WPBA to Keep Stats on Players
Player Scorecards for each Match will Provide Valuable Statistical Information
Thousand Oaks, CA – The Women’s Professional Billiards Association’s (WPBA’s) 2008 Season marks the first full year that its players will use scorecards to produce accurate stats of their matches and tournaments. First used at the 2007 WPBA Tour Championships, the new scorecards include information such as lags won, balls on break, break and runs as well as games won on break. The 2008 San Diego Classic introduced players to the new scorecards and each player kept track of the stats for their match.
Kristi Carter – WPBA Board Member and the person responsible for collating the stats from each tournament, feels the benefit to the players is immeasurable, “To be considered an upper-echelon sport, statistics need to be kept that are in depth and reliable. They are a major component to getting mainstream media coverage and it is a goal to position the WPBA as a viable and recognized professional sport. As players and fans, you will have the opportunity to track individual players’ performances, see how they pair against other players, and where they stand overall under various categories.”
WPBA Top Pro and veteran match Commentator Dawn Hopkins (pictured) feels strongly about stats, saying “As a commentator for WPBA/ESPN shows, having statistics is going to help me tremendously. These facts will enable me to compare the players in different areas of their game.”
Actor and long-time WPBA Commentator Mitch Laurance states, “I’ve never been able to look to the statistics of players on the WPBA Classic Tour as a particular event week progressed; until now.
What a terrific feature this will be, to have access to the kind of sports-related stats that mean so much when evaluating a player’s performance during the heat of competition. The ability to analyze key stats throughout the event will help to further break down what makes different players successful, and I’m sure will prove an invaluable aid to telling the full story of any given Tour stop.
Top WPBA veteran Pro Belinda Calhoun had this to say when asked. “Statistics have been so sorely missed in women’s pool. What do all major sports have in common? Stats, stats, and more stats. Sports fans love statistics. It is a way for them to become personally involved. The more stats you can memorize and quote the higher the status you enjoy. The current score/stat sheet is a solid beginning for future plans to expand the stat program.”
The WPBA will post stats from T.V. matches at each event, as well as track and post all our players’ statistics. Check back to www.wpba.com (http://www.wpba.com/) after each event for stat updates.
Media contact: Anne Craig