For those of you who follow such things, there was a gaping hole in Texas and the southwest with respect to women's billiard events since the demise of the Texas Ladies Amateur Tour.  Without the amateur tour, women could only play in women's divisions of men's tournaments, which historically paid them disproportionately less and because of the high entry fees  excluded all but the top players or the one's with a financial budget that could accommodate the expenditures for a "learning experience."  A couple of women's events emerged or expanded as the amateur women discovered that they missed the playing opportunities and the comraderies of the amateur tour.  They also missed being the feature event.

In stepped Wes Hunter, a cue maker and room owner in Alamogordo, New Mexico.  Wes Hunter owns Winner's Choice Billiards.  He has been making cues since 1988, when he made the step from cue repair to the art of cue making after purchasing some equipment from Leonard Bludworth.  The Hunter Classics cue has already made a name for itself, although according to Wes Hunter, a cue making reputation has to be earned over many years.  Mr. Hunter's focus when he makes a cue is the hit.  He makes cues for players not for display.  He uses all wood and wood inlays, no plastic and only uses ivory by special request.  So why is Wes Hunter sponsoring an amateur women's tour.

"Because women have been getting a raw deal in the tournaments, both in the money and the attention.  Besides, I would rather watch women play. Their form is better, they are more exciting and they are more intelligent on the table.  If women had as much time in the game as the top men, they would be every bit as good or better than the men."

While Hunter Classics is the primary sponsor of this WPBA sanctioned regional tour there are other sponsors who are contributing money and goods to ensure its success.  The advertising for the events of the Hunter Classics Tour would have been prohibitive were it not for the generous help of Richard Story and the American Cueist Magazine.

Richard Story played pool when he was in his teens and 20's, but he put away his cue for over 20 years.  Then one day he walked by a pool room and saw that a tournament was about to start.  On a lark he entered and took 2nd Place.  That brought back the memories of the game he loved so much.  He was back.  This magazine evolved from Mr. Story's work as the editor and publisher of the Texas Billiard News.  TBN started in March of 1987 because Richard Story, the pool player, found that there was a need for more communication within pool leagues and for tournament news.  When he asked around about the lack of information going out to the players, he   was informed that no one had the time to do anything about it.  That was enough to motivate Mr. Story.  He gave the magazine away the first year to a circulation of about 300 league players.  Now he has a nationwide readership of over 10,000 players, rooms and suppliers.  A subscription to the American Cueist Magazine is only $15.00 per year.

Mr. Story manages a small publishing company called Shippers' Guide Service.  The "Shippers Guide Service" is a truck routing guide that was started by the Woods family in 1946.  It was not a very big step to move into prime time publishing with the American Cueist.  When asked why he chose to be a sponsor on the Hunter Classics Tour, he said:  "Women are doing more for pool today than the men and I wanted to show my support."

Sandy Coker and Dennis Lawyer through Fast Freddy's are joining the Hunter Classics Tour both as an anchor sponsor and as an event sponsor.  Thanks to their generosity the June stop on the tour will be a WPBA qualifier. Mr. Lawyer's involvement in pool began when he was called in as a consultant to a pool hall.  His background was in the restaurant business and he was fascinated by the possibilities.  Five Fast Freddy's later, we are all the better for his expertise.  Ms. Coker, director of operations  for the chain, started out as a part time bartender and worded her way up to the top.  She says her pool game disappeared about the third promotion. Asked why he was willing to participate in the women's tour, Mr. Lawyer
said:  "It's a good cause.  I believe in supporting a good cause and the people involved in running it are good people."

Another sponsor for this young tour is the Academy of Billiards.  This brain child of Randy Goettlicher derived its name from a now defunt pool hall in Tucson, Arizona.  It was 1965 in Mankato, Minnesota and Randy was giving pool lessons under this organizational name while he, and wife Karen, worked at day jobs and raised their family.  In 1961, while he was in college, Mr. Goettlicher formed a pool league in Minnesota so that he would have a group with whom to play pool.  The decision to devote his life to billiards was cemented when he attended a Willie Mosconi exhibition in Mankato.  The Academy of Billiards is now the umbrella organization for the famed pool school Cue-Tech and for the largest BCA sanctioned pool league in the country, the Southwest Eightball League.  It also includes Mr. Goettlicher's activities with the Texas Express Promotions Group which runs the hugely successful McDermott Tour and his work as the BCA Trade Show's main lecturer on Pool Leagues.  Why is the Academy of Billiards a sponsor of the Hunter Classics Tour?  "My wife Karen plays this game now.  The kids grown and she has become my business partner, working with me in the various activities of the Academy of Billiards.  I have seen her growth in the game and have not been satisfied with the opportunities for her or other women to compete in a cost effective forum.  This tour provides that opportunity and when we were offered the opportunity to include our Texas State Eightball Championship on the Hunter Classics Amateur Women's Tour we were excited at the chance to both participate and continue our ongoing support."

