past weekend was Georgine Holton in 8 Ball from San Bernardino. As much as we would like to see every slot won by a San Diego APA member, we can’t say we are sad to see such a friendly and fun person like Georgine win a trip to Nationals. She had to knock out quite a few San Diego players to make it, but she did it with grace and a never ending attack of politeness and respect to everyone she encountered. We had several out-of-town players, and most of them were great sports during the event, thanked us for running the tournament and said they enjoyed themselves.
The compliments were really appreciated. We get them from some of our own players on occasion, but it’s nice to hear it from out-of-towners as well. No one had to travel too far or pay for a hotel (unless they chose to stay and enjoy San Diego). The overall great sportsmanship shown by the players helped us run and finish ahead of schedule. We don’t run these events each time for personal accolades. We do them because we want to ensure the best experience for our players. The other Regionals definitely got split over two days. If our Regional was split over two days, we would have missed the wedding we were invited to on Sunday, so thanks to all our participants who helped make sure that didn’t happen!
Karina Riddervold and Shawn Magurno, two SDAPA members that play out of the Library, tied the knot on Sunday, March 3rd in Coronado. The entire wedding was simply put, FUN! From Karina rolling up to the wedding in Scooby and Shaggy’s Mystery Machine in her wedding dress, to the buffet dinner to the first game of pool as a married couple (yes, there was a pool table brought in for the wedding at the reception hall), the wedding was a pleasure to have been a part of it. The program for the wedding ceremony had pool balls representing the date of their marriage - three ball, three ball and the thirteen ball. During the family photo time, we drank wine (Shawn made the wine and it was really good!) and relaxed outside while overlooking the bay. Once inside the reception, the food was amazing and the tables were numbered with pool balls. The newly married couple made their entrance into the reception hall through pool cue arches. Some of the members of the wedding party are also SDAPA members. It became a bit of an emotional moment for me to see what our San Diego APA pool league can mean to someone. That these nice people met each other playing in our pool league and that they share this same passion for pool and wanted pool to be a part of their special day together made me happy to know that our pool league played a part in helping them find this happiness together. Congratulations once again Shawn and Karina! Thanks for inviting Jill and me. We were thrilled to be a part of it.
This is only one in many success stories of the APA. I’m sure APA is probably responsible for a few divorces, too. J But, when I signed up to be an APA League Operator back in 1996, it wasn’t just to run pool leagues. I had already been an APA team captain for 5 years and I knew that there are a lot more benefits to APA than kicking someone’s butt on a pool table. Friendships and 
relationships and fun and short nights of sleep before work the next day are just as much a part of our pool league as the balls that get racked on the table. This league still means a lot to me. I get as much enjoyment running the league today as the day I started in January of 1996. And I thank everyone that has been a part of it and hope that you all get the same level of enjoyment out of it. If you are not, please contact the league office. Thanks to anyone and everyone who help us make our pool league more than just a game of pool!
I guess I’ll toss out some league info in this small space. Bye sheets are supposed to be mailed back to the league office if you are on the mail program. It helps us ensure accurate bookkeeping and up-to-date stats. That’s why we also provide the stamped return envelope with your bye sheet. Have a great week, life is too short for anger, and by all means……..
Shoot Pool Good!