Billiard Congress of America
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The Billiard Congress of America is a governing body for billiards in the United States. It was established in 1948, in order to promote the sport and organize its players via tournaments at various levels. Its stated purpose is to "promote the sport of billiards." The BCA's headquarters are in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The BCA sanctions various leagues and tournaments, and publishes a rule book that is considered the "world standardized rules" for games such as 9-ball, 8-ball, straight pool, as well as general billiards rules. The BCA holds an annual trade show, the BCA International Billiards & Home Recreation Expo, which is the largest billiard trade show in the world.
During its first 32 years of existence, the BCA had no physical headquarters. In 1980, they opened a permanent office in Iowa City, Iowa. In 2000, the BCA relocated to its current headquarters in Colorado Springs.
The BCA runs an annual open 9-ball championship. The winner can be considered to be the pool champion of the United States in some sense. Professional pool players do not have a well established association of their own, so the best players usually compete in the BCA open.
