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The
US Carrom Association will conduct three
tournaments this summer, all in
conjunction with major tournaments put on
by America’s largest billiards
organizations. They are open to all
players, USCA members and nonmembers, US
residents and foreign visitors. All three
will be governed by the same tournament
format, event schedule, entry fee
requirement, and prize distribution.
These venues are offered to us free of
charge by the Super Billiards Expo and
American Cue Sports. Their only request is
that we book our rooms at the hotels
associated with the venues, as listed
below. Up to four people can share a room
so expenses can be minimized. A variety of
food items, including Indian lunch and
dinner entrees, will be available for
purchase and packed food is allowed in the
rooms.
Entry fees will be 100% dispersed as cash
prizes for the top four places in each
group of sixteen players, with a minimum
$1000 prize for the singles winner.
Each event: $40 USCA members / $50
nonmembers
All three events: $99 USCA members /
$125 nonmembers
USCA Eastern Open Championship,
Friday–Sunday, June 8–10
Valley Forge Convention Center, King of
Prussia, PA
(in conjunction with the American Pool
Association Local Team Championship)
Recommended lodging, connected to the
convention center:
(mention “Super Billiards” for rate of
$127+taxes per night)
Radisson Hotel Valley Forge,
1160 First Avenue, King of Prussia PA
19406
Reservations: (888) 201-1718 US
Telephone: (610) 337-2000
Fax: (610) 768-0183
Scanticon Hotel and Conference Center
1210 First Avenue
King of Prussia, PA 19406
Main Phone: (610) 265-1500
Sales Fax: (610) 768-0183
USCA Western Open Championship.
Friday–Sunday, June 15–17
Riviera Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
(in conjunction with American Cue Sports
2007 National Championship)
Recommended lodging: (Use the “EIGHT07”
code to receive the discount rate of $84 +
taxes per night)
Riviera Hotel & Casino
2901 Las Vegas Blvd., South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
1-800-634-6753
www.rivierahotel.com
Rental Car Special Rates: AVIS –
1-800-698-5685
ACS Member Special Rate Code: AWD# S015200
Midwest Airlines: up to 10% discount -
1-800-452-2022 - www.midwestairlines.com -
ACS discount code: CMZ6564
US
Invitational Carrom Tournament,
Friday–Sunday, August 3–5
Valley Forge Convention Center, King of
Prussia, PA
(in conjunction with American Pool
Association Team Challenge Tournament)
see USCA Eastern Open for recommended
lodging
WORLD SERIES OF CARROM EVENT
These three tournaments are being produced
as satellite events of the ESPN Star
Sports TV series, The World Series of
Carrom, which will begin broadcasting
worldwide in June. ESPN, in conjunction
with the International Carrom Federation,
devised a new format to make the game more
understandable to a viewing public
unfamiliar with carrom. In addition, they
introduced elements drawn from billiards,
as well as some risk-taking strategies to
heighten tension and create drama. Here is
an overview of the new rules they
introduced and by which we will play on
the third day of each tournament:
1)
Four board games. Each match is
played in only four boards, with no time
limit.
2)
Change of colors. Instead of white,
black and red, ESPN introduced red, blue
and gold for the queen.
3)
Players retain their color. Rather
than alternating colors on every board,
the red player stays red for all four
boards, and the blue player stays blue.
Breaks are aligned to sink the breaker’s
color.
4)
Coins are numbered, call your shot.
World Series coins have the numbers 1–9
printed on them and players should
describe their intention before shooting.
Fluke shots still count and there is no
penalty for not accomplishing the stated
objective.
5)
First break determined by lag. As
in billiards, the initial break is won by
shooting the striker off the opposite
frame and trying to bring it to rest
between your own two baselines. The
striker may rebound off your side of the
frame before coming to rest. Whoever gets
closer to the center of the two baselines
breaks first.
6)
Queen is scored regardless of who wins
the board. Whoever covers the queen is
immediately credited with the queen’s
value, whether they win the board or not.
7)
The value of the queen is variable.
The points scored for the queen vary with
the number of coins the covering player
has left on the board:
If there are 7–9 coins on the board,
the queen counts 3 points.
If there are 4–6 coins on the board,
the queen counts 4 points.
If there are 3 or less coins on the
board, the queen counts 5 points.
8)
The Power Play. Each player gets to
call one Power Play per match. If a player
wins the Power Play, all point values are
doubled on that board. if the player
loses, the opponent gets five points. A
Power Play must be called before the
break, and the breaking player gets the
first chance to call it. if the breaking
player chooses not to call a Power Play,
the other player may call one.
9) Match is played in four
boards with no point limit and
no time limit. In other words, you
can score as high as you want. Above 25 is
possible.
These rule changes were designed to
increase risk-taking in the game,
heightening tension for a player as well
as for the audience. The four-board format
lends a wild-card dimension to the match:
a weak player can always come on strong at
first, and a strong player can always
misplay the first board or two. The
variable value of the queen creates
another element of risk: should one score
the queen right off, when the value is
only three, or wait until clearing a few
more pieces and increasing the value to
five? Similarly, should a Power Play be
called in the first couple of boards, or
not until the last?
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