Providing a distinctly feminine touch to the group of anchor sponsors is Tonia and Terry Moser's offering from Just in Case.  They will be awarding gold charm bracelets with the appropriate nine or eight ball rack for the winner of each event, and a 14k gold bracelet filled with gold pool charms to the winner of the whole tour.  Tonia and Terry started Just in Case after they attended a major pool tournament and found vendors selling pool gear.  They bought a tip tapper and realized that back home in Louisiana no one supplied pool items.  Terry, never one to let a good idea go unexplored, started gathering information about selling goods by catalogue.  First they intended to sell specialty cases, but Tonia only wanted to sell pool gear.  Their first adventure to Las Vegas was a disaster because their supplier did not come through with the cases, but they learned that there were lots of pool gadgets and memorabilia that was of interest to the players and spectators, so they branched out to the variety available in their pool accessories catalogue today.  Tonia and Terry have always been active in the sponsorship of women's events in pool and Tonia played on the previous amateur tour.  "I am so excited about a new amateur women's tour and very pleased to be both a sponsor of it and a player on it."

At press time there was another sponsor who offered to supply beautiful shirts for the winners of each tour stop and an embroidered jacket for the tour champion on the Hunter Classics Amateur Women's Tour.  Houston Embroidery Works is the brain child of Bob Schlacks.  Ten years ago, while trying to sell embroidered shirts, Mr. Schlacks discovered that there was an untapped market for orders.  Beginning his business in Clear Lake, Texas near the Houston Space Center, he was able to tap the huge small business market.  Recently Houston Embroidery Works has acquired the equipment necessary to operate its own design center.  The design center is run by multi award winning designer Gabby Marcontell, a partner in the enterprise.  Bob Schlacks played pool all his life and has only really played pool in the last three years.  Now he is competing at every  opportunity.  When asked why he was becoming a sponsor on the Hunter Tour, Mr. Schlacks indicated:  "The women are good for pool, and I like to give the people who have shown over time that they care about the game, Susan Dasher has done consistently and she is the tour coordinator, so that is why I am involved."

The Hunter Classics Amateur Women's Tour will be characterized by its low entry fees, higher pay back since each event has a minimum of $2,000 added, a moderate dress code which allows blue jeans and tennis shoes but which still requires collared shirts or blouses.  It will provide automatic membership in the WPBA and will provide a forum for qualifying for WPBA professional events.  If you play at a Hunter Tour stop, you are a WPBA member.  There are no fees to pay except the particular event entry fee and no professionals ranked in the top 24 by the WPBA will be allowed to participate in this amateur tour.

The Hunter Tour may add stops as the year goes on and each member will receive a letter advising her of the new event, but the tour stops will be advertised in The American Cueist too.
 

HOUSTON?

Negotiations began just before press deadline for a tour stop in Houston at Barney's.  If that works out, watch for the news in the American Cueist.

In addition to the tour sponsor and the anchor sponsors, each event has at least one and usually two sponsors.  The pool room sponsor always donates facilities but on this tour these event sponsors are also contributing cash.  Doc and Eddy's, in Albuquerque, NM has always supported the women, and always been in he forefront of equitable allocation of prize monies between the men and the women.  Eric's was a part of the old women's tour and eagerly joined the Hunter Tour.   The Billiard Factory and owner Richard Sauer together with Galaxy Billiards' owner Don Hoppe have been the mainstays of women's event for years and they have enthusiastically joined on.  This time they are joined by Ed Tarbutton, owner of Top Cats Billiards in San Marcos, TX who will be a co-event sponsor of the October San Antonio Rose.

Anchor sponsors for the tour have contributed a minimum of $400.00 in money, goods or services, although some have contributed much more.  Event sponsors guarantee the money added and must contribute a minimum of $250.00 in cash.  The tour sponsor, Wes Hunter, HUNTER CLASSICS, has contributed one cue from the top of his line (Retail $1,000) for auction for each event, which auction raises the largest part of the amount of money added to each event.  There is no mystery to this tour, what you see here is what you get.  More stops are encouraged.  Events in Houston and El Paso are being sought.  If anyone reading this article is interested, please notify Tour Coordinator, Susan Dasher.

Hopefully there will be another side effect of the creation of this WPBA regional tour is the increased possibility of a WPBA stop in the southwest. There are presently no WPBA professional events in Texas, even though Vivian Villarreal and Belinda Bearden are among the elite top ten on the tour.  WPBA President, Vicki Paski wants to bring a WPBA event to Texas, but no billiard establishment with 9' tables or pool industry sponsor has come forward to participate.  Hopefully the excitement generated by this offers will be made.  There are some pretty nice 9' Brunswick Gold Crowns at Eric's in Austin with bleacher seating available.  WPBA Nationals would be a great event to hold there